CEO’s Message – October 2023
Great news!
Social media, entertainment, texts, calls, email, news, advertising, mail and a raft of other information streams are constantly screaming for your attention. In that blizzard of information, it would be easy to miss an important fact: Wells Rural Electric Company (WREC) has not had a rate increase in 6 years and expects to keep rates the same for the next two years.
In this era of inflation, rising interest rates and economic turmoil, stable rates are an incredible accomplishment!
Your dedicated board of directors and employees labor diligently to keep electricity safe, reliable, affordable and clean. I am also very grateful for your efforts to keep rates stable by paying your bills on time, engaging in energyefficiency and conservation practices, and being politically active.
Protect Your Hydropower
It’s rare for me to write about the same topic for 2 consecutive months. In fact, I haven’t addressed the same topic twice since the battle to defeat Question 3, the so-called “Energy Choice Initiative,” in the 2018 General Election. The proposal from the Biden Administration’s Council on Environmental Quality to remove four dams on the lower Snake River has many of the same flaws that plagued Question 3: it is driven by outside interests, no feasible alternatives are available, no one can demonstrate how it will work, the costs are unknown but are likely to be enormous and our members could get stuck with the bill.
On a positive note, you defeated Question 3 in 2018, and you have the power to kill this misguided proposal as well.
If you have already taken action to let our congressional representatives know that these dams are critical to maintaining your access to safe, reliable, affordable, clean energy, thank you!
If you haven’t told our senators and representatives that the lower Snake River dams provide electricity for 800,000 homes and are a vital component of a reliable electricity grid, please take 1 minute— literally 1 minute—to scan the QR code or check the WREC’s website to send a message to Washington, D.C.
If you want more information on this important issue, or to get more involved, contact your local office or any member of the board of directors.
Best wishes,
Clay R. Fitch
Chief Executive Officer
