NAEC extends thanks to the people, businesses and organizations who helped support our outage restoration efforts.
Fellow Electric Co-ops
• Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc.
• Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative
• Ashley-Chicot Electric Cooperative
• C & L Electric Cooperative
• DEMCO
• Farmers Electric Cooperative
• First Elec tric Cooperative
• Osage Valley Electric Cooperative
• Petit Jean Elec tric Cooperative
• Rich Mountain Electric Cooperative
• South Louisiana Electric Cooperative Association
• Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperative
• White River Valley Electric Cooperative
• Woodruff Elec tric Cooperative
Businesses, Agencies and Organizations
• Arkansas State Police
• Arkansas Department of Transportation
• The Back Forty in Mountain Home
• Casey ’s in Mountain Home
• Cottonwood Inn in Salem
• Days Inn in Mountain Home
• Exxon Gas-N-Go in Salem
• Fat Boyz Smash House in Mountain Home
• Fred’s Fish House in Batesville
• Holy Smokes BBQ in Mountain Home
• Jason Nazarenko of Cotter
• Jimmy John’s in Mountain Home
• Lake Norfork Inn in Henderson
• Letty’s Mexican Restaurant in Gassville
• Matt Foster Excavation
• McDonald’s in Ash Flat and Mountain Home
• Mountain Home Do-nuts
• Nima’s Pizza & More in Gassville
• Ole Mill Tavern in Mountain Home
• Pizza Hut in Ash Flat
• Riggs Tree Service
• Road Hawgz BBQ in Ash Flat
• Salem First Baptist Church
• Salem Valero Mart
• Sonic Drive-In in Mountain Home
• Spring River Lodge in Hardy
• Subway in Mountain Home and Ash Flat
• Town & Country Supermarket in Mountain Home and Salem
• Vincent Excavating
Ashley-Chicot Electric Cooperative line technician Gus Lofton adds grounding chains to power lines so that repairs can be made safely in Hand Cove on May 27.
Marlin Coggins, lead right-of-way technician, hangs a transformer on a new pole in Briarcliff on May 31.
the decked-out bucket truck to the Salem Christmas parade.
NAEC recommends having a licensed HVAC technician inspect your system annually. He or she can inspect ducts, filters, blower and indoor coil for dirt and other obstructions; seal any duct leakage; verify correct refrigerant charge; and inspect system for any other needed maintenance or repairs. This will help ensure your system is operating efficiently and likely will extend its life.
NAEC restores power following May tornadoes, straight-line winds
Electricity supplier seeks rate adjustment
North Arkansas Electric Cooperative (NAEC) finished restoring power May 31 to those who could accept service after tornadoes and straight-line winds passed through May 25. Members without power topped 25,000 initially but decreased to 15,000 within hours once outside transmission service was restored to substations in the Salem and Mountain Home districts.
North Arkansas Electric Cooperative's (NAEC's) wholesale electricity supplier, Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC), is seeking to adjust wholesale power rates to provide an additional 5% in wholesale revenues.
Storms broke 350 of the co-op's distribution poles and 10 transmission structures. The cooperative principle of "cooperation among cooperatives" was on display as more than 100 line personnel from Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri electric co-ops responded to NAEC's request for assistance. NAEC also had the help of its existing right-of-way contractors.
The request was filed in December with the Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC). If approved by the APSC, NAEC estimates that the adjustment would raise the average monthly NAEC residential member’s bill by $4.44. Money generated from the rate adjustment would be applied strictly to wholesale costs. No money from the rate adjustment will go to NAEC.
"Our co-op hasn't seen such a devastating weather event since the ice storm of 2009," CEO Mel Coleman said. "I'm proud of the work our employees and those helping us did to get our members back on as quickly and safely as possible. We also thank our members for their patience and understanding."
AECC's reason for the rate adjustment is due to the need to recover the increased cost of providing wholesale generation and transmission service to NAEC and the 16 other electric distribution co-ops, which includes operation and maintenance expenses and investment credit compensation AECC provides to the co-ops, as well as increased costs resulting from above-average economic inflation.
