WILMINGTON, N.C.—In a rapidly changing industry with intense challenges, the electric cooperative business model—based on collaboration and consumer-member relationships—will prove vital for reliability, co-op leaders said at a conference in North Carolina.

“The value of the cooperative model is more relevant today,” NRECA Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Connor told the Aug. 14 general session at the 22nd Cooperative Technologies Conference and Expo, an annual event presented by North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives and open to cooperative employees nationwide.

“Across the country, local co-ops work together to build technology and learn from each other to keep the grid secure,” Connor said. “Within industry, co-ops work together to be reliable and make sure resources remain affordable and set goals to prioritize stability.”

To that end, he said, NRECA has taken on a new association priority to promote the power of the co-op business model in addressing reliability and resilience issues and to inform policymakers of how co-ops work together on solutions, especially during times of change.

“Normal is no longer normal,” Connor said, noting skyrocketing electricity demand, the need for improved grid infrastructure and the impacts of errant energy policy like the Environmental Protection Agency’s new power plant rule. “Demand will exceed supply. It’s not a question of if but a question of when.”

NRECA and co-op leaders continue to raise these concerns with legislators, regulators and the media, he said, pointing to how the co-op model helps find reliability solutions through collaboration and a focus on communities.

“The good news is they are starting to get it,” said Connor. “And the other good news is that we are still out in front leading this conversation.”

Leveraging the co-op business model creates opportunities for securing federal funding, forming consortia and creating technology test beds and platforms for innovation, he said.

Amadou Fall, COO of Raleigh-based North Carolina Electric Membership Corp. (NCEMC), the G&T serving all or partial power supply needs for 25 of North Carolina’s electric distribution co-ops, underscored the importance of NRECA advocating for the co-op model and how it is equipped to meet external challenges—regulation, legislation and technology—nationwide.

“Collaboration is important, and our business model allows us to do that to provide a reliable and resilient electric grid,” he said.

A few years ago, NCEMC and the state’s 26 electric co-ops began working together to address growing load and reliability concerns driven by increasing demand and the advent of new technologies. The result is the NCEMC Distribution Operator (DO), which monitors, aggregates and centrally dispatches distributed energy and demand response resources and interfaces with regional power markets.

Joe Brannan, executive vice president and CEO of North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, which includes the G&T, trade association and a materials supply cooperative, praised co-op collaboration through national and regional working groups and innovation in developing this critical solution.

“We’re facing a time in our industry’s history where the impact from technology is changing the flow of power on the grid,” said Brannan. “The knowledge base in this room is tremendous, but if you keep it isolated it doesn’t help. Working groups allow for information-sharing, while also putting accountability on each person in the group.”

Josh Winslow, general manager and CEO of Supply, N.C.-based Brunswick Electric, described how the co-op model provided a rare “win-win-win” at a crucial time. As the state explored using a third party to add solar to a prison, the co-op’s largest single load, Brunswick Electric and NCEMC joined state officials to propose another solution—one that kept new resources and resource management within the cooperative network through the use of the DO.

“Being able to think outside the box and leverage our collective capabilities led to an outcome that worked for everyone,” Winslow said. “We did not lose our relationship with that member. It’s a great example of collaboration, because all the co-ops in the room had to agree to that concept.”

Brannan urged attendees to remember that value creation starts with members and reaches its potential when co-ops work together, as well as with their G&Ts.

“We are rapidly learning as an industry, so we have to celebrate wins to build on that collaboration and get over the setbacks we may have,” said Brannan. “If we continue to do that, we’re going to have tremendous success and most importantly, the quality of life in your communities will continue to improve.”