CEO Message

Introducing the New Currents Magazine

Welcome to our “new” Currents. In our member survey, you told us you wanted a magazine dedicated to local content—and here it is! Enjoy reading everything local with articles on MEC and community events and programs, business spotlight, 100% local business advertising, and a favorite new feature “Chef Boy-MEC.”

In more news, these are exciting, yet challenging times. Never before have our Board of Directors and management been challenged to this degree to maintain affordable electricity costs for members while facing a decreasing supply of wholesale power resources and an increased need for electricity by our members.

North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), the organization charged by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) with protecting the reliability of the grid, has identified the southwest states and California as elevated risk for insufficient dispatchable resources in their 2023-2024 Reliability Assessment. NERC has been warning for years that soaring demand for electricity combined with generation shortfalls put reliable energy in jeopardy, and the latest assessment shows this threat has worsened.

The exciting part is that MEC added a new solar and battery storage system in October 2023, and Arizona Electric Power Cooperative (AEPCO/AzG&T), our major power and transmission provider, has plans to build significant new resources.

Your support for these projects, as members, has been impressive and essential to accomplishing the first steps including Arizona Corporation Commission approval of financing for AEPCO’s new natural gas generation, and Mohave County Board of Supervisors approval of an extension of time on a location in Fort Mohave for the project. Thank you for your support.

In February we held a Town Hall meeting where Patrick Ledger, AEPCO CEO, presented information and answered questions on the proposed new natural gas resource to generate electricity in Fort Mohave.

Here are the key benefits of the new units that we talked about:

• Clean, efficient natural gas turbines
• Will help replace resources lost by the forced phase-out of older existing coal unit
• Scale up or scale down when solar is not available at night and periods of weather
• Essential to serve the increasing demand for electricity
• Local resources are directly within MEC’s distribution network, a big advantage in the event of generation and transmission outages
• Reliability, affordability, and planning for the future

We’re on the right track, and your continued support is vital to a reliable, affordable future. We’ll keep you informed on our progress with bill inserts, website, social media, and Currents.

Thank You MEC Members — Twice!

In the last Currents article, I thanked all of our members who supported the Reliability for Rural Arizona project which includes bringing new, low emission, natural gas turbines to Mohave Electric Cooperative’s (MEC) service territory in Fort Mohave.

Mohave Electric Cooperative’s main generation and transmission provider, Arizona Electric Power Cooperative (AEPCO) is also a not-for-profit formed by AZ co-ops including MEC as a partial owner. We share a generation facility in Cochise County and are bringing 2 quick-start, flexible natural gas units in Cochise and in Mohave Counties to prepare for growth, reliability, and affordability.

Double thanks to members for first supporting our efforts at the Arizona Corporation Commission who provided unanimous approval in October. And second thanks to members who supported our efforts as we just received the next level of approval from the Mohave County Board of Supervisors. The approval on December 4 confirms the need for the generation, the need for the site to be local within MEC’s service territory, and the importance of having emergency backup power to key institutions like hospitals, cooling centers, fire stations, and other government entities during a major outage. The project also has the potential to provide other neighboring utilities with outage support.

Many more steps to come, with in-person meetings, and additional public comments. We welcome your feedback and look forward to sharing project updates and benefits with you.

Power Market Instability & Cost Adjustor

Mohave Electric strives to provide you with reliable power at affordable prices. MEC monitors the power market every hour of every day to secure the best prices for our members. 2 Currents magazines ago, I wrote about grid stability, market instability, and keeping members apprised of an ever-changing situation.

Until projects like the Reliability for Rural Arizona mentioned above are built and operational, MEC must continue to weather the ever-changing power market storm. The latest update is our Purchased Power Adjustor (PPA) charge is changing to a $.02 per kWh. The main cause is the rising costs of energy. For example, different types of fuel are used in producing power for the grid, and these fuel prices have only continued to increase over the years.

MEC experienced, in the last year alone, $6.1 million in increased, unplanned power costs including costs incurred from a generation turbine outage, unexpected increase in fuel adjustors from generation and transmission providers, and millions in reduced savings from a battery infrastructure project delay (now currently in operation).

The cost of energy/power changes minute-by-minute and MEC will continue to do everything we can to manage our external and internal costs and review options to reduce the PPA charge. Please read the article in the middle of the magazine and look for the letter from us dated November 30. For any member who is experiencing hardship or needs assistance with their bill, please call our Member Service department at (928) 763-1100 to discuss payment plans and other resources available to help our members.

