Retrain your brain to be careful around electricity
By Paul Wesslund
FAMOUS LAST WORDS: “IT’LL BE ALL RIGHT.” OR, “I KNOW WHAT I’M DOING.” You know that something bad can follow either of those ominous beginnings. The bad things that could happen are at the top of the mind of electric co-op workers all across the state.
They know electricity can be dangerous enough to injure or kill. And you know that, too. But accidents still happen.
The goal of this story is to make fewer of those accidents happen, and maybe even save your life or the life of someone in your family.
One way to start telling this story is to listen to Clarence Greene. As the director of Safety and Loss Prevention for the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives, he and his team—safety instructors Kendall Bush, Robert Thornton, and Charlie Lewis—spend every day thinking about how to keep people safe around electricity. Greene has heard comments like the ones above, and he’s familiar with the sometimes-fatal result when people take safety shortcuts.
“People feel like they want to accomplish things. They don’t want to ask for help,” says Greene. “We all want to save time and money. We’ve got the attitude, ‘It can’t happen to me.’”
“False sense of security”
So why does our brain think accidents only happen to other people?
“There’s a psychological term for that,” says Dr. Sarah Shelton, licensed clinical psychologist and president-elect of the Kentucky Psychological Association. “It’s called ‘optimism bias.’ We see ourselves as special. Statistics don’t apply to us.”
Dr. Shelton, who practices in several cities across Kentucky, says our brains get lulled into taking electric safety for granted because we’re around it all the time.
“We handle plugs every day with no adverse effect,” she says. “It gives us a false sense of security.”
Dr. Shelton also blames the fast-paced world of smartphones and constant, multiple demands for our attention.
“We live in an overstimulated society with sensory overload,” she says. “Our brains are doing more than they can handle almost all the time.”
Part of that information barrage puts us in danger by trying to convince us we can do anything.
“YouTube videos take on the image of credibility and convince us we can do anything from baking cookies to changing oil to performing a triple coronary bypass,” says Dr. Shelton, maybe only half-kidding about the bypass surgery. “This can give us a false confidence in our own abilities. Saving a few dollars can be very alluring and being good stewards of our possessions can be a noble thing, but it can work against you in risks and safety.”
The next safety revolution
Steve Casner would agree we’re too distracted to be safe. He’s a research psychologist who just published Careful: A User’s Guide to Our Injury-Prone Minds. In that book he cites a 100-year trend of declining unintentional injury deaths in the United States. At least it was declining until 1992, when the rate of fatal injuries leveled off and then started to increase, setting us back to where we were 30 years ago.
Like Dr. Shelton, Casner blames the do-it-yourself movement and innovations that give us complicated gadgets to fool with while we drive faster cars. Casner says we’ve made ourselves safer with changes like seat belts and child-proof medicine caps, but he adds that further improvement calls for a new approach.
“We have wrung all the big gains we’re going to get from putting rubber corners on stuff,” Casner writes. “The next safety revolution is going to have to happen in our own minds.”
And we can change our own minds, says Dr. Shelton: “You can retrain your brain so you have good habits instead of bad habits.”
To do that, she says, take a lesson from airline pilots, who stay safe by following a rigid checklist.
A good personal checklist, Dr. Shelton recommends, uses the initials SEA—Stop, Evaluate, Act.
“It’s important to stop, slow down, and be aware of our surroundings,” she says, “and then to act—avoid the temptation to reach for the phone when you’re driving or on top of a ladder. Learn to ask yourself, ‘Is this worth my life?’”
KAEC safety director Clarence Greene, whose quotes started this story, provides a fitting finish with his top three important safety tips:
“No. 1, stay away from power lines. No. 2, stay away from power lines. No. 3, stay away from power lines.”
Kentucky voters aren’t the only ones facing a critical decision. The next governor must decide how to confront controversial EPA regulations.
With Kentucky’s future electric rates hanging in the balance, opposing candidates for governor share a common suggestion, that the state’s electricity providers should resist crafting a plan to comply with the stricter than expected final rule of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan.
