leadership

Into the future

sbradford — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 18:13:51 +0000

Into the future

January 1, 2025

In the first 83 years since Ohio’s electric distribution cooperatives pooled their resources to create a statewide association to provide services for their group, only six people have served in that organization’s executive leadership position before this month.

It’s a testament to continuity and consistency that is not lost on Craig Grooms as he assumes the role of president and CEO of Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives (the unified efforts of Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc., the service organization, and Buckeye Power, the generation and transmission cooperative the co-ops formed to provide the electricity they distribute to their members). Grooms rose from his previous position as chief operating officer upon the retirement of Pat O’Loughlin, who served in the position for 10 years.

“Our association has a long history of leadership that has made sure these two organizations function at a high level,” Grooms says. “Coming in, my initial thought is, ‘first, do no harm.’ I have an obligation, a responsibility, to make sure we continue to function at that same high level, because our success directly translates into success for each of our member cooperatives and, in turn, into a better quality of life in the communities they serve.”

Grooms says his motivation to serve co-op members stems from his family’s roots in rural southern Ohio — specifically in the area served by West Union-based Adams Rural Electric Cooperative. “It’s a familiar story for really anyone connected to rural Ohio,” he says. “They value any chance to maintain that bond, and it’s even more rewarding when they can help improve life there. I’m humbled to have that same opportunity.”

Grooms will have an experienced senior leadership team in place to advise and support him in his work — each of whom brings a similar passion for the cooperative business model and motivation to make life better for co-op members across the state.

Tom Alban

Vice president for power generation

Tom Alban is responsible for the generation resources — which include the coal-burning Cardinal Power Plant and two natural gas-fired peaking plants — that provide reliable, always-available power to co-op members’ homes and businesses around the state.

Alban, who has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s in engineering management, started out at AEP, working projects like construction of a new power plant and adding emissions controls to existing plants. When he came to work for Ohio’s co-ops in 2004, that hands-on experience was invaluable when Buckeye took over operations at the Cardinal Plant, which had formerly been managed by AEP.

He’s found that while the physical operations and maintenance of aging power plants present an ongoing challenge, so too does the ever-changing landscape of regulations and compliance. “We spend a lot of effort in evaluating complex regulations and developing strategies to comply with them,” he says — but stresses that it’s worth it.

“There’s a big difference between working for an investor-owned utility and for cooperatives,” Alban says. “At cooperatives, it’s all about the members and providing affordable, reliable electricity, which makes people’s lives better. I’m proud to be a part of that.”

Doug Miller

Vice president for statewide services

Doug Miller has been involved with electric cooperatives for 34 years. He worked his way up the ranks to become CEO at Logan County Electric Cooperative in Bellefontaine before joining the statewide association in 2014, and now proudly leads the division that, he says, helps put Ohio’s cooperatives in a position to fulfill their ultimate mission.

“People may think of their co-op just as the place they pay their electric bill, but their real purpose, their mission, is to improve the quality of life in the communities they serve,” Miller says. “So in turn, it’s our mission here to help them in areas of common need — things like legislative issues, training their linemen to safely keep the power on, organizing Youth Tour, or putting together a quality magazine to help them communicate with their members — so they can focus on other things.”

Miller says the community mindset was emphasized as soon as he started at the co-op. “I worked for a guy who put me in a position to be a community leader,” Miller says. “He made sure I understood that our success hinged on the quality of life in our community so we did all our work with that in mind,” he says. “It’s the same at co-ops everywhere; you can see just how committed they are. When you witness people coming together to work for the common good during everyday life or in a time of disaster, it’s magical. If I can be in a position to help make that happen, that’s right where I want to be.”

Bill Roberts

Vice president for accounting and finance

When he worked in accounting and finance in the retail industry, Bill Roberts’ main focus was helping his company’s bottom line, balancing the interests of shareholders who wanted to make the most money possible, customers who balked at high prices, and a management team looking out for its own compensation. “It was a real three-ring circus,” he says.

Working for the past 15 years for the co-ops, though, where he’s played a significant part in setting the rates that members pay for their electricity, is an entirely different experience. “Here, no one asks, ‘How much money can we make?’” he says. “It’s ‘What can I do to keep rates both stable and affordable?’”

For example, Buckeye Power might earn unexpected revenue by selling electricity on the open market during severe weather. Instead of distributing those excess profits to shareholders or giving a bonus to the management team, Roberts might recommend paying down debt, or deferring some revenue to ensuing years’ budgets to protect against shortfalls later — thus avoiding future rate hikes. “The accounting decisions that I recommend to our board are not the same as they would be if we had different priorities,” he says. “It’s awesome to be able to focus on that end user, our member. But that’s what we do.”

Kurt Helfrich

General counsel

Kurt Helfrich practiced for 20 years at an outside law firm, where he represented Ohio’s co-ops on a wide range of legal and regulatory issues, before OEC hired him full-time to establish its in-house legal department in 2018. He is OEC’s principal lawyer, helping advance the organization’s interests in court, but also supporting Ohio’s co-ops as they navigate complex topics like large power contracts, Ohio electric utility territorial law, and energy regulations.

