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The Electric Utility Landscape is Changing

Today’s technical complexities and changing public policy priorities at the State and federal levels are unprecedented. Further, the community public power industry requires not just skill, but dedication, endurance, and courage to preserve a community asset in the face of increasingly difficult hurdles.

Providing public power to our communities offers enormous benefits—our customers pay a fraction of the price compared to neighbors who are customers of large investor-owned utilities. But today, the risks and requirements are also profound.

The Municipal Electric Utilities Association (“MEUA”) is your association of community leaders and electric department staff working together to stay up to date in this complex environment and to be your voice in the public debate surrounding today’s electric industry.

Municipal electricity is unique and the challenges facing electric utilities today are unprecedented. In addition to the need to maintain low-cost electric rates, international events; national policy; constantly moving State mandates; rapidly changing technology; special interest demands; political machinations; rising interest rates; rising costs; equipment and material shortages; public demands for reliability and customer service; and the challenge of recruiting, training, and retaining qualified personnel pose difficult challenges for all our municipal members. The MEUA is here to help our member communities navigate these challenges.

The MEUA operates as a trade association for the mutual benefit of its members. It acts as a communications network and advocacy group, and offers educational resources, training opportunities, and representation of our public power communities at all levels of government. We cannot rely on others to properly represent the interests of public power communities, especially in today’s fractious political environment. The MEUA is here to help.

1930 Was a Historic Year

Franklin D. Roosevelt was in the Governor’s Mansion. The depression had begun, farm commodity prices were crashing, and unemployment was rising.

Electric power was transforming American life. The expansion of the industry and the role of public power was an important public political issue. One of the central planks of FDR’s platform running for gubernatorial office in 1927 was public ownership of the State’s hydropower resources. He gained public and legislative support “to give back to the people the waterpower which is theirs.”

The investor-owned electric utilities were fighting against the creation and continued existence of public power. On the one hand, utilities—dominated by powerful, national holding companies—were cornering potential hydropower sites. On the other, the utilities were refusing to extend service to rural areas; and when they did, they charged high prices. These utilities were unfriendly to public power communities, making grid interconnections unwieldy at best. Not only did they dominate the transmission network, but they had designs on the best hydropower resources. Private utilities controlled Niagara and sought to control the St. Lawrence. It was in this atmosphere of contention and occasional hostility to public power that several public power community leaders met at the Conference of Mayors meeting in 1930 and considered the urgent question of creating a similar organization devoted to the needs of municipal electric utilities. A group of Municipal Electric Light Plant Officials then met on July 11, 1930, to explore creating an association specifically tailored to address the enormous challenges facing municipal public power communities. The MEUA was born. It has operated continuously ever since.

How Does MEUA Work

MEUA is a non-profit trade association with 40 municipal electric utility community members spread throughout upstate New York, from Richmondville in the east, to Rouses Point in the north and the Village of Westfield in Chatauqua County. MEUA also has corporate members who provide important information regarding available products and services. Broadly stated, MEUA’s primary function is to provide information and educational resources to our members.

The member systems have adopted bylaws which set forth the organizational structure of MEUA. Overall governance of the association is through the Executive Committee, comprised of five members elected from the member systems for five-year terms. Through the Executive Committee, MEUA employs an Executive Director and a member relations coordinator to perform the day to day functions of the organization.

To further support its members, MEUA also has contractual relationships with a number of professional consultants who provide expert guidance on legal and accounting issues, as well as general advice with respect to rates and charges and general regulatory compliance. By joining together, MEUA members have ready access to resources and information that would be problematic for individual members on their own.

MEUA’s annual budget of approximately $1.25M is funded primarily by member dues. Municipal members’ dues are based upon each member’s annual hydroelectric power consumption so that dues are proportional to each municipal member’s size and revenues. Corporate members pay a flat rate for annual dues and also support MEUA through advertising and workshop presentations. Over time, bonds are formed between members that become an invaluable resource all that are involved in our organization.

What Does the MEUA Do?

MEUA is the primary and active forum for mutual education and sharing among municipal electric utility leadership and staff.
- Offers annual and semi-annual conferences and meetings, as well as specialty workshops, which bring in experts on the latest industry developments and techniques.
- Provides training for linemen, engineers, and accountants and clerical staff.
- Offers invaluable opportunities for municipal electric utility personnel to share and learn from each other, and to develop relationships among municipal electric utility providers.

MEUA is an active voice in Albany and Washington.
- Stands as the single, united voice of the municipal electric utility providers for the State. Our public service is unique, and our communities have a right to be heard.
- Maintains a unique partnership with the New York Power Authority (“NYPA”). MEUA has represented the municipal power communities in our relationship with NYPA on all matters, which includes, among other items: hydropower supply contracts; coordinating daily responsibilities in New York’s highly technical control area operations; coordinating on public policy; working on energy efficiency programs; and addressing the challenges of electrification of buildings and electric vehicle penetration in New York.

The MEUA stands as our joint voice before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”), the New York Public Service Commission (“PSC”), the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (“NYSERDA”), New York State’s Executive Offices, New York Legislature, and other policymakers.

The MEUA operates its own energy efficiency program through the Independent Energy Efficiency Program (“IEEP”). Dollars collected in your community stays in your community rather than going to the State to be redistributed elsewhere. By working together, we control our own program. Our program is professionally run, state of the art, and cost effective. The IEEP is recognized as our energy efficiency vehicle by the PSC and NYPA, as well as NYSERDA.

The MEUA works with the New York Independent System Operator (“ISO”). The ISO is the crucial keystone of the complex, integrated New York electric grid. It not only sets the rules, but also runs the system that keeps the lights on every day. Our systems must comply with a staggering array of technical requirements to interconnect with the grid and serve our customers. To that end, the MEUA handles daily interactions and actively participates in the administration of the organization. We are there. Indeed, our MEUA representative is currently the Chair of the ISO Management Committee and the Chair of the New York Reliability Council. Our positions are heard.

The MEUA coordinates on mutual aid. We all know the challenge: a vicious storm brings down poles and wires, and we need additional resources to restore power quickly and safely. Our mutual aid network coordinates municipal systems to bring in trained, experienced crews who are familiar with our communities’ municipal systems. We are very proud of our skilled municipal electric crews, who work under very difficult conditions to restore electric service to the public. We also coordinate aid to our neighboring investor-owned utilities so that our communities are guaranteed reliable back up at all times.

The MEUA maintains the hydro power supply contract with NYPA. It has been the united voice of the municipal utilities in our dealings with NYPA. Most of our individual municipal electric systems, and the MEUA, predate NYPA! Our Niagara hydropower supply contracts are based upon provisions of the 1957 Federal Niagara Development Act, which granted NYPA license to construct and operate the Niagara power project. Under the Act, our members have a “preference” for allocations of Niagara hydropower. The MEUA has been our representative in negotiations and contract compliance. The MEUA led to the negotiations securing the most recent 20-year contract extension.