Management Quarterly

Sale of an electric cooperative in retrospect The sale of Bossier Rural Electric Membership Corp. (BREMCO) to an investor-owned utility could have been prevented years ago by a merger with another cooperative. BREMCO floundered under a large wage disparity of between 50-60% for some 12 years. Although it could have been alleviated by an early merger, this rate disparity, combined with a neglect of customer and member relations, brought the cooperative down. When the end came, 99% of the voting members favored a sell-out and even the empl...

EMF: is there cause for alarm?

Electric and magnetic fields from electric power lines The government and the general public are becoming increasingly concerned about the health effects of electric and magnetic fields (EMF) caused by the proximity of electric transmission lines. EMF refer to electric fields caused by voltage and magnetic fields produced by the amount of current flowing in transmission wires. The perception that EMF cause cancer and thus, lower property values in the affected areas, has resulted in much resistance to the construction of new power lines. This has...

It's a matter of governance: the angry members may be right.

Managing unrest in a rural electric cooperative Member unrest at rural electric cooperatives signals the need for major changes in management that should not be ignored. After a major snowstorm in Dec. 1993, members of a rural electric cooperative demanded the resignation of the nine-man board of directors and the management. This experience resulted in the election of three new directors at the following annual meeting and several lawsuits against the former board and the cooperative. However, these changes were presaged by years of custo...

Transmission access.

Includes appendix Transmission access is a major component of the restructuring of the electric utility industry. Also known as wheeling, this development refers to allowing retail customers or other utilities to use a utility's transmission line in acquiring electricity. Wholesale transmission access refers to exchanges between utilities, while retail access refers to a customer's private access to a particular supplier over a common transmission line. Reliability and regionalism are the two historical trends...