“I don’t think you ought to start developing a plan,” Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway (D) said during a gubernatorial debate before the 52-member board of the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives (KAEC) in Louisville.
“I would instruct you not to comply,” agreed businessman Matt Bevin (R). “Because, as a state, we will not comply. As governor, I will not submit that plan, and I will have your back on that.”
At the September 22 debate, both Bevin and Conway recognized the importance of Kentucky’s electric cooperatives in the lives of the approximately 1.7 million people they serve, stressing the legacy of reliable and affordable electricity, especially in rural areas dealing with poor economic conditions.
The EPA’s final rule to limit carbon emissions across the United States shocked Kentucky energy officials when it was announced in August because it requires a much steeper reduction of CO2 emissions than the original plan.
The Clean Power Plan calls for a 32 percent reduction in carbon emissions nationwide by 2030. The plan’s final rule calls for Kentucky to reduce its carbon emissions by 41 percent by that same deadline.
“The new limits in the plan are impossible to achieve with our current fleet of generators,” says KAEC President and CEO Chris Perry. “The time frame is inconsistent with time needed to build alternative sources. This makes the potential great for increased costs and potential reliability problems.”
MAJOR DECISION
How Kentucky chooses to react to the EPA mandate is one of the first major decisions facing the next governor of Kentucky, who will take office on December 8.
If a state fails to file a state implementation plan, it becomes subject to a federal implementation plan. Losing control of implementation is a concern to power generating cooperatives, such as East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) in Winchester. During the debate, EKPC President and CEO Tony Campbell reminded the candidates of what’s at stake in the EPA debate.
“I think it is conceivable that we could see a doubling of rates” by 2030, Campbell told the candidates, “especially with natural gas prices moving upward. Are you going to put an order out for us not to comply? Because we’re going to have to comply with one or the other if it’s a federal law.”
“We do not need to comply with the regulatory suggestions from unelected bodies,” Bevin says. “There is no legally binding mandate, none whatsoever, from the EPA that forces us as a state or you ultimately as individual cooperatives to comply, and I will have your back on that.”
Conway has sued the EPA as Kentucky’s attorney general, but a federal appeals court rejected Kentucky’s request for a preliminary injunction against the Clean Power Plan because the final rule has not yet been published in the Federal Register.
“The D.C. Circuit (Court), I think, is very sympathetic to our arguments,” Conway says. “So as soon as that thing is published, I as attorney general or I as governor, will sue, along with other states, to get an injunction in place, to stay the implementation of that, pending the outcome on the merits of this case.”
Campbell believes Kentucky’s energy regulators should begin developing a plan with input from Kentucky’s electric utilities.
“It is wise to have that plan as an option,” Campbell says. “Ultimately, it will be up to the governor’s administration to decide whether to submit that plan.”
“I would tell you, no, do not begin planning for that,” Conway says, “because I think we’re going to win this case. I think it’s pretty clear that the Environmental Protection Agency hasn’t followed its own governing statutes. I mean, they are reregulating carbon several times under several sections of the Clean Air Act.
“They haven’t released their science,” Conway says. “They haven’t done a cost-benefit analysis, which the MATS case that we just won at the Supreme Court, tells us they have to do.”
COURT CASE
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics (MATS) regulation, ruling that the EPA had not taken the costs to utility companies into consideration when it formulated the rule.
Because electric utilities need to make long-term decisions based on the best available information, the invalidation of the MATS regulation came only after the utilities began taking action to comply with it.
“We had a victory,” Conway says, “but it resulted in about 18 percent of coal-fired generation being retired in trying to comply with a rule that wasn’t legitimate in the first place.”
Bevin says he is prepared to join the attorneys general and governors in 26 other states refusing to submit state implementation plans.
