President’s and GM’s Message: New Staff Support WEC’s Mission

Recap of Annual Meeting Election Results and Mike Kline Presentation on Waterways, Grant Funding Increases

Annual Meeting

Louis: Our members re-elected Susan Alexander and Betsy Allen to their  second terms on our Board of Directors. Both of them contributed tremendous wisdom and expertise to our Co-op leadership in their first terms. Members also elected Bill Powell, whom many know from his 33 years as a staff member of Washington Electric, before he retired this past fall. I’m glad to be working again with Bill in this new capacity and pleased to welcome back Susan and Betsy.

I say this a lot:  Washington Electric is lucky it’s had contested elections and people interested in serving on the Board. That’s not always the case for other civic organizations and nonprofits. We’re fortunate to have strong candidates and more people interested in running than there are seats available. Our voting numbers are strong for an organization of our size, and we have a lot of members willing to fill out a ballot. This past election, there was not a candidate running who wouldn’t have brought value and knowledge to Washington Electric.

Steve: I agree with Louis. Having a number of candidates running for the three open seats is ultimately useful to the Co-op. Board turnover is important—getting new voices, educating more regular members like myself about what their Co-op does and how it works so that we can better serve the entire membership as we come to better understand the energy environment in Vermont. That said, it’s bittersweet to have five people run and tell two of them they weren’t elected. It’s different from a political election. I’m proud that Co-op members put their names forward in good faith. I think of the Board as an opportunity for service, and I appreciate that we’re able to fill our seats with qualified and diverse candidates.

At the Annual Meeting, I thought members asked some interesting questions, many of which were framed as: “What can the Co-op do for its members?” While it’s hard to give one answer that fits all situations, my general response is that the Co-op tries to use member resources in the best interests of all members. We’re always seeking solutions that benefit as many people as equitably as possible. In my opinion, that’s a fundamental difference between a co-op and an investor-owned utility.

Louis: One thing I think members understand is that the Board functions as a form of regulation for the Co-op. If members are unhappy with the Co-op’s direction, they can run. It’s a democratic process. Sometimes we think of the Board as a nonprofit board—and it is—but it also provides legislative and regulatory oversight. The candidates brought different and thoughtful perspectives on what the Co-op’s direction should be, which they shared in their statements and conversations with members. In some ways, it’s more like a selectboard than a traditional nonprofit board, because it’s democratically elected.

Steve: A democratically elected board means the membership guides the direction of the Co-op and the strategies it uses to carry out its business. It’s not unusual for a board change to lead to a meaningful change in direction. Our Board attempts to reflect the wishes of the membership.

Louis: One of the things I enjoy most about the Annual Meeting is seeing people I’ve known my whole life in different contexts—neighbors, people I’ve known a long time but don’t see so often. That’s a really fun aspect of it.

Steve: Louis probably considers two-thirds of Vermont his close friends. I get pleasure out of talking at Annual Meeting with folks I’ve never met before—where they live, what they do, how they feel about the Co-op. It’s a great way to connect.

I particularly enjoyed this year’s speaker. Mike Kline described the issues around flooding clearly and knowledgeably, and introduced me to new ideas. Based on his experience, he offered suggestions for how the state might address some of those challenges.

Louis: I loved that he referred to Washington Electric as a “headwaters utility.” Given my background, I should’ve thought of that—and he’s exactly right. We serve some of the most remote, rural, and mountainous parts of our towns, connected by the headwaters of streams and rivers. It’s also an interesting way of looking at our service map and not just seeing village centers and paved roads or dirt roads, but rivers and streams. It’s a fascinating perspective on our territory and areas we serve. 

It also has practical implications. After the 2023 flood, we thought we’d escaped much of the damage. But in 2024, we saw serious erosion along those headwater streams, and that erosion caused infrastructure damage. His presentation really drove home the connection between our natural geography and the utility infrastructure that follows those same valleys.

Steve: I had a similar reaction. When Mike emphasized WEC as a headwaters utility, it reminded me that every rural electric utility has unique characteristics. Serving the slopes of a headwaters region presents very different challenges from serving valley towns or flatlands. I’ve learned as a Board member that utilities are not one-size-fits-all. Each utility has to develop targeted and sometimes unique approaches based on its own terrain and demographics of the residents it serves.

Welcome New Staff 

Louis: We have five new WEC employees I want to introduce.

First, Jeff Boisvert is our new Substation Technician, replacing Ed Schunk. We’re very happy to have him on board—he’s already doing good work, making sure our substations are up to date, and working with David Young, who you know from the Safety Minute column on page 8, on safety and environmental compliance. Jeff is also responsible for inspecting poles. He’s very qualified and a field pro, having worked all over the world in some really remote and fascinating locations. We’re grateful Ed left things in good shape and grateful to have Jeff taking over.

Second, we’ve hired Pat Davis as our new Right-of-Way Coordinator. Pat has a lot of experience in forestry and working with the public. He and his wife recently moved up from North Carolina and are now living in Calais. He’s from the Northeast, so he knows our trees. Pat is working on new and improved approaches to our right-of-way coordination and management—he’s updating our RFPs for right-of-way contractors, revising our vegetation management plan, and overseeing a pilot project with a company called AiDASH.

