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Who among us, when we flip a light switch or turn on a fan, gives a second thought (or even a first thought) to where the electricity comes from to light the bulb or cool the room? Part of our job at Ohio’s electric cooperatives is to make it easy for you to take this miracle of science and engineering for granted. In this month’s issue, Ohio Cooperative Living pulls back the curtain and gives you a peek at how we make sure that power is literally at your fingertips anytime you want it.
The very fact that we don’t really have to consider the source every time we flip a switch is testament to the workhorse nature of our power generation system — for Ohio electric cooperatives, that’s been anchored by the Cardinal Station plant on the Ohio River near Brilliant. Cardinal has been reliably delivering electricity to Ohio’s cooperatives since 1968.
Cardinal was the first-ever alliance of an investor-owned electric utility, American Electric Power (AEP), and a member-owned electric cooperative, Buckeye Power, to jointly own and operate a plant to serve the consumers of both organizations. For nearly 50 years, this historic relationship has benefited consumers across Ohio. But because the role of Ohio’s investor-owned electric utilities has changed in recent years, we are exploring changes to the ownership and operation of the entire three-unit plant. Ohio’s investor-owned utilities, such as AEP, no longer produce electricity for their consumers, instead requiring that electric generation be purchased from third parties.
Conversely, Ohio’s electric cooperatives own all the generating assets required to meet the needs of the 400,000 electric cooperative members in rural Ohio. Your power comes from several sources — including natural gas, wind, solar, hydropower, methane gas, and yes, coal. This all-of-the-above energy supply strategy allows Buckeye Power to fulfill its mission of delivering competitive, stably priced and reliable electric service to your cooperative.
Pat O’Loughlin is president and CEO of Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives.