“I know you’re concerned about the fact that while they’ve said that if we don’t submit a plan, they’ll submit one for us, and that may be more onerous on some of you, than the alternative,” Bevin acknowledges. “And I appreciate that, and so we’ll have open dialogue about this. We’ll have a conversation about this. But I think it would be a mistake.”
CANDIDATES SPAR
Though Bevin and Conway appear to be in agreement on Kentucky’s next move, the candidates sparred at the debate about each other’s abilities and commitment to deal with the issue. Bevin alleged that Conway has a spotty record on energy issues, citing the Sierra Club’s support for Conway in a prior congressional race.
“Truth is, we’re very different people,” Bevin says. “I will stand on our autonomy. I will stand as somebody who has the authority as a governor to be the last line of defense.”
Bevin warns that rates will increase “catastrophically” without action.
“It’s going to come back on you,” Bevin says. “Your customers will be outraged at the 20-, 30-, 50-, 100-percent increases, and ultimately, that is not acceptable.”
Conway disputed Bevin’s charge that he once favored “cap and trade” legislation to limit carbon emissions and argued that he is better equipped and experienced to handle the challenges ahead.
“I have stood up, I’ve taken on my own party,” Conway says. “I’ve put people over politics, I’ve put Kentucky first. And I am going to do everything I can to stop the Clean Power Plan because I think it hurts Kentucky. I’m going to see this lawsuit through to the end as attorney general and as your next governor. We will not be submitting a plan to the EPA while we do not think that this rule is legitimate. End of story.”
INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE
Independent gubernatorial candidate Drew Curtis was not a part of the KAEC debate, but a statement released on his campaign Web site indicates support for both the Clean Power Plan and Kentucky providing an implementation plan.
“Unless we do provide one, the EPA takes over and there is no recourse later to provide a state plan,” Curtis says in his statement. “As governor I’d prefer to retain control of this program, so we must provide a plan to the EPA for Kentucky to implement the Clean Power Plan.”
ECONOMY
Both Bevin and Conway say the state needs to change its tax structure, including phasing out the inventory tax, yet they differ on the current shape of the rural economy under current Governor Steve Beshear.
“Kentucky’s doing pretty well right now,” Conway says, explaining that his administration’s Economic Development Cabinet would have the right priorities and use tax incentives to create jobs.
Conway also reiterated support for the Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) initiative to boost eastern Kentucky, taking advantage of public-private partnerships to deliver broadband access.
Bevin argued for fundamental changes.
“We have got to be serious about why we are being held back,” Bevin says. “We must pass Right to Work legislation. It has to happen. This is no longer an option.”
Bevin also says Beshear’s expansion of Medicaid is unsustainable and comes at a price that taxpayers “cannot bear.”
EDUCATION
Both candidates told the KAEC board that Kentucky’s community and technical schools need to meet the needs of employers.
“If we want certain outcomes, we need to incentivize those outcomes,” Bevin says.
Conway says early childhood education would be a major focus of his administration.
“We have too many kids in rural areas in single-parent families that aren’t getting exposed to the tools they need at the tenderest ages to make certain they learn,” Conway says. “And that’s how you break the cycle of poverty.”
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Bill Prather, president and CEO of Farmers Rural Electric Cooperative in Glasgow, told the candidates about a lack of available workers in some parts of Kentucky, explaining that people are opting to collect state and federal benefits rather than enter the workforce.
“There should not be a working age, able-bodied childless man or woman in this state receiving benefits from this state,” Bevin says. “Period.”
Conway says Kentucky needs to “re-engineer the way the Workforce Development Cabinet does business,” and to coach high school students to prepare for jobs of the future.
PENSION SYSTEM
Responding to concerns by board member Linda West of Salt River Electric Cooperative, headquartered in Bardstown, the candidates disagree on the best course of action to rescue Kentucky’s imperiled pension systems for retired state workers and teachers.
“It is impossible to maintain as a defined benefit program,” Bevin says. “We’ve got to move to a defined contribution plan for all people who are not currently in the plan.”
