September 2024
NRECA President Tony Anderson speaks at the Regions 1&4 Meeting in Grand Rapids, Mich. (photo by Shannon Hamner/Wolverine Power Cooperative)
by Molly Christian, NRECA
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Electric cooperatives face swiftly rising demand, a tough regulatory environment and a quickly evolving grid. But they are up for whatever comes their way, NRECA President Tony Anderson said Sept. 5 at the first of NRECA’s five Regional Meetings.
When it comes to tackling challenges, “co-ops will do it. We know we can, because we’ve done big things before,” Anderson said at the Regions 1&4 gathering in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Anderson’s term as NRECA president will end in March 2025. He retired in 2023 as general manager of Cherryland Electric Cooperative in Michigan.
In his remarks to co-op leaders, Anderson said co-ops are “facing greater challenges than I ever saw in my career.”
“I spent 40 years in this industry and never worried about where my generation was going to come from until the last few,” he said. “It hasn’t gotten any better in the year since I’ve been retired.”
An aggressive regulatory agenda from the Environmental Protection Agency, efforts to breach the Lower Snake River dams in the Pacific Northwest, and the need to ensure adequate replacement generation for retiring coal plants are among the obstacles that co-ops face.
But Anderson said his optimism around a “member-owned, future-focused world” matched those worries.
“Each individual co-op might be small. But together, we are strong,” he said. “And together, we will continue to meet the needs of our members, our communities and our future.”
Anderson highlighted the innovative ways co-ops are maintaining affordable, reliable electricity in this new environment.
Fredericksburg, Va.-based Rappahannock Electric Cooperative is using distributed generation to serve massive data center loads. And Cadillac, Mich.-based Wolverine Power and Hoosier Energy in Bloomington, Ind., are partnering with Holtec International to restart the idled Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan.
Anderson also touted an NRECA-led consortium of co-ops tapped to receive $45 million from the Department of Energy to build rural microgrids under a bipartisan infrastructure law program.
“Every co-op is different,” Anderson said. “A co-op in Region 9 might take a very different approach to generation than a co-op in Region 4. But this diversity is what gives us strength. We stand up for each other, and we learn from one another, and we innovate together.”
A strong workforce is another ingredient for a successful co-op future, he added. Co-ops are in an unprecedented fight to attract and retain talent, but Anderson said their mission and emphasis on community is a key leverage point.
“Young people today don’t just want a job—they want a job in which they can make a difference,” he said. “They want a job that they can feel good about at the end of the day. The good news? That’s what co-ops offer.”
NRECA has a range of tools to support that effort, he noted, including education and training programs for nearly every job function and the Executive Leadership Training Program for senior professionals.
“Yes, we face challenges. But we will face them together,” Anderson concluded. “And the unity and solidarity behind our mission will build a future… that is better than any of us can imagine.”
Molly Christian is a staff writer for NRECA.