Mohave Electric Cooperative Celebrates 80 Years at Annual Meeting

BULLHEAD CITY, AZ – On Thursday, September 17, Mohave Electric Cooperative, Inc. (MEC) held its 80th Annual Meeting at the Anderson Auto Group Fieldhouse. The annual meeting brought together hundreds of Cooperative members and guests to celebrate the 80th anniversary of early members coming together to form Mohave Electric Cooperative and bring electric service to rural areas not served by investor-owned utilities. CEO Tyler Carlson’s presentation highlighted MEC’s activities from the past year and a look toward the Cooperative’s future.

Members entered the Fieldhouse, registered, received complimentary meals and a tote bag filled with MEC swag, and had the opportunity to visit informational tables for TWN Communications, Arizona Generation & Transmission Cooperatives (AzG&T), and Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative (GCSECA). MEC staff was also on hand to share information on the MEC UAV Drone Program, SmartHub® app, and the Outage Management System.

The annual event, as mandated by the Cooperative’s bylaws, provided members with an opportunity to learn more about MEC’s operations, current initiatives and future plans. Board President Joe Anderson introduced the nine member-elected Directors who comprise Mohave Electric Cooperative’s Board of Directors, along with Cooperative guests and representatives in attendance.

Anderson also announced Carlson’s upcoming retirement. Carlson will retire after 18 years of service to Mohave Electric, including 16 years as CEO. His retirement in February 2027 will mark the conclusion of a tenure that had significant advancements in reliability, infrastructure, technology, and efforts to maintain affordable electricity to MEC members. During the meeting, Carlson announced that MEC currently has the lowest overall residential and large commercial rates in the state.

“I’ve seen firsthand his wit, his grit, — and anyone who knows Tyler will appreciate this one — his tenacity. When Tyler believes something is right for this Cooperative and its members, he doesn’t hesitate. And Mohave Electric is stronger today because of it,” Anderson expressed.

Carlson also presented an overview of MEC’s activities from the past year and discussed what members can expect as the Cooperative looks toward the future. A portion of the presentation focused on large electrical loads, such as data centers, and the potential impacts and opportunities associated with significant new electric demand in MEC’s service territory.

MEC’s Annual Report explained that MEC treats all large load requests equally. MEC does not discriminate based on the type of business and does not have the ability to reject a new load without providing some sort of option.

“We have an obligation to serve within our certificated area. We were given a specific certificated area that we solely serve, and the obligation is to serve all loads in that area. We have to offer service even at times specific to electric challenges and risks that load presents. The bottom line is that we will always offer some form of service, regardless of public outcry,” Carlson stated in the Report.

Carlson also discussed how some land use projects, including data centers, have not been properly vetted. “The social media frenzy against data centers didn’t begin out of thin air…but there are definitely lessons learned from the past and protective measures that can be implemented to make projects valuable to communities without costing existing ratepayers money,” Carlson continued.

MEC purposefully sat down to develop a process to protect members from incurring costs associated with data centers or other large loads. “This started a couple of years ago when we brought to the MEC members a Bylaw amendment, and Members approved the Class B Membership for large loads.”

MEC then brought this ratepayer protection method to the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) – an independent, third-party regulatory authority for critical review, and the ACC approved it as a streamlined way to process large load requests while protecting ratepayers.

“This isn’t our first rodeo…we’ve been serving large loads since 1959, and as a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative, we’re happy to protect our existing members and have large loads pay for themselves.”

Cooperatives have an ongoing commitment to maintaining reliable service while responsibly planning for the changing needs of their members and communities. “I’m proud of what MEC’s employees, Board of Directors and members have accomplished together, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have served this Cooperative,” said Carlson. “There is a lot to be excited about as MEC looks toward the future, and I’m confident the Cooperative is well positioned to continue providing reliable service to its members.”

MEC hosted its district meetings earlier in the week, providing members with an opportunity to participate in the Cooperative’s governance and district elections. Members in attendance recommended to the MEC Board of Directors by acclamation that Tracy Weisz (District 1), Joe Solar (District 2), and Joe Anderson (District 3) continue to serve on the MEC Board of Directors for three-year terms.

“I’d like to congratulate these three board members who, along with the rest of the board of directors, work tirelessly to help the Cooperative and MEC’s members. We are happy to have them continue in their roles. If you haven’t made it out to MEC’s Annual Meeting, I encourage you to come out next year and hear what’s going on,” said CEO Tyler Carlson.

Founded in 1946, MEC is a not-for-profit utility providing reliable, cost-effective power to 39,135 members, 46,322 meters, with more than 1,637 miles of line spanning areas from Bullhead City to Topock on the west, Hualapai to Burro Creek to the south, and Nelson to the east.

Photo Credit: DayjaLite Photo Productions