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SERVING THE SUWANNEE VALLEY OWNED BY THOSE WE SERVE
11340 100th Street • Live Oak, FL 32060
CEO’S CORNER
(8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. • Monday - Friday, Lobby Hours)
Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative believes that the prospects for America’s future lie with today’s youth. As one of its guiding cooperative principles — concern for community — SVEC looks to ensure that our communities will have strong leaders in the future.
Michael S. McWaters Executive V.P./CEO
At SVEC, we are guided by cooperative principles and also by our own five core values. Common to both the principles and values is a commitment to our members and the community, something that is important to every one of us because we love the Suwannee Valley.
It’s the place where we live and work and where we spend time with friends and family. This community is our home. Looking out for it is not only a responsibility but also a privilege.
Part of looking out for this area is ensuring that our homes and businesses have access to safe, affordable and reliable electricity every day. We encourage lawmakers on both the state and the national levels to support policies that protect SVEC’s ability to provide the best service at an affordable price.
We fulfilled that role during a recent trip to Washington, D.C., which is detailed in this newsletter. But just as importantly, you can learn how to get involved. Many challenges face electric cooperatives across the country, and it’s crucial our members make their voices heard.
SVEC also has the honor each year of awarding scholarships to some of our area’s best students, a privilege you can also read about in this newsletter. We are always proud to make this investment in the future of our community, and we look forward to seeing what these young people will accomplish.
These efforts are just small parts of what SVEC does for our community, but we believe they make a difference in helping this great region of ours continue to improve. Thank you for reading.
In 2015, the board of trustees established SVEC’s scholarship program to support the continuing education plans of graduating high school seniors who are also dependents of cooperative members.
This year, SVEC trustees presented 10
scholarships, each worth $750, to applicants from across our service area. Applications were reviewed by committees of educators who selected scholarship recipients based on academic performance and service to others through religious, civic and volunteer activities.
“SVEC congratulates this year’s scholarship recipients,” says Hugh Hunter, president of SVEC’s board of trustees, “as well as all of our members’ graduating seniors, and we extend to them our wishes for a successful and fulfilling future.”
Cooperatives are essential to rural communities. That’s the message SVEC staff members took to the Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.
From April 24th to 27th, cooperative leaders from across the nation met with their representatives and senators during the annual conference, and the goal was to discuss issues important to rural cooperatives and their members.
“The generation that created electric cooperatives is aging, and a lot of folks nowadays don’t know the story of how we came together to make our own electric utilities when other for-profit companies weren’t willing to provide service,” says Ryan Hart, manager of communications and energy policy for Seminole Electric Cooperative, SVEC’s wholesale power provider. “Unless we take the time every year to let our elected representatives know about us and our form of business, they may forget what makes cooperatives so unique.”
SVEC partners with other cooperatives at the state level through the Florida Electric Cooperatives Association (FECA) and at the national level through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).
FECA represents the needs of its 17 member electric cooperatives before the Florida Legislature and the Florida Public Service Commission. SVEC’s CEO Michael McWaters and trustee Tyler Putnal serve on FECA’s board.
Hosting a cookout in Tallahassee each session of the state legislature is one way FECA helps Florida cooperatives interact with their lawmakers. Legislators and their staff enjoy local foods from across the state cooked by co-op employees.
“It’s one of the most fun and entertaining events of the year for representatives to come by and get a sample of rural Florida, so there’s always a good turnout,” Hart says.
As for the federal government, SVEC collaborates with more than 900 other members of NRECA to communicate its message. Conference attendees last month met with Florida Senators. Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson, as well as representatives from 24 of the state’s 27 members of Congress. Attendees also spoke with representatives at a reception on Capitol Hill.
“If just one electric cooperative were to try to go to Washington, D.C., by themselves, it’s easy
not to listen to them,” Hart says. “But if all the electric cooperatives come together, it brings a bigger voice to the issues that are important to us and gives more weight to what we’re saying.”
