Members of Central Texas Electric Co-op, Board District 6 (San Saba County), met Wednesday, June 2nd in the Cherokee High School cafeteria. The members were welcomed by CTEC Chief Executive Officer, Robert A. Loth, III.
Mr. Loth opened the meeting with The Pledge of Allegiance and introduction of members of the co-op’s board of directors in attendance. They were James Low from San Saba County, and Mark Hahn, Board President, from Mason County.
CTEC presents member meetings each June in all six board districts. Even though a board district may not have a board seat up for election, these meetings allow co-op members to meet board members in person, and hear an update from the CEO regarding their co-op.
CEO Loth introduced a video reviewing the challenges CTEC faced with the pandemic and Winter Storm Uri. The video also addressed the upgrade to CTEC’s Advanced Metering System that is currently in progress, and the strong financial health of the co-op.
In the video, CEO Loth shared steps CTEC took to protect members and co-op employees during the COVID pandemic such as closing the lobby to the public. Now that restrictions are easing, he announced that all CTEC offices have reopened as of May 1st.
CEO Loth then addressed Winter Storm Uri, the worst storm to hit the Texas Hill Country in recorded history. When describing the damage the storm caused to our infrastructure, he compared the destruction to that of a Category 5 hurricane. “The worst area affected ran from north central Gillespie County, which is from the Willow City area, southwest through Doss and Harper then down to Mountain Home. However, our em ployees along with help from neighboring electric utility workers, rebuilt the damaged parts of our system in just two weeks. It was an enormous job, but we got it done,” said Loth.
He also commented on the outlook for the largest project the co-op undertook this year, which is the replacement of the co-op’s metering system. “CTEC is upgrading to a new Advanced Metering Infrastructure, or AMI, system.” Loth continued, “This will provide the cooperative with accurate and timely meter readings using high-speed, 2-way communications with all meters and other endpoint devices. The new system has the ability to send more information more often, and it also sends outage notifications, which will help us manage, find and restore power faster. Even though we have suffered setbacks, we still believe our original goal of completing the project by the end of 2021 is doable.”
Loth then brought attention to the co-op SmartHub app, calling it a powerful two-way communication tool for members. “You can use this app to report and monitor an outage for your location. It can also be used to pay your monthly electric bill and monitor your usage. SmartHub is one of the tools we use to directly communicate with our members. Once signed up, members will receive emails and can choose to receive text messages and push notifications regarding planned power outages, restored outages and any type of on-demand messages.” CEO Loth continued, “If you want to maximize communication with your co-op, I strongly encourage you to sign up today.”
The video also gave some insight on the financial impact the winter storm had on CTEC. Loth began, “As many of you may be aware, electric utilities across the state of Texas suffered a financial set back due to the winter storm. I am proud to say that this was not the case with Central Texas Electric Cooperative. Our current power contracts protected us from price volatility in the ERCOT market.” Loth continued, “As a matter of fact, your board of directors are currently discussing decreasing your cost of power. This change will likely take effect sometime this summer.” He also explained, “Due to cost savings in future contracts your co-op has secured with power producers, it is likely your cost will be reduced again in 2022. Your electric cooperative has always strived to provide reliable and affordable electric service to our members, and we will continue to make that a priority in the future.”
Loth then concluded the video with a reflection of the past year and a positive outlook for the future. “It’s been a tough year, but our employees tackled the numerous challenges head on. Through all of this, safety remained our main focus and I am proud to say that we are currently over 500 days worked without a lost-time accident. This is no small feat, especially considering we have 140 employees driving thousands of miles weekly and working in dangerous conditions every day.” He continued, “I think we are all relieved that the past year or so is behind us and we can look to the future.”
The meeting then had a question and answer session with CEO Loth and concluded with a drawing for door prizes.
CTEC’s Annual Membership Meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 17, 2021, at 7:00 p.m., in the Fredericksburg High School Auditorium in Fredericksburg. Members that cannot attend this meeting in person are encouraged to mail in their proxy, which will be included in the August edition of Texas Co-op Power magazine.