MRES held its December board meetings in Denver, Colorado, in conjunction with the Mid-West Electric Consumers Association (MECA) Annual Meeting. MECA promotes and protects the interest of federal power customers and their consumers within the Missouri River Basin by working closely with the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) to review cost-containment strategies and determine equitable rates. MECA is comprised of municipals and electric cooperatives from the nine-state region of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Because over 40% of Missouri River members’ power supply comes from federal hydropower through WAPA, MRES plays an active role within MECA. For example, four members of the MRES board of directors also currently sit on the MECA board.
During the MECA Annual Meeting, MRES Board Chair Vernell Roberts, from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, concluded his term as president of the MECA board but remains as a director, joining ALP Utilities (Alexandria, Minnesota) General Manager Ted Cash in representing Minnesota on the MECA board. Also, MRES board members Steve Lehner from Watertown (South Dakota) Municipal Utilities and Matt Van Schouwen from Orange City (Iowa) Municipal Utilities were re-elected to three-year terms during the meeting in Denver. Van Schouwen now serves as the secretary/treasurer of the MECA board and is in the rotation to eventually become MECA board president.