Looking out for you, our Mid-South Synergy members, takes a lot of different forms. Sometimes we look out for you by replacing or upgrading the equipment and lines that bring power to you. Sometimes we look out for you by trimming trees so that limbs will not affect power during storms. Sometimes we look out for you by installing state-of-the-art systems that help us make decisions on how to better serve you and keep costs down.
Last week, I was doing my part in our nations capital to look out for you. I met with with Congressional staffs that represent the Mid-South Synergy service territory to discuss cooperative issues regarding the EPA, the Rural Utility Service, and the Power Marketing Administration. Since a portion of our power comes from a hydro-electric plant located on Lake Whitney, I wanted to share a little of those discussions with you and an issue that we are facing.
For more than 70 years, electric cooperatives have had a special relationship with our nation's Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs). This includes the Bonneville Power Administration which markets the electricity generated from federal dams, such as the one at Lake Whitney. As a whole, these dams and the energy they produce serve millions of Americans from the Deep South to the Pacific Northwest. From the beginning, these dams have been of critical importance to the cooperative served communities—providing flood control, recreation, and electric power.
As public works projects, the dams had the benefit of paying for themselves by selling the electricity they generated. This was made possible due to the willingness of local people, through their electric cooperatives and municipal utilities, to pay higher than market rates over a period of time.
Electric cooperatives like Mid-South Synergy exist to provide affordable, reliable electric power and help our members solve their energy needs. However, a proposal by U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu could threaten Mid-South's ability to do this by altering these PMAs. In March 2012, Secretary Chu served notice that PMAs would now serve as laboratories to test various energy alternatives.
Someone has to pay for these “experiments”--electric cooperative members like you, while others would receive the benefits of those experiments without incurring the costs. Your Board of Directors and I at Mid-South Synergy do not believe this is fair. As we look out for you, we are working to ensure that the people that will be benefitting from this new plan will also share in the costs—just as the founders of Mid-South Synergy agreed to do many years ago.
As we work to resolve this matter, I will keep you informed of any changes.