The fourth leg of resiliency

IN LAST NOVEMBER’S “DIALOGUE” about our partnership with the University of South Carolina and their innovative research into energy generation and storage, I mentioned an analogy of a threelegged stool. Projects they pursue must 1) be good for the University, 2) have practical applications and 3) be good for the people of South Carolina.

For decades, electric cooperatives have used the same analogy when vetting their service to members is it 1) reliable, 2) affordable and 3) responsible? Those three legs provide accountability for your cooperative as they make sure the power stays on 99.999% of the time, your rates are fair, and the generation and distribution of electricity is safe and environmentally responsible.

Your co-op knows there will be storms that cause outages, so they are prepared for them. They know what drives the cost of delivering power to you, and they adjust to keep your rates stable. They’ve made investments in renewable and efficient energy while remaining committed to our industry’s safe practices.

But the events of the last few years have me convinced that our stool is a leg short. Our three legs only address the predictable present and immediate future. But what of the unpredictable and imperceptible? Like a pandemic, which forced cooperatives to alter the way they interacted with members? Or a war in Ukraine that drove up the price of energy resources here in the U.S.? Not to mention the supply chain and labor shortages that wreaked havoc on an industry dependent upon specialized equipment and a specialized workforce?

We need a fourth leg that represents the resiliency shown through these changes and challenges. Resiliency is sometimes confused with reliability, but it’s different. It’s not just being prepared; it’s how you respond to a disruption you can’t prepare for. It’s the capacity to adapt to inevitable change, even when we don’t know what that change will look like. Resiliency shouldn’t be bouncing back; it’s bouncing forward.

When offices closed and social gatherings were risky endeavors, co-ops bounced forward with online and mobile payment options and drivethru annual meeting registrations. They absorbed and adjusted to increased expenses caused by the war in Ukraine by taking advantage of the fuel and generation diversity they had already invested in. Thanks to resilient partners like Cooperative Electric Energy Utility Supply (CEEUS), the cooperatives’ primary provider of equipment and materials, supply shortages have had minimal impact on cooperative members.

As the auto industry shifts to manufacturing mostly electric vehicles in the next few years, we know a massive change to residential energy consumption is on the horizon, but there is still a great deal we don’t know. How quickly do our members transition from gas to electric? What impact will home charging stations have on the reliability and cost of service to those members?

Encountering these unknowns and responding to them once they manifest take resilient leaders like the ones you have at your cooperative and on your cooperative’s board of trustees. Resilient leadership is looking ahead to the impact electric vehicles will have on the infrastructure your co-op built for a very different type of residential load. They’re already using data to help analyze those prospective changes to the delivery system. Resilient leaders at your cooperatives are making sure they listen to a variety of opinions, always willing to include that devil’s advocate who can see around corners in a different way.

Whether or not it has been recognized as a leg on our stool, resiliency is the reason electric cooperatives have been around for more than 80 years. It will definitely be one of the reasons why cooperatives will be around for another 80 years, providing you service reliably, affordably and responsibly through all the changes to come.