Rural Missouri - October 2023 - 27

of resources that have different operating characteristics.
Even with pressure to retire fossil fuel plants and replace
them with renewables, the board has listened to the member
systems, making reliability and generation balance a
priority.
We are not following the crowd. Another key board decision
has been to remain independent of regional transmission
organizations, or RTOs, that manage the electric grid
for member utilities in a geographic area. By keeping independent,
we can buy, sell and transmit power with multiple
RTOs, so that has been advantageous both for reliability
reasons and for the economic benefit of the system.
That independence really paid off during winter storms
Uri in 2021 and Elliott in 2022. We set all-time system
peaks in both of those weather events. Repeatedly, while
many around us resorted to rolling blackouts, Associated
kept the lights on - and that's what members expect. Our
reliability track record stems from our balanced generation
portfolio and our independence to manage our generating
assets to maximize reliability for members.
How does the future look for rural energy reliability?
Joe: Associated and its member-owners are well-positioned.
A recent forecast by the government agency responsible
for the country's electric grid reliability showed about
two-thirds of the nation with an elevated or even high risk
for reliability problems. But if you look at the map that
visualizes that forecast, the middle of the country where
Associated serves is clear. That doesn't mean we can never
experience reliability problems. But it does mean the
cooperative business model and member-ownership works
well for the people we serve.
The major challenge to reliability for us is a regulatory
environment that does not prioritize reliability but caters
to a host of other agendas. We prioritize reliability and
are orking to maintain it hich has often felt like a fish
simming upstream. lthough e ere one of the first to
speak out on the issue, many other utilities, trade organizations,
political representatives and others now advocate
for making reliability a key part of policymaking. We
are hopeful the education process is opening eyes to the
problem of transitioning too quickly to a future dependent
on intermittent, renewable generation at the expense of
reliable electricity. Our people and economies depend on
reliable power.
What is Associated doing to make sure power generation
keeps pace with member needs?
Joe: We study our member loads and analyze trends,
hich sho significant load groth on the ssociated
system. That's a good thing because it means our regional
economy is picking up, with businesses expanding, new
homes being built and so on. But it also means we need
to make sure our power supply keeps pace. Associated
develops an integrated resource plan every year that looks
to the future, what our member load requirements will
be and the generation technologies that can serve them.
The technologies need to be proven and dispatchable, not
intermittent, so that we can count on them. As a result,
we are working to bring new natural gas generation online
in 2026 to 2027. These will be peaking units designed to
serve member load when it is at its highest. Also in our
plan is the potential for new future renewable generation,
but only when the timing, technology and costs make
sense for the member system.
A new technology we are watching closely is small modular
nuclear reactors or s. We are affiliated ith to
different organiations developing the first units hich
won't be online for seven years at the earliest, so we can
learn about them. We want to see how well they operate
and what the costs will be. It's a very new technology that
really is just coming off the drawing boards.
We've heard some say Associated is against renewable
(intermittent) power supply for the future. Is that
true?
Joe: No - that is absolutely false. It's laughable to hear
people say that because it's not factual. We began taking
poer from our first ind farm in  the first utility in
the state to bring wind power into its portfolio. Since then,
we've added power from seven more wind farms in three
states, the most recent in 2020. Wind accounts for nameplate
capacity of 1,240 megawatts in our generation mix;
however, its intermittent operating characteristics means it
cannot be counted on all the time. We are good at forecasting
when the wind will blow and when it will not.
It's the same with solar. As a winter peaking system, we
know that we generally cannot count on solar to generate
power when we need it most. That's why we invested in
ind over solar  ind fits our system profile better. s 
mentioned earlier, we evaluate renewable technologies as
we plan for the future, but the costs, technology and timing
need to be beneficial for our member systems.
o do you aue member satisation? o satisfied
are Associated's members?
Joe: The best way is from members giving direct feedback
to their distribution cooperatives, which is often shared
with us. The other gauge is a comprehensive systemwide
survey of members we conduct every two years. About
12,000 surveys are completed by members at the end of
the line so it is a statistically significant sample. We ask a
number of questions across many facets of the utility business,
but the key takeaway is that our members like their
cooperative, trust them and like how they are being served.
Member trust is what it is all about and that translates to
some of the best satisfaction ratings in the country.
What is the one thing you wish everyone knew about
Associated?
Joe: It's not really important to know who Associated is -
the important relationship for a member is with their local
cooperative. But I would want them to know that Associated's
employees have the same dedication to serving them
as their local cooperative. All of us at Associated love the
fact we have jobs with a true purpose, powering farms,
businesses, homes and communities. We generate power
with a purpose - serving our member systems reliably
and affordably - and we take pride in that.
OCTOBER 2023 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 27
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Rural Missouri - October 2023

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