Conway countered that Kentucky has largely adopted recommendations by the Pew Foundation to address pension shortfalls.
“It’s going to take a decade and a half of sound budgeting principles to get it out (of debt),” Conway says, adding that he is committed to fully funding future pension obligations in each Kentucky budget, and finding a dedicated stream of revenue to dedicate to pension obligations.
MOVING FORWARD
“We are encouraged they understand the importance of rural Kentucky and the importance of having affordable energy to drive job growth in the future,” says Perry. “It’s critical that the next governor understands the challenges faced by the utility industry.” KL
Joe Arnold is KAEC’s Vice President of Strategic Communications. He joins KAEC after 20 years in television news and radio.
To better gain attention for communities located primarily in rural Kentucky, the co-ops have developed ground-breaking tools to showcase Kentucky’s resources to industries looking to expand or relocate.
In particular, the IEDC award singled out PowerMap featuring StateBook and PowerVision, a project that combines GPS mapping with StateBook’s economic development database and drone-captured video and data to make Kentucky’s sites highly visible and accessible around the globe. And it’s all contained in applications for handheld devices.
“Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives have been on the cutting edge of using technology to spur economic development and it has dramatically increased our activity,” said Brad Thomas, Associate Manager of Economic Development for the co-ops.
Since the beginning of 2015, 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.
“Those jobs and investment are making a positive difference for many communities across Kentucky,” Hitch said.
In addition, developing the online tools has involved two Kentucky-based firms, Interapt and Qk4.
Interapt developed the PowerMap application and even used computer coders from its Eastern Kentucky training program, which Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives helped to start.
Qk4 applied its unique abilities in combining engineering and drone technologies to help develop the PowerVision application.
Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives include 17 not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperatives that serve more than 1 million Kentucky residents across 87 Kentucky counties. They include:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (September 15, 2017) – Kentucky electric cooperative crews providing mutual aid in Georgia can see the light at the end of Irma.
Five days after Hurricane Irma knocked out power to more than 550,000 electric cooperative customers in Georgia, co-op crews are working on the final six percent without power, about 34,000 co-op members.
More than 150 linemen from 19 Kentucky electric cooperatives have joined 4,350 linemen and hundreds of support personnel from 14 other states to assist in Georgia.
Unlike any storm in recent memory, Irma caused damage to all 41 EMCs in every region of Georgia. Crews have encountered a number of challenges making for a difficult and time-intensive restoration process:
Repairs were delayed in some cases until severe winds moved through and it was safe for employees to resume work.
Outages have been located in many areas that were inaccessible due to standing water and roads blocked by fallen trees and other debris.
Crews have been cutting their way into many areas before repairs begin.
Workers have been replacing record-numbers of broken power poles (surpassing previous records at many EMCs). Pole replacements are notoriously time- and labor intensive—one pole replacement can take as much as four hours.
Crews have been working in unusually wet conditions, making it tough on employees, trucks and equipment.
Through careful coordination with co-op officials in the region, including the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives, the linemen from electric cooperatives across Kentucky are assigned to individual Georgia co-ops who have requested their assistance.
In addition to co-op employees, Kentucky co-ops released line construction and right-of-way contract crews to respond to both Irma and Hurricane Harvey.
The top priority of each local Kentucky co-op is service to its own member-owners. Before committing resources to mutual aid requests, each co-op ensures it has ample crews available for all local needs, including routine maintenance and emergencies.
Because the national network of transmission and distribution infrastructure owned by electric cooperatives has been built to federal standards, line crews from any co-op in America can arrive on the scene ready to provide emergency support, secure in their knowledge of the system’s engineering.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (September 12, 2017) – Crews from eight more Kentucky electric cooperatives are headed to Georgia on Tuesday to help with power restoration after Hurricane Irma.
In one of the largest mutual aid deployments in Kentucky history, 131 linemen and other crews from 17 Kentucky electric cooperatives are now deployed to Georgia after hurricane-force winds toppled trees onto power lines, causing numerous power outages. Additional Kentucky co-ops have also volunteered to send crews and are awaiting assignment.
