2022 marked by major storm, broadband make-ready, rate increase By Stephen Knowlton Washington Electric Cooperative faced two major challenges in 2022. First, Winter Storm Elliott joined us all for Christmas like an unexpected relative, making the holidays more difficult and less comfortable for many WEC members and their actual relatives. As I write this, I find it pleasant to have …
High speed internet reaches Central Vermont
CVFiber groundbreaking echoes rural electrification efforts of 1930s and 1940s “What we’re doing will be transformational the same way rural electrification was transformational to central Vermont.” Jerry Diamantides On December 21, 2022 – the peak of holiday season, between two winter storms – several dozen central Vermonters and state officials arrived at the Calais Town Hall to mark the groundbreaking …
President’s & GM’s Message: Reckoning cooperative values with market-based incentive systems in our collective shift away from fossil fuels
Rate case, response to net metering issue, new CVFiber column, Coventry update, member cookout Co-op Month: Reckoning individual incentives with cooperative values Steve: October is Co-op Month. When I joined Washington Electric’s Board of Directors and was figuring out my responsibilities, a wise Board member told me, whatever decision we make should be made on the basis of what is …
President’s and General Manager’s Message
WEC’s rate redesign, incentivizing beneficial electrification, now in full effect Co-op continues to support broadband rollout, Community Fund donations, and hosts two member events in September New rate design now in full effect Steve: The final phase of WEC’s rate redesign took effect July 1. According to the Public Utility Commission’s ruling, we’ve been required to implement the changes in …
WEC’s Role In Broadband Deployment Is Changing
By the WEC Board of Directors, ECFiber, CVFiber, NEK Broadband While Washington Electric Cooperative’s member owners will progressively be receiving new access to high-speed broadband over the next few years starting this summer, it will be accomplished without low-interest loans through WEC. The Communications Union Districts (CUDs) expect to receive sufficient grant funding from the federal government, administered by the …
Vermont Sees Influx of Funding for Broadband Rollout
WEC plans a third virtual Annual Meeting; transformer shortage affects PowerShift President’s and General Manager’s Message Broadband rollout Steve: Vermont is experiencing an influx of funding related to high-speed internet. There are many more opportunities for federal funding for broadband through various forms: ARPA [the American Rescue Plan Act], NTIA [National Telecommunications and Information Administration], and the USDA ReConnect program, …
For World-Renowned Marriage Therapists, High Speed Internet Is a Missing Piece of Business Operations
When Israel and Cathie Helfand moved to Cabot in 1997, it was a conscious choice to bring hands-on homesteading into their daily life, and wilderness into their therapy practice. Using the carpentry skills that put Israel through graduate school, they rehabbed a 1845 farmhouse, built trails and gardens, and reintroduced farm animals, creating a space where visitors could decompress. Many …
Board asks membership to support broadband rollout and grid improvements with $36.5 million low-interest loan
by WEC’s Board of Directors WEC’s Board of Directors asks for our members’ support to take out a low-interest $36.5 million federal loan from the USDA’s Rural Utility Service (RUS) program, our primary lender, to build a fiber communication network throughout our service territory. The purpose of this project is to expedite access to high speed broadband service for WEC …