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COM M E NTARY Bending the law for no usable purpose


Chris Meyers General Manager, Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives


he Southwest- ern Power Ad- ministration (SWPA), one of the four Power Marketing Administrations, was established as a part of the Flood Control Act of 1944. Its purpose is to transmit and mar- ket hydroelectricity generated at 24 Corps of Engineers dams to rural electric coopera-


T


tives and municipally owned electric utilities in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Texas and Louisiana.


The SWPA’s purpose and mission is very clear— or at least it has been. Here is where it gets messy—and fi nancially risky


—for SWPA customers. Clean Line Energy Partners is attempting to partner with the SWPA to build two high voltage direct current (HVDC) lines, with each being between 700 and 800 miles long, from points in the west that are rich in renewable energy sources to points east where there are no signifi cant renewable resources. One of those lines will go through Oklahoma. It’s a well-intended plan, and Clean Line has every right to pursue it; however, in my opinion, going through


SWPA is not the right approach—unless the mission and purpose of SWPA is changed by Congress. Clean Line and the Department of Energy are leaning on a section of The Energy Policy Act of 2005. That section of law is referred to as Section 1222. Section 1222 authorizes the SWPA to assist other entities—including for-profi t private corpo- rations such as Clean Line Partners—in construct- ing transmission lines that would improve the electric transmission grid. Sounds like a fi t but it is not. Our national electric grid is made up of high volt-


age alternating current (HVAC) lines and Clean Line is proposing HVDC lines—big difference. HVDC and HVAC are not compatible systems and therefore the HVDC line will not be interconnected with the existing grid except at its point of delivery—in the eastern United States—well outside the footprint of the SWPA. That means there is no direct benefi t to the reliability or capacity of the grid we use here in Oklahoma. If it’s not a usable part of the transmis- sion grid here, how can it be an improvement to the transmission grid?


If the Department of Energy (DOE) is supportive of this project and wants to use the SWPA’s fed- eral rights of eminent domain to get it done, then I suggest it be done by going through Congress and modifying the law to allow it, and to hold harmless the customers of SWPA who have no direct benefi t from this approach. OL


Cooperation among Cooperatives is a good thing for members S


Glenn Propps President,


Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives


ince 2004, at least 12 major hurricanes have hit parts of either the East or Gulf Coasts. The names of these storms are easy to re- member, especially for those who lost a home, business or loved one to their fury: Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne, Dennis, Katrina, Rita, Wilma, Gustav, Ike,


Irene and Sandy. Why do I mention hurricanes? First, because they cause tremendous property damage and have the potential for high loss of life—as we’ve seen most recently with Hurricane Sandy. Secondly, because hurricanes are in many ways like the ice storms that devastate vast areas of the country— including large sections of the electric power grid. And that brings me to the power of coopera-


tion.


When disastrous storms strike, electric coopera- tive line crews spring into action. When a co-op is crippled by an ice storm, scores of other coopera- tives rally to their side through what is known as the “Cooperative Mutual Aid Agreement.”


4 OKLAHOMA LIVING


At its core, the Mutual Aid Agreement is very simple, and can be summed up this way: We’ll help you when your system is down and out, if you’ll agree to help us when ours is also badly damaged. Sound familiar? It’s a lot like the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This ‘ethic of reciprocity’ is the very essence of what cooperation and working together for the common good is all about. And, cooperation among cooperatives is a good thing for the mem- berships of both the cooperative needing help, and those that send help. Why?


When co-ops work together to solve diffi cult issues—be they storm or business related—the benefi ts of cooperation are reaped by all mem- bers. Power can be restored more quickly when everyone lends a hand; savings can be achieved when joint purchasing programs are initiated by multiple co-ops. And, the sharing of technology helps each and every cooperative operate more ef- fectively and effi ciently.


Your local electric cooperative joins a list of nearly a thousand co-ops nationwide in partici- pating in the Mutual Aid Agreement. It’s an as- surance that every effort will be made to restore power as quickly and safely as possible following a disaster.


Cooperation is indeed a good thing—for all of us. OL Follow OKL:


Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives


Chris Meyers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . General Manager Glenn Propps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .President Joe Harris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vice-President Jimmy Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Secretary-Treasurer


Staff


Sid Sperry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Director of PR & Communications sksperry@oaec.coop


Anna Politano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Editor editor@ok-living.coop


Larry Skoch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advertising Manager lskoch@ok-living.coop


Christy Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Offi ce Manager cjohnson@oaec.coop


Kirbi Bailey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Accountant/Offi ce Manager Asst. kbailey@oaec.coop Hayley Imel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Multimedia Specialist himel@ok-living.coop Meg McElhaney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Intern oklintern@gmail.com


Editorial, Advertising and General Offi ces P.O. Box 54309, Oklahoma City, OK 73154-1309 Phone (405) 478-1455 Oklahoma Living online: www.ok-living.coop


Subscriptions


$3.12 per year for rural electric cooperative members. $6.00 per year for non-members.


Cooperative Members:: Report change of ad- dress to your local rural electric cooperative. Non-Cooperative Members: Send address changes to Oklahoma Living, P.O. Box 54309, Oklahoma City, OK 73154-1309.


Oklahoma Living (ISSN 1064-8968), USPS 407-040, is published monthly for consumer-members of Oklahoma’s rural electric cooperatives by the Oklahoma Association of Electric Coopera- tives, 2325 E. I-44 Service Road, P.O. Box 54309, Oklahoma City, OK 73154-1309.


Circulation this issue: 316,241 Periodical postage paid at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.


The Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives is a statewide service organization for the following electric cooperatives: Alfalfa, Arkansas Valley, Caddo, Canadian Valley, Central Rural, Choctaw, Cimarron, Cookson Hills, Cotton, East Central Oklahoma, Harmon, Indian, KAMO Power, Kay, Kiamichi, Kiwash, Lake Region, Northeast Oklahoma, Northfork, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Ozarks, People’s, Red River Valley, Rural, Southeastern, Southwest Rural, Tri-County, Verdigris Valley, and Western Farmers Electric Cooperative.


Audit


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