CEO’s Message – September 2025
Back to School: The Power of Lifelong Learning
School is in session! This is the first year Julie and I don’t have a kid starting back to school in the fall. Regardless, the school buses are back on the roads, and autumn is just around the corner, so please be careful out there since school buses will soon be sharing the roads again.
Even after you’re finished with school, like my kids now are, there is plenty of value in continuing learning outside the classroom. In fact, one of the most useful skills I ever learned was how to research and study topics that I was curious about. With technologies like the internet and AI, it’s more convenient than ever to learn something new — wherever you are. But structured learning still holds an important place both for kids and adults.
The 5th cooperative principle is “Education, Training, and Information.” At URE, we value ongoing education because it improves us as individuals and as an organization. As our employees continue to learn about new innovations, tools, and concepts, we can better serve our members in creative new ways. URE employees all participate in regular training on topics of safety, management, and other technical skills. Some even earn a college degree while working at URE.
We also do our best to help educate our members on topics that help them stay safe and reduce energy costs. Ohio Cooperative Living magazine is just one way we provide that information. Our social media accounts, web pages, and e-newsletter are also great sources for timely and useful educational materials. Of course, a good old-fashioned phone call to our office will get you help in finding an answer if you have a question or need help with an energy-related problem.
Believe it or not, our elected officials also benefit from education. It’s critical that we stay in contact with our legislative representatives and government officials to educate them on issues important to the community we serve, especially topics that may affect the price or reliability of energy. We’re in constant dialogue with lawmakers and community leaders through our cooperative partners in Ohio and nationally.
In fact, our coordinated engagement with elected leaders recently resulted in the proposed rollback of 2024 greenhouse gas emission regulations, which would have resulted in the closure of all existing coal-fired power plants. Those closures would have significantly reduced grid reliability.
Long story short — the original regulations required carbon dioxide capture and sequestration by 2034, which is simply not technologically available at the scale necessary to outfit a plant like the Cardinal Power Plant, which provides power for our members today. The proposed repeal is a smart win for reliability, especially as the electric industry continues innovating and developing new sources of clean and reliable power.
If you’d like to learn more about where our power comes from, don’t miss our upcoming tour of the Cardinal Power Plant, which is open to URE members. This is a great opportunity to see firsthand how electricity is generated for our community and why protecting access to reliable generation is so important. Opportunities like this help reinforce why member involvement and advocacy matter.
If you are interested in learning more about our political action committee, America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC, please visit our website for more information on how you can join.
As we head into September, try to remember that feeling of a freshly sharpened No. 2 pencil on a clean sheet of notebook paper on the first day of school. At URE, we will always strive to embrace that learning attitude all year long.