PEC drops candidate videos, adds staff to rate plan committee
According to a report given to the Pedernales Electric Cooperative Board of Directors on Oct. 21, the co-op is finalizing design, gathering bids, and obtaining city approval for yard renovations at its Marble Falls office, 4302 U.S. 281. Staff photo
The Pedernales Electric Cooperative Board of Directors made a few election policy changes, set the date for next year’s annual meeting, approved minor changes to district boundaries, and heard proposals for the 2023 rate plan during its regular meeting Oct. 21 in Johnson City.
The board also held a 3½-hour executive session to discuss 15 agenda items. Upon returning to open session, directors approved two resolutions.
The first was on filing a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity with thePublic Utility Commission of Texas for a service territory boundary change. The change was not specified in the resolution beyond “as discussed in executive session.”
The board also approved the selection of Bolinger, Segars, Gilbert & Moss LLP as the cooperative’s independent auditor and tax professional for the 2022 fiscal year audit. The firm will serve a five-year term.
ELECTION CHANGES
The PEC election webpages will no longer include video messages from candidates. Also, a rule was added to the bylaws allowing prospective candidates access to a list of cooperative members’ contact information two months prior to the deadline for candidate applications. The lists are used to gather signatures needed to qualify for the ballot. Previously, they were only available in January.
The board first heard proposed changes to election bylaws in August. Staff presented nine changes at the August board meeting, including online-only voting and requiring campaign contribution disclosure. The online-only voting proposal received verbal pushback at the time. Directors Emily Pataki and James Oakley both said members should be able to vote by paper ballot as well as online.
The draft resolution presented at the September meeting knocked the number of proposed changes down from nine to two. It did not include either online voting or mandatory disclosure of campaign contributions.
IN OTHER BUSINESS
The cooperative’s annual meeting is set for 9 a.m. Friday, June 16, 2023, at PEC headquarters, 201 S. Avenue F in Johnson City.
Boundaries for all but one of the cooperative’s seven districts were tweaked to allow for an even balance of members in each. The changes included consideration of past and future growth patterns. Only District 5, represented by Oakley, remained unchanged.
Total membership is at 314,143. District 5, which includes Burnet County, remained the same with 44,990 members.
Changes to the rate plan include the addition of a new member to the rates committee and adjusting the review frequency to every five years rather than three.
Board Chair Mark Ekrut asked why staff wanted to extend performing a rate review by two years. PEC Rates and Pricing Manager Natalia Mack explained that the change brings the rate plan into alignment with the rest of the co-op’s policies.
“As with any policy, the board can review the rate plan any time you like,” Mack said. “We adopted a standard that every policy will be reviewed in a minimum of five years.”
Vice president of member relations was added to the rates committee, which is comprised of the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, controller, vice president of markets, rates manager, and an in-house legal designee to serve as legal advisor. The current vice president of member relations is Tim Nance. The rates committee was formed in 2019.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly said the current vice president of member relations is J.P. Urban. It is actually Tim Nance. DailyTrib.com apologizes for the error.