Co-ops’ political engagement helps carry members’ voices into the legislative and regulatory settings where important decisions are made.
Every law, regulation, and policy choice that touches the electric industry has the potential to affect the cost and reliability of the power that electric cooperative members depend on every day. For co-ops, political engagement is not about partisanship; it’s about making sure the people who make decisions understand the people who live with those decisions.
That’s why co-ops need to be part of the conversation — to make sure those in power fully understand the cooperative business model, co-op communities, and the responsibility co-ops have to provide affordable, reliable service.
The cooperative principle of Democratic Member Control means members have a voice in the co-op they own. We see that through local boards, annual meetings, and the day-to-day accountability cooperatives have to the people they serve. Political engagement is an extension of that same idea. It helps carry members’ voices into the legislative and regulatory settings where important decisions are made.
Ohio’s electric cooperatives also value self-regulation. That local, member-focused approach has served co-ops well because it keeps decisions close to home and encourages long-term thinking. But self-regulation does not mean co-ops can ignore what is happening all around them. Beyond federal, state, and local governments, there are numerous acronym-heavy regulatory and grid authorities (FERC, NERC, EPA, PJM) that have the power to affect reliability standards, environmental rules, transmission planning, power costs, and future development — it’s a lot to keep track of, a lot of relationships to build and maintain to ensure policymakers understand the cooperative difference and see the real-world impact of their decisions. Participation in America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC is one way we support leaders who understand cooperative issues and are willing to listen.
Politics can be frustrating. Most people only have the time to focus on their own work, their own families, and their own communities — not on the latest debate in Washington, Columbus, or anywhere else. That’s why, for cooperatives, staying out of the process is not an option. The issues facing our industry today will shape electric service for years to come. So co-ops will stay engaged, constructive, and focused on the needs of their members.
Political engagement is not a distraction from that mission. It is how to protect it.
Craig Grooms is president and CEO of Buckeye Power, the co-op-owned utility that provides the electricity Ohio’s electric cooperatives deliver to their members; and Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc., their statewide trade association.
