In May, 20 representatives from many of Michigan’s electric cooperatives traveled to Washington, D.C. They joined up with over 3,000 other electric cooperative delegates to meet with our members of Congress on issues of importance to our cooperatives and the members we serve—YOU. What was our message?

Renewable energy can be good for our cooperatives and the members, but we need incentives rather than mandates, along with a greater focus on research and development. Tremendous strides have been made in the development of renewable energy generation technology over the last decade. As other forms of generation fuel, such as coal and natural gas, have become more expensive, renewable energy has become more competitive. This has resulted in a greater interest in the technology, leading to more research and development backed by the drive of developers and investors to “build a better mouse trap.”

Now imagine if, in 1975, the government, in response to higher energy costs, simply had mandated that 10, 20 or even 25 percent of our electricity must come from renewable resources. For one thing, I doubt that as a nation we could have met such a requirement with the technology available at the time. But secondly, a mandate to buy at any cost would not have motivated developers and inventors to do anything more than make incremental improvements to current technology. I seriously doubt that today’s improved renewable energy technology would exist if such a mandate were put in place 30 years ago. For the foreseeable future, we will need to continue to develop base-load generation, such as coal, nuclear, and even natural gas. Renewable energy will be a part of the supply mix, but will not supplant these forms of generation in meeting our growing need for electric energy.

So, our message to the Michigan congressional delegation is: “We support incentives for the continued development of renewables and will continue to incorporate renewable energy into our supply mix as our members and their elected boards of directors deem prudent.”

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is a government program that works and should continue. Just like funding for our nation’s highway system, funding for the RUS loan program and the electric cooperatives that borrow from it must continue. I have heard the argument that the countryside is now electrified so we no longer need the RUS program. In my opinion, that’s like saying we now have roads that crisscross the nation, so we no longer need to fund highway construction. The quick reply would be, “But those highways need maintenance, they wear out and have to be repaired or replaced. Further, we need to keep up with improvements in the design and engineering of highways and bridges if our economy is to continue to grow.” Well, the same thing is true for our electric cooperatives and the areas we serve.

Cooperatives serve almost 75 percent of the land mass of the United States. In Michigan, as in many states, we serve some of the sparsest areas—where there are truly “miles between customers.” We also continue to grow as new members come on-line. Growth, on a system that was started almost 75 years ago, demands that we keep up with maintenance and improvements in distribution and generation technology.

The RUS program has served our cooperatives well in the past, and will continue to do so well into the future. From an economic standpoint, the cost to the federal taxpayer is less than $25 million a year to support a $4 billion RUS lending program. (Yes, the cooperatives borrow and pay back loans under the RUS program; these are not grants.) One example we shared with members of Congress was the Michigan cooperative that is planning to invest $20 million over the next several years in new line construction and upgrades to its existing system. By going through the RUS loan program, the cooperative can save it’s 20,000 members over $400,000 per year in interest expense, compared to the cost of borrowing from private lenders. Not a bad savings at little to no cost to the taxpayer. So, another message we gave the Michigan congressional delegation is: “The RUS program has been good for Michigan and America, and should be continued.”

On a sad note, one of our delegation members, Phil Eikenberry, a longtime director from Scottville, returned home to his farm on the same week and was struck down by a massive heart attack. Phil and I walked the halls of Congress together on Wednesday, and he passed on Friday. I am thankful for the time I had with Phil, as he was truly dedicated to serving co-op members.

Michael Peters is president and CEO of the Michigan Electric Cooperative Association. His e-mail address is mpeters@ countrylines.com@ countrylines.com.