Serving more than 1.5 million people in 117 of 120 Kentucky counties, Kentucky’s member-owned electric cooperatives are committed to improving the quality of life for our members. We encourage Kentuckians to engage with elected leaders and advocate for safe, reliable and affordable electricity.

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National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) CEO Jim Matheson today released the following statement on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) advance notice of proposed rulemaking to replace the Clean Power Plan:

“We are pleased that EPA has taken this necessary step to replace the Clean Power Plan. America’s electric cooperatives support the development of a common-sense, durable policy that is focused on improvements that are specific to each electric-generating unit. This approach is consistent with decades of policy precedent and would produce greater regulatory certainty for electric cooperatives and their members.

“At its core, the regulation should maintain electric reliability and minimize the economic impact on consumers. We look forward to working with EPA on a rulemaking that achieves these critical goals.”

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national service organization that represents the nation’s more than 900 not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide service to 42 million people in 47 states.

Shelby Energy Cooperative and Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives are using high-tech tools to help draw employers to a high-profile Shelbyville, Ky., site.

The 400-acre Norfolk Southern property, located adjacent to Interstate 64 in Shelbyville, is the latest site showcased on www.DataIsPower.org, which features locations available to commercial and industrial businesses looking to expand or relocate. Videos and detailed data about the property appear on the PowerVision page of the web site.

The property features ready accessibility to rail and interstate transportation, as well as the nearby Louisville International Airport and UPS Centennial Hub.

Working closely with Norfolk Southern, which owns the property, the cooperatives used aerial drones to film and digitally map and analyze the land, producing a five-minute flyover video and another video featuring three-dimensional analysis of the site.

“Shelby Energy is always ready to work with our members to bring jobs and investment to our community,” said Debbie Martin, President & CEO of Shelby Energy Cooperative. “We’re excited about the possibilities it offers for the community.”

Jake Weir, Industrial Development Manager for Norfolk Southern, welcomed the cooperatives’ assistance in promoting the site to businesses.

“This project has been a great collaborative effort between all of our organizations,” he said. “This shows there is a high level of cooperation, we’re all pulling in the same direction to bring jobs and investment to Shelby County.”

Rodney Hitch, Economic Development Manager for Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives agreed.

“Thanks to the assistance of all our partners, our cooperatives are putting PowerVision to work marketing this prime property to companies around the globe,” Hitch said. “The DataIsPower.org web site puts extremely detailed information about the tract at the fingertips of site scouts everywhere.”

Data about the property can be downloaded from the web site and plugged into computer-aided design programs. The videos even feature a computer-generated view of how the property could be developed with five commercial/industrial buildings.

“The accessibility of the data is extremely valuable to prospective buyers,” Weir said. “You can download the files from the public web site in a matter of minutes and quickly see the benefits that our property has to offer.”

“It is very exciting to bring technology into marketing these types of properties,” said Libby Adams, Executive Director, Shelby County Industrial & Development Foundation Inc. “Prospects can see the property from anywhere. They can be on the other side of the world and take a look at detailed information.”

To view the online information about the Norfolk Southern property, visit:https://dataispower.org/project/norfolk-southern-site/

About Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives

Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives comprise 16 not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperatives that serve more than 1 million Kentucky residents across 87 Kentucky counties.

They include:

• Big Sandy RECC, Paintsville, Ky.

• Blue Grass Energy, Nicholasville, Ky.

• Clark Energy Cooperative, Winchester, Ky.

• Cumberland Valley Electric, Gray, Ky.

• Farmers RECC, Glasgow, Ky.

• Fleming-Mason Energy, Flemingsburg, Ky.

• Grayson RECC, Grayson, Ky.

• Inter-County Energy Cooperative, Danville, Ky.

• Jackson Energy Cooperative, McKee, Ky.

• Licking Valley RECC, West Liberty, Ky.

• Nolin RECC, Elizabethtown, Ky.

• Owen Electric Cooperative, Owenton, Ky.

• Salt River Electric, Bardstown, Ky.

• Shelby Energy Cooperative, Shelbyville, Ky.

• South Kentucky RECC, Somerset Ky.

• Taylor County RECC, Campbellsville, Ky.

On Wedneday, Nov. 1, Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives dedicated its Cooperative Solar Farm One, a 60-acre solar energy facility located in Clark County, Ky.