Thank You MEC Members!

We received overwhelming support from Mohave Electric Cooperative (MEC) members on the Reliability for Rural Arizona project, and we cannot thank you enough.

MEC’s main generation and transmission provider, Arizona Electric Power Cooperative (AEPCO) is also a not-for-profit cooperative formed by AZ co-ops including MEC. Together we share a generation facility called Apache Station down in Cochise County. We’ve joined forces in an effort to install 2 additional flexible, natural gas units at Apache and 2 new units here in MEC’s service territory. These units will increase reliability here locally, support our renewable energy solar facilities, keep member rates low, and provide additional support during unplanned outages.

As you recall, July was hot – MEC surpassed our peak load providing the highest amount of electricity in our 77-year history. We have a growing population in Bullhead City and the surrounding areas, and each household is using more and more electricity, which means MEC needs to provide more and more electricity. These units will generate more electricity to meet member loads now and in the future.

As you know, solar only works when the sun is shining, and the sun doesn’t shine at night. These units can provide electricity to us at nighttime or during weather events when our solar and renewable energy systems aren’t operating.

Being a member-owned, not-for-profit, MEC makes every effort to keep our rates low. In fact, we have the lowest overall electricity costs among all the cooperatives in the state. 1 of the ways we keep costs low is to look at power costs among all sources of energy and buy or generate that source to keep rates low. These units will allow AEPCO to generate more energy, including generation in MEC’s service territory that we can purchase from AEPCO. And MEC can avoid buying expensive energy on the market.

Also, these 2 units will help provide power within MEC’s network, which would allow us to potentially power emergency locations such as key city and county centers and hospitals in a massive outage.

As you can see, there are multiple benefits to MEC – reliability; affordability; and outage support. This is a multiple-step project, and we appreciate and thank you, Members, for helping us start step number 1. We look forward to sharing more updates with you in the future and more ways that you can participate. Thank you again.

What’s Happening

• November 10 – Office Closed for Veteran’s Day
• November 11 – Join MEC at Veteran’s Parade
• November 18 – Operation Cool Shade Bullhead City Pickup
• November 20 – Operation Cool Shade Kingman Pickup
• November 23 & 24 – Office Closed for Thanksgiving
• December 1 – Join MEC at the Boombox Parade
• December 25 – Office Closed for Christmas
• January 1 – Office Closed for New Year’s Day

Summers are always hot here in Bullhead City and the surrounding areas, but members might remember June was pretty mild in comparing to previous years’ heat waves. However, MEC, like the majority of electric utilities – co-op and investor-owned across the state of Arizona – all surpassed their historic peak loads in July which mirrored the hottest temperatures of that month.

So with the increase in growth, temperatures, and load, the state experienced nominal outages, if any related to heat. This shows the electric grid system can work properly under extreme temperatures and load levels – essentially being scalable up or down, barring any major equipment failures. But more importantly, this shows that weather, extreme heat, and major outages are more likely to affect reliability when the market is unstable.

Meaning when supply and pricing go awry, the electric grid is less likely to deliver the power needed at the exact time to meet demand. Essentially, the power supply and demand needs aren’t matching in real time. We are pleased that July went well and will continue to keep members informed about grid reliability and market issues.

Having diversity of power resources helps avoid some of these market issues. For example, at night when solar is not available, MEC could switch to a natural gas generation source of power to meet demand needs. And even better to have the diversification of power generation locally to avoid unstable price points in the market and avoid any transmission issues and delays. MEC is actively working to build more local, diverse power generation sources to increase reliability.

Happy Anniversary Mohave Electric Cooperative (MEC) members! On July 3rd, MEC celebrates 77 years of providing electric service to the area.

Reliability has always been at the forefront of our minds when providing electricity. This involves securing power generation, capacity, transmission, and distributing the electricity to your homes and businesses. When identifying power generation sources, we purchase primarily through firm contracts and a portion of MEC’s power is purchased on the wholesale purchased power open market. The market at times can be very stable and affordable and other times skyrocket in costs, usually after a weather-related disaster such as the 2021 winter storms in Texas.

Over the past decade, MEC has continually made investments in our own power generation, including renewable energy, and storage sources to limit the amount of power generation we purchase on the open market and in return help “fix” our costs to a known dollar amount.

California is another factor that affects the open market. California is historically known for not having enough power generation for its ever-increasing population, and by default, ever-increasing electrical load, and then enters the market creating premium prices for electricity that would otherwise be available to small players, like MEC, for reasonable costs.