As of 4pm Tuesday, 330,000 electric co-op members in Georgia were without power, down from more than 537,000 when Hurricane Irma’s strong winds and heavy rain toppled trees and power lines on Monday.
“Going into an area with widespread storm damage is one of the most dangerous things you can do as a lineman, but also one of the most rewarding,” said Calvin Larkins, West Kentucky RECC construction manager and a veteran of numerous storm deployments.
WKRECC sent nine people along with two bucket trucks, two digger trucks to set poles, and a couple of pickups towing ATV’s for areas that are hard to reach by truck. Crews already working in Georgia have encountered very challenging conditions.
Through careful coordination with co-op officials in the region, including the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives, the linemen from electric cooperatives across Kentucky are assigned to individual Georgia co-ops who have requested their assistance.
Last year, KAEC coordinated the deployment of 143 linemen for Hurricane Matthew recovery, the most ever. In 2005, 120 Kentucky co-op linemen responded to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
In addition to co-op employees, Kentucky co-ops had already released line construction and right-of-way contract crews to respond to Hurricane Harvey.
The top priority of each local Kentucky co-op is service to its own member-owners. Before committing resources to mutual aid requests, each co-op ensures it has ample crews available for all local needs, including routine maintenance and emergencies.
Latest deployments:
Two crews (10 Line Technicians) from Pennyrile Electric, based in Hopkinsville, plus a six-man crew from Clark Energy in Winchester are traveling to Vienna, Georgia to assist Middle Georgia EMC, a cooperative serving over 8,000 members within a six county service area.
“As a cooperative that has requested help after natural disasters in previous years, we are glad to be able to provide assistance to the people affected by the devastation of Hurricane Irma,” said Pennyrile Electric President & CEO, Greg Grissom. “As we continue to keep the victims of both hurricanes, Harvey and Irma, in our thoughts and prayers, our focus is to assist with power restoration with safety our top priority.”
Crews from three electric cooperatives departed Kentucky on Tuesday, bound for Oconee EMC which serves 8,000 co-op members in central Georgia. Grayson RECC, Licking Valley RECC, based in West Liberty, and Farmers RECC, based in Glasgow all sent crews to Oconee.
West Kentucky RECC crews in Mayfield and crews from Cumberland Valley Electric, based in Gray also left Kentucky on Tuesday to assist Planters EMC members in a seven-county territory in southeastern Georgia.
“Serving our own members is always our first priority, but as a cooperative, we are strongly committed to helping others,” said David Smart, West Kentucky Rural Electric President & CEO. “Please keep the families affected by this storm in your thoughts and prayers along with the first responders and the thousands of linemen who are going in to help restore power.”
Bluegrass Energy in Nicholasville is sending eight linemen, two crews of four, to Central Georgia Electric Membership Corporation. Three crews from Kenergy Corporation, based in Owensboro, are also assisting Central Georgia EMC, which serves 54,000 billed accounts in 14 counties.
Jackson Energy in McKee, Kentucky has deployed 13 employees to Georgia to assist in power restoration after Hurricane Irma. 12 linemen and a mechanic are helping Coweta-Fayette EMC.
Two crews from Salt River Electric, based in Bardstown, are helping co-op members at Flint Energies, which serves 17 central Georgia counties.
Three crews each from Owen Electric and South Kentucky RECC are assisting Coastal Electric Cooperative which serves roughly 573 square miles with 1,491 miles of line in three counties on the Atlantic Coast.
After initially helping Carroll EMC, west of Atlanta, crews from both Jackson Purchase Energy, based in Paducah and Meade County RECC are now helping restore power to Snapping Shoals EMC, which serves 95,000 members in an eight-county area southeast of Atlanta.
Three crews from Kenergy Corporation, based in Owensboro, are assisting Central Georgia Electric Membership Corporation, which serves 54,000 billed accounts in 14 counties.
