Northland Connection: January 2022

January 2022 | Volume 84 | Issue 1

Crews Quickly Repair Damage After Mid-December Windstorm

Damaged equipment litters the ground at Platte-Clay Fuels in Platte City. Photo by Dave Christensen.

After high winds caused scattered damage and power disruptions across the Northland on December 15, crews responded quickly to get service restored to Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative consumer-members.

At the height of the windstorm, over 400 PCEC members were without power. Almost all services were restored by 1:00 AM on Thursday.

Over the past several years, the cooperative’s Reliability Improvement Plan has included a focus on mitigating the impact of high winds on the co-op’s grid. Wind dampeners have been installed on power lines in areas known to have a high potential for wind damage to electrical infrastructure.

After completing restoration work in the Northland, a crew of Platte-Clay linemen deployed to assist United Electric Cooperative in Maryville, Missouri with restoration efforts. In June of 2021, United provided mutual aid crews to assist PCEC after strong storms damaged power lines throughout the Northland.

Wind gusts caused damage to the Platte-Clay Fuels station operated by PCEC in Platte City. The station was temporarily closed for equipment to be inspected and repaired.

Strong Cooperative Network Benefits Members at the End of the Line

From the General Manager

For electric cooperatives like Platte- Clay to succeed, we must collaborate with our trusted partners through the network of co-op organizations. From power generation to public policy, there is a network of specialized cooperatives working behind the scenes to ensure your local electric supplier can focus on serving your needs.

As a distribution cooperative, PCEC’s job is to distribute energy from substations to consumer-members’ homes or businesses. We partner with Missouri-based generation and transmission cooperatives to supply that power to our local communities.

Each of these groups focuses on a specialized area of the power grid and has extensive expertise on making the system work reliably. This tiered system was put to an extreme test during the cold snap of February 2021 and performed well.

Beyond generation, transmission and distribution functions, we also rely on organizations like the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives (AMEC) and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) to support our co-op by providing legal guidance, public policy advocacy and employee training.

We’ve worked closely with AMEC and NRECA over the years to stay connected with state and national policymakers and keep them informed about issues impacting our communities. Their research and policy knowledge are always helping drive cooperative priorities forward.

A great example of this network in action is the recent struggles co-ops have been facing with the supply chain. With orders on essential electrical equipment taking much longer to fulfill than in the past, coops are planning further ahead to ensure they have the supplies they need to maintain their services.

After recognizing this issue, NRECA CEO Jim Matheson wrote a letter to President Biden urging his administration to take action to alleviate the supply chain backlog. Because it represents over 800 local electric cooperatives across the country, NRECA is able to speak on behalf of the entire co-op network in a way no individual coop could do on their own. All in all, the association represents utilities serving over 50% of the nation’s landmass.

Cooperation among cooperatives keeps our network of generation, transmission, distribution and advocacy cooperatives strong. Each co-op focuses on playing their role in the system as well as possible, which in turn results in better service for our consumer-members.

Platte-Clay Moments

Platte-Clay bucket and digger trucks were a main feature of this year’s Lighted Christmas Parade in Kearney. PCEC was a proud presenting sponsor of the event.

Left: Crews assist United Electric Cooperative (Maryville, Missouri) crews with restoration after high wind damaged their grid. Right: Platte-Clay employees present a donation to the Lathrop Food Pantry as part of the final round of Hunger Relief Grants in 2021.

Simplifying Co-op Elections by Focusing on Online and Mail-In Voting

My family has been participating in Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative membership elections for as long as I can remember. The annual tradition of making your voice heard by voting for Board of Directors candidates and bylaw changes is an important part of what makes cooperatives special – they are led by the consumer-members they serve.

For the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the co-op to cancel its traditional annual meeting and use a combination of online and mailin voting for the membership election. Implementing those changes resulted in a large increase in the number of members choosing to participate in the democratic process of our co-op.

Platte-Clay members confirmed their desire for more flexible voting options when they recently voted to change the by-laws. 95% of members who voted in the 2021 co-op election approved by-law amendments that gave more flexibility as to how and when PCEC members can cast their ballots.

As the co-op’s Board of Directors, it’s our job to respond to the changing expectations of our consumer-members. With new voting methods now available to members, we anticipate most will choose to vote in advance, creating an opportunity to retire the traditional large-scale format our annual meeting has followed in the past.

Instead of holding a community fair and kids’ carnival at the cooperative this year, the co-op will host a short and simple business meeting where members can cast their ballots in person and listen to updates from the cooperative before election results are announced. No meal will be served at this meeting and attendance will not be required for voting, which can be done leading up to the election using the online voting system or by requesting a mail-in ballot.

This important change will simplify the election process, give more members a chance to vote and save cooperative resources. In place of the traditional community fair, the co-op will hold several smaller community events throughout the Northland during the course of the year. Localized events will give board members and employees an opportunity to connect with consumer-members in the communities they belong to and answer questions they have about the co-op.

We need strong member participation in the governance of our community-led organization to keep it healthy and responsive to the people it was created to serve. Moving away from an outdated large-scale event format and putting more of our focus on online and mail-in voting will empower our members with easier ways to participate. Although it may take some time to adjust to these changes, your Board of Directors is confident this is the right decision for the future of our cooperative.

Co-op Election Dates:

February 21: Members wishing to be nominated as candidates must contact Angie Kinard (AngieK@pcec.coop) by this date.

March 3: Nominating Committee meeting

March 17: Deadline for petition candidates to submit 15 member signatures to get on ballot

May 6: A list of verified Board of Directors candidates will be posted at the co-op office

May 9: Online and mail-in voting begins

May 26: Voting closes at Business Meeting

The Northland Connection is published monthly by Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative, Inc., 1000 W. 92 Highway, Kearney, MO 64060. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Northland Connection, PO Box 100, Kearney, MO 64060 or mail@pcec.coop.

Platte-Clay is an equal opportunity employer.