Recently, the Lake Havasu Today’s News Herald reprinted the positive news written by the Associated Press – that California is unlikely to run out of power this summer because of heavy rains this past winter. For multiple years California has been unable to use their hydroelectric facilities for electricity generation due to drought and water shortages. The rain this last winter has “filled the state’s reservoirs enough to restart hydroelectric power plants that were dormant during the drought.”

Forecasting power supply costs is no easy task as none of us have a crystal ball. However, we welcome the idea that costs and supply may remain reasonable this summer. The market can always ‘change on a dime’ so we constantly monitor the market every hour of every day.

Our power purchase forecasting and planning goes well beyond the summer season. Stay tuned for news on our strategies to deal with future increased demand for reliable and affordable electricity. And stay safe this summer.

What’s Happening

• Monday, July 3 – MEC’s 77th Anniversary
• Tuesday, July 4 – Office Closed for Independence Day
• Friday – Sunday, August 4, 5, 6 – Join MEC at Chaos on the Colorado River Survivalist Expo h Thursday, August 31 – $5,000 SunWatts Education Application Deadline

Welcome to the May edition of Currents magazine. We have a lot going on at MEC (Mohave Electric Cooperative) and we are looking for input from our members. This is your magazine and we need your thoughts.

Mohave Electric is considering making some changes to our Currents magazine. Our current magazine includes regional articles and 5 pages dedicated to MEC-specific articles.

We would like to make Currents more beneficial for our residential and business members. With that in mind, please consider completing the survey on the back of this wrap. Your answers will help direct our next steps in making your Currents magazine the best it can be.

Please take the time to fill out the survey and mail the postcard back to us. The postage is free. You may also scan the QR code and fill out the form online. The deadline to be included in the survey is June 2.

In other news, two projects that are very important to me, and our community, are in process. Those are the Classroom Grants Program and the MEC scholarship program.

The application date for both programs has already passed, so our Public Affairs department is combing through the submissions now. The grants and scholarships are paid for out of assigned patronage from the Capital Credits program.

We have started a “drone” program here at MEC. It will help us increase reliability and perform more effective and timely inspections and repairs.

There is also a story on the pros and cons of burying the already existing overhead power lines and why it does not make sense financially. Please check that out.

Finally, we have changed the MEC billing and payment phone number. The new number is (855) 939-3789 Please update your information accordingly.

As always, thank you to our members for your continued support of your electric cooperative. Don’t forget to take the survey and drop it in the mail (postage is free) or scan the QR code and fill out your survey online. Thanks.

Currents Magazine Member Survey (PDF)

In June 2022, I wrote to all members that Mohave Electric Cooperative (MEC) had submitted an expedited rate case change to the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). Specifically, MEC requested to raise the Customer Charge while decreasing the energy rates.

The ACC staff recommended an approval of our rate case and the Commissioners approved the rates at their regular scheduled meeting on February 22.

I, on behalf of the Board of Directors, would like to thank you for supporting the need for a rate change, and thank you for realizing that for most of our members this will result in cost savings. A survey that we commissioned last year showed that over 90% of MEC members had a “favorable” opinion of MEC. There were a variety of reasons, but cost was one of the top reasons.

MEC requested a change to the Customer Charge to bring some of the fixed expenses, including system equipment, maintenance, and operations, out of the energy charges and into the Customer Charge where they belong. This resulted in the Customer Charge rising, while the energy charge dropped. Although we will be increasing the standard residential customer charge by $5.56, we will be concurrently decreasing energy rates as much as 10% per kilowatt hour (kwh).

We held four “Town Halls” to explain why this was necessary as well as how it would positively affect a majority of our members. We hoped the explanation would be enough to reassure members that MEC has their best interests at hand, and are good stewards of the member-owned utility.

The new rates will be reflected in members’ March 2023 billing cycles.

While MEC has been able to keep member rates low, over the past ten years we have also invested nearly $45 million in capital improvements and maintenance for load growth and reliability. An additional $2.9 million has been spent during that time on cyber security to protect members’ personal information.

Mohave Electric Cooperative’s tiered rates give residential members more control over their energy costs and reward members who use less electricity. Using energy wisely can lower monthly electric bills.