He says his work is important because there are few voices representing end-of-the line co-op members when those issues are being decided. “Other participants [in those proceedings] may represent narrow or conflicting interests such as shareholders, regulated utilities, environmental and renewable advocates, large industrial consumers, merchant generators, and transmission owners,” he says. “My sole mission is to represent the interests of the Ohio cooperatives and the members who own and control them.”

Kevin Zemanek

Vice president for operations

Kevin Zemanek wears several hats, though perhaps his most critical task is managing Buckeye Power’s interactions with the larger electric grid — balancing the minute-by-minute supply of electricity to meet members’ needs. He also makes sure Buckeye stays in compliance with regional and national grid regulations, and he manages OEC’s physical facilities.

Zemanek has a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering technology and a master’s in engineering management. He started at Buckeye Power a little more than 20 years ago as a power system scheduler, gaining experience and responsibility ever since. “I was lucky that I joined just as our regional energy market was expanding to include Ohio, so I learned all of the market rules early on.” He was also part of the Cardinal Plant transition in 2018.

Zemanek says the best part of his work is being able to focus solely on what’s best for members. “We know exactly who we work for: the members at the end of the line,” he says. “Our goal is reliable, affordable, safe power, not just making money. We don’t have shareholders telling us what to do. Members have a voice at the distribution co-ops, and those co-ops have a voice on our board.”

Ben Wilson

Assistant vice president for power delivery

Ben Wilson says he leads the “wires” team, responsible for getting electricity from the power generators to the co-ops — usually at their substations — so the co-ops can distribute that energy to their members. Since joining OEC in 2012, he’s also led Buckeye Power’s work to incorporate alternative energy resources, such as the OurSolar program.

“I enjoy this work because I enjoy solving puzzles, and the electric grid is a big, complicated mess,” he says. “No one controls everything, and yet the grid somehow has to function while thousands of different organizations claim ownership over some part of the whole. I’m proud and happy that our members trust us to not only make sense of it, but to help bend it in the best direction over time.”

Tags

leadership

Buckeye Power

Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives

Gratitude and optimism

sbradford — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 18:09:19 +0000

Gratitude and optimism

January 1, 2025

Craig Grooms

Up Front

I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to lead two remarkable organizations, Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc., and Buckeye Power, Inc. (together known as Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives). Our primary goals — providing affordable, reliable power and partnering with electric cooperatives across Ohio to enhance the lives of their members and communities — have never been more important, and I don’t take that responsibility lightly.

As I step into the role of CEO this month, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks and sincere appreciation to Pat O’Loughlin, whose leadership and dedication have had a profound influence not only on the electric cooperative network across Ohio and around the country, but also on me personally. Pat has been a mentor to me for nearly 30 years, dating back to before either of us was involved with the co-ops, but especially so during the last 21 years we’ve worked together in various roles at OEC.

As you have read in Pat’s messages here over the past 10 years, we are faced with numerous challenges in our mission to provide affordable and reliable power as the electric utility industry has become increasingly complex. However, I want you to know that I am committed to navigating these complexities to achieve the best possible outcomes for Ohio’s cooperatives.

Of course, the other part of our mission — enhancing the lives of our members — is no less important. Along with providing affordable and reliable electricity, we partner on local economic development initiatives, provide employee and community safety training, develop youth programs, and much more. These are fundamental contributions that we make to help strengthen our communities.

Through it all, I will keep you informed about the issues that impact our ability to carry out any part of our mission, because your awareness and advocacy are vital in the effort. It’s crucial that we work together to influence political leaders to pass reasonable laws and regulations that support our cooperatives. I look forward to meeting more of you over the next few years and working together to achieve our goals.

Thank you for your continued support of and dedication to your cooperative. Let us honor Pat’s leadership legacy by striving for excellence, embracing opportunities, and acknowledging the foundational principles that have brought us to where we are. By doing so, we can promote a bright future for Ohio’s electric cooperatives and for the members we serve.

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leadership

Buckeye Power

Voice of reason

sbradford — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 16:23:00 +0000

Voice of reason

December 1, 2024

Jeff McCallister

Power Lines

Pat O’Loughlin’s first column in what was then Country Living magazine, upon his elevation to president and CEO of Buckeye Power and the co-op statewide association in 2015, took note of “interesting times.” Now, as he retires from the post, he says the times are by no means any less interesting.

The electric industry as a whole was in the final stages of a radical clean-up in 2015. The Cardinal Power Plant in Brilliant, of which Ohio co-ops were part-owners along with American Electric Power, had survived a nationwide wave of coal plant closures, thanks to more than $1 billion in investments that transformed it into one of the cleanest facilities of its kind in the world.

Nevertheless, the U.S. EPA had just issued a set of new regulations that Cardinal was unlikely to be able to meet, and while the Supreme Court eventually struck down those rules, more have followed. The polarization that has divided the American public on so many issues put a focus on electricity generation — while the rise of data centers, electric vehicles, and the like has driven demand for electricity to an all-time high. Interesting times (to say the least) for O’Loughlin and the co-ops.

