inside your co-op Who to call


at your co-op Kiamichi Electric Cooperative is dedicated to providing excellent service for its members. The following employees are available to help you when you have questions regarding your electric service. Please call 800-888-2731 or 918-465-2338, or email questions to your co-op at support@kiamichielectric.org.


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administration Brett Orme, Chief Executive Officer Linda Baldwin, Executive Assistant


operations Bob Owens, Manager of Operations Tony Nixon, Manager of Construction Kevin Davis, Manager of Engineering


Solar panels soak up the sun at Kiamichi Electric. The 950 panel solar array, located east of co-op headquarters in Wilburton, began generating power on January 1, 2017. At full capacity the array will generate enough to power 25 to 30 homes.


Shining The Light on Solar Power KEC solar farm is part of larger scale project to control rising costs


Durant—and now Wilburton—are home to electric cooperatives with easily viewable solar gardens of 400 panels or more. Kiamichi Electric's 950 panel solar array began generating on January 1, 2017. At full capacity, the panels will produce roughly 418,000 kilowatts per year, or enough to power 25 to 30 homes.


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Kiamichi Electric's array, along with ten other electric co-op solar projects in the state, are part of a large scale solar initiative sponsored by Anardarko-based power supplier Western Farmers Electric Cooperative (WFEC).


WFEC's smaller, community solar arrays of 418 to 950 panels at local electric co-ops offer a combined total energy output of 3.55 megawatts. Larger utility-scale projects


ou could say they set a shining example. Communities such as Kingfisher, Okmulgee, Woodward,


in Tucumcari, New Mexico and in Cyril, Tuttle, Hinton, Marietta and Pine Ridge, Okla. will generate 43 megawatts of power.


69%


of community solar programs in the U.S. are administered by electric cooperatives.


WFEC generates and sells electricity to 22 electric co-ops in Oklahoma and New Mexico. WFEC studies show that power provided by the solar projects can help them reduce their system peak, which is a key factor in what local electric cooperatives pay for wholesale power purchased from WFEC.


WFEC's leap into solar power is not unusual. Electric cooperatives lead the nation when it comes to utility-sponsored solar projects. According to


the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, electric co-ops represent only 26 percent of the nation's electricity providers, yet they account for more than half of U.S. community solar projects.


For more information on KEC's solar array, please call your co-op at 800-888-2731.


office services Crystal Butler, Chief Financial Officer Renae Taylor, Customer Service Supervisor Charlie Watkins, Chief Customer Service Representative Mandi Barnes, Customer Service Representative Rashell Ward, Customer Service Representative Susan Conley, Customer Service Representative Nancy Wiliams, Customer Service Representative Dana Meaders, Customer Service Representative Kimberly West, Customer Service Representative


purchasing Sharla Blackledge, Manager of Procurement


meter services Cindy Cockburn, AMR Systems Coordinator Rick Sheppard, Meter Technician Jakiebeth Ben, Connect-Disconnect Clerk


new services Jodie Miller, New Services Representative Wendy McCarley, New Services Representative


accounting Michael Cawley, Accountant Julie Guazdausky, Assistant Accountant


engineering Allen Littlejohn, Field Staking Technician Chris Alexander, Field Staking Technician


dispatching services Mitch Eacret, Dispatcher Heather Ziverk, Operations & Engineering Clerk


public relations/member relations Todd Minshall, MR-PR Director


Light Post | march - april 2017 | 3


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