New Rates:

• Tier 1: First 400 kilowatt hours $.080249/kwh (previously $.089204)
• Tier 2: Next 600 kilowatt hours $.095249/kwh (previously $.104204)
• Tier 3: Over 1,000 kilowatt hours $.110249/kwh (previously $.119204)

For any questions on these new rates and what this means for your bill, please contact our Member Service Office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday at (928) 763-1100.

What’s Happening

• March 10 – 12 – Join MEC at the Tri-State Home & Garden Show
• March 16 – Join MEC at the Winter Expo
• March 17 – Classroom Grants Application Deadline
• April 28 – MEC Scholarship Application Deadline

A lot has happened since our last Currents magazine, most notably, was a violent storm that came through on Labor Day weekend and caused a massive outage. Please see the in-depth story, “Massive Storm Results in Widespread Damage.” Other news includes updates from our District and Annual meetings.

During September, I was privileged to meet with you at our district meetings as well as the Annual Meeting. On Thursday, September 15 at the Anderson Auto Group Fieldhouse hundreds of Cooperative members attended the annual meeting as well as many special guests.

Attendees received a nice gift bag and some lucky winners won some great door prizes and power credits. If you haven’t made it out to the Annual Meeting, I encourage you to come out next year and hear what we have going on.

The annual event, as mandated by the cooperative’s bylaws, was used to discuss several items from the past year as well as looking forward to the future.

Members entered the Fieldhouse, registered, received their free meals, and were given a complimentary gift of a large, insulated tote filled with picnic-themed gifts like a picnic blanket, frisbee and collapsible travel cups.

The members then made their way past informational tables for TWN Communications, Asplundh, Arizona Generation & Transmission Cooperatives (AzG&T) and Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative Association (GCSECA). MEC had tables there as well, staffed with MEC employees who provided information on the SmartHub® app, Capital Credits, and the Outage Management System.

Board President Joe Anderson introduced the 9, member-elected Directors that comprise Mohave Electric Cooperative’s Board of Directors, along with Phil Cook, the CEO/GM of Graham County Electric Cooperative; Jason Bowling, CEO of Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative; Russell Smolden, CEO of B3 Strategies; Patrick Ledger, CEO of AzG&T; and Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative Association (GCSECA) CEO Dave Lock.

Those in attendance learned that the results of a recent public opinion survey showed that over 90% of MEC members approve of the service that MEC provides, with 50% citing reliability as their top reason why. Good service and costs were the second and third most popular reasons. Reliability is critical for consistent and affordable service, which is why we are working so hard to secure other avenues of local energy generation and storage.

Members in attendance voted to approve a proposed Bylaw amendment changing the way notifications can be disseminated to board members for special meetings. Notifications can now be provided by email and telephone and the time required for providing notices has been shortened.

We also held our board member elections at our district meetings, and members in attendance recommended that Rich Tempelman (District 1), Deborah Johnson (District 2), and Toni Barbaro (District 3) continue representing them for a 3-year term. I’d like to congratulate these 3 board members who, along with the rest of the board members, work tirelessly to help the cooperative. We are happy to have them continue in their roles.

Communicating with our members is one of the most important things I do. And right now, there’s lots to talk about. In our last Currents magazine, I shared with you challenges we are facing with availability and cost of energy. Members received a letter from me about these “out of our control” factors. So far, our proactive steps have helped us avoid curtailment actions, along with your help in conserving energy.

Last month, members received my letter about our rate adjustment application filed with the Arizona Corporation Commission. Most members’ bills will be lower under the proposed new rates. Although we are asking for a $5.56 increase to the residential customer charge, the savings from the energy or kWh rates should lower the overall bill.

We held four Town Hall meetings July 26 through August 1. FAQ’s, and rate case information are available at www.mohaveelectric.com, click the “Rate Case 2022” button on the home page. You can always call Member Service at (928) 763-1100.

Now about Capital Credits—an advantage of your membership with Mohave Electric Cooperative. The Board of Directors approved a capital credits retirement of $802,440. Checks and bill credits went out in August. Turn to page 4 for more information.

Details about this year’s District and Annual Meetings are in the Official Meeting Notice, mailed in August. We have a new feature on our website for members to find out their membership district. Click “Annual Meeting Details” at the top of the home page, then click “Find My District.” I look forward to seeing you at your District Meeting and at the Annual Meeting.

This week I received some terrific news that Senator Sonny Borrelli was selected to receive the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) 2022 Regional Award for Outstanding Service. In a letter from NRECA CEO Jim Matheson, the award recognizes Borrelli’s outstanding service to electric cooperatives and his work on advocacy, education, and training throughout Arizona.

