Shoring up access to renewable generation, including Hydro-Québec, as Vermont demand for renewable power grows President’s Report By Stephen Knowlton Washington Electric Cooperative is now in its 85th year, and it is a good time to reflect on how we got started as a cooperative. As we are already close to being a quarter of the way through the 21st …
Practical and Honest: WEC’s Pledge For Addressing Outages (GM Report)
WEC General Manager’s Report By Louis Porter With increasingly severe storms causing more damage to electrical infrastructure across Vermont, I hope to have a conversation with WEC members at our Annual Meeting about winter outages, and how we as members respond to them, both individually and collectively through our Cooperative. Outages, particularly those in the winter, are understandably one of …
Meteorologist Roger Hill To Present at Annual Meeting
Worcester-based meteorologist and WEC member Roger Hill will present at the Co-op’s winter outage-themed Annual Meeting on May 2. Hill’s site-specific forecasts help Vermont utilities, including WEC, prepare their responses to major storms. Many other Vermonters know Hill from his weather forecasts on WDEV Radio Vermont and daily updates through his weather blog, Weathering Heights. Hill will discuss weather and …
Incumbents re-elected, storm resilience focus of Annual Meeting
Storms and an equitable energy future discussed at first in-person Annual Meeting since 2019 The Annual Meeting took place in WEC’s Operations Center, where a few dozen transformers were ready for deployment. Most were ordered in 2020, and only just delivered after three years tied up in the supply chain. Members, staff, and guests mingled and enjoyed farm-to-table dining from …
Falling in love with strangers
Erica Heilman of Rumble Strip podcast delights membership with big questions A correction to our last issue: Erica Heilman is not from Calais. She’s from East Calais. Electricity–and now broadband–both reached neighboring Maple Corner first, she reminded WEC members; East Calais residents wait a little longer. She was joking, sort of. Heilman claimed to have a deep need to be …
President’s & GM’s Message: WEC Accesses Contracted Hydro-Québec Power
Longstanding contract provides 2 MW of baseload power as Co-op members’ winter needs and WEC’s electric peaks rise. Also: member education around EV charging, adding load, and safety Background to Hydro-Québec Contract Steve: In 2012, WEC negotiated a new 25-year contract with Hydro-Québec [HQ], and the Board at that time approved it. At the time, WEC did not have a …
Talking Electric Vehicles
Members considering EVs – but not yet buying them – talk about factors in their decision making WEC members are thinking about electric vehicles. While some members have been driving EVs for years, many other members are giving thoughtful consideration to making the switch as EVs become mainstream. Last year, at the member cookout in September, conversations about EVs reflected …
Good conversation: Erica Heilman of Rumble Strip to speak at Annual Meeting
Erica Heilman thinks you should go to WEC’s Annual Meeting. It’s not just because she’s the featured speaker, or because she’s a member. It’s because she thinks our best work happens in spaces full of other human beings, figuring things out together, with snacks. “The fastest democracies are the longest, slowest, most boring meetings,” she said. Vermonters are proud of …
Three incumbents run for re-election to Board of Directors
Every year, WEC’s membership elects three fellow members to serve on the Co-op’s nine-seat Board of Directors. The members who serve in these critical roles oversee management and staff and make policy and leadership decisions for the member-owned electric utility. Three incumbent Directors are running for re-election in 2023: Don Douglas of Orange, Treasurer; Jean Hamilton of Plainfield; and Mary …
2023 Annual Meeting Scheduled for May 4
Board Candidacy and Bylaws Petition Deadlines Due Feb/March The 2023 Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday, May 4. For the first time since 2019, the Annual Meeting will be in-person at WEC’s warehouse. More event details will follow in future issues of Co-op Currents. Every year, the Annual Meeting marks the election of three members to WEC’s Board of …
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