CEO’s Message – June 2024

A Strong Team in Every Season

In every season of life, having good people on your team is important. At Wiregrass Electric Cooperative (WEC), our foundation is built on the simple, but powerful, idea of working together for a common cause. This principle becomes ever more clear when there are storms to weather.

Recently, employees and members of the community joined me in partnering with the Alabama Kidney Foundation for the Wiregrass Kidney Walk and Celebration. Not only did the event raise awareness for the trials and tribulations brought on by kidney disease, but we also collectively raised $152,000. I was proud to co-chair the event, and I’m prouder still of the individuals who gave so generously of their time to a worthy cause. At Wiregrass Electric, we have a team that cares about 1 another and the community we serve.

Another recent moment of pride came when Jason Thrash, our vice president of engineering and operations, was honored at the Wiregrass United Way Annual Meeting. His recognition as campaign chair for Geneva County exemplifies the active role our team takes in bettering lives across the Wiregrass area.

As we step into hurricane season, rest assured that this strong, capable team stands ready and willing to restore power as quickly as possible in the event of an outage. But our preparation goes beyond our dedicated workforce. Like assembling a championship-winning basketball team, ensuring the reliability of our power supply requires a diverse mix of energy sources.

During our recent tour of Lowman Energy Center, we saw firsthand the state-of-the-art operations that make it a key player in our energy lineup. Using natural gas, this facility adds a layer of reliability that complements our other sources. Renewable resources like wind and solar are necessary, but they can’t play the whole game — the sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind isn’t always blowing.

The principle here is simple: Just as a basketball coach wouldn’t rely on a single player to win every game, we can’t depend on 1 energy source for all our needs. The risks are too high. Natural disasters, geopolitical tensions, or unforeseen disruptions are like unexpected injuries in our lineup, and they taught us the importance of having a well-rounded team that also includes nuclear, coal, and hydroelectric plants.

This diversified approach not only helps us manage everyday electricity demands, it becomes critical during natural disasters. With hurricane season upon us, our proximity to the Gulf Coast puts us in the potential path of major storms. Having multiple energy sources is like having a bench full of players ready to jump in, ensuring that even if a storm or another disruption temporarily benches 1 source, others can take up the slack, keeping our power grid stable and your lights on.

At WEC, we’re committed to this strategic diversity, not just because it’s efficient, but because it’s a part of our promise to provide you with reliable power in every season and situation. As our wholesale power supplier, Power-South Energy Cooperative, continues to invest in our power grid and explore new energy technologies, we’re also safeguarding our community against the unexpected.

Together, it’s our way of making sure that when storms hit, we’re not just ready, we’re ahead of the game.

Thank you for being a part of our team.