MEC nominated Borrelli and credited him for his sponsorship of AZ SB 1460, legislation that gave Arizona electric cooperatives the ability to participate in broadband programs. Borrelli was also instrumental in supporting AZ SB 1412 which allowed cooperatives to keep their capital credits in the rural areas where they were collected to support their local communities and not be taken away by the State.

Thank you, Sonny Borrelli, for looking out for our members, and congratulations on your award!

Availability and Cost of Energy

Mohave Electric Cooperative (MEC) prides itself on providing reliable, affordable power to its members. As we approach the summer, MEC is bringing to our members’ attention three “out of our control” factors that have arisen recently and could potentially impact the availability and cost of energy.

Generation & Transmission Power Supply

Arizona Electric Power Cooperative (AEPCO) has been MEC’s trusted generation and transmission power provider for decades. Unfortunately, AEPCO had an unexpected natural gas turbine failure which takes time and money to replace, install, and deploy. This turbine is anticipated to be up and running in June 2022 barring no nationwide transportation or supply chain delays. This unknown has caused MEC to evaluate the open market for additional power.

State of California

Recently, California (CA) energy officials warned of a 1,700-MW power shortfall this summer, and due to inconsistent transmission access policies, CA has been known to “steal” power, even MEC’s already purchased power. If CA’s issues start negatively affecting other states, including Arizona and MEC, this could be a double whammy effect on power availability and costs.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

FERC which regulates all utilities across the country announced that roughly two-thirds of the United States faces heightened risk of power outages this summer due to potential high temperatures and intermittent renewable energy issues. High temps aren’t new to MEC, but these potential widespread energy concerns coupled with those mentioned above could be a trifecta scenario.

Mohave Electric’s Next Steps

MEC is proactively taking action to address the potential energy issues above. Providing power to members is at the forefront of our minds in addition to keeping costs as low as possible for our members.

MEC monitors the open market daily – every hour every day – to secure the most affordable costs of power for our members. MEC is evaluating the daily costs to consider purchasing extra capacity to adjust for any shortfall. In the event, there is no available power regardless of the cost of power, this could lead to “rolling brown outs” as seen in CA.

Alternatively, purchasing extra capacity could be pricey, but the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) allows for a Purchased Power Adjustor to accommodate fluctuations in cost, which is noted on every member’s bill, currently in the form of a credit.

Member Conservation

MEC is also encouraging its members to conserve energy where and when they are able to avoid curtailment or outages. There are some simple things members can do to conserve, such as grilling outside instead of using the stove and oven. Need to do laundry? Consider drying the clothes outside instead of the dryer. Turn lights and fans off and turn the air conditioner up a few extra degrees. For questions, please call public affairs at (928) 763-4115.

In my last message I wrote to you about an issue – the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), the state entity that regulates Arizona utilities, has been double charging Arizona electric cooperatives an assessment to fund its own operations/existence.

We joined forces with Grand Canyon Electric Cooperative Association and other Arizona electric cooperatives, to support Arizona House Bill 2232 to correct the double charging.

I am happy to tell you that the legislation sailed through the process with unanimous support from both the Arizona House of Representatives and the Arizona Senate. The bill was signed by Governor Ducey on March 30, 2022.

Although MEC will still have an ACC assessment that is passed on to member bills, the extra assessment MEC has been paying in wholesale purchased power costs will stop. While not a large amount, every reduction in cost helps us keep purchased power costs, the most significant part of member bills, as stable as possible.

More Good News!

Our five-year fiber project in partnership with TWN Communications is moving full steam ahead.

Phase 1 in the Big Bend and Silver Creek Zones is being finalized. Nearly 4,000 members can now subscribe to TWN services.

Phase 2 in the Airport Zone is next up.

I want to encourage members to pre-register for TWN services. There is no commitment by preregistering, but it helps us in the construction phase, and also expedites your TWN internet service installation should you sign up for services. The website and phone number are shown below.

Our employees have been out in the community at several events recently—Winter Fest, School Magician/Electrical Safety program, Kiwanis Kids Expo, and Mohave Community College Concom.

We enjoy engaging with members when we have these opportunities and hope to see you next time!

Your Mohave Electric Cooperative (MEC) Board of Directors and management have joined Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative Association and other Arizona electric cooperatives in support of Arizona House Bill 2232.

