| Gulf Coast Electric Cooperative: Keeping it Local |
| Featured Spotlights | |||
| Wednesday, 30 June 2010 | |||
 By focusing on its community, this electric cooperative provides its customers with high quality service.
More than six decades after it began, the utility holds true to its original mission of providing superior customer service while distributing an economic and reliable power source. The cooperative serves customers in Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Jackson, Walton, and Washington counties. Being member-owned allows members to influence the progressiveness of the cooperative. With deregulation on the horizon, the cooperative has increased its emphasis on protecting the environment, pursuing economic growth to help in the advancement of its local communities and developing value-added services to improve the quality of life for each of its members. Another key to the cooperative’s success is the dedication of its employees and its solid relationships with its vendors. Gulf Coast has about 75 employees, including a project manager who handles all interactions with the cooperative’s vendors. A variety of generation facilities The cooperative’s electricity is generated at a variety of facilities throughout Florida and Alabama. The Lowman Power Plant consists of three generating units, the first of which began operating in 1969. Each year, the Lowman Power Plant burns approximately 1.5 million tons of coal to produce the steam needed to make electricity. The plant is the recipient of the Air Conservationist of the Year award from the Alabama Wildlife Federation, which was the result of Alabama Electric Cooperative’s proactive approach to environmental protection. The cooperative gets electricity from the Alabama Electric Cooperative’s Maury A. McWilliams power plant and the McIntosh power plant. Additional electricity comes from the James H. Miller electric generating plant and the James A. Vann Jr. plant. Gulf Coast Electric is a member-owner of the Alabama Electric Cooperative (AEC). AEC’s biggest role is to purchase and generate power on behalf of its 21 member-owners. As one of the most successful generation and transmission cooperatives in the US, AEC is constantly working with its member-owners to improve its already high levels of quality and service. AEC has implemented many leading technologies into its operations, including fuel cell development, remote readings of revenue meters at substations, implementation of automated meter reading systems, and improved global positioning systems. Green power The Gulf Coast Electric Cooperative offers its members the option of purchasing blocks of green power throughthe Green Power Choice Program. This is electricity generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources, including decomposing garbage. As the organic waste decomposes, it produces methane as a natural by-product. Green power can be purchased in 100-kilowatt-hour blocks, equivalent to about 8% of a typical household’s monthly energy use, for only $2 per month. The environmental impact of buying two blocks of green power per month for a year is equal to recycling 480 pounds of aluminum (15,322 cans) or 1,766 pounds of newspaper. Customers can purchase as many blocks as they want with a minimum participation of one year. In addition to focusing on green initiatives for its customers, the cooperative works to assist economic development in the area it serves. One of the newest programs the cooperative is offering to its commercial and industrial customers is EC Cooperative, where it is able to sponsor a competitive, easy-to-use equipment financing package to commercial accounts within and outside its service territory. The program is offered to Gulf Coast through the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation. Eligible borrowers include private or public entities with active business operations, including manufacturing, agriculture, wholesale and distribution, and professional firms. There are a number of other services the cooperative can offer commercial and industrial customers, such as rural development loans that allow members to gain savings with low or zero interest for projects that produce a significant number of jobs and make a positive impact on the economic development of the area. In addition, Gulf Coast’s engineering staff is available to help new businesses work through the details of determining their energy use requirements. The cooperative is a member of Touchstone Energy, a national alliance of local, member-owned cooperatives that are committed to integrity, accountability, innovation, and commitment to community. The alliance includes 600 cooperatives in 45 states delivering power and energy solutions to 22 million customers. Gulf Coast adheres closely to Touchstone Energy’s commitment to community. The cooperative supports a number of local causes, from education to the environment. The American Cancer Society gets a lot of support from the cooperative. For the past several years, it has sponsored the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, an overnight event designed to celebrate survivorship and raise money for the society’s research and programs. Locally, the cooperative partners with the Children’s Home Society of Florida. Each holiday season, the cooperative’s employees and trustees organize a toy drive to benefit the society. The toys donated by the cooperative are distributed to underprivileged children in Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington counties. With its strong roots in the Florida panhandle, the cooperative expects great growth in the coming years. It has made improvements across the board, from upgrading substations to investing in applied technology solutions software. Whatever the future holds, the cooperative will remain true to its roots of having committed employees who are dedicated to serving customers. |
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