Regulators’ order requiring a income-qualified reduction system calls into question Co-op’s ability to self-govern WEC’s flood response, outages Louis: Our poles and wires were not too badly affected by the initial storm on July 10 that caused catastrophic statewide flooding. We had about 1,100 members out. We did, however, have a pretty major outage the following Thursday and Friday, July …
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 …
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 …
Manager’s Report: Why Cooperate?
What’s the benefit of public power in our current era? By Louis Porter Most members of Washington Electric Cooperative know why and how electric cooperatives in general, and WEC in particular, came into being. They know the history of rural territories, whose lack of population density and rugged landscapes made electrification difficult, expensive, unprofitable, and therefore unappealing to investor-owned utilities. …
Public Power in the Public Interest
By Louis Porter, General Manager Vermont’s power system is the cleanest in the country, from a carbon perspective. Since Vermont’s Renewable Energy Standard took effect in 2016, utilities have made enormous progress reducing emissions. Public power utilities make sure our power purchases are both environmentally and financially sustainable. Beyond provision of power, our mission includes community and environmental impact. Today, …
WEC’s 2022 Report Card By the Numbers
Service Quality and Reliability Results By Louis Porter Washington Electric Cooperative annually reports to state regulators how well it provided service to its members over the last year. The Service Quality and Reliability Plan, or SQRP, report consists of 12 categories designed to take a snapshot of where we are doing well and where we need to improve. While this …
President’s & General Manager’s Message
Why this was WEC’s most expensive storm ever, and what’s next 40 broken poles, $900,000+ in damages. How WEC plans to respond to members’ needs for the next one Storm recap Steve: As a WEC member and Board member, I want to start by expressing my appreciation for the efforts of all WEC employees in restoring power during this outage. …
Special: Winter Storm Elliott coverage and letter to members from GM Louis Porter
Dear Fellow Members of Washington Electric Cooperative, I want to thank you for your patience during the recent outage, for caring for your neighbors, and for the encouragement and kindness you showed WEC staff. WEC has recovered from experiencing one of its most destructive storms in recent history. At the start of our restoration efforts, 5,700 members were without power …
Concern for community: WEC maintains winter holiday and relief programs during an expensive winter
In 2022, inflation and high fuel costs combine to pose another challenging winter. Households are aware their dollars don’t cover as much. Just as worrying, the nonprofit programs that help people access basic needs – like food shelves and pantries – are finding donations are down, and their buying power is eroded. “From a service delivery standpoint, our first principles …
President’s & General Manager’s Message
Evolution and alignment More on net metering; updates on rate increase, supply chain, and changes to incentive program Time to evolve net metering Steve: We continue to hear from our members in response to our net metering theme issue (September 2022). It’s worth reminding our members that we are not faulting those homeowners who have already chosen to net meter, …