COPA--Cooperative Owners for Political Action

For more than 30 years, the Action Committee for Rural Electrification (ACRE) has been working to support candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives who understand and advocate on behalf of electric Cooperatives and their member-owners. Issues affecting electric Cooperatives and the price Co-op members pay for electricity come before our national and state legislators every week, and if electric Co-ops don ’t contact our elected representatives and explain how these issues can hurt or help our members, no one else will.

Today, electric Co-ops are facing many legislative issues that will affect the future operations of the Cooperative and the rates paid by Coop members. One way you can help is by joining the ACRE Co-op Owners for Political Action (COPA) program, which provides a convenient way for member-owners of electric Cooperatives to participate in the political affairs of their Co-op. The participation of member-owners helps ensure that the voice of electric Cooperatives remains strong and effective in the political arena.

More than 33,000 Cooperative employees and Trustees across the country are helping their electric Coops as ACRE members. Cooperative member-owners can help by joining COPA to participate in a nationwide grassroots community with a strong collective voice working on behalf of electric Cooperatives and their members; receive current information on legislative and political issues affecting local electric Cooperatives and their members, including Ohio’s Legislative Currents and the ACRE Newsletter; and receive a membership pin.

Contributions are used to help educate elected representatives about issues affecting your co-op and you; and to explain how proposed legislation could harm or help rural electric consumers and their cooperatives. For more information on ACRE/COPA, please contact the Director of Member Services at Firelands Electric Cooperative by e-mail members@firelandsec.com or call 1-800-533-8658.