News
5/11/2009
Annual Meeting Wrap Up
Burns, Oregon – May 11, 2009 – Oregon Trail Electric Consumers Cooperative’s (OTECC) 23rd annual meeting of members was held Saturday, May 9, at the Harney County Memorial Building in Burns, Oregon.
A large crowd of OTECC members enjoyed live music played by the Burns area band, The Johnson Brothers. About 65 raffle gifts were given away during the course of the meeting. The opening door prize, a digital camera, was won by George McGee, Jr. of Burns; the grand prize winner, Erma Wright of Baker City took home an LG air conditioner.
During the business portion of the meeting, Board President Gary Miller reflected on the 20th Anniversary celebrated by OTECC in October of 2008. In doing so, he focused on how the seven guiding principles of cooperatives have helped shape the success of OTECC.
Miller acknowledged the difficult economic times of facing the area and commented, “In these challenging times it is important to understand that OTECC is much more than a business whose purpose it is to deliver a commodity. OTECC is a force of renewal, development, and sustainability for its communities.”
Miller suggested that the same cooperative principles that have guided OTECC over the past 20 years will “continue to be the guiding light as we navigate through he challenges that lie ahead.”
Werner Buehler, General Manager of OTECC, also touted the benefits of the cooperative principles and local control. “We are not focused upon providing a ‘rate of return’ for stockholders somewhere in Omaha, Nebraska or Chow Duk, China. And I and my management staff do not have our compensation tied to “stock performance”; nor do we travel in corporate jets to exotic locations or have ‘golden parachutes’ waiting for us.”
Buehler also identified a significant challenge facing the members of OTECC – the proposed Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) wholesale power rate increase of 9.4 percent or more. “While the Board and staff of OTECC will work hard to make certain whatever the final BPA increase is will be fair to all concerned, it is unlikely we can prevent an increase from occurring. However, we will continue to implement new efficiencies and cost saving measures, while maintaining the same high level of reliable service you have come to expect and deserve,” explained Buehler.
Noting that OTECC has not raised rates since 2001, Buehler suggested that the proposed BPA rate increase as well as other upward rate pressures will make it challenging to avoid such increases in the future.
“Historic forms of power generation are no longer enough and are in need of expensive upgrades, more of the fuel for our region’s hydro-generation is being allocated for other uses and some of the newer ‘renewable or alternative’ forms of power generation will be increasingly introduced into our total generation mix,” said Buehler. “Be assured we will undertake every measure possible to manage this transition to new more expensive sources of power to mitigate impacts on the Membership.”
The challenges of the current economic situation was also a key point in both Miller’s and Buehler’s reports to the membership. “Industrial sales and revenues are off 25% and most of our remaining industrial members are doing everything possible to just hang on. It goes without saying; these large users of power provide sales and associated revenues which correspondingly reduce rates to other OTECC members,” suggested Buehler.
In October 2008, OTECC reduced rates to industrial members by 7.5% to bring the rates closer to true cost of service and to help insure those businesses survive the economic downturn.
Buehler also assured the membership that OTECC will continue to search out sensible cost reductions and implement new technology which enables it to ‘work smarter and harder’.
Results of director elections were announced during the meeting as well. Grant Holman of Union County, Ralph Ward of Baker County, and Gary Miller of Grant County were each re-elected for another three-year term. There are no other ballot measures this year.
After the business meeting, attendees enjoyed a luncheon served by OTECC employees and catered by Fran Davis of Broadway Deli while the “Johnson Brothers” entertained.
The OTECC Annual Meeting is held each year in May to conduct the business of the cooperative. OTECC is a non-profit and member-owned utility serving four counties in Eastern Oregon.
To view the Annual Meeting speeches, click here.
