When a pair of state bills threatened to increase energy costs for rural Texans, electric cooperatives there tapped a national grassroots network of co-op consumer-members to fight back.

In early 2025, VCP members sent over 12,000 letters to Texas lawmakers opposing the legislation, which would have allowed large telecommunications companies to attach their equipment to co-op poles at reduced rates.

Co-ops said the proposals would compromise their infrastructure and lead to higher energy costs and reliability issues.

The campaign also worked with the statewide association, Texas Electric Cooperatives, to identify potential allies in the legislature.

After getting the letters, Texas legislators “tabled"—or put aside—the bills during the current session.

NRECA is also spearheading “grasstops" efforts that engage co-op CEOs on policy advocacy. This year, those efforts included letter-writing campaigns asking federal agencies to preserve infrastructure funding for co-op projects.

“When more than 100 electric co-op CEOs communicate directly to policymakers, sharing real-world insights from their communities, it moves the needle," says Gabe Snow, NRECA director of alliances and partnerships.

“That's the kind of advocacy that gets results, and that's exactly what we saw here."

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