This state legislation seeks to correct a disparity on how cooperatives are charged for the sale of electricity. The Arizona Corporation Commission operates and is funded through an assessment on all regulated utilities, and the existing assessment formula results in a double assessment for all cooperatives.

The Issue

The existing Arizona state statute requires that entities regulated by the ACC pay a fee, or assessment, to fund operations of the ACC. The assessment is based on revenue collected from sales of electricity to the companies’ customers or members. The ACC assessment is then passed to customers or members on their bills.

Currently MEC and its members are paying the fee twice. The ACC assessment is charged to MEC, as required, by its power provider Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, a generation and transmission cooperative. MEC, a distribution cooperative pays the ACC assessment a second time for the revenue collected for the same power billed to its members.

HB 2232

In January, HB2232 was filed in the Arizona House of Representatives. The legislation is aimed at solving the issue of assessing the same product twice by excluding the assessment on revenues from sales of electricity by the generation cooperative, and only charging the assessment for sales of electricity to the distribution cooperatives’ members. On February 1 the bill passed out of committee with a vote of 11-0 in favor.

Next Steps

HB2232 has strong support from Arizona legislators. We expect that the bill will continue through the legislative process including Rules Committee, and to the House and Senate for a vote. We’ll continue to track this bill and other legislative actions that impact MEC and our members.

January is here and with it brings new beginnings and new year’s resolutions.

Mohave Electric Cooperative (MEC) is pleased to start our 76th year with a few goals in mind to serve our members.

Electricity

We would like to renew our commitment to providing reliable electricity at the most reasonable cost based on sound business practices.

Fiber Broadband

We will be expanding Phase II of our fiber-optic network project, offering thousands of members, businesses, municipalities, and non-profit organizations with fast, reliable broadband including internet, phone, and tv streaming services.

Washington Youth Tour

We are pleased to announce the Washington Youth Tour trip to D.C. will resume in 2022 in late spring / early summer.

Education Scholarship

Additionally, we will be offering a new MEC scholarship program to support our high school graduates and college students. Please look for announcements in April 2022.

Member Service

We want to continue offering excellent service and support to our members. We will be featuring our 8 Ways to Pay Your Bill including a new sign at our Member Service facility on Hancock Road.

There are undoubtedly other activities that come up during the year, but we wanted to list a few items to look forward to in 2022!

From all of us at MEC, we wish you health and happiness in the new year.

2021 Community Risk Reduction Safety Event

Mohave Electric Cooperative (MEC) always enjoys participating in the Bullhead City Fire Department’s safety day. MEC shared numerous tips with members on electrical safety. The “Hazard Hamlet” simulation demonstrates several situations avoidable to promote electrical safety.

National Night Out

Mohave Electric Co-op has partnered with Bullhead City Police Department for 20+ years to co-host National Night Out, and 2021 was another great success. MEC sponsored face painting, door prizes, event tables, and chairs, refreshments, and handed out educational materials on energy efficiency tips and outage safety. If you didn’t attend this year, please join the fun next year.

Member Appreciation Month

October was Member Appreciation Month, and MEC used this opportunity to celebrate our members every week. All members were welcome on Thursdays at our Member Service office to chat with staff and visit tables with door prizes, cookies, coffee, and fresh popcorn. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to visit.

Veterans Day Parade

Mohave Electric thanks all active-duty military and veterans who have sacrificed so much for our freedom. On November 6, MEC will be honoring veterans by riding in the Veterans Day Parade. Look for Old No. 1 and wave.

Mohave Electric Cooperative (MEC) is having an awesome 75th anniversary year. Some very exciting times here as we wrap up summer and move towards the end of the year.

I am pleased to announce that we have our first member connections for fiber-optic broadband service with TWN. This is a huge milestone, first-of-its-kind for an Arizona cooperative utility! Enjoy reading the article, and remember to pre-register.

Later this month Mohave Electric will be holding its annual meeting, and we are looking forward to celebrating our 75th anniversary with our members. As we announced in July, Capital Credits have been distributed to members, so keep an eye out for your credit.

Another milestone for our 75th anniversary, MEC marks the 1,000th solar residential installation milestone for the SunWatts Renewable Energy Rebate Program. This also marks the 100th solar residential installation for 2021.

Stay tuned for more good news and updates from MEC in our November magazine.

This month, in addition to remembering our country’s Independence Day, I wanted to take a moment to celebrate with members Mohave Electric Cooperative’s (MEC’s) 75th Anniversary!

