CEO’s Message – November 2023

As we settle into the final 2 months of the year, a time traditionally filled with thankfulness, celebration and reflection, I am very thankful that at Columbia REA (Rural Electric Association) we can engage in each of these Holiday pastimes and feel good about where we are as a company, a community, and a family.

We are in this fortunate position because of our great staff; you, our members; and our extended network of co-op family and friends. Everyone involved has a hand in the success of Columbia REA, but it’s that last group I’d like to recognize today.

Columbia REA is a small co-op in a very big industry. The electric grid connects all of us. It takes a lot of people, some of them far removed from Columbia REA, to keep the electricity flowing efficiently.

I just returned from meetings with Northwest Requirements Utilities (NRU). NRU is an advocacy organization that represents 58 members across 7 states, all of whom purchase electricity from BPA. We are currently in the middle of negotiations with BPA on our new power purchase contract. When NRU sits at the negotiating table on behalf of its coalition of members, they represent the single largest group of purchasers (by load) that BPA serves; more than Seattle, Tacoma and Snohomish County combined. There is strength in those numbers.

Columbia REA is also part of the Public Power Council (PPC), a coalition of more than 80 member-owned, municipal, and publicly owned utilities who face many of the same industry and legislative challenges. The PPC lobbies at the State and Federal level for issues that are integral to the success of public power providers in our region. Specifically, the PPC has been a great partner in the ongoing effort to keep the Federal Power System, specifically the Snake River dams, intact.

The last 2 friends I would like to thank are the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), and the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation, or CFC. Put simply, CFC is our bank. They are also a co-op, like us. They help us with our financial planning, and they are available to partner with our accounting staff on specialized training. They are a financial lifeline in case of natural disaster or other unforeseen financial burden. And they are a co-op that serves other co-ops, so they understand the needs and challenges that are unique to the electric co-op utility business.

NRECA represents co-ops and other agencies from a marketing and member services perspective. As “the National Voice of America’s Electric Co-ops,” their mission is to empower rural electric co-ops across the country by educating and engaging policymakers and other stakeholders on the co-op business model, and promoting the value of rural co-ops as leaders in the transition to a clean energy economy.

These are just a few branches of our extended co-op family tree, and we are thankful for all of them. This is an interesting time to be in the energy business, and I am looking forward to working with all of our colleagues, partners, friends, and you, our members, to ensure a bright future for Columbia REA.

Best,
Scott Peters, CEO