Four years ago, many Winni Forum members signed a petition that nudged the NH Electric Co-op into the broadband business – a widely recognized victory that is bringing high-speed internet to more and more Co-op members every day. Now I write to ask your help in an equally important cause: Improving the governance of your Co-op.
Your signature on
this petition before Friday, April 12 will ensure that Co-op members can weigh in on a much-needed bylaws change that will increase the effectiveness of the NHEC board as it tackles important decisions affecting your electric rates as well as the success of the new broadband venture.
Keep in mind this fact: NHEC is the only utility not regulated by the state Public Utilities Commission. Instead, the Co-op is self-regulated by your elected representatives – the NHEC Board of Directors.
I have served as an NHEC director for seven years and was one of the principal advocates for the company’s broadband venture. I helped get $65 million in grant money and worked with others to get New Hampshire Broadband off the ground.
However, I, and other directors, have sometimes been frustrated by obstacles encountered in gaining access to review business records, contracts, and even communications with the attorney hired to advise the Co-op. When information is provided, it is sometimes restricted in an unsearchable format, viewable only in a specific office location for a short time window.
The NHEC board can exercise its oversight on behalf of members only if it can ask informed questions about the company’s decisions and operations. But surprisingly, there is currently nothing in the NHEC Bylaws that guarantees directors access to the Co-op’s books and records.
The proposed bylaws change remedies that defect and guarantees that access.
We need 300 Co-op members to endorse this petition to get the proposed change placed on this year’s ballot which goes out in the second half of May. Just as in the broadband initiative of 2020, your participation matters. So please act now before this opportunity slips away.
Just click on
this link and add your name and service address. It won’t even take a minute.
Thanks for your consideration and indispensable help.
Regards
Leo Dwyer
Sandwich, NH