Three crews from Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative, based in Elizabethtown, are deployed to Excelsior EMC, which serves eight counties in southeast Georgia.
Georgia’s 41 co-ops serve 73% of the state’s land area in 157 of 159 counties, 4.4 million of the state’s 10 million residents, operating the largest distribution network in the state with 188,099 miles of line.
Every co-op has an emergency plan, and part of that planning includes what is both a unique and an effective approach to emergency management and disaster recovery: mutual assistance. When disaster strikes, co-ops quickly deploy support staff and equipment to emergency and recovery zones to help sister co-ops restore power.
Because the national network of transmission and distribution infrastructure owned by electric cooperatives has been built to federal standards, line crews from any co-op in America can arrive on the scene ready to provide emergency support, secure in their knowledge of the system’s engineering.
“We ask all of Kentucky to pray for the safety of these dedicated co-op employees and the people they are going to serve,” said Chris Perry, president and CEO of Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives. “Our co-op model serves us well all year long, and especially when our brothers and sisters need help.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (September 11, 2017) – In one of the largest mutual aid deployments in Kentucky history, more than 100 linemen and other crews from 11 Kentucky electric cooperatives are now deployed to Georgia after hurricane-force winds toppled trees onto power lines, causing numerous power outages.
As of 6pm Monday, Hurricane Irma’s strong winds and heavy rain has knocked out power to more than 504,000 co-op members in Georgia.
Through careful coordination with co-op officials in the region, including the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives, 103 linemen from electric cooperatives across Kentucky are assigned to individual Georgia co-ops who have requested their assistance. Additional Kentucky co-ops have also volunteered to send crews and are awaiting assignment.
Last year, KAEC coordinated the deployment of 143 linemen for Hurricane Matthew recovery, the most ever. In 2005, 120 Kentucky co-op linemen responded to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
In addition to co-op employees, Kentucky co-ops had already released line construction and right-of-way contract crews to respond to Hurricane Harvey.
The top priority of each local Kentucky co-op is service to its own member-owners. Before committing resources to mutual aid requests, each co-op ensures it has ample crews available for all local needs, including routine maintenance and emergencies. In addition, Kentucky co-ops are closely monitoring the projected path of Hurricane Irma to assess whether it will affect co-op territory, here.
Jackson Energy in McKee, Kentucky has deployed 13 employees to Georgia to assist in power restoration after Hurricane Irma. 12 linemen and a mechanic are helping Coweta-Fayette EMC.
Bluegrass Energy in Nicholasville is sending eight linemen, two crews of four, to Central Georgia Electric Membership Corporation. Three crews from Kenergy Corporation, based in Owensboro, are also assisting Central Georgia EMC, which serves 54,000 billed accounts in 14 counties.
West Kentucky RECC crews in Mayfield and crews from Cumberland Valley Electric, based in Gray are helping Planters EMC members in a seven-county territory in southeastern Georgia.
Two crews from Salt River Electric, based in Bardstown, are helping co-op members at Flint Energies, which serves 17 central Georgia counties.
Three crews each from Owen Electric and South Kentucky RECC are assisting Coastal Electric Cooperative which serves roughly 573 square miles with 1,491 miles of line in three counties on the Atlantic Coast.
Crews from Jackson Purchase Energy and Meade County RECC are helping restore power to Carroll EMC, which serves seven counties west of Atlanta.
Three crews from Kenergy Corporation, based in Owensboro, are assisting Central Georgia Electric Membership Corporation, which serves 54,000 billed accounts in 14 counties.
Three crews from Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative, based in Elizabethtown, are deployed to Excelsior EMC, which serves eight counties in southeast Georgia.
Georgia’s 41 co-ops serve 73% of the state’s land area in 157 of 159 counties, 4.4 million of the state’s 10 million residents, operating the largest distribution network in the state with 188,099 miles of line.