“Co-op members have asked our electric cooperatives to provide options for clean, renewable energy. Today, this solar farm officially begins producing energy fueled by the sun,” said Joe Spalding, board chairman of East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC), which will operate the solar farm. He is a member of Inter-County Energy Cooperative.

Members of the 16 electric cooperatives that make up Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives can participate by licensing solar panels. For a one-time payment of $460 per panel, participating members will receive a 25-year license and they will get credit on their monthly power bills for the value of the energy generated by their share of the solar farm.

Cooperative Solar Farm One features 32,300 solar panels capable of producing up to 8.5 megawatts of electricity, enough to provide all the power needs for approximately 1,000 typical homes.

“This is truly a milestone for our electric cooperatives,” said Anthony “Tony” Campbell, President & CEO of EKPC. “This is the beginning of a new era. We are making and delivering energy from the sun. “

To learn more, and to sign up to participate, visit www.CooperativeSolar.com.

FRANKFORT, Ky – Governor Matt Bevin tells Kentucky Living he will call a special session of the Kentucky General Assembly “soon” to vote on his plan to save and overhaul the commonwealth’s beleaguered public pension systems.

“I really want to make sure people have in their hands the actual details they need, the legislators in particular, the people who are voting on it,” Bevin said in an interview at the Governor’s Mansion.

One week ago, Bevin, Senate President Robert Stivers and House Speaker Jeff Hoover unveiled the “Keeping the Promise” plan, which pledges to meet the traditional “defined benefit” obligations owed to current and retired teachers and public servants while creating a “defined contribution” retirement system for future workers.

“We are at the front edge of trying to come up with a solution,” Bevin told Kentucky Living. “And I believe that what we’ve put forward, while it will take 30 years, it will get us out of the other end of the tunnel and it will become a model for other states to follow because they really don’t have an alternative.”

Kentucky’s three major public pension systems — Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS), Teachers’ Retirement System of Kentucky (TRS), and the Kentucky Judicial Form Retirement System (KJFRS) — collectively administer eight distinct retirement plans.

Kentucky’s $64 billion unfunded pension liability ranks as the worst funded system in the nation. Experts cited by the Bevin administration conclude that the Kentucky Employee Retirement System, Non-Hazardous, will run completely out of money by the year 2022 if meaningful pension reform does not occur.

“If we allow that hole to become so deep that we are ultimately forced by some lawsuit to fill it, it will come at the expense of everything else that people want,” Bevin explained, “which is why it has to be addressed before we become in a crisis mode.”

Kentucky’s credit rating is continuously downgraded because of the shortfall, Bevin added, making it more difficult to borrow money and undermining efforts to recruit businesses to Kentucky.

“If this was a private pension plan, the federal government, by IRS statute, by law, would have shut them down years ago,” the governor said. “We are in horrific shape.”

Asked about concerns of teachers and school superintendents about how the pension changes would affect educators and the education system, Bevin insisted there is “very little sacrifice for those in the system.”

“And for those not yet in the system,” Bevin continued, “they shouldn’t have an assumption of what’s going to be available for them.”

“This is a big problem for the entire state,” Bevin said, “and for any one group, any one interest or organization to think that they should be untouched and everyone else should pay the sacrifice, I think is inappropriate.”

The pending pension changes could be a prelude to yet another special session of the legislature to address another pressing issue for Kentucky, tax reform.

“Possibly. We’ll see,” Bevin replied. “If we can’t get tax reform done as part of this budget session, and we may or not be able to, it may or may not make sense, then, yes, I would do another special session to address that because we’ve got to update and modernize our tax code. It’s very antiquated. It’s counter-productive, we exempt more monies than we take in, everybody knows that, as well.”

The governor said he is up for the challenge, and that anyone else in elected office should be, as well.

“I’m at the parade too, but I’m the guy with the shovel behind the elephant,” Bevin said. “While everyone’s enjoying the show, my job and that of our current legislature is to clean up the mess for those that have preceded us. We’re going to clean it up and we’re going to make Kentucky shine.”

Kentucky takes center stage at economic development conference

Like a championship coach opening his playbook for other teams, Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives are sharing the secrets of their economic development success with economic development professionals from across the country at a major conference in Louisville later this month.

