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My local co-op has committed to providing 100% of sunny daytime electricity with solar by 2022 (35 megawatts): http://kitcarson.com/electric/100-daytime-solar-e

My local co-op has committed to providing 100% of sunny daytime electricity with solar by 2022 (35 megawatts): http://kitcarson.com/electric/100-daytime-solar-energy-by-2022 http://kitcarson.com/electric/100-daytime-solar-energy-by-20... It's really interesting that the push is coming from co-ops. Many people in my town don't seem to understand how important and incredible our local co-op is. They mostly complain about the quality of service (there's more downtime than you would get from a traditional utility, for sure) but don't think about the alternative is a utility that belches coal smoke and outsources customer service to Bangladesh.

toomuchtodo 8y ago
Consider advocating for your local co-op whenever possible!
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
learc83 8y ago
>(there's more downtime than you would get from a traditional utility, for sure) We have an electric coop (Greystone Power), and we have no noticeable additional downtime vs people a few miles down the road who have Georgia Power. Given that my rates are lower to start with, and I tend to get refunds back each year, I see no advantages to using a traditional power company.
opportune 8y ago
Co-ops are amazing. If only every business could be a coop
- microcolonel 8y ago
  We'd most likely be stuck in the '40s, and the world would have about 40-80x as many people living in abject poverty. Co-ops work when everyone involved is a true stakeholder, I am not so much a stakeholder in my bank, nor in Intel, nor ASUS, but I still benefit from my transactions with them.
  - j88439h84 8y ago
    You can still do business with a coop you're not a member of.
  - opportune 8y ago
    I do not understand your comment. A coop is simply an employee-owned company (usually with more even distribution of ownership than many nominally employee-owned companies). You do not need to work for a coop to do business with them
    - rbanffy 8y ago
      > I do not understand your comment. A world of co-ops is close enough to anarcho-syndicalism that many Americans get an allergic reaction.
      - cryoshon 8y ago
        a defect of the american mind doesn't speak to the validity of the concept as a whole. besides, we're talking about the society which is just fine with anarcho-corporatism...
        ianai 8y ago
        Where did the anarcho- terms come from? I don’t remember seeing them in my academic Econ days.
      - walshemj 8y ago
        Not the farmers who are in producer coops
    - walshemj 8y ago
      Your talking about the original coops some worker coops the OP is talking about either a producer or a consumer coop. I suspect this is a producer or consumer coop and those are fairly popular in the states many famers for example and part of KFC is a producer coop.
zdragnar 8y ago
My anecdotal experience has been the opposite. Electrical service is on par, but the customer service at xcel far eclipses the coop I'm currently stuck with. Its not even a close comparison in terms of responsiveness, clear communication, and transparency of services and pricing offered. Xcel also heavily invests in alternative energy sources.

toomuchtodo 8y ago

Consider advocating for your local co-op whenever possible!

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

learc83 8y ago

>(there's more downtime than you would get from a traditional utility, for sure) We have an electric coop (Greystone Power), and we have no noticeable additional downtime vs people a few miles down the road who have Georgia Power. Given that my rates are lower to start with, and I tend to get refunds back each year, I see no advantages to using a traditional power company.

opportune 8y ago

Co-ops are amazing. If only every business could be a coop

microcolonel 8y ago
We'd most likely be stuck in the '40s, and the world would have about 40-80x as many people living in abject poverty. Co-ops work when everyone involved is a true stakeholder, I am not so much a stakeholder in my bank, nor in Intel, nor ASUS, but I still benefit from my transactions with them.
- j88439h84 8y ago
  You can still do business with a coop you're not a member of.
- opportune 8y ago
  I do not understand your comment. A coop is simply an employee-owned company (usually with more even distribution of ownership than many nominally employee-owned companies). You do not need to work for a coop to do business with them
  - rbanffy 8y ago
    > I do not understand your comment. A world of co-ops is close enough to anarcho-syndicalism that many Americans get an allergic reaction.
    - cryoshon 8y ago
      a defect of the american mind doesn't speak to the validity of the concept as a whole. besides, we're talking about the society which is just fine with anarcho-corporatism...
      - ianai 8y ago
        Where did the anarcho- terms come from? I don’t remember seeing them in my academic Econ days.
    - walshemj 8y ago
      Not the farmers who are in producer coops
  - walshemj 8y ago
    Your talking about the original coops some worker coops the OP is talking about either a producer or a consumer coop. I suspect this is a producer or consumer coop and those are fairly popular in the states many famers for example and part of KFC is a producer coop.

zdragnar 8y ago

My anecdotal experience has been the opposite. Electrical service is on par, but the customer service at xcel far eclipses the coop I'm currently stuck with. Its not even a close comparison in terms of responsiveness, clear communication, and transparency of services and pricing offered. Xcel also heavily invests in alternative energy sources.