The power of political engagement

Co-op lead­ers con­verge on Wash­ing­ton, D.C., for Leg­isla­tive Con­fer­ence in April

Amer­i­can fam­i­lies expect the lights to stay on at a cost they can afford. But with the demand for elec­tric­i­ty sky­rock­et­ing and the sup­ply of always-avail­able pow­er sources at risk, the need for smart ener­gy poli­cies that bol­ster reli­a­bil­i­ty and afford­abil­i­ty are more crit­i­cal than ever before.

As your mem­ber-owned elec­tric co-op, Coastal Elec­tric Coop­er­a­tive is com­mit­ted to reli­ably pow­er­ing our local com­mu­ni­ties. Beyond rou­tine main­te­nance and updates that improve the reli­a­bil­i­ty of the grid, we work in oth­er ways to ensure our mem­bers’ needs are addressed. One of the ways we do this is through proac­tive­ly engag­ing elect­ed offi­cials to ensure our mem­bers are well rep­re­sent­ed in Wash­ing­ton, D.C.

In April, hun­dreds of elec­tric coop­er­a­tive lead­ers from across the coun­try, includ­ing Geor­gia, trav­eled to Wash­ing­ton, D.C., for the Nation­al Rur­al Elec­tric Coop­er­a­tive Association’s Leg­isla­tive Con­fer­ence to meet with elect­ed offi­cials on Capi­tol Hill and dis­cuss key ener­gy issues and pri­or­i­ties that impact our mem­bers back home.

We focused on telling our own unique sto­ry of how elec­tric coop­er­a­tives in Geor­gia and across the nation are ensur­ing reli­able and afford­able pow­er for our com­mu­ni­ties through a diverse sup­ply of ener­gy resources to meet the grow­ing demand for elec­tric­i­ty.

In our meet­ings with mem­bers of Con­gress, we detailed the need to improve envi­ron­men­tal per­mit­ting process­es and cut cost­ly and bur­den­some regulations—such as the Envi­ron­men­tal Pro­tec­tion Agency’s pow­er plant rule—to accel­er­ate deploy­ment and main­te­nance of essen­tial elec­tric infra­struc­ture. We also high­light­ed the impor­tance of fed­er­al hydropow­er resources, as well as the need to pass leg­is­la­tion to facil­i­tate co-op veg­e­ta­tion man­age­ment efforts and reduce wild­fire risks.

An addi­tion­al focal point of our dis­cus­sions with pol­i­cy­mak­ers includ­ed ensur­ing fed­er­al pro­grams and resources that sup­port elec­tric coop­er­a­tive ener­gy projects as we invest to meet the unique needs of our com­mu­ni­ties. This is a rel­e­vant top­ic for Georgia’s elec­tric co-ops, as we are active­ly plan­ning for the con­struc­tion of a new 1,200-megawatt gen­er­a­tion A plant and trans­mis­sion assets to meet load growth.

Includ­ed in these pro­grams and resources are tools like the U.S. Depart­ment of Agriculture’s Rur­al Util­i­ties Ser­vice Elec­tric Infra­struc­ture Loan and Loan Guar­an­tee Pro­gram and the new Empow­er­ing Rur­al Amer­i­ca pro­gram, ener­gy tax cred­its with an elec­tive (direct) pay option for co-ops and recent­ly fund­ed U.S. Depart­ment of Ener­gy infra­struc­ture pro­grams.

We look for­ward to work­ing with Pres­i­dent Don­ald Trump’s admin­is­tra­tion and mem­bers of Con­gress to imple­ment a pro-ener­gy agen­da that pri­or­i­tizes reli­a­bil­i­ty and afford­abil­i­ty, and strength­ens our nation’s grid.

While you may not con­sid­er it on a dai­ly basis, elec­tric­i­ty is essen­tial and under­pins near­ly every aspect of mod­ern life. Under­stand­ing today’s evolv­ing ener­gy land­scape is impor­tant as it shapes how elec­tric­i­ty is pro­duced, deliv­ered and con­sumed.

Advo­cat­ing for reli­able, afford­able pow­er on behalf of Coastal Elec­tric Cooperative’s mem­bers is a crit­i­cal part of our com­mit­ment to you. We are grate­ful for this oppor­tu­ni­ty to have met with Georgia’s mem­bers of Con­gress to dis­cuss the impor­tant ener­gy issues that impact us here at home.