Where RPC Goes From Here
Last month, members of the Rural Power Coalition came together for a two-day convening in Minneapolis to enjoy each other’s company, think deeply, and strategize around how to increase the impact of our collective efforts over the next year.
This was quite the treat, as the folks who make up the RPC are only able to meet in-person every couple of years.
As you might expect, we spent a healthy amount of time assessing our wins, as well as areas for improvement over the past few years. (There has been a lot to celebrate!) Looking forward, there are significant opportunities and challenges in the field that require us to shift how we work as we shore up the affordability, reliability, and sustainability of rural energy systems.
So, in the upcoming months, you can expect to hear more from us in these areas:
AI Data Centers
Community Benefits Plans
Electric Co-op Elections
Federal Policy
It has become apparent that the injection of AI data centers into communities will continue to be an ongoing issue for much of Rural America, and one that threatens energy affordability and reliability.
Then, as energy developments are planned, sited, and built out due to increased energy demands, there is a clear need to empower communities to secure community benefits plans that ensure local needs are met as developments get underway.
The importance of providing information-sharing spaces and support to those working on board elections for electric co-ops also rose to the top as one of the major new priorities for our coalition.
RPC will also continue to push forward on issue areas like inclusive utility investments, co-op governance, virtual power plants, net metering, project siting, and more.
And of course, we will be in conversation with decision-makers about the federal programs that benefit rural communities and help fuel the buildout of the energy system that we need.
After nearly a year of steady work, we’re excited to share the fully reimagined Electric Cooperative Organizing Toolkit next month. This soon-to-be-released toolkit is an in-depth handbook made for member-owners and supportive organizations who want to engage their local co-ops in order to reduce rates, improve reliability, and increase the resiliency of their communities.
The toolkit will be released on Monday, November 17th at 12AK/1PT/2MT/3CT/4ET, and you are invited to a virtual launch event that day! More details about the launch will come soon, but in the meantime, you can REGISTER HERE.