In Washington, lawmakers are inundated with information. During the visit, staff members from SVEC and other co-ops focused on a handful of policies that would protect the ability to provide safe, reliable, and affordable electric service: Energy Tax Credits- Electric cooperatives use a variety of technologies to efficiently generate power, which is why they support tax incentives to ease the cost of investment. In particular, coops urge lawmakers to expand tax credits for nuclear power production — currently available to for-profit businesses but not to not-for-profit cooperatives. Also, cooperatives support tax credits for installing energy efficient geothermal heat pumps.
Carbon Regulations- Co-ops believe in being responsible stewards of the environment, as well as being practical about regulations. A carbon tax is under consideration as part of a tax reform
this year’s cookout.
plan that could result in a 30 percent increase in the average member’s monthly electric bill. Coops advocate finding other solutions to mitigate the environmental impact of electricity generation without shifting the cost to their members.
RUS Programs- Access to affordable financing is crucial for ensuring the continued reliability of cooperatives’ electric systems. The Rural Utilities Service Electric Loan Program provides lowinterest loans that help cooperatives defray the cost of that service. It also reduces the national deficit because loans are paid back with interest. Cooperatives support continuing the current $5.5 billion loan level through 2018 to ensure cooperatives can provide affordable and reliable service. Another critical RUS program is the Guaranteed Underwriter Program (GUP), which allows qualified private lenders to provide guaranteed financing to electric co-ops. Cooperatives support a $1 billion GUP loan level for 2018, the same level requested in 2017.
Cybersecurity- As new digital threats arise, it’s crucial that electric cooperatives protect their systems. SVEC supports NRECA’s efforts to retain funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and other federal agencies for the development of new security tools and initiatives.
Legislators can enact laws that positively or negatively affect SVEC’s ability to provide safe, affordable and reliable electricity to its members. Each year, events like the annual Legislative Conference give SVEC and other co-ops the
Cooperative staff meet with Congressman Al
chance to show lawmakers the real impact of their decisions.
“When members of Congress see an acronym like SVEC, they might understand it but not recognize the people behind it,” says Hart. “When they really pay attention is when someone comes to them and says, ‘I’m your constituent. I live in your district. This is really important to me, my friends and my family back home.’”
Of course, SVEC members don’t have to go all the way to Washington to make their voices heard. Any members who feel strongly about the issues affecting SVEC and the residents and
businesses of the Suwannee Valley can contact their local representatives and senators using the information on the back page of this newsletter.
For more information on the policies impacting electric cooperatives across the country, or to make your voice heard, visit action.coop.
To contact your legislators, see the listing on Page 4 of this newsletter.
U.S. Senate
Senator Bill Nelson (D) State Office: 1301 Riverplace Blvd. Suite 2010 Jacksonville, FL 32207 Phone: 904-346-4500
Senator Marco Rubio (R) State Office: Bryan Simpson U.S. Courthouse
300 N. Hogan St. Suite # 8-111 Jacksonville, FL 32202 (904) 354-4300
U.S. House of Representatives
Congressman Neal Dunn (R)
District 2 – Includes Lafayette and Suwannee counties and part of Columbia County District Office: 840 W. 11th St. Suite 2250 Panama City, FL 32401 Phone: 850-785-0812 facebook.com/ DrNealDunnFL2
Congressman Al Lawson (D)
District 5 – Includes Hamilton County and part of Columbia County District Office: 435 North Macomb Street Tallahassee, FL 32301 Phone: 850-558-9450 facebook.com/ RepAlLawsonJr
Florida Senate
Senator Bill Montford (D)
District 3 – Includes Hamilton County District Office: 404 S. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100 Phone: 850-487-5003 facebook.com/BillMontford
Senator Rob Bradley (R)
District 5 – Includes Columbia, Lafayette, Suwannee counties District Office: 1279 Kingsley Ave. Suite 107
Orange Park, FL 32073
Phone: 904-278-2085
facebook.com/Rob. BradleyUF
Florida House of Representatives
Representative Elizabeth W. Porter (R)
District 10 – Includes Columbia, Hamilton, Suwannee counties
District Office: 678 SE Baya Drive Lake City, FL 32025-6038
Phone: 386-719-4600 facebook.com/electlizporter
Representative Halsey Beshears (R)
District 7 – Includes Lafayette County
District Office: 1305 W. Washington St. Monticello, FL 32344-1130
Phone: 850-342-0016
facebook.com/halsey. beshears
