Board Approves Rio Grande EC as TEC Member
October 30, 2019
The electric cooperative with the largest service territory in the contiguous U.S. is now a member of TEC. The association’s board of directors approved Rio Grande EC’s membership application at its Oct. 2 meeting.
“The co-op family is back together under one roof,” said Mike Williams, TEC president and CEO. “With the addition of RGEC, we now have 100% of the state’s co-ops committed to Cooperation Among Cooperatives and endorsing the value of the association.”
Rio Grande EC serves about 6,600 members in 18 counties in Southwest Texas and two counties in New Mexico. The co-op maintains some 10,000 miles of lines across its 35,000-square-mile service area along the Rio Grande. RGEC has military utility privatization contracts with Fort Bliss in El Paso and Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio.
“We are very glad and excited to be a part of TEC again,” said Roger Andrade, Rio Grande EC’s CEO. “The cooperative principles are at the core of RGEC’s values and purpose, but admittedly, not being part of the statewide, we felt a bit short in the area of Cooperation Among Cooperatives.”
Rio Grande EC will become part of Group 7. Andrade said he hopes his co-op can bring value to the association.
“First and foremost, making sure we contribute to the organization in a positive way [is a goal],” he said. “I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t make sure RGEC availed itself of all its resources and opportunities to be as efficient as possible.”