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 …
President’s Message: Variability and our renewable energy future
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 …
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. …
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, …
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 Welcomes New Leadership, Looks Ahead to Grid Updates
Seasonal right-of-way clearing underway to support reliability, broadband rollout, and advanced metering infrastructure Election results; welcome new Directors Steve: We had an unusual number of candidates running for election in 2022, so that’s a good sign that people are interested in serving their community and spending time on the Board. Something else that’s unusual, in my experience, is we had …
Counting Ballots and Marking Changes at WEC’s 2022 Annual Meeting
Typically, at WEC’s Annual Meetings, there is little drawn-out suspense regarding the results of the Board of Directors election. That’s true even in years when the Annual Meeting is held in-person, when the ballot box remains open during a community dinner. The quorum is established and votes are counted quickly, and results are announced shortly after the Board President opens …
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