Press release
Members of North Central Electric Cooperative can now purchase solar power from the cooperative’s new OurSolar program which was introduced to members at their annual meeting June 13 at the Seneca County Fairgrounds in Tiffin.
Earlier this spring a 50-kilowatt solar array with 152 panels was built behind the cooperative’s offices in Attica. The cooperative is now signing up members to purchase power generated from the panels.
The North Central solar array was built in conjunction with Buckeye Power, the cooperative’s wholesale power supplier. There are 23 sites across Ohio that are in service or will be constructed this year. Collectively, Buckeye Power and it Ohio electric cooperatives will be producing 2 megawatts of power. About five percent of Buckeye Power’s power portfolio is considered renewable energy with solar, wind, hydro and bio-digesters.
“The cooperatives have a belief in an all-of-the-energy-that-makes-sense power supply objective,” North Central General Manager Markus Bryant said at the annual meeting. “We’re mostly coal generation which has been very reliable for many years. We have some gas peaking generation and we’ve done some things with renewables.”
Bryant said, the community solar program gives interested members an affordable way to purchase solar power without having to go to the expense of installing panels on their roof or on their property.
In other news, President Duane Frankart announced that Bryant intends to retire in January 2019 and a nationwide search will be conducted starting in early 2018. Bryant has served as North Central’s general manager since 1998, when the cooperative formed a management and shared services federation with Lorain-Medina Rural Electric Cooperative in Wellington.
Commending Bryant for his leadership, Frankart said, “A lot has been accomplished over the past two decades and it will be critical to find a committed, innovative visionary to lead our two cooperatives. This is a challenge we take seriously, and I assure you, your board is up for the challenge.”
Re-elected to serve three-year terms on the North Central Electric Board of Trustees were Kevin Bishop of Bloomville, Dennis Schindler, Upper Sandusky, and Nick Wagner, Attica. All ran unopposed. Three amendments to the Code of Regulations that dealt with patronage capital credits were overwhelmingly approved by the membership.
Despite heavy rain, about 1,500 attended the annual meeting and Family Fun Day, including nearly 650 members. The event included children rides, bounce houses, a petting zoo, face-painting, electric safety demonstrations and member business displays.
In his annual meeting presentation to the membership, Bryant acknowledged that with the change in presidential administrations “we are pleased that balance appears to be coming back to U.S. energy and environmental policies” with President Donald Trump’s executive order to halt the Clean Power Plan.
“The emphasis now appears to have shifted from killing coal use no matter the consequences to energy abundance, reliability and affordability, which are goals the cooperative supports. While grateful for relief from the prior administration’s costly and unnecessary regulations, some of President Trump’s 2018 budget proposals are of concern to electric cooperatives. For example, severe cuts are being proposed in funding for rural economic development, advanced energy research and energy assistance program for low-income households. No matter who is president or what political party they are from, there are always different issues, but our vigilance always must be maintained.”
Frankart said 2016 proved to be an excellent year for the cooperative. He said they refunded a record level of patronage capital credits in December ($891,400), the average length of outages was at a 25-year low and member surveys showed customer satisfaction was at an all-time high.
North Central Electric Cooperative is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric utility serving about 9,625 consumers in Seneca, Crawford, Richland, Huron, Sandusky, Hancock, Wyandot, and Wood counties. To learn more about the cooperative and its programs and services, please visit www.ncelec.org.