“The worst thing that’s ever happened to our industry is that it’s become overly politicized,” O’Loughlin says. “We’re an industry that’s built on science and engineering. Making electrons get to where they need to go, all at the speed of light, is actually an amazing thing that we’ve accomplished. But now political talking points have overwhelmed our ability to have a rational conversations about what will work and what won’t work.”

O’Loughlin, who earned a master’s degree in environmental science at Miami University after completing his engineering physics degree, got his start in the industry working on early renewable energy and energy-efficiency programs, including early work with a prototype electric vehicle.

Those early days, he says, gave him unique insight about what is realistic and what is fantasy, and his job as CEO of Buckeye Power, the generation and transmission cooperative that provides power to more than 1 million Ohioans, put him in a position to be a rational voice in the national energy conversation.

O’Loughlin’s thoughtful approach helped the national co-op organization, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, become one of the most powerful voices within the electric utility industry when it comes to finding a balance between reliability, affordability, and environmental responsibility. He’s been called to testify before Congress about those topics on multiple occasions.

“The realization came pretty quickly that part of my job was to be involved in public advocacy for what we thought were commonsense solutions to some of these problems,” O’Loughlin says. “So I tried to have the biggest megaphone I could, and use it to work with people who were honestly trying to figure it out rather than just trying to demagogue things.”

Of course, while all that was happening, O’Loughlin also led groundbreaking work in his role as head of the statewide association of Ohio cooperatives.

His leadership, for example, led to advances in the overall safety culture at the co-ops around the state — including the opening of the Central Ohio Lineworker Training facility in Mount Gilead, where the state’s co-op lineworkers now get consistent, detailed training at every stage of their careers.

O’Loughlin also pioneered the statewide association’s foray into international outreach. In fact, next month, when a group of Ohio lineworkers travel to Guatemala to provide electricity to a remote area of that country, it will be the fourth such trip Ohio’s co-ops have taken, all of them organized by the statewide association.

He was honored nationally for modernizing the communications services the association provides to its member co-ops in the state — including a complete rebranding of the statewide magazine that has since been recognized twice as the best of its kind in the country, and adding a slew of digital communications tools.

Also, when uncertainty around EPA rules, among other factors, prompted AEP to sell its share of Cardinal Plant to the co-ops, Buckeye Power suddenly had to learn plant operations on the fly. O’Loughlin led the creation of Cardinal Operating Company to take on that challenge, with great success.

“When I talked about those interesting times in 2015, I didn’t realize all that was about to happen,” he says. “It made us a different kind of company than we had been, and I think a better one. What I have seen was people willing to put themselves out there and try things that were new and different and risky, knowing they could fail but willing to try anyway.”

And of course, times are still “interesting,” but O’Loughlin says the leadership team already in place — Craig Grooms, currently the co-op’s chief operating officer, will step in as new CEO in January — is ready to guide the company into whatever the future holds. “We have been and continue to be a learning organization, with a long history of being sensible, good co-op people,” O’Loughlin says. “We’ve never been afraid of challenges, and we are willing to learn and do new things. As a leadership team, I think everyone sees a lot of possible paths we might end up on. I know they’ll be ready.”

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policy

leadership

Next up

sbradford — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 16:16:37 +0000

Next up

December 1, 2024

Pat O'Loughlin

Up Front

Going back to our beginning, every leader of this organization has been distinctly different from the last. We’ve all had our own personalities, our own priorities, and our own approaches to the issues of the day. While none of us has been perfect, each has been the right person at the right time for the needs of the organization.

Bill Stuckey, for example, had been a national leader in the farm safety movement while working for Ohio State University’s Extension Service, and that culture of safety became his enduring legacy as the first executive manager of Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc. Or Howard Cummins, who championed the creation of a monthly co-op magazine — this magazine, now in its 67th year of publication — and oversaw the formation of Buckeye Power the very next year.

Bob Cleveland, Dick Byrne, and Tony Ahern held the position before I became CEO in 2015, and I like to think all of us have had a hand in the success of our organization. We’ve done a good job of promoting and nurturing unity among Ohio’s electric cooperatives. We’ve built a solid foundation of trust among our membership and grown a national reputation for being strong advocates for electric cooperatives.

This will be my last column in these pages, as I’ll be retiring at the end of the year, full of gratitude for the opportunities and experiences my time with Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives has provided. I would like to think I’ve added to the legacy and the durability of our cooperative network by helping to build a strong, resilient, and adaptable team that is prepared for the challenges and the opportunities that the future will bring.

I’m confident in the co-op’s future and the leadership team that will be in place. Our board made the wise and well-considered decision to elevate Craig Grooms to become the organization’s seventh chief executive.

Craig, like all of his predecessors, is a different leader than those before him, and he will have his own way of doing things. Change is always a bit unsettling, but it’s also healthy, and now seems like the right time for a new approach. There are new challenges and opportunities ahead, and I’m sure that the team here at Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives will be ready to serve your interests.

Thank you and farewell.

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leadership