NRECA programs benefit 865 co-ops,
37 million consumers nationwide
ational Rural Electric
Cooperative Association
(NRECA), located in
Arlington, Va., represents
the national interests of
the nation’s more than 900 cooperative
electric utilities and the consumers they
serve. Organized in 1942, NRECA
provides national leadership and member
assistance through legislative representation
before Congress and the
executive branch. It also provides: representation
in legal and regulatory proceedings
affecting electric service and
the environment; communication services;
education and consulting for
cooperative directors, managers and
employees; energy, environmental and
information research and technology;
training and conferences; and health
insurance, retirement benefits and
financial services. Programs are funded
through dues and fees.
NRECA’s member cooperatives
serve 37 million people in 47 states
and 80 percent of the nation’s counties.
Most of the 865 distribution systems
are private, consumer-owned cooperatives,
although some are public power
districts. NRECA membership
includes other organizations formed by
these local utilities: generation and
transmission cooperatives (65);
statewide and regional trade and service
associations; supply and manufacturing
cooperatives; data processing
cooperatives; and employee credit
unions. Associate membership is open
to equipment manufacturers and distributors,
wholesalers, consultants and
other entities that do business with
electric cooperatives.
Two major publications inform and
educate members, decisionmakers and
the interested public: RE Magazine,
published monthly, and Electric Co-op
Today, a weekly newspaper that reports
on activities and issues important to
electric cooperatives and NRECA.
NRECA’s
annual meeting is
one of the largest
national gatherings
of cooperative
and rural
leaders and consumers,
often
attracting more
than 12,000 directors, managers,
employees and cooperative memberowners.
Delegates consider and act on
policy resolutions that guide NRECA’s
issue and organizational agenda, hear
addresses by key public figures and
attend panel sessions on major issues
affecting cooperatives, electric utilities
and their consumer-owners.
Concurrently, the TechAdvantage
Conference and Expo commands more
than 50,000 square feet of exhibit
space, showcasing more than 250 leading-edge suppliers of power production,
information technology, power
delivery, and customer management
products and services.
NRECA and its member cooperatives
administer a program of technical
advice and assistance in developing
countries around the world. NRECA
International Ltd. has helped more than
50 million people in the world’s poorest
countries achieve the economic and
social benefits of reliable, affordable
power by adapting the successful model
of locally owned electric cooperatives.
Programs are designed with close attention
to local demand conditions and use
the most appropriate power generation
methods, including distributed generation
and renewable energy systems. The
NRECA International Foundation,
funded by voluntary contributions,
coordinates the Sister Cooperatives
Program and directs the collection and
shipping of donated equipment and
materials to support overseas projects.
As new demographic and economic
patterns emerge, electric cooperatives’
operations evolve and their needs
become more diverse. NRECA’s legislative,
legal and regulatory agenda
has become more diverse, embracing
hundreds of issues affecting electric
utility generation, transmission and
distribution; energy policy and the
environment; finance and tax matters;
telecommunications; jobs creation;
federal disaster assistance; the cooperative
business model and governance;
and consumer protections.
Efforts in the last two decades to
forge a national energy policy through
legislation in Congress and sweeping
regulatory initiatives at the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC) have the potential to alter radically the relationship between electric
utilities and their consumers. NRECA’s
legislative and regulatory advocacy
efforts focus on controlling costs for
consumers, protecting them against
market power abuse and anti-competitive
behavior, and on preserving member
co-ops’ governance structure by
keeping operational and policy decisions
in the co-op boardroom.
One of the toughest challenges electric
cooperatives face as employers is the
ever-increasing cost of healthcare coverage
for their employees and retirees.
The association’s legislative efforts in
this area focus on employer flexibility,
access to quality programs and providers
and equity for rural Americans.
Education, training and leadership
programs have evolved to focus attention
on the increasing level of public
and policymaker scrutiny of American
business resulting from the latest wave
of illegal activity in the corporate
world. Courses cover director fiduciary
responsibility and conduct; cooperative
business principles and ethics; effective
working relationships between directors,
CEOs, attorneys and auditors;
development of principle-centered
policies; and strategic planning.
The Touchstone Energy®
Cooperatives brand supports the communication
and marketing efforts of
electric cooperatives. Award-winning
materials developed for member systems
help unify advertising, marketing
and community relations activities and
provide a consistent image of electric
cooperatives nationwide.
NRECA also assists its member systems
through community and economic
development support, including a
wide array of resources for financing,
planning, and partnering through public
and private organizations across the
country.
Contact Information: website:
http://www.nreca.coop; Telephone:
703-907-5500; Address: 4301 Wilson
Blvd., Arlington, VA 22203. President:
David J. Cowan, Gettysburg, Pa.;
Chief Executive Officer: Glenn
English.
