Letter: VEA sale is a good thing for member-owners
Valley Electric Association is a cooperative (co-op).
By definition, a co-op is a business or organization that is owned and operated by the people who work there or the people who use its services.
Valley Electric Association is a business. That business is to provide us, member-owners, with reliable electricity.
The successes of Valley Electric are OUR successes. The debt of Valley Electric is OUR debt.
The Valley Electric Board of Directors is elected by the owner-members of the co-op for the purpose of representing the owner-members.
The professional employees administering Valley Electric work for the benefit of the business. Which means they work for the benefit of owner-members,
The VEA professional staff determined that selling the 240-kV transmission line is good for the member-owners and good for business.
The sale of the 230-kV transmission line (a single transmission line) is a smart business decision.
There is no hidden agenda. No owner-member will benefit MORE than any other owner-member.
A YES vote reduces OUR debt, creates jobs in OUR community, sets aside funds to roll back OUR recent rate increase, sets aside funds to stabilize OUR rates and puts some ready cash in the pockets of member-owners.
Susan Schneider
VEA member-owner