Rural Electric: POWER TO THE PEOPLE

NEW RESOURCE EMPOWERS AMERICA’S 40 MILLION+ ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE MEMBER-OWNERS   We shouldn’t take our power for granted.  At the start of the Great Depression, 90% of rural households lacked access to electricity. For most private companies there wasn’t “enough” money to be made supplying electricity to remote places. GET THE TOOLKIT Enter: Rural Electric Cooperatives (REC). Thanks to public investment and New Deal programs like the Rural Utilities Service, electric cooperatives sprung up all over rural America. Today there are more than 850 cooperatives in 47 states providing service to 56 percent of the nation’s landmass, from the bustling suburbs in Austin to rural farming communities in Eastern Kentucky. Founded on the cooperative principle of democratic member control, REC customers are also member-owners of the business. This innovative structure is a huge strength. By replacing private shareholders with cooperative members, the need for massive profits takes a back seat to the needs of the community (and the planet). At the same time, RECs aren’t perfect and that’s part of the story too. Many RECs have excluded black and indigenous communities they served and perpetuated leadership that doesn’t represent or engage their membership. However, by giving members a voice in how the business is run, RECs have the potential to transcend their historical roots, meet their community’s needs and be more than just energy companies. They can be leaders in renewable energy development. They can be internet service providers. They can mobilize investment as part of a Green New Deal just as they did during the New Deal era. They can invest in revitalization and infrastructure projects, and anything else their members decide they need. Here are some examples of what's possible and happening right now: Roanoke Electric Cooperative in North Carolina: Nearly 50 years of active engagement and organizing by majority Black membership has resulted in one of the most inclusive and impactful RECs in the country, one that is explicitly committed to creating a customer-centric utility of the future. Pedernales Cooperative in Texas: member-owners of the largest REC in the US overturned corruption and reformed their co-op; which still faces attacks against fossil-fuel-backed interests. Ouachita Electric Cooperative in Camden, Arkansas: Success at this REC includes offering broadband, energy efficiency, and solar. Quote from Mark Cayce, CEO: It seems counterproductive; why would any utility supplier want to sell energy at a lower price and decrease their profit? “Well,” says Cayce, “We’re in the business of serving our members, not selling electricity.” Today we’re launching the Rural Electric Cooperative Toolkit, a resource for the over 40 million electric cooperative members in America. Created by a group of organizations convened by the New Economy Coalition, the toolkit aims to support co-op members who want to get more involved in their RECs. The toolkit is arranged in four different sections and includes beginner resources for those brand new to RECs, success stories and case studies, as well as mapping and popular education tools for those ready to get to work and organize their REC. It’s a living and breathing resource, so please email Liz@WeOwn.It to add or update to it! We’re not taking our power for granted. We’re getting organized. Check out the Rural Electric Cooperative Toolkit and spread the word to bring #PowertothePeople! New Economy Coalition PS. Special shout out to the NEC members who made this toolkit happen: Clean Energy Works, We Own It, MACED, CURE and the entire dedicated team! PPS. Want to spread the word? Amplify this tweet and share across your social networks! Get the toolkit »

Kansas News Service, August 2, 2019

State line blues It’s fair for much of Kansas to watch the news out of Johnson County with a little resentment. All those people, all that wealth, all that resulting power tucked into the suburban eastern edge of the state. But ignore what’s happening in that vast sprawl of beige homes, clogged highways and character-free strip malls, and you risk missing out on developments that can ripple out across Kansas. Consider first, the ongoing bidding war tugging businesses to one side or the other of the Kansas-Missouri line. There’s fresh talk of a truce, a promise not to toss out tax breaks to firms just for moving a few miles east or west. Missouri lawmakers have passed a measure that aims to cut off tax incentives for cross-border moves in the Kansas City area. On Friday, Gov. Laura Kelly joined Kansas in the peace talks with an executive order. But it’ll be easy and oh-so-tempting to bust any compact the next time a sizable employer comes asking for a tax break. Meanwhile, Johnson County’s also Ground Zero for big box stores challenginghow to value their property for tax purposes — arguing their assessmentsshould consider the worth of an empty building, not a bustling business. That could have ramifications across the state, effectively shrinking tax bases across the state for cities, schools, libraries and a host of other local jurisdictions. Chip away enough at a local tax base and pressure will mount for the state to help out. Toss around enough state tax abatements in a border war, and Topeka will be less able to come up with the money. So abhor or adore Johnson County. Just watch what’s going on there. — Scott Canon, Kansas News Service managing editor

"The hemp industry is like the Wild West and Wall Street had a baby." — Chris Brunin of Quiet Trees, a Lawrence-based CBD company

A green line Kansas legalized CBD, the cannabis extract without the marijuana high, last summer. That’s brought a fast-growing industry to strip malls and grocery shelves across the state. It’s also introduced Kansas to products that can offer less CBD than advertised, ones that contain heavy metals and butane, or ones that make you fail drug tests. And marketing claims regularly go well beyond CBD’s proven medicinal powers. It’s confusing. Buyers should approach mindfully, and carefully. Catch up here.

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In line for help Much of what domestic violence shelters in Kansas offer is a haven during crises, a safe place for women and their children. Now a pilot program tests the power for something more — adult mentors striving to bring a respite of fun to older kids and teenagers at some of the worst moments in their lives. The program, called Empowered Families Kansas Project, serves older kids and teens suffering violence at the hands of their parents or people they’re dating. It’s in its early stages and scattered just a few places across the state. But the people behind it hope it might get bigger and bring some joy into lives tossed into chaos. Read about it.

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Coming down the line Where would we be if we couldn’t stream movies or music? Far-eastern Kansas counties and a broad swath of western Kansas. The newly released statewide broadband map shows in greater detail than ever before where 3.5% of Kansas residents don’t have adequate access to the internet. You can even search by your address … if you have internet, that is. Telecom experts know it’s expensive to get service out to those areas, but advocates say it’s crucial to make up for the gap that’s been left in the wake of rural hospitals closing. Are you connected?

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