Episode 1

Episode 1 Transcript:

Jim Anderson: Hello, and welcome to the very first episode of Power Factor, the official podcast of Midstate Electric Cooperative. I'm Jim Anderson, the CEO and General Manager here at Midstate, and I'll be your host as we launch this brand-new platform. We're calling it Power Factor, not just because it's a term in the electrical industry, but because it reflects on what we're trying to do here. We're going to be talking about real factors that drive our power, shape our decisions, and define the future of Midstate Electric.

We're proud to serve over 22,000 meters across Central Oregon, from the High Desert to the pine forest, covering Deschutes, Klamath Lake, and Lane Counties. Everything we do is centered around the cooperative difference, member-owned, locally controlled, and driven by the service over profit, as a true nonprofit should be.

You might want to ask, why a podcast? We know you're busy. You might not always have time to to attend our meetings, read the newsletters, catch up on the magazine, or even look at social media. But when you're driving to work, out in the field, or relaxing at home, we hope that this podcast gives you a new way to connect with us, to learn about us, to understand, to engage with the co-op, your co-op, in a deeper way. Over the course of this podcast, we're going to explore all facets of Midstate, who we are, what we do, and where we're going. We'll also bring you behind the scenes to meet people who make things happen, from the lineworker and engineers to the board members, finance staff, and all the people that it takes to keep the co-op going.

What you can expect out of this podcast is each episode will dig into a different part of the co-op. No topic is going to be off limits. Here's just a preview of some things that we're going to cover. We're going to talk about engineering and system design, and that's going to be how your grid is built, maintained, and modernized. What goes into the design of a reliable electric system in rural Oregon? We're also going to talk about operations and maintenance. What a day in the life of a line worker looks like, especially during outages, wildfires, and storms. We're going to talk about technology, innovation, from advanced metering infrastructure to battery storage, demand response, grid automation. We'll even talk about how we're preparing the grid for the future. And everybody's favorite topic is finance. So, we're going to cover finance and rates. We're going to talk about rates and how they're calculated, what your bill actually pays for, and how Midstate manages its budget to remain financially healthy while returning capital credits to our members.

Wildfire mitigation and safety is another topic. Our strategy for preventing wildfires is to ensure that our members wildfires, managing rights of way, and partnering with service agencies like the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management in making the right-of-ways safe for us and our power lines. We're going to talk about the demand charge and energy use, why we introduced the demand charge, how it works, and how you can actually use energy smarter and eventually save money by utilizing the full benefits of the demand charge. We're going to talk about cybersecurity and resiliency, how we actually protect our systems and your personal data, and the integrity of our infrastructure in a rapidly changing and a threatening environment.

Cooperative principles and governance, another topic that's very important to us. What it means to be a member-owner, how your voice matters and how the board of directors leads the co-op through policy and our strategic planning. We're going to talk about renewables and power supply, our relationship with Bonneville Power Association and our role in the broader Pacific Northwest energy landscape and how we ensure that clean, reliable and affordable power can be delivered to you. We're going to talk about youth and community programs, scholarships, safety education, Local grants that we've applied for are working with and to help get for the co-op, economic development in our communities, and the work that our staff does in schools and with the future leaders of the co-op.

We're also going to be talking about our employees through employee spotlights. These are the people that are behind the scenes, behind the poles. Stories from our linemen, our member service reps, our marketing group, all people that are involved in the co-op are going to have a chance to get on this podcast and talk to you about what they do and how they affect the co-op. We're going to talk about where we're going.

As we look into the future, Midstate is more focused than ever on long-term sustainability and member satisfaction and system resiliency. We're upgrading infrastructure, improving vegetation management, and we're taking very proactive steps to reduce the wildfire risk that we have here in Central Oregon. We're expanding our use of data and analytics to forecast energy use and make smarter infrastructure investments as we go forward. We're going to be investing in people, and that's something that Midstate's always done, to build a strong team for the future, creating opportunities for leadership within our organization.

Our focus is on keeping your lights on, but also on building a co-op that will serve your kids and grandkids just as reliably in the future. The utility industry is changing fast, with electrification, distributed energy resources, EVs, electric vehicles, and the evolving role of the grid. We believe that co-ops like Midstate can lead the way, not by just keeping up, but by staying true to our values of accountability, transparency, and providing the service that you expect from us as a member. You are a co-owner. Your voice, your vote, and your input all help shape the future of this cooperative.

So, whether you've been here with us for decades or just moved to the area, we hope that you'll find value in what we're sharing ask questions to us and we'll try to answer them on the podcast give us feedback tell us what you want to hear more about and most importantly stay engaged we're excited to kick this off. We hope that you'll be subscribing and sharing and tuning in regularly you'll be hearing from a wide variety of people on the upcoming podcast as we start.

But thanks for joining us on the first episode of Power Factor we're proud to serve you and we're looking forward to bringing you into the conversation each episode at a time.