On
July 31, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)
responded to a July 18 letter from House Oversight and Government
Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) regarding certain