AiDASH uses satellite photos to create 3D renderings of tree coverage along our lines. They help identify where we can reduce outages most effectively through right-of-way clearing. They also offer tools for managing right-of-way crews and contractor bids. Pat will work with Dave Kresock, Director of Engineering and Operations, and me to evaluate the pilot and decide whether to expand AiDash’s services at the end of the year.

Steve: Some members have expressed to us an interest in seeing more attention paid to right-of-way management. Louis just described the attention we’re giving it. I’ve asked the Board’s Power and Operations Committee to focus attention on the right-of-way and vegetation management programs in the near future. We know it’s important—and our members know it’s important.

Louis: It’s a big budget item. We spend over a million dollars a year on right-of-way clearing—both regular and storm-related. That’s a lot of money.

We’ve also added an Apprentice Lineworker to the line crew, Parker Perron. That position was approved by the Board as an expansion of our line crew, so we’re excited to have Parker on board. Parker joined us in the past couple of weeks. He trained at the Southeast Lineman Training Center in Georgia. He’s also worked with VPPSA and works in electrical systems as a member of the Air National Guard. 

Adam Forant joins us as a Utility Field Technician. He has already proven to be a valuable member of the WEC team and an asset for our members. Field technicians play a vital role at WEC as they work with members on line extensions and upgrades and help our engineering and operations folks build and maintain WEC’s 1,300 miles of power lines. They also serve as important connections between WEC and our members as well as partners like towns and electrical contractors. Adam is already doing a terrific job and our members are lucky to have him.

Finally, Brian Callnan is a new addition to our Management Team as our Director of Regulatory and Power Supply. Brian grew up in Middlesex and graduated from U-32. He worked for the Burlington Electric Department and Vermont Public Power Supply Authority [VPPSA], was head of power supply for the New Hampshire Electric Co-op, and most recently led the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire. He brings more than 22 years of public power experience, primarily in power supply and regulatory affairs, but also in developing innovative energy solutions. We’re excited he’s joined the team to help WEC meet its regulatory compliance and power supply planning needs.

The complexity of state and federal regulations has grown, and our obligations have grown along with it. We need a more coordinated approach. Brian’s position is new, but it’s really a reworking of senior staff focusing on what WEC needs. While most of our power is secured through long-term contracts, those begin to expire in the early 2030s. We need to do the day-to-day work well and prepare strategically for what comes next. We’re maintaining our contract with VPPSA for daily power supply operations and Brian will be working closely with them to think long-term—how much power we’ll need, where it will come from, how we’ll secure it at a reasonable price, and how to match it to what members want.

Grant Money

Louis: Talking about grant funding is a little tricky because the details can change quickly, but as of now, Washington Electric has four different grants that are either awarded or very likely to be awarded.

We’ve been awarded $2.25 million in state money toward upgrading our advanced meter system upgrade. There’s also $2.5 million in congressionally directed spending through Senator Sanders’ office—we’re still working on the grant agreement for that. We have $1.3 million in federal grid grant funding administered by the state. 

We’re also collaborating with VPPSA and Burlington Electric Department on a grant-funded pilot project, called the Energy Storage Access Project to scale battery storage to benefit income-qualified members and municipal systems. Funding includes battery systems and a demand-side energy management system; WEC’s portion is unknown at this point, but we anticipate it will be about $600,000. We’ll discuss this more in future issues of Co-op Currents.

All told, we’re looking at several million in confirmed or highly likely grants. That’s work that would otherwise be delayed, would not occur at all, or would need to be funded through loans that WEC members would be responsible for repaying. We’re grateful for this support and excited to do the work it represents, because it will improve service and reliability.

That said, every dollar of grant money comes with accountability—reporting, planning, compliance—and with a required match. WEC members will be responsible for part of that match. This is probably the most grant money we’ve worked with at one time, and it’s a real operational and management task to keep it organized and meet all the requirements.

There are a few reasons we’ve been so successful in securing this money. First, there’s just a lot of federal infrastructure funding out there right now. Second, Steve and I have made it a priority—from the time he became President and I became General Manager—to make sure WEC members are getting their share of that money. Third, both state and federal officials recognize that Washington Electric serves a physically and financially challenging territory, and that strengthens our case when we’re in line for competitive funding.

We also recognized that in order to get and manage these grants, we needed someone in a dedicated position. That’s why we created JJ’s [JJ Vandette, Director of Special Projects and Innovation] role. Some of these grants were already in the pipeline, but acquiring them and then managing them properly are two separate things—and JJ has the capacity to do both.

Steve: The investment in a whole-utility approach and focused expertise at this level of management is something the Board had been seeking. Louis’ insight to recognize the strategic need and seize  the opportunity, to bring in team members with the skills and knowledge to make it happen is a credit to his leadership. Having that capability is having a positive impact on the Co-op going forward. We’ll monitor our progress, and evolve our decisions and actions accordingly.