Every co-op has an emergency plan, and part of that planning includes what is both a unique and an effective approach to emergency management and disaster recovery: mutual assistance. When disaster strikes, co-ops quickly deploy support staff and equipment to emergency and recovery zones to help sister co-ops restore power.
Because the national network of transmission and distribution infrastructure owned by electric cooperatives has been built to federal standards, line crews from any co-op in America can arrive on the scene ready to provide emergency support, secure in their knowledge of the system’s engineering.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (September 8, 2017) – As the southeastern United States braces for Hurricane Irma, Kentucky’s electric cooperatives are preparing to assist in power restoration efforts.
Between Saturday and Monday, an estimated 80 linemen from eight of Kentucky’s 24 local distribution electric cooperatives are deploying to electric cooperatives in Georgia who have requested help. More crews from other Kentucky cooperatives may also be deployed.
The top priority of each local Kentucky co-op is service to its own member-owners. Before committing resources to mutual aid requests, each co-op ensures it has ample crews available for all local needs, including routine maintenance and emergencies. In addition, Kentucky co-ops are closely monitoring the projected path of Hurricane Irma to assess whether it will potentially bring damaging winds to Kentucky, requiring recovery efforts here.
Kentucky co-ops had already released line construction and right-of-way contract crews to respond to Hurricane Harvey.
In addition, United Utility Supply Cooperative is also responding to Hurricane Irma needs. The Kentucky-based co-op has already shipped three truckloads of electric utility supplies to Alabama and is preparing its storm stockpiles in warehouses in five states.
Every co-op has an emergency plan, and part of that planning includes what is both a unique and an effective approach to emergency management and disaster recovery: mutual assistance. When disaster strikes, co-ops quickly deploy support staff and equipment to emergency and recovery zones to help sister co-ops restore power.
For instance, at the height of the recovery period in Kentucky’s 2009 ice storm, more than 1,100 electric co-op employees from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia assisted with restoration efforts. An equal number of contractor workers were employed. Furthermore, hundreds of additional employees from less-damaged Kentucky electric co-ops and municipal utilities assisted the highly-damaged Kentucky co-ops.
“Cooperation among cooperatives is one of our guiding principles for a good reason: It helps to make everyone’s jobs easier and make their lives better,” says Clarence Greene, director of safety and loss prevention at the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives, the statewide association providing services to each electric cooperative in the state.
Because the national network of transmission and distribution infrastructure owned by electric cooperatives has been built to federal standards, line crews from any co-op in America can arrive on the scene ready to provide emergency support, secure in their knowledge of the system’s engineering.
“We have always felt that what defines a co-op is reliability and family. In every corner of Kentucky we serve, we know our members and take care of them like family, and that expands to national electric cooperatives in times of need,” KAEC President Chris Perry said. “We are eager to help our co-op families in any way we can.
As of midday Friday, the following Kentucky electric cooperatives are planning to deploy linemen and equipment to assist electric cooperatives in Georgia:
Cumberland Valley Electric
Jackson Purchase Energy
Kenergy
Meade Co RECC
Nolin RECC
Owen Electric
South KY RECC
West KY RECC
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About KAEC
Kentucky electric cooperatives serve more than 1.5 million people—about 35% of the state’s population—in 117 of Kentucky’s 120 counties. The Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives provides representation before the Legislature, Congress, and regulatory bodies; safety training; coordination of management training; and public relations support including publication of Kentucky Living magazine. KAEC is governed by a board consisting of one manager and one director from each of its 26 member systems, and is headquartered in Louisville.
South Dakota FEM Electric Association CEO Scott Moore was rummaging through old boxes in his office and came across several worn film canisters. One, in particular, caught his eye: By the People for the People, a single-reel 16-mm print accompanied by a grainy set of instructions identifying it as the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s first film. NRECA is the national association representing more than 900 electric cooperatives in 47 states that help those electric co-ops provide a better quality of life for its member-owners.
