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Cooperative Holds Annual Meeting Here
Last year was both a rewarding and a challenging year for BARC Electric Cooperative.
That was the message from the speakers at the cooperative’s annual meeting July 17 at its Highland Belle office in Rockbridge County.
Board President Keith Swisher noted that BARC receives its generation and transmission from Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC), which “continues to benefit BARC by planning and forecasting energy demands for our members.”
Crews, he said, have been constructing a new 3.5-mile transmission route from the solar field in Millboro, increasing BARC’s load capacity. He added that BARC Connects continues to expand fiber broadband with 1,366 miles and now 5,000 customers connected. BARC also went through a major software conversion to allow the cooperative to work more efficiently for our members.
Cooperatives operate at cost and can authorize capital credits based on patronage in the event of margins. Each year, the board evaluates the upcoming needs to maintain the system and provide services. The capital credits remain as equity until such a time as they can be retired. For many cooperatives, this can be a 20-to-30-year time frame as that is the typical debt funding term, said a BARC spokesman. It is important to maintain reasonable equity ratios to meet Rural Utility Service requirements.
“Even though lower equity ratios are slowing down our capital credit retirements, we continue to give back to our membership by right-of-way credits, approved by the SCC. In 2023, this amount totaled $765,000,” Swisher commented.
In BARC’s 86th year, “We are focused on maintaining safe, reliable and affordable electricity, as well as expanding broadband and renewable energy services,” said Swisher. “We are proud of our employees and their accomplishments throughout 2023.”
He also extended a huge thank you to the lineworkers for their hard work in the difficult heat this summer.
Board Secretary/Treasurer John Quantz reported, “Coops across our region battled similar trends throughout 2023 — low kWh sales due to a year of mild weather and continuously rising interest rates. We saw a slight decrease in energy costs from our major power supplier due to a decline in the cost of natural gas. BARC passed these savings on to our membership by reducing the power cost adjustment rate on Aug. 1, 2023. An average residential member consuming 1,000 kWh in a month recognized a total savings of $4.29.
“Despite the challenges of 2023, I am happy to report that we did end the year with positive margins,” Quantz added. “The new rate structure implemented on Jan. 1, 2023, proved instrumental to this outcome.”
BARC CEO Bill Buchanan spoke about the importance of system reliability from the standpoint of effective right-of-way maintenance, with more than 2,200 miles of overhead line to maintain. He also celebrated the coop’s milestone achievement of 750,000 hours worked with no lost-time incidents.
Buchanan also spoke on the broadband grants and how they are key to expanding broadband to rural areas. Over 300 electric cooperatives have been successful in obtaining funding that has contributed 40-75% of the capital required to build out their fiber networks. BARC has been less fortunate in broadband grants to support these projects.