“We are helping our communities make the very best impression they can, because it means jobs and investment for Kentucky,” said Rodney Hitch, economic development manager for Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives.

Using ground-breaking tools to showcase Kentucky’s resources to industries looking to expand or relocate, Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives have been involved in economic development projects that resulted in 7,000 jobs and over $2 billion in investment for Kentucky.

Last month, the International Economic Development Council awarded the Kentucky team the Excellence In Economic Development Award for New Media at the organization’s annual conference in Toronto.

“We want to share real world experiences and technologies,” said Brad Thomas, associate manager of economic development.

Thomas is among more than a dozen speakers scheduled to address the EUCI conference October 23-24 in Louisville, Economic Development Best Practices within Electric Cooperative & Municipal Utility Communities.

Other presenters include Statebook International, Powersouth Energy Cooperative, Denton Municipal Electric and more, discussing how to leverage numerous economic development tools. The conference will review rural development programs, and assess how to respond to communities’ demands for efficient and renewable energy and site readiness to help “close the deal.”

“The integrated design of the cooperative and municipal utility business model grants the opportunity for this industry to help better serve the communities for which they provide power,” said Jessica Matson, EUCI Program Manager.

Matson said the conference will showcase modern technologies and innovations available for economic development professionals and utilities looking to increase electric load through attraction of new industrial and commercial activity.

Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives are leading the field by using PowerMap, a first-of-its-kind tool that puts the power of locational knowledge in the hands of economic development professionals. The technology provides detailed cooperative service territory maps, state of the art drone flights to showcase top industrial sites, and economic development data.

More information is available on the EUCI website or at the EUCI office: 303-770-8800.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Crews from Kentucky’s electric cooperatives were among the hurricane relief workers honored by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on the U.S. Senate floor on October 3, 2017.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the need for disaster relief for hurricane victims:

“Last week, Congress passed legislation to reauthorize the FAA including its authority to collect and spend money for repairs and replacement parts for our air traffic control system. I am proud that we worked together to get this bill over the finish line. Now the FAA can continue to play a critical role in the federal government’s response to the powerful hurricanes that have hit our country.

“The president is on his way to Puerto Rico to survey the hurricane damage personally and see how the federal government can continue to assist in the recovery efforts. Our thoughts remain with the hurricane victims as they continue to piece their lives and communities back together. During his visit, the president will have the opportunity to see the resilience of the Puerto Rican people. He can also witness the overwhelming support of their fellow Americans who have volunteered to help deliver relief.

“Much of that support has come from the military – including the men and women of Kentucky’s own Air and Army National Guard, who have helped bring relief to Texas, Florida, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Just last week, the 101st Airborne Combat Aviation Brigade deployed from Fort Campbell in my home state to help support relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

“President Trump will also have the chance to see the groundswell of generosity from our communities. Many donated money, food, or other essentials. Other brave Americans left their homes behind to go to disaster sites to offer aid. I am especially proud to recognize some of the Kentuckians who have volunteered to join the relief efforts in the wake of these storms.

“The Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services selected eight fire departments from around my state to send to Florida to assist local operations after Hurricane Irma. Working 12-hour shifts, these firefighters responded to 9-1-1 calls in Tampa as residents begin to move back into their homes.

“Throughout my state, churches and non-profits sent volunteers to help however they could. One religious organization arranged more than 200 volunteers to help flood victims in Texas and Florida. In all, they served over 78,000 meals, helped with laundry, and distributed many bottles of water.

“The Kentucky Humane Society stepped in to care for pets that were affected, and chapters of the American Red Cross from across the Commonwealth have mobilized to help where needed. The Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives sent dozens of linemen to Georgia to help restore power after Hurricane Irma. The joint effort from 17 of our state’s electric cooperatives represents one of the largest mutual deployments in Kentucky history.

“These Kentuckians – along with so many more – have generously given their time and labor to help their fellow Americans during this time of suffering. And they aren’t alone. Compassionate men and women from around the country have joined the cause to help ease the pain of the victims.

“Along with my colleagues in the Senate, I am committed to continuing to do our part to support relief along with FEMA, the Department of Defense, and the rest of the administration. We will soon receive a supplemental funding request from the administration, and when we do I expect Congress will act quickly to ensure that the men and women providing critical support in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have the resources they need. The Senate will continue to stand with those suffering from these devastating storms.”