The theme for this year’s Annual General Meeting was “Raising the Bar” and you might ask, “What is the value of Raising the Bar?” Rural Electrification Associations , as independent power providers, raised the bar for rural Alberta economic development by raising the poles to bring critical electricity to farms and businesses.
The Board of Directors of Battle River Power Coop plays an important role in ensuring the success of the Cooperative. Directors, as tasked under the Rural Utilities Act, provide the general direction and supervision of the affairs and business of the association. Directors serve and protect the Coop through sound governance and financial oversight. They attend Board meetings and on occasion are requested to attend outside meetings or conventions with relevance to the electrical industry. They represent Battle River Power Coop before government agencies, industry stakeholders and other REAs.
Today, it is hard to imagine life when homework was done by the light of coal oil lamps, water was pumped by hand and cooking was done on a wood stove. Only 70 years ago, this was life on most Alberta farms. Electrification was a surprisingly controversial issue in the 1940s. Like a hot potato, it was tossed from the Alberta Government to the Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs) and finally to the farming community. The question, “Who will build the power grid in rural Alberta?” was finally answered in 1948 with a provincial decision to make Rural Electrification Associations (REAs) the vehicle for rural electrification.