Mohave Electric was formed on July 3, 1946. Here are a few key milestones in MEC’s history!

• May 1, 1946—Residents in Kingman met to explore the possibility of bringing affordable electricity to Kingman, Big Sandy Valley, Wikieup and Bullhead City.
• July 3, 1946—Frontier-spirited, hardworking folks brought as much money as they could spare and borrowed a Rural Electrification Administration loan under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. These members established a board of directors to govern the co-op.
• January 1, 1947—The first meters were energized and within one year, there were 90 meters on 5 miles of line. The REA grant expanded transmission lines to Topock.
• 1948—Power contracts were signed to serve members in Peach Springs, Valentine and Hackberry.
• 1954—478 meters were energized on 275 miles of line.
• 1956—MEC had six employees housed in Kingman.
• 1964—First capital credits checks were issued to members.
• 1969—MEC has 4,006 members and 534 miles of line.
• 1971—MEC members were increasing and needed more power. MEC joined Arizona Electric Power Cooperative to secure more energy for the growing area.
• 1972—MEC’s general offices moved to Bullhead City while keeping a Kingman facility. 5,501 members, 27 employees and 609 miles of line.
• 1974—7,136 members and 663 miles of line.
• 1979—10,585 members and 10,675 meters.
• 1980—General & Member Services move to Arena Drive.
• 1984—12% increase in members served for a total of 15,035. 5,000 new meters since 1980.
• 1989—Member Service office moves to Hancock Road.
• 2005—30,929 members with 36,854 meters, 79 employees, and 1,391 miles of line.
• 2015—32,498 members with 39,762 meters, 77 employees, and 1,521 miles of line.
• 2019—MEC completes feasibility study for fiber optic broadband to improve electricity service and offer internet service to members. The board of directors voted to proceed.
• 2020—MEC is first Arizona co-op to secure legislation, ACC approval, and $110 million private financing to bring broadband to each member. Fiber construction begins.
• July 2021—Just in time for MEC’s 75th anniversary, the co-op has come full circle with the first members connected with broadband service!

Everyone has heard the expression “today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders,” which spotlights just how important it is to educate our youth and support our teachers. Here at Mohave Electric Cooperative (MEC), we believe in empowering our member students to aspire for success, and believe in providing tools and resources, as best we can, to support their hard work.

Every year, MEC offers multiple programs to help teachers and students. Beginning with our $200 Classroom Grants, MEC opens the application process for teachers to submit a project description outlining the materials and costs associated with their proposed program and explaining how the $200 grant will bring the project to fruition. 2021 has been a record year with dozens of applications received. A panel reviews the applications, and MEC will announce the awards at the end of May.

Next thing you know, our juniors have matriculated all the way to Washington, D.C.! Each year, MEC awards selected member students to participate in National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s Washington Youth Tour—a weeklong, all-expenses-paid trip to the U.S. capital. Students who attend have an opportunity to learn about the U.S. government that engages on policies important to cooperative utilities such as MEC and see firsthand America’s deep history. Member students submit a written application and speak before a panel that reviews their qualifications. The 2020 and 2021 trips were canceled as a precaution during the pandemic, and MEC offered a future trip or scholarship to winning students. We have high hopes the Washington, D.C., trip will return in 2022. I want to thank this year’s and past year’s panelists who have volunteered to interview our student applicants and who value investing in their lives and future success.

The cooperative utility industry is always changing. That includes advancements in technology and changes in traditional and renewable energy resources. Each year, MEC awards a school within our service territory a grant of $5,000 to support renewable energy curriculum. We appreciate our schools that can find new and creative ways to share information that is changing regularly.

Many of our member students that have graduated k-12 don’t stop there. Many continue to vocational programs, associate degrees, bachelor degrees, and beyond. This is why MEC is creating a scholarship program for members who are enrolled in classes at Mohave Community College. We want to support our members in their paths toward careers and industry professions. We look forward to developing our scholarship program and supporting you in the future. Look for details in upcoming MEC materials.

Also, various MEC staff attend school events and functions throughout the year. Whether invited to speak for career day or to present energy efficiency tips and lightbulbs, staff is always ready to support our schools, teachers, and students.

Planning for the future starts today. MEC wants to congratulate those who are graduating in 2021. We will continue to support our member teachers and students next school year. Be safe and enjoy the summer break.

If you have not seen or heard yet, Mohave Electric Cooperative (MEC) is celebrating serving our members for 75 years—refining our cooperative model, and working to save the members on their energy needs. We are proud to continue serving our members strong for many more years with continued system improvements and staff that is always here to help.

