At the NRECA PowerXchange, Associated Electric Cooperative CEO David Tudor, right, shared his experience of advocating for reliable power generation.
Focus on reliability drives co-ops forward
While he’s been called the “Iron Man” of baseball in honor of his legendary 21-season career, Cal Ripken Jr. could just as easily be called Mr. Reliability. He holds the record for the most consecutive baseball games played at a staggering 2,632.
“You can’t always get the game-winning hit or make the game-saving catch. It’s all the things you do in between those two that will define your value,” he says. “That’s consistency.”
Ripken’s message of perseverance was a home run during PowerXchange 2024, which the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) hosted March 1-6 in San Antonio. More than 9,000 U.S. and international co-op leaders heard a clear message: Reliability is powerful.
“When we talk about reliability, it gets people’s attention,” NRECA CEO Jim Matheson said. “We have record electric peaks and growing electric demand, but we’re prematurely shutting down power plants. It’s a good thing we’ve got more uses for electricity today — it means moving toward cleaner sources of energy, and it brings new opportunities to electric co-ops which always excel when we get a chance to lead. But we must also have a plan, grounded in reality.”
Of course, power generation is a complex and ever-changing challenge. But David Tudor, CEO and general manager of Springfield-based Associated Electric Cooperative, said it boils down to three key issues: technology, transmission and time.
“It is critical policymakers recognize the need for adequate time, technology development and new transmission infrastructure before taking our nation down an energy path that prioritizes speed over successfully and always keeping the lights on,” he said.
Tudor, along with other leaders from Missouri, shared insights during breakout sessions at the NRECA event. While topics spanned technology, safety, supply chain issues and more, the common denominator was the cooperative business model will continue to be key.
“Electricity is our business, but cooperative is our identity,” Matheson said.
Leah Thompson, Black River Electric Cooperative, represented Missouri on NRECA’s Youth Leadership Council.