Navigating the political marketplace

Politics are like a bustling marketplace, where a diverse array of vendors sets up their stalls to pitch their ideas and products. Each vendor represents a different viewpoint and they compete for the attention and support of the elected officials. Just as vendors use colorful signs, persuasive pitches and compelling offers to attract customers, your co-op has a robust toolkit to ensure the needs of the membership are heard by decision and policymakers.

What is a political action committee?

A political action committee (PAC) is just one tool we use. A PAC’s goal is to raise and spend money to support political candidates or initiatives. It allows your statewide association, the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives (OAEC), and your national association, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), to financially support federal candidates through personal dollars raised from co-op leaders and consumer-members.

Founded in 1966, America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC is the federal political action committee (PAC) of the nation’s electric co-ops. NRECA’s PAC supports political candidates who will speak for and protect the interests of electric co-ops and their consumer-members. If elected, these candidates become policymakers who are aware of the issues important to electric cooperatives.

What are grassroots efforts?

Through OAEC and NRECA, co-ops have multiple advocacy programs with thousands of electric co-op employee, director and consumer-member participants, and skilled legislative and regulatory advocacy teams. The term “grassroots” illustrates the initiative grows from the ground up. Grassroots efforts are often rooted in local communities and involve the active participation of individuals who are directly affected by or passionate about a particular issue. Here are some examples of recent legislative wins for electric co-ops, aided by grassroots advocates:

Direct pay tax credits

For the first time, electric co-ops have direct access to energy tax credits, and parity with industry counterparts, when they deploy new energy technologies, including carbon capture, nuclear, energy storage and traditional renewables.

$9.7 billion voluntary USDA energy innovation program

The funding program is designed specifically for electric co-ops that purchase or build new clean energy systems. The wide range of eligible projects – including carbon capture, renewable energy, storage, nuclear and generation and transmission efficiency improvements – allows each co-op to determine its path based on its unique circumstances.

RURAL Act

The legislation protects co-ops’ federal tax-exempt status when accepting grants for disaster recovery, broadband service, renewable energy or other investments.

In essence, successful advocacy strategy requires a diverse set of tools and skills, each serving a specific purpose. Just as a skilled artisan selects the right tool for the job, your co-op, statewide and national association choose their approach wisely to achieve legislative goals and further the mission of providing consumer-members with safe, affordable and reliable power.

By Chris Meyers

General Manager | Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives