 Firelands members gathered Saturday, June 27, at the Ashland University Myers Convocation Center for the 2009 Annual Meeting. A crowd of more than 1,100 members and guests enjoyed the breakfast buffet before the business portion of the meeting. Three incumbents were re-elected to the Board of Trustees by the 481 registered co-op members in attendance.
John Copley, a Firelands trustee for three years, was re-elected to service District 9,
re-elected to represent District 2 was Lowell Kreager, and
Dan McNaull was re-elected as trustee of District 7.
In his report to the membership, Board President Dan McNaull announced that the $6.2 million project to repair 111 miles of Firelands lines severely damaged by the ice storm of 2005 was completed the preceding week. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) paid $4.6 million of this project, leaving $1.6 million for Firelands members to pay.
McNaull said that in spite of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Firelands has been fortunate because its power supplier, Buckeye Power, and its primary lender, Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) have only been marginally affected by the crisis. However, because CFC's rates on new bonds have gone up, there will be a slight increase in the interest rates Firelands will pay to borrow new money. Also, because Buckeye Power's generating costs are climbing and their sale of excess electricity is declining, the capital credits Firelands gets back from Buckeye are being reduced substantially. Last year that amount was $269,000.
Firelands has undertaken many cost-cutting efforts, McNaull said. These include eliminating part-time janitorial staff and contracting for janitorial services. The schedule for replacement of trucks also has been extended, and the annual employee summer outing has been cancelled. Every cost at Firelands is being closely reviewed, McNaull said.
McNaull reported that in the past year the Firelands board was forced to name a new trustee member after the death of Don Stauffer. Eugene "Andy" Anderson was selected to fill the unexpired District 8 term that ends in 2010.
McNaull introduced Pat O'Loughlin, Vice President of Engineering and Power Supply and Chief Operating Officer at Buckeye Power, Firelands' power supplier. O'Loughlin said that although Buckeye Power is facing challenging economic times with higher costs for fuel and equipment and increasing costs of producing electricity, it is still making investments to increase efficiency and reliability of the power supply. These include making more than $900 million in improvements at its power plant and the purchase of additional capacity from other suppliers, including the addition of renewable energy sources when it can be done affordable.
O'Loughlin warned that the climate change legislation currently being considered in Congress could add a minimum of $30 to $50 to each member's electric bill each month, more likely in the range of $50 to $100. He urged Firelands members to sign up for grassroots efforts like the Our Energy, Our Future campaign undertaken by Firelands and the other Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives to lobby Congressional representatives to keep energy affordable.
 General Manager John Noss said that although Firelands is in good financial shape, because of rising generating costs and increasing demand, Firelands will have to adjust its rate in the fall, an adjustment that will take effect at the end of September and showing up in the bills members receive in November. The adjustment will add $2 to the monthly distribution charge for all residential accounts, and a proportionate amount for large power users. Because the demand for energy is rising faster than the supply, Noss said "I expect more rate adjustments on a regular basis — at least every year — for the foreseeable future."
Noss urged members to send the message to their senators and representatives that they need "to pass energy legislation that is achievable, affordable and efficient. Over 60 members signed up to join Co-op Owners for Political Action (COPA) during this year's meeting, allowing Firelands' to reach 334 COPA members strong, which is 3.5% of the co-op membership. Members were also encouraged to send Our Energy, Our Future cards to their congressional representatives to urge them to keep electric bills affordable.
Noss thanked a number of Firelands employees for going above and beyond their normal duties. These included office employees who collected $2,335 of their own money to donate to needy persons and charities. He also thanked line workers Phil Pickering and Zach Collins for helping in Louisiana after Hurricane Gustav and Rob Swiger, Dave Sumpter, Vic Lawrence, Fred Hartman and Evan Clemons for helping in southern Ohio after the Hurricane Ike windstorm. Collins, Hartman, Swiger, Clemons, Lawrence and Sumpter also assisted to repair ice damage in Ohio last winter.
Noss also recognized Jim Mitchell, who retired from Firelands Electric on October 3, 2008, 42 years to the day after he started work in 1966. He began as an apprentice lineman, then became a journeyman in 1970 and a full-time meter technician in 2003.
 Before conclusion of the meeting; Pat O'Loughlin, reentered the stage to present plaques to Firelands line workers, Zach Collins and Fred Hartman, honoring them with the Touchstone Energy Power and Hope Award. Collins and Hartman were both honored with this national award for their good deed September 14, 2008.
After remnants of Hurricane Ike had blown through the Buckeye State leaving many without power, Collins and Hartman were called out that Sunday to restore service. While working, shouts from a nearby co-op member alerted the two the member's house was on fire and they grabbed fire extinguishers from their trucks and used Collins' cell phone to call emergency services. The two men used their extinguishers and bottles of water to put the fire out before emergency crews arrived, and both were treated for smoke inhalation before getting back to work restoring power for cooperative members.
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