Electrifying Guatemala

OEC's Hunter, Caldwell to help bring electricity to Guatemalan village

The Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives (OAEC) recently announced that OEC linemen Brad Hunter and Matthew Caldwell will be joining a group of linemen traveling to Guatemala later this year. Their mission? Building infrastructure to bring electricity to remote villages for the very first time. Several OEC linemen in the past have traveled to Bolivia and Guatemala on similar missions.

“Bringing electricity to areas that have none takes us back to our roots of rural electrification,” said Chris Meyers, OAEC general manager.

In 2019, the last time OAEC sent a group of linemen to Guatemala, they built power lines in the villages of Pie del Cerro and Tierra Blanca Salinas. Tucked away near a rainforest in the region of Ixcán, close to the border of Mexico, the group brought electricity to approximately 100 households, five churches, two elementary schools and two health centers — all previously without access to reliable and affordable electricity.

"The locals who reside in these villages live in humble means without running water, food refrigeration, or the ability to use electronic appliances for house chores or to aid in their economic growth," said Meyers. "The villagers depend on farming operations for economic sustainment; they produce corn, beans, cardamom seeds, cocoa and some vegetables."

More information about their journey to Guatemala will be available this fall.