Safety Training Shows the Power of Collaboration
MECA’s safety training workshop has been a cornerstone event in the lineworker community, bringing together seasoned professionals from various utilities. The purpose of the training is to provide a platform for continuing education that is often hard to come by once a lineworker finishes their initial training. The lineworkers, despite working for different utilities, [...]
MPSC Supports MECA’s Position on Outage Credits Order
MECA secured a significant accomplishment for its member distribution cooperatives recently with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC). MPSC delivered favorable news by addressing the applicability of outage credits to electric cooperatives. The original order was a result of last winter’s severe ice and snowstorms that hit Michigan businesses and residents [...]
Inaugural Quad States Safety Leadership Conference Is a Hit
In late April, nearly 70 up-and-coming lineworkers from around the country participated in the first ever Lineworker, Safety, Training & Leadership Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. Unlike other training conferences, these individuals were selected through a nomination process that was meant to identify people who actively influence the safety culture at their utility. The goal [...]
2023 Symposium Reflects on Collaboration & Our Collective Power
Collaboration was an overarching theme at the 2023 Michigan Electric Cooperative Symposium. Guest speakers offered insights into their areas of expertise, including finance, cyber security, government relations, and of course, the challenges and opportunities cooperatives continue to face. Wolverine CEO Eric Baker offered a rallying cry for continued and unabashed collaboration between all the [...]
Joe McElroy Presented Leroy M. Vanderpool Award
MECA Safety Director, Joe McElroy, was recently presented the Leroy M. Vanderpool Recognition Award at the January Quad State Instructors Winter Conference. “I am beyond humbled to receive this award,” McElroy said, “there are multiple people within the Quad States group who are more deserving to be chosen.” Leroy Vanderpool was a pioneer in [...]
TEC Linemen Respond to House Fire
Two Thumb Electric Cooperative (TEC) journeyman linemen recently put their safety training into action when they responded to a house fire on Atwater Road, between Ubly and Parisville. On the afternoon of October 3, Jim Vogel and Shane Maurer were returning from a jobsite when they noticed what appeared to be flames coming from [...]