NAEC is working with state and federal officials on disaster assistance. Estimated damages include $4,160,000 in Baxter County, $283,000 in Sharp County and $153,750 in Fulton County.
Many members shared their appreciation for NAEC employees' restoration efforts via social media, email and cards.
As a member-owned cooperative, NAEC is not concerned with stock prices or stockholder profits. It is our obligation to be upfront with our members about any and all issues, especially those that impact them financially. NAEC has passed through two wholesale rate decreases and three wholesale rate increases since 1984.
“Thanks to your great repairmen, we now have electricity again,” Lois Williams said on social media. “NAEC rocks! Stay safe!”
NAEC strives to keep retail rates in check. The co-op's mission remains to provide affordable, responsible and reliable electricity to the members we serve.
1520 Hwy 62/412 E., Mountain Home CONTACT NAEC (870) 895-3221 info@naeci.com
FOLLOW NAEC Twitter.com/NorthARElectric Facebook.com/NorthARElectric NAEC's offices will be closed July 4 in observance of Independence Day. A dispatcher will be on duty, and personnel will be on call in the event of an outage. Report an outage with the NAEC app or by calling (870) 895-3221.
Osmose employees are inspecting poles throughout the service
Affected members will receive a postcard as well as an email if an adddress is on file. Inspections allow damaged poles to be repaired or replaced before causing outages.
NAEC line personnel, from left, Anthony Romine, Briar King and Billy Smart replace a broken pole in Briarcliff on May 31.
North Arkansas Electric Cooperative line personnel and family members get ready for the Mountain Home-Town Christmas Parade. NAEC employees also brought
MEL COLEMAN CEO
New EPA rules threaten grid reliability
On April 25, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released four major new regulations for the electric industry, including a rule to cut emissions from power plants. This move will aggravate reliability concerns for electric cooperatives and other utilities nationwide.
“Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC), the wholesale power supplier for the 17 local electric cooperatives in Arkansas, is very concerned about the devastating impacts that the proposed EPA’s Clean Power Plan 2.0 will cause to the affordability and reliability of electricity in Arkansas,” said Vernon “Buddy” Hasten, president/CEO of AECC. “The plan, as proposed, will lead to increased rates for Arkansans while decreasing the supply of reliable, always-dispatchable baseload generation. Demand for electricity continues to rise, while federal policies are forcing the premature retirement of crucial baseload generation resources that drive the economy.”
The power plant rule could force the early closure of electricity generation sources that are available 24/7 and will also impede the construction of new natural gas plants. The timing of these new rules is particularly troubling, as electric utilities face a surge in demand for electricity from factors like transportation electrification and the rapid expansion of data centers to support artificial intelligence, e-commerce and cryptocurrency.
Under the new rule, existing coal-based power plants that plan to operate past the start of 2039 must install carbon capture and storage (CCS) to capture 90% of emissions by 2032. The rule also requires new natural gas plants that operate more than 40% of the time to install CCS and capture 90% of their carbon emissions by 2032. These standards, and their reliance on unproven CCS technology, will undermine electric reliability and impact affordability.
In 2023, AECC’s wholesale power generation portfolio included approximately 20% non-fossil resources. The goal of the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas is to utilize a Balance of Power to provide Arkansans with reliable, affordable energy in a responsible manner. The proposed EPA rules are simply unlawful, unachievable and unacceptable. The proposed rules will cause overwhelming impact to an already stressed national electric grid and result in further erosion of the level of reliability required to power our nation.
Electric cooperatives understand the need to keep the lights on at a cost local families and businesses can afford. Intermittent technologies must be balanced with generation sources that are always available to ensure a reliable electric grid. The proposed EPA rules will impact the affordability and reliability of electricity.
Electric cooperatives deliver power to 42 million Americans. Our top priority is to meet our members’ energy needs, and we must have reliable electricity available to do that.
Read more on the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas’ philosophy on maintaining a portfolio of diverse energy generation resources at aecc.com/balance-of-power/.
Two coal plants co-owned by AECC — Independence Steam Electric Station (above) near Newark and White Bluff Steam Electric Station in Redfield — will be required to cease operations in 2030 and 2028 respectively, decreasing the supply of baseload generation.
