Tri-County representatives meet with federal lawmakers

MANSFIELD — Representatives of Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative met with federal lawmakers in Washington, D.C., recently to discuss energy-related issues, as well as legislation that could impact rural electric utilities.

Members of Tri-County’s board of directors, as well as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Craig Eccher of Wellsboro, Director of Member Services Alex Hartley of Knoxville and accountant Mary Higgins of Blossburg, were among 3,000 cooperative directors and employees who participated in the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) 2004 Legislative Conference May 4-5 in the nation’s capital.

Coordinated by NRECA, the service arm for the more than 900 rural electric cooperatives in the United States, the annual gathering provides an opportunity for cooperative officials to share with legislators their concerns as electric utility representatives and residents of rural America.

During the conference, Tri-County representatives met with Congressmen John Peterson and Don Sherwood, whose legislative districts include portions of the cooperative’s service territory in the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania. As part of an outreach effort aimed at educating urban legislators about rural electric cooperatives, Tri-County officials also met with aides for Philadelphia-area Congressmen Curt Weldon and Chaka Fattah.

The Tri-County contingent, along with other rural electric cooperative representatives from Pennsylvania, also caucused with U.S. Sens. Arlen Spector and Rick Santorum during the event.

Key issues Tri-County delegates discussed with legislators included:

- Provisions within the Senate’s version of a new national energy bill that could have a negative impact on rural electric cooperatives.

- A proposed 35 percent cut in the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) loan program to rural electric cooperatives. Tri-County officials asked legislators to restore the RUS electric loan program funding to fiscal year 2004 levels.

- The U.S. Department of Transportation’s “hours-of-service” regulations. These rules were drafted to reduce the number of highway accidents involving fatigued, long-distance freight haulers by limiting the number of hours truckers may work. Since utility service vehicles are included in the regulations, power restoration efforts could be significantly hindered during a prolonged outage. Co-op delegates urged Sens. Spector and Santorum, as well as their local representatives in the House, to support provisions in the final federal highway bill that would permanently exempt utilities from federal hours-of-service regulations.

A member-owned, non-profit utility, Tri-County has served the residents of north-central Pennsylvania since 1937. The cooperative provides electricity to approximately 18,000 consumer-members in Tioga, Potter, Bradford, Lycoming, Clinton, Cameron and McKean counties.

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