East Montpelier, Vt: The Board of Directors of Washington Electric Co-op (WEC), a member-owned utility serving central Vermont, has changed how it will hold the Annual Meeting of its membership to protect members and staff and to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. There will be no in-person meeting of the Membership. The meeting had been scheduled for May 7.
WEC’s bylaws require a meeting of the membership in May and an election of the Board of Directors. For purposes of the election, WEC will hold a limited meeting on May 7, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. Board elections will take place by mailed-in ballot only. Ballots will be sent to the membership in April. Ballots returned by the afternoon of May 6 will be counted.
Each year, three of WEC’s nine Board seats are up for election. In 2020, three incumbent Board members are running for re-election in an uncontested race.
In lieu of the traditional in-person gathering of the membership, a business meeting of limited scope will be held. The order of business will be limited to the election of Directors. WEC staff are working to make arrangements to live stream the meeting. Streaming information will be posted on WEC’s website at
https://washingtonelectric.coop prior to May 7.
The remainder of the order of business normally conducted at the Annual Meeting will be postponed. Please check WEC’s website for more information prior to May 7.
“We are deeply sad to have to cancel the public gathering portion of our Annual Meeting for the first time in our cooperative utility’s history. It’s a tradition we value and cherish,” said General Manager Patty Richards. “We will carry out the required business matters but cancel the dinner and open gathering portion of the event. We encourage all members to stay home, stay safe, and to keep our democratic processes strong by voting for your Board of Directors by mail.”
Previously, WEC announced safety protocol to protect its workforce from the virus so that the cooperative utility is able to protect its electric infrastructure and restore power in case of outages. WEC’s office and warehouse are closed to the general public. Services and staff remain available by phone and email.
Washington Electric Co-op is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric utility founded in 1939. WEC serves approximately 10,800 member-owners in 41 towns throughout Washington, Orange, Caledonia and Orleans counties with power generated from 100 percent renewable sources. WEC is an equal opportunity provider and employer. For more information please visit https://www.washingtonelectric.coop or call 802-223-5245.