To get a jump start on the 75th year, we launched our commemorative logo, which can be found on your bill and in Currents magazine. We will use this logo for the 75th year and return to our regular logo as the year ends, when we will continue to serve our members under the trusted logo they know.

On February 1, we put our paperless billing option into motion, which is open to all members. Look for more information in our Paperless Billing article. Although this is a small enhancement to our members, we are always trying to find ways to create ease. If you decide to go paperless and set up an account with our Mohave Easy Pay Program, I’m sure you will find it to be a smooth and efficient way to stay current with your electric needs.

Here is more good news: MEC increased the Purchased Power Adjuster (PPA) credit on February 1. The PPA allows us to adjust our cost of energy, both negative and positive, directly to the member. Although it might sound strange, a negative factor increases the savings to members, whereas a positive factor adds to the price a member pays. As a cooperative, we only want to charge our members what is needed to operate. When we buy energy at a lower cost, those savings are passed directly to the residential members we serve. We went from a factor of -$0.0075 to -$0.0125, saving members an extra $4 on average per billing cycle. Read more about this saving on our Saving for Our Members article to gain a full understanding of what a PPA does for you.

One part of our cooperative that receives little highlight but deserves many thanks is our member service office. The employees in that office serve our members daily on any topic regarding membership, service, or programs the cooperative or partners have to offer. We are proud to have dedicated employees serving our residential members. Whether you need help understanding the charges on your bill, setting up service for the first time, accessing one of our programs, or are just stopping by and say hello, the employees are here to help you from 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday.

Members often ask about the partnership between TWN and Mohave Electric, which is bringing reliable broadband service. Mohave Electric is bringing our members fiber to better enhance our electrical operations. Members will have the choice to sign up with TWN, which will use our fiber network to provide reliable internet and phone. The internet service comes with symmetrical upload and download speeds for members’ homes and businesses. I am proud to say that we have more than 100,000 feet of fiber installed, and are closer to “lighting up” our members with quality service.

Although we are proud of how far we have come in 75 years of serving our members, we will continue to take great strides in serving our current members and adapting to serve members to come. Mohave Electric plans to continue to live up to the name, brand, and services our members have come accustomed to receiving.

There is no shortage of new information from Mohave Electric Cooperative (MEC) during this time of year. One of the largest updates I can provide is that fiber is in the air. Read more in our The Talk Around Town with TWN article. Crews have been working to establish the backbone of this project since December, and have placed thousands of feet of fiber to create an advanced electrical system and assist in the growth of a much-needed, more reliable fiber-optic internet service brought to our members by MEC fiber and TWN Communications.

We want to again thank our members who participated in tree purchases during Operation Cool Shade. This year differed from past years in many ways. We added 300 more trees, had a presale phone event, and had a specific eastern service area pickup location. All trees were picked up before 2 p.m. during our western service area pickup day. This program has been going on for years. We hope the changes helped our members receive the trees they wanted to not only make their home more beautiful but also create energy savings for years to come. Members received a free LED lightbulb with each tree purchase. If you have not done so yet, install those lightbulbs and kick off your energy savings today. You can find more information on this event in our Operation Cool Shade article.

MEC was proud to be a part of the Paul Walsh Memorial Veteran’s Parade. Mohave Electric staff volunteered their time to show their appreciation and respect to the veterans who serve and have served our country. I drove Old Number One in the parade, followed by employees in their Jeeps. Event structure and participation has been altered due to COVID-19 restrictions, but MEC worked together to gather as much participation as possible to show our respect to those who have served. Read more in our Mohave Electric Cooperative Honors Veterans article.

We are excited to announce that as we kick off the new year, MEC has been serving our members for 75 years. You can view our new 75th-anniversary logo at the top right corner of this page. MEC started in 1946 with a few meters and has grown to more than 42,000 meters and more than 1,500 miles of line. Just like when we started, Mohave Electric Cooperative is here to grow with you.

Some of our most recent advancements as a growing cooperative were the launch of our new website back in October, and putting together the CEO PowerPoint video recapping our years’ work that is now live on our Annual Meeting page. We continue to improve our website and deliver a much higher quality of information to our members. We know a PowerPoint video is not what our members are accustomed to. We hope our 75th-year anniversary annual meeting will be in person so we can gather with our members face to face once again. From our family to yours, stay safe and enjoy the start of a new year.