New Year's

Celebrating independence

sbradford — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 19:41:11 +0000

Celebrating independence

January 1, 2026

Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe that a full year has passed since I began writing these messages as CEO of our statewide association of electric cooperatives. 2025 was a fulfilling year, filled with both highlights and challenges, and I’ve been grateful for the opportunity to share my thoughts and to reflect on our progress.

This year, we’ll celebrate a historic milestone: the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It’s a good time to pause and reflect on the values that have shaped our nation: liberty, self-governance, and working together for a better future. It seems to me that these same values are at the heart of electric cooperatives. Just as our nation was built through unity and shared purpose, Ohio’s electric cooperatives have thrived by working together while maintaining independent local control. The independence of the local co-op boards allows them to be flexible, innovative, and responsive to members’ needs as they make decisions that best serve their specific communities.

There’s much to be optimistic about in the new year. Several electric cooperatives in Ohio have experienced stable load growth, thanks to new opportunities and expanding communities. We hope this positive trend will not only continue but also spread to more areas of rural Ohio. Rest assured, the generation facilities owned by the cooperatives, and therefore by their members, stand ready to power that growth, and we are committed to keeping those resources operating for their full, useful lives.

As we fulfill our mission to provide that reliable, affordable electricity to cooperative members around the state, it’s helped that we’ve seen some much-needed regulatory reform at the federal level. It couldn’t have come at a better time, as there’s been a growing sense of uncertainty in our industry caused by the increasing number of data centers coming online.

While it’s not an immediate problem, the amount of electricity those centers demand has raised concerns about whether new power generation can be developed quickly enough to keep up. As with many challenges our country has faced before, I am confident that we will work through this one, too. It will take time, but I believe in our ability to adapt and develop solutions that solve problems. In the meantime, though, it’s important that our political and regulatory leaders stay focused on maintaining reliability and protecting the U.S. power grid — one of our nation’s most valuable assets.

As we honor the 250th anniversary of American independence, let’s celebrate both the spirit of independence and the strong bonds that hold us together.

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New Year's

Ball drops

sbradford — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 19:35:56 +0000

Ball drops

December 1, 2024

Damaine Vonada

Features

This New Year’s Eve, forget Times Square — New York City’s annual ball drop is too far away, and besides, there are plenty of options here in Ohio, where towns throughout the state proudly ring in the new year with eclectic and imaginative ways to celebrate their customs, culture, and industries.

New Year’s Eve Donut Drop, Lakeside

Anyone who has ever spent a summer day experiencing the Lakeside Chautauqua community on the shores of Lake Erie knows that residents and visitors alike relish the Patio Restaurant’s homemade donuts. Those famous cake donuts inspired a new tradition in 2022: dropping an inflatable plastic donut decorated with multi-colored “sprinkles” from Lakeside’s waterfront Pavilion. A DJ plays dance music during this only-in-Lakeside event, which of course serves Patio donuts plus hot chocolate for toasting the new year. Tip: Lakeside waives gate and parking fees for the Donut Drop, and its Fountain Inn is open for overnight stays.

419-798-4461; https://lakesideohio.com

Glass Town Countdown, Lancaster

Anchor Hocking has manufactured glassware in Lancaster since 1905, and the Glass Town Countdown reflects genuine hometown pride that culminates with a sparkling fireworks display. The downtown festival showcases a giant globe laden with 500 art glass ornaments, but instead of being dropped, it’s gingerly lifted off the ground by a crane. The round ornaments for this uplifting experience are produced in the glassblowing studio at Lancaster’s Ohio Glass Museum, where they’re either personally made or purchased for the globe by townspeople.

www.destinationdowntownlancaster.com

Ringin’ the Square, Mansfield

With a lovely landmark fountain, a Johnny Appleseed historic marker, and a replica of “Brooks’ Bench” from the filmed-in-Mansfield The Shawshank Redemption, nothing captures Mansfield’s identity quite like its Central Park town square. Crowds gather there annually to fete the new year with live bands, food trucks, outdoor ice skating, and a lighted, made-in-Mansfield metal ball that descends from a 10-story building — all followed by a fireworks show. Tip: The DLX Restaurant, located on the square, serves a pre-ball-drop dinner buffet that includes champagne and party favors.

www.destinationmansfield.com

Rockin’ Poppin’ New Year’s Eve Celebration, Marion

Organized by a local news channel, Marion’s family-friendly event starts at 6 p.m. At midnight, the Popcorn ball, illuminated with hundreds of white lights that give a nod to the community’s nearly 100-year-old popcorn manufacturing heritage, will drop. Also on tap are popcorn-themed Minute-to-Win-It games, food vendors, bounce houses, and pro wrestling.

www.newsforce247.com

New Year’s Ball Drop Party, Logan

Logan Town Center merchants are hosting their first-ever New Year’s bash this year — live music, an ice-skating rink, and a Polar Express “train” ride that’s a barrel of fun for kids — near the iconic Main Street gazebo and Hocking County courthouse. The midnight countdown features an enormous sphere built by local high school welding students, and it’ll be covered with colorful, 16-inch-long glass spirals created by skilled artisans at the renowned Jack Pine Studio.

www.explorehockinghills.com

New Year’s Eve Walleye Drop, Port Clinton

What’s a small town to do when it’s got an enormous reputation as “The Walleye Capital of the World”? Embrace the nickname with a street party that lures thousands of people to downtown Port Clinton, where Wylie the Walleye, a 20-foot-long, 600-pound fiberglass fish, is lowered by a crane at the stroke of midnight. A Minnow Drop for small fry is held in the afternoon, and the event’s “bar swim” has heated buses that ferry grown-ups to lakeshore establishments serving food and libations.

