Along Those Lines

Latest Episodes:

Advocating for Co-op Priorities in a New Political Landscape Jan 26, 2021

Show notes

With a new Congress and new administration in place, how will electric cooperatives engage with the government on their policy priorities—from the immediate COVID-19 health and economic crises to infrastructure to climate policy? Hear from Stacey Alexander, a former congressional staffer and now a political and policy consultant with the firm Subject Matter, and Louis Finkel, NRECA's senior vice president of government relations.

How Data Is Revolutionizing the Electric Utility Industry Nov 16, 2020

Show notes

The proliferation of sensors and other downline devices means electric cooperatives now have access to mountains of system data. During the 2020 NRECA TechAdvantage Conference and Expo, NRECA's Venkat Banunarayanan and Rappahannock Electric Cooperative's John Hewa discussed how co-ops are using that data to improve reliability, plan for the future and better serve their members. This episode is sponsored by IPKeys.

Heroic Co-op Employees Go Above and Beyond Oct 06, 2020

Show notes

In celebration of National Co-op Month, we talk to electric cooperative employees whose routine workdays turned into lifesaving rescue missions as they came to the aid of community members. Crew members describe rescuing a woman trapped in a flooded creek in Tennessee, pulling two men from a fiery armored truck crash in Missouri, and saving an older resident from his burning Mississippi home.

Hear these stories of co-op heroism from Mollie Ingle and Rick Courtner of Mountain Electric Cooperative in Tennessee, Kurtis Brown of Southwest Electic Co-op in Missouri, and Wade O'Briant of Yazoo Valley Electric Power Association in Mississippi.

This episode is sponsored by Hubbell.

What Is the Beneficial Electrification League? Sep 16, 2020

Show notes

The beneficial electrification movement—using electricity to replace fossil fuels for everything from mowing your lawn to powering your car—has gained momentum and led to the formation of the Beneficial Electrification League. With chapters in states across the country and a national board, the league's mission is to increase understanding of electrification's economic, consumer and environmental benefits. The league's co-chair, Gary Connett, formerly of Great River Energy, and Tri-State G&T CEO Duane Highley, who heads its Colorado chapter, chat with us about their goals for the group and how co-ops are getting involved. This episode is sponsored by NRTC.

How Co-ops Work With Federal Partners to Mitigate Wildfire Risks Aug 06, 2020

Show notes

Wildfires have caused massive destruction in Western states and across the country during recent summers. Electric cooperatives reduce fire risk by maintaining rights of way and keeping equipment up to date, but their efforts are often complicated by the need to coordinate with multiple government agencies that oversee federal lands. We talk to NRECA Regulatory Issues Director Janelle Lemen, Dave Markham, CEO of Central Electric Cooperative in Oregon, and the U.S. Forest Service's Jim Menakis about how these partnerships work and how they plan to make them better.

Engaging Co-op Members in the 2020 Election: Part Two Jul 07, 2020

Show notes

As local and national campaigns gear up across the country, electric cooperatives work to ensure their consumer-members are informed of the issues that matter most to rural communities and have the opportunity to make their voices heard at the polls. In part two, Stephanie Johnson of Jasper County REMC in Indiana describes what these efforts look like on the ground in her rural service territory. This episode is sponsored by Sensus.

Engaging Co-op Members in the 2020 Election: Part One Jul 07, 2020

Show notes

As local and national campaigns gear up across the country, electric cooperatives work to ensure their consumer-members are informed of the issues that matter most to rural communities and have the opportunity to make their voices heard at the polls. In this two-part episode, we talk first to NRECA's Laura Vogel and Nonprofit Vote's Brian Miller about national initiatives and resources for co-ops and possible changes to the election process.

This episode is sponsored by Hubbell.

How Co-ops Come Together to Recover from Storms Jun 09, 2020

Show notes

Electric cooperatives across the South have already seen massive storm damage across their systems, and the 2020 hurricane season is just now getting started. When outages are too much for one co-op to handle, neighboring co-ops from within their state and across state lines are quick to lend a helping hand to get power back up and running quickly and safely. Martha Duggan, who oversees NRECA's state and national coordination initiatives, and Michael Kelley, safety and loss director at the Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives, talk us through how co-op mutual aid is coordinated and what it looks like on the ground, even with the added challenges of a global pandemic. This episode is sponsored by OFS.

Co-op Communications in Times of Crisis May 20, 2020

Show notes

Electric cooperatives, by their very nature, are accustomed to dealing with disruptions large and small. But the landscape for managing crises is changing dramatically. Stephen Bell, NRECA's senior director for media and public relations, and Bill Coletti, CEO of the reputation management firm Kith, talk us through their advice on how to plan for, respond to and recover from events that interrupt our normal course of business.

This episode is sponsored by G&T Communications.

Keeping Crews and Members Safe, Powered and Connected During the Pandemic Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

While many Americans are working remotely to curb the spread of coronavirus, cooperative line crews and broadband technicians are essential workers, keeping members connected to power and internet.

We talk to an expert at Great River Energy, a generation and transmission co-op in Minnesota, about how his co-op is maintaining the electric grid while keeping crews safe and cybersecurity tight. Then we hear from leaders at SEMO Electric Cooperative in Missouri and Jackson Electric Cooperative in Texas about safety measures for staff and meeting the challenge of growing demand for co-op broadband.

This episode is sponsored by Ribbon.

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