[Watchdogs] Texas electricity co-ops like operating in secrecy [Star-Telegram]

[Milton Hawkins]

[From the article (emphasis mine): 

Fraser and Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, introduced a bill this year in the Legislature that would have placed co-ops under the state’s open-records and open-meetings laws.

The co-ops’ powerful lobbying group, Texas Electric Cooperatives, wasn’t about to let that happen.

"We did, in fact, oppose the imposition of the open-records and open-meetings law which applies to other governmental agencies," said Mike Williams, president of the lobby group.

            [. . .]

"Co-ops, everywhere as far as I can tell, need a beady eye cast on them by members and the press," says John Watson, a retired lawyer. "Most operate with a lack of transparency."

“Co-ops . . . need a beady eye cast on them by members and the press."

John Watson, 
retired lawyer 

 

Yes, indeed! – Milton]

 

 <http://www.star-telegram.com/local/v-print/story/1726966.html> Star-Telegram.com


Texas electricity co-ops like operating in secrecy


Posted Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

By DAVE LIEBER

watchdog at star-telegram.com

Getting information out of Tri-County Electric Cooperative is like trying to penetrate a secret society. Customer Paul Thompson of Keller called The Watchdog for help. He told me about the annual membership meeting at a Fort Worth church. I tried to get in but was turned away.

I wrote a letter seeking an interview with A. Craig Knight, the executive vice president and general manager, who is paid about $300,000 a year to run the nonprofit. 

He wrote back that he wouldn’t meet with me a second time (we first met in May) because an earlier Watchdog column included facts that "were inaccurate and misrepresented."

"I do not see anything productive coming from another interview, so I respectfully decline," he added.

I wrote back that I take errors seriously and feel a duty to correct them. "Would you please point out the material you believe was 'inaccurate and misrepresented’ so we may deal with that immediately?" I asked.

I never heard back.

Thompson told me getting information from the co-op was nearly impossible. The co-op’s IRS Form 990 is the most detailed account of finances, and that’s where Knight’s annual salary is disclosed.

Thompson met with Knight once, but then, as he did with me, Knight turned off the information spigot.

All this supports the suspicion that some electricity co-ops are truly closed shops.

Two years ago, state Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, was denied entry into a board meeting of Pedernales Electric Cooperative, the largest in the state.

Fraser calmly told the receptionist that he was not only a member of the co-op but also the state senator who heads the committee that regulates electricity distribution in Texas. After a long wait, he was finally allowed in.

Fraser and Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, introduced a bill this year in the Legislature that would have placed co-ops under the state’s open-records and open-meetings laws.

The co-ops’ powerful lobbying group, Texas Electric Cooperatives, wasn’t about to let that happen.

"We did, in fact, oppose the imposition of the open-records and open-meetings law which applies to other governmental agencies," said Mike Williams, president of the lobby group.

As for the meeting I wasn’t allowed to attend, citizen gadfly Thompson reported what happened after the church doors were shut before me:

The purpose of the district membership meeting was to elect a director to a three-year term. As Thompson wrote to The Watchdog: "There never is an election or vote at the district meetings because it takes 3 percent of the district to be at the meeting before a vote can be held. If there’s not 3 percent, the old director is automatically nominated again."

About 90 members attended, not enough for a quorum.

Thompson continues, "Our current board member has been there over 30 years."

"The quintessential good-old-boys system" is protected, Thompson wrote, so "if a board member wants to retire, he would do so during his term and then Mr. Knight and the other board members would hand-pick the successor and then he would automatically become the nominee at the next district meeting, assuming no quorum.

"So with complete control of the board, Mr. Knight reports to no one," Thompson concluded.

Thompson asked several questions at the meeting. But he said he learned little and remains frustrated.

Ideally, "the members of the co-op are the owners of the co-op," says Ric Sternberg, an activist member of the Pedernales coop in Central Texas. "And if they are denied access, that’s totally contrary to all of the principles."

Pedernales and another large co-op have citizen groups that monitor them and work to get fresh blood elected to their boards.

The blog PEC4U.org monitors Pedernales. Reports of financial abuses, including inflated salaries, led to criminal indictments in June on theft and money-laundering charges against the co-op’s former general manager and a lawyer who did work for the co-op.

A lawsuit filed by members was settled with newly announced reforms such as open board meetings. Reform-minded members have since been elected to the board.

CoServ Watchdogs monitors CoServ Electric, the state’s second-largest co-op, which serves six North Texas counties. Members filed a lawsuit this year accusing the board of engaging in for-profit businesses and keeping details secret. The secrecy, the lawsuit alleged, made it "nearly impossible for ordinary members to understand whether or not" the enterprises are suitable. The suit sought "restoration of democratic control through open records, open meetings and fair board elections." 

No one is saying that any wrongdoing has occurred at Tri-County, which serves parts of 16 North Texas counties. But when I received a tip about possible misbehavior by an employee, I wrote to Knight seeking more information. He didn’t respond.

I heard from one customer, Lonesome Dove Baptist Church in Southlake, that the church parsonage was not metered properly. When Tri-County discovered the error, it sent a $3,200 bill. The church protested and ended up paying less because state law says an electricity provider can’t back-charge more than six months.

Tri-County lost about $1,000 worth of payments because of the error, church administrator Cherie Johnson said.

I asked Knight about this in a letter, but he didn’t respond.

Another Pedernales activist urged Thompson to keep digging.

"Co-ops, everywhere as far as I can tell, need a beady eye cast on them by members and the press," says John Watson, a retired lawyer. "Most operate with a lack of transparency."

Co-ops . . . need a beady eye cast on them by members and the press."

John Watson, 
retired lawyer 

 

The Watchdog column appears Fridays and Sundays. Dave Lieber, 817-685-3830 Twitter @DaveLieber

No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.423 / Virus Database: 270.14.45/2476 - Release Date: 11/02/09 07:51:00


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://103.greenbuilder.com/pipermail/watchdogs/attachments/20091105/41d411cf/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 3437 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://103.greenbuilder.com/pipermail/watchdogs/attachments/20091105/41d411cf/attachment.gif>