Electric Co-op Today

With congressional action on climate change looming in as few as 90 days, NRECA CEO Glenn English gave ACRE® members their marching orders.

NRECA CEO Glenn English called on members to stay active in the battle for affordable electricity. (Photo By: Luis Gomez)

“Talk to those who are not here today, explain to them the seriousness of this challenge, engage them, have them involve their membership,” English told an audience of 1,700 at the Action Committee for Rural Electrification breakfast.

To applause, he urged ACRE members to mobilize the nation’s 42 million consumer-members to send lawmakers a clear message that “cost does matter and we must get this right.”

Looking ahead to May, English said, “The Legislative Conference should be the culmination of Our Energy, Our Future. The thousands of you that will be coming to Washington should be coming to deliver one message: We must have affordable electric power.”

Dena G. Stoner, NRECA vice president of government relations, announced that in 2008, ACRE membership stood at more than 33,300. That includes an additional 1,000 consumers taking part.

“We now have 3,000 consumer-members of ACRE as part of the ACRE Co-op Members for Political Action program,” said Stoner. “We are continuing to build and utilize a very strong political grassroots program.”

Mid-Ohio Energy Cooperative was honored as ACRE Electric Cooperative of the Year. The Kenton-based co-op has 4 percent of its consumer-members enrolled in ACRE.

Tags: ACRE, Annual Meeting