Southwestern Electric Co-op Holds Annual Meeting

(FROM LEFT, SOUTHWESTERN ELECTRIC CO-OP C-E-O BOBBY WILLIAMS, AND BOARD MEMBERS SANDY GRAPPERHAUS OF COLLINSVILLE, TED WILLMAN OF GREENVILLE AND ANN SCHWARM OF LOOGOOTEE, WHO WERE ELECTED TO NEW TERMS AT SATURDAY'S CO-OP ANNUAL MEETING)

Power supply and demand was discussed during Southwestern Electric Cooperative's 84th Annual Meeting of Members on Saturday. The meeting, held at Highland Middle School in Highland, featured electrical safety demonstrations, an electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid car show, a solar energy and geothermal technology fair, and the co-op's business meeting and election of directors.

Making reference to the possibility of rolling blackouts, Southwestern CEO Bobby Williams said, "We're shifting from coal-fired power plants to green energy. Older coal plants are closing and energy companies aren't investing in new plants to take their place." Williams said co-ops may be required to interrupt service for a defined period in specific areas if demand promises to surpass supply. 

Williams said the term "rolling blackout" is misleading. He said it's a controlled operation where circuits are opened to create a defined outage to reduce power demand for a while, then the circuits are closed to restore power. The problem, Williams said, is that co-ops are often given little or no advance notice of the interruptions, which makes it tough to notify co-op members.

Co-op President Ann Schwarm of Loogootee Ann Schwarm said that while membership in the co-op continues to grow, sales of electricity remain stagnant. Schwarm said economic development will be a point of emphasis.

In the District III co-op board election, Schwarm won re-election over challenger Stacy Alwardt of Edgewood, 1,363 to 586. 

Southwestern Electric, headquartered in Greenville, serves 24,000 residential, commercial, agricultural and industrial members in 11 counties along the I-70 corridor between St. Louis and Effingham.