CEO Note - Come on out to the Annual Meeting!

Attend the annual meeting to learn more

Each year you will see me encourage our membership to join us at our annual meeting. This year the meeting will be held at the Faith Community Center on Saturday, July 30. I wanted to take a little time this month to talk about the meeting’s significance and the agenda.

I know many of you that take the time to read the Electric Consumer and these articles are already engaged in and understand the cooperative difference. I am hoping this article will reach just a few people that may not have that knowledge and convince them to come out to the meeting.

I talk to a lot of people. In fact my wife just shakes her head a lot. We’ll be at a store or an event somewhere and get separated. When she finds me I am usually talking with someone. As we leave she always asked, ‘Who was that?” My usual reply is, “Oh that was Bob or Melissa, or whoever.” Then she asks where I know the person from and I say, “I know them from right over there in the cereal aisle.”

Some folks recognize me from a picture or seeing me somewhere representing Tipmont. When this happens those conversations almost always consist of my answering a lot of question about the utility business or just listening as people give me their opinion of the utility industry. Most of the time, the topic zeros in on their view of a particular utility company and/or electric rates. Let me address both issues here in the context of the annual meeting.

You do have a voice at Tipmont

First, the general sentiment I hear a lot is that the consumer has no voice. I have to keep this brief for editorial space requirements but let me just say, you do have a voice at Tipmont. I worked for many years in the investor owned utility sector (IOUs). These are for profit companies working to provide a return for their investors. The consumer voice is limited in this setting. You can appeal to the company or to the state regulatory bodies that govern their operation but that is about it. The chance of getting a face to face audience with a company officer or a board member is very slim.

Your cooperative operates under an entirely different business model. It is a not for profit organization. You are an owner. Does that mean you specifically get to do whatever you want and set all the policies? Well, no. However, what it does mean is that the company is governed by a board of directors that you elect to represent your interest. Those directors are members of the cooperative just like you. Any registered member (registered means your name is actually on a Tipmont electric account) can cast a vote to elect a representative from the field of members that have come forth and gone through the petition process to become a candidate. That election is one of the major business functions of the annual meeting.

So, I encourage you to come out to the meeting and cast that vote. It is your chance to have that say. Also, it is your chance to ask the board members, and me, questions face to face. We have a brief question and answer session from the podium but we are there all morning and I usually stick around for a bit afterwards to allow members the chance to have conversation if they want to do so. Like I said earlier, I’ll speak with anyone (and my wife will continue to roll her eyes at me!).

Guest speaker is utility rate expert

As far as rates or pricing for electricity goes, I hope you got to read my January article entitled “The Rate Picture.” We are doing a lot of internal work this year including a cost of service study and a redesign of our rate structures. Our speaker at the meeting will be Doctor Marty Blake. Marty is a principle partner in the group that is helping us work through this process. You will see me do a brief introduction for Marty at the meeting but I will yield my speaking time to him for the most part.

Marty is a utility rate expert. He has worked in the utility industry in the past and served on many committees nationally within the industry. These assignments include a term as a Commissioner and Chairman of the New Mexico Public Service Commission, Chairman of the Western Conference of Public Service Commissioners Electric Committee, and as Chairman of the Committee on Regional Electric Power Cooperation. Marty was also a Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at New Mexico State University and is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Louisville. I want you as a member to have the opportunity to gain knowledge from Marty’s extensive experience. Utility rates are always a hot button issue and hopefully you have read or heard me discuss my concerns with our current rate structure, future pricing, and where we, as a cooperative, need to head to secure reliable electric service for you and financial health for your cooperative. Marty will expand upon my thoughts and help you understand that picture.

Hope to see you Saturday, July 30th

In closing, I encourage you to come out and join us at the meeting. It’s only a couple of hours one day a year. We’ll have our linemen back again doing a very interactive live line safety demo. They did this presentation last year and members indicated they really liked it and wanted it back again. So, you got it! If you are a registered member you will get to cast your vote for any candidates that have chose to run for a director position and you’ll get the chance to talk to your board members and me face to face if you so desire. I hope to see you there! However, if you can’t make it that day, I am always available in the cereal aisle of your local grocery store!