Plumas-Sierra Annual Meeting – Back in Person

The Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Board of Directors held its 86th annual meeting of members. This year’s meeting was hybrid; members could attend in-person or virtually.

The meeting took place Thursday, September 7 at the Sierra Valley Grange Hall in Vinston and was livestreamed via YouTube. The recording of the meeting can be viewed by checking Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative (PSREC) on YouTube.

Members cast their ballots by mail and electronically and were invited to submit questions in advance of the meeting.

Emily Compton, member and energy services manager ar PSREC, started the meeting by announcing the winners of the PSREC Annual Meeting Photo Contest. She then announced the winners of the PSREC and PST CItizen Scholar scholarships.

Emily was followed by Plumas-Sierra Telecommunications Chief Operating Officer Aaron Whitfield as he updated members of the cooperative on the activities of PST during the 2022 year and spoke about what 2023 has brought.

Aaron discussed the latest PST construction projects including converting coax customers to fiber, building out PST’s fiber network in Portola, Galeppi Ranch, Ponderosa Boulevard in Janesville, Spring Valley, Scott Road and Vinton. Additionally, PST’s outside plan line crew completed their pole climbing certifications. PST continues to make progress on the California Advanced Services Fund grants received in late 2022 and will continue to apply for grant funds to bring broadband to hard-toreach areas throughout PSREC’s service territory.

Board President Fred Nelson reviewed accomplishments for the year and discussed power issues including hydropower and natural gas prices, which moderated for the 1st part of the year. The wholesale power cost adjustment was reduced by $0.01 earlier this year, and the board will continue to review rates at upcoming board meetings. Fred also discussed the settlement payment PSREC received from the Central Valley Project settlement with the Bureau of Reclamation and our continued expansion of telecommunications.

PSREC General Manager Bob Marshall explained the cooperative’s financial requirements and the importance of rebuilding the cooperative’s cash position after last year. In the meeting, Bob expressed his gratitude to PSREC employees for their hard work keeping the lights and internet service on for members.

Representatives from PSREC’s power suppliers—Northern California Power Agency and the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems—delivered updates on the power market and the key issues facing the cooperative and the electric industry.

NCPA General Manager Randy Howard spoke about the state of the electric industry and grid reliability in California and the effects on public power utilities, including PSREC. Jackie Coombs, UAMPS manager of corporate and member relations, spoke about the membership benefits of UAMPS and provided an update on new UAMPS generation assets.

Next, Bob took to the podium again to give an overview of the cooperative and activities of the last year. He further discussed the importance of the Fort Sage Project and the overall state of the electric industry in California.

He later answered questions that had been submitted by members during a Q&A session.

Mike Vergara, PSREC’s legal counsel, directed the business meeting. Members reelected District 6 Director Tom Hammond and District 7 Director Nancy Miller.

We appreciate the members’ patience with another virtual annual meeting. PSREC knows members are busy, so the cooperative staff and board thank all who participated. We hope to see you for an in-person annual meeting again next year.