Co-ops put democracy to work

Who thinks about electricity, really? Flip a switch and "home" takes on a cozy glow. Maybe power gets another thought when the monthly bill arrives, but otherwise it's taken for granted. Even less likely to get attention is the meaning behind "cooperative" - as in Kootenai Electric Cooperative, where many Press readers get their power.

KEC is smart. To discourage customers (excuse me; that's members) from ignoring the bill's accompanying newsletter, they include a $50 incentive. Prominently hidden in the text are five account numbers; the lucky winners get a bill credit if they call. No, I haven't yet won, but I did learn an inspiring story, and the difference between cooperatives and other power providers. In brief, profit and local control.

Less than a century ago much of North Idaho was in the dark, without electricity. Hardly a "boom" area back then, we hadn't enticed big business to invest. Did we simply sit back and wait? Of course not. We got together and built our own power company.

We could, thanks to the co-op idea initiated by village weavers and food sellers in Rochdale, England, in 1844. Power both literal and figurative multiplies exponentially when people get together, creating a force far greater than a simple sum of parts. Thirty years later the U.S. National Grange expanded on the idea, employing what's now called "The Rochdale Principles (of Cooperation)," originally developed by the English Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers. More on that in a moment.

So that's why we're members, not customers. That's why KEC is nonprofit. That's why the co-op is governed by a volunteer board of local citizen/members.

Co-op electricity is provided at cost. So what happens when income exceeds projections in a utility coop? It comes back to members, of course, in improvements, lower bills, rebates, and credits. At KEC through Operation Round-up, those extra cents voluntarily paid by members are also fed back into the community with charitable grants.

The two other types of electric utilities are municipal electric utilities (e.g., city-owned) and Investor-owned utilities (for profit, private businesses, generally with owners outside the service area). Local electric co-ops are the choice in more than 900 American communities, and co-op societies overall number 1.4 million worldwide.

Why not, when we have the option to do for ourselves?

Back to those Rochdale principles, they mirror basic democratic ideals:

1. Membership is voluntary and open to all who can use the service; race, gender, religion, orientation, ethnicity, disability, and economic status aside.

2. Control over capital, management, and resources rests in members, exercised through an elected member-board; each has one, equally weighted vote.

3. Services provided at cost; any profit belongs to members, whose shares are determined by amount of use.

4. Cooperative societies must be autonomous and independent, i.e. self-sustaining. Even in agreements with outside groups, democratic control must be maintained.

5. Members, governors, public, and staff are continually educated (e.g., the newsletter) on relevant co-op issues and developments.

6. Cooperating with other co-ops for mutual benefit encouraged, made easy now with the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA's four regions are the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia), also subdivided by industry.

7. Community support: According to the ICA's Statement on the Cooperative Identity, "Co-operatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies approved by their members."

Consumer co-ops aren't just for utilities (or weavers of old). Grocers/food, credit unions, housing, and even health are other examples. One enterprising young man in Coeur d'Alene has started another - combining co-op principles with the green movement in "Born Again, Inc.," hoping to recycle and refurbish bikes, computers, and furniture for mutual benefit.

In December of 2009, the United Nations declared this year, 2012, the International Year of Cooperatives. For more information see KEC.com, BBC.co.uk/news (search "Rochdale principles"), and Indiegogo.com/bornagaininc.

Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network and information junkie. Contact her at [email protected].