By the People for the People was produced around 1955, about a decade after the birth of NRECA. The film highlights the challenges electric co-ops faced in their formative years and the rapid expansion after World War II. It’s a great historical perspective, highlighting some of the issues electric cooperatives face still to this day.
Eighty-three of Kentucky’s best and brightest rising high school seniors descended upon the nation’s capital in June, representing electric cooperatives on the annual Washington Youth Tour, an all-expenses-paid, week-long experience sponsored by participating electric cooperatives.
Allison Wade of Jackson Energy was selected as the Youth Leadership Council representative from Kentucky.
“The Youth Tour was an unbelievable experience that was almost too special for words,” Wade said. “Throughout the Youth Tour, I made memories and friendships that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, and I am beyond grateful to share this experience with other cooperatives across Kentucky.”
En route on two motor coaches, the journey began with visits to the homes of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, followed by more than 40 miles of walking to monuments and museums in Washington, D.C..
“As I was surrounded by incredible people, monuments, history, politicians, and current events, Washington D.C. captured my heart,” said Annah Valenta of Blue Grass Energy. “This trip has helped guide my decision to pursue political journalism, a passion of mine which grew much stronger after my week in D.C.. And it’s all thanks to Blue Grass Energy and KAEC.”
Kentucky’s delegation joined a record crowd of 1,800 students at the NRECA Youth Day, where they heard from speakers who motivate and honor the spirit of electric cooperatives’ commitment to community and the important role of being politically aware and politically active.
“I learned about how the government works and I got to see sights that I could only imagine seeing,” said Walker Hancock of South Kentucky RECC. “It was an honor being able to go on this trip and represent SKRECC.”
The students visited Capitol Hill on the same day as the shooting of Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise and four others at a baseball practice. Despite the incident, Kentucky’s congressional delegation kept their commitment to meet with the students, candidly talking about security concerns and answering a wide variety of questions from the students.
“The week I spent in D.C. was a highlight of my life,” said Evan Morton of Meade County RECC. “I am very thankful for Meade Co RECC, as well as all chaperones and youth tour leaders, that offered me such an incredible experience. I left Washington with many memories and new friends that I’ll never forget.”
Coordinated by the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives, the tour was led by KAEC’s Mary Beth Dennis and 13 chaperones.
“Thanks to Mary Beth and all the folks at KAEC for a wonderful week in Washington D.C.” said Renita Fox, a chaperone from Jackson Energy. “It was an amazing experience and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see these young kids enjoy and have such a good time together.”
Watch the Kentucky Washington Youth Tour 2017 recap video:
Officials from East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) and Bavarian Waste Services today dedicated the expansion of the cooperative’s power plant, which is fueled by methane gas from the landfill.
EKPC’s plant at Bavarian Landfill in Boone County, Ky., is the largest landfill gas power plant in the state. It was EKPC’s first such plant when it began operations in 2003. Today, the cooperative has six landfill gas power plants in Kentucky.
“This power plant at Bavarian Landfill plays an important role in providing safe, reliable, affordable energy for our 16 owner-member cooperatives and more than 1 million Kentuckians served by those co-ops,” said Don Mosier, EKPC’s Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President.
In the past year, the power plant was expanded so it can generate nearly 50 percent more electricity. It can generate enough electricity to power more than 2,700 homes.
“This is resource recovery at its best,” said Jim Brueggemann, President of Bavarian. “It’s not only efficient but clean, and transforms our landfill into an energy factory. As the garbage decomposes we extract the typically undesirable gas for a fuel source that EKPC can use to generate electricity,” Brueggemann explained. “Bavarian has enjoyed an excellent relationship with EKPC through the years, and we’re thankful to be expanding that today.”
By using methane as fuel, the plant prevents the powerful greenhouse gas from escaping into the atmosphere.
EKPC owns and operates five other landfill gas plants in Kentucky. They are located in Barren, Greenup, Hardin, Laurel and Pendleton counties. Together, these plants generate enough electricity to power more than 8,000 Kentucky homes.
