Coop Week is October 13 to 19, with an emphasis on the sixth cooperative principle, cooperation among cooperatives, or InterCo-Operation, as expressed in the 2019 theme. During Coop Week let’s have a look at the full list of cooperative principles and how they apply to Battle River Power Coop. We will start with the first three principles.
Coop Principle #1: Voluntary and Open Membership
Battle River Power Coop is a voluntary organization, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political, or religious discrimination. Battle River Power Coop provides reliable electrical distribution services to over 8,500 member-owners with a service area spanning 13 Alberta rural municipalities; from the Town of Bruderheim in the north to the Village of Alix in the south.
Coop Principle #2: Democratic Member Control
Battle River Power Coop is a democratic organization in which members have the opportunity to attend Annual General Meetings (AGM) and to elect Directors to the Board. Directors are Battle River Power Coop members who live and work in their communities and truly understand the needs and wants of the membership.
Coop Principle #3: Members’ Economic Participation
Member-owners benefit from an organization that operates under cooperative business principles with the goal of leaving savings in members’ hands- money that remains in rural Alberta communities and does not leak out in the form of profits for stockholders. At this year’s AGM it was reported that members collectively saved $5.6M in distribution tariffs versus what they would have paid with a for-profit utility company. The most recent rate comparison, in August 2019, reconfirms the significant savings consistently realized by Battle River Power Coop members.