www.shoresandislands.com

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New Year's

tradition

Looking ahead to 2023

sbradford — Tue, 27 Dec 2022 19:00:59 +0000

Looking ahead to 2023

January 1, 2023

Pat O'Loughlin

Up Front

Each year, I try to look ahead to the opportunities and challenges that appear to be on the horizon for Ohio’s electric cooperatives. While the topics I’ve highlighted have been important, my views on the future have been overwhelmed by events that “stole the show” in recent years. In 2020, COVID dominated our daily lives, but it was unheard of as I put together my list for that year. Last year, there were certainly signs of inflation ahead and challenges to the supply chain for certain goods, but no indication of the enormous economic impact of supply chain disruptions, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, or the staggering inflation we would endure through 2022. Yet with sound business plans and a capable workforce, electric cooperatives across Ohio still delivered safe and reliable electricity at affordable prices — even without knowing much about future headlines.

So, at the risk of being overshadowed by upcoming events, here’s a look at what we see ahead for 2023:

Cost pressures are expected to continue this year, particularly in energy commodities like natural gas, coal, and petroleum products. Despite these cost pressures, we expect that electric cooperatives will provide high-quality service at a cost that is lower than other utilities — again — this year.
We’re continuing our work to improve the operation and maintenance of our power plants. The availability of our plants to produce electricity during critical periods of high demand becomes more important each year as the number of baseload power plants that can be dispatched to meet electric demand continues to shrink.
Government overreach in regulating energy industries generally, and electricity production specifically, is expected to be a headwind we will fight throughout the coming year.
Electric cooperatives are planning to take a larger role in local community development projects as we seek to keep some of the taxes that are already being collected on electricity sales available for projects that benefit the local community where they’re collected.
We will continue to emphasize workforce training and development for lineworkers, power plant employees, and managers to help us make sound decisions in our day-to-day work and continue to build a strong and enduring business foundation for the challenges that lie ahead — both seen and unseen.

Hope you and your family enjoy a safe and happy New Year.

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New Year's

government

Community

Looking ahead

sbradford — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 15:03:14 +0000

Looking ahead

January 1, 2022

Pat O'Loughlin

Up Front

As it does every year, the flip of the calendar brings both opportunities and challenges, and while our challenges for the coming year are significant, the prospects for 2022 seem exciting. The importance of Ohio’s electric cooperatives getting it right — meeting our challenges and seizing those opportunities — is as important as it’s ever been.

Safe, reliable, and affordable electric service has been our mission since electric cooperatives first began serving members 85 years ago. It’s never been good enough to get one or two of those right; we’ve always focused on all three, and we face challenges and see opportunities in each of those areas in the coming year.

Our training and development programs are an essential building block of everything we do. We’re currently training 125 apprentice lineworkers from cooperatives across Ohio and providing courses for more experienced lineworkers in new and emerging work practices. Additionally, directors of each Ohio electric cooperative keep current with courses on governance, new technologies, and business planning, and our new Leadership Edge program develops skills for future cooperative leaders. Together, these programs ensure your cooperative is operating with the best possible policies and procedures.

We continue to look for potential operational improvements at our power plants. As they represent the largest portion of our cost structure, they provide opportunities for efficiencies. At the same time, our “all-of-the-above” supply mix is designed to meet your needs during any type of weather. We expect more challenging environmental regulations in the coming year, and we’ll persist in balancing environmental improvements with impacts on cost and availability.

Finally, the network of high-voltage transmission lines that move power from our power plants to your local cooperative’s facilities are undergoing significant changes (see our Key to Reliability story for more information). We purchase transmission service from investor-owned utilities, and newer transmission lines are bringing about higher costs. We’re always vigilant to ensure your interests are represented in the planning and development of those new facilities, because we must realize the most value from those increasing costs.

Wishing you all a happy and safe new year.

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New Year's

Central Ohio Lineworker Training

power generation

power delivery

Rear-view mirror

aspecht — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 14:08:12 +0000

Rear-view mirror

December 1, 2020

Pat O'Loughlin

Up Front

Looking back, I doubt that too many of us will think of 2020 as a great year. It was strange, sad in many ways, and long — 366 days, to be exact. That’s right: 2020 not only seemed long — it was long.

Many of us are happy to turn the calendar to 2021, but the last 12 months weren’t all bad. There were some bright lights in the electric cooperative world.

Member satisfaction (as measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index) with Ohio’s electric co-ops reached a record high of 86.5 in 2020 (make sure to check out our story on page 4 to see what goes into that rating).
Co-ops returned $37 million in excess revenue to their members in the form of capital credits — one of the perks of co-op membership.
Ohio linemen brought the wonder of electricity to the remote, impoverished Guatemalan village of Tierra Blanca Sebol, enabling light, sanitation, refrigeration, and connections to the outside world never before possible — then safely returned home after the pandemic temporarily closed that country’s borders.
Co-ops awarded 13 economic development grants across the state to assist communities served by electric cooperatives with plans for growth.
We were able to work collaboratively with regulators to further improve the environmental impact of power plant operations, while continuing to provide affordable, safe, and reliable power.
Our Central Ohio Lineworker Training program reached a record enrollment of 118 apprentice lineworkers, as we continue to train a new generation of co-op employees.
Co-ops worked with investor-owned utilities to complete grid upgrades that will improve service to some of the state’s underserved areas.
As we prepare to close the book on the old year and start chapter 1 of the new, don’t let the 2020 Grinch steal your Christmas. We continue to find blessings — some in plain sight, some deep within our hearts and minds.

Wishing a merry Christmas to all and an even better new year.

Pat O'Loughlin is president and CEO of Ohio's Electric Cooperatives.

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New Year's