Our Board of Commissioners is charged with making large decisions about projects, policies, and budgets for all of our services. Many of the things they make decisions on are incredibly complex and have long-term effects on our organization and potentially our customers. Those issues are not always easy for staff to summarize in a brief presentation at their monthly meetings. 

That’s why the Board held a governance workshop January 22-23 – to hear about several big challenges which could affect our services, our customers, and their bills. These are all items they are likely going to have to make decisions on in the next few months and require some in-depth knowledge and understanding. 

Roy Jones, CEO of ElectriCities of NC, started the presentations with an update on opportunities for us under the new contract with Duke Energy Progress (DEP) as well as some of the many challenges we face with customers’ shifting expectations, changes in grid technologies, workforce challenges, electric vehicles (EVs), and the high cost of DEP’s Clean Energy Plan to get to carbon neutral by 2050. 

Craig Brown, our electric rate consultant from Burns & McDonnell, walked Commissioners through the effects that EV chargers have on our system’s capacity and power supply. He also presented some potential rate options and best practices for both “fast chargers” (like the Tesla chargers you see at some gas stations or stores) and for customers who charge their EVs at home. 

Director of Electric Systems John Worrell presented plans for a Peak Shaving Generator Plant with the assistance of Assistant Director Ken Wade and Planning Engineer Kyle Brown. The project would allow GUC to use generators near the McGregor Downs Substation to reduce charges we incur each month during times of peak energy use. The project could end up saving GUC (and our customers) nearly a million dollars the first year alone and more than $54 million over the next 30 years.  

Water Resources Director David Springer and Water Quality Manager Anthony Whitehead educated Commissioners on the situation with PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and the EPA’s push to regulate them in drinking water. They described the proposed regulations and options available for GUC to further reduce PFAS including cost estimates for those options.  

General Manager / CEO Tony Cannon and Human Resources Director Richie Shreves gave an in-depth update on some of the biggest workforce challenges and opportunities. They shared industry trends and initiatives that GUC has already put in place. 

Tim Blodgett, VP of Member Services and Communications at Missouri River Energy Solutions, an action agency in the Midwest similar to our ElectriCities, led Commissioners through a workshop on best practices for effective governance of public utilities. He covered legal and fiduciary responsibilities, setting strategic direction, monitoring performance, and assuring effectiveness. 

Commissioners had opportunities to ask questions and have discussions throughout the two days. Each shared their thoughts and concerns about situations we face and reaffirmed their commitment to assuring GUC continues to have high reliability and low rates for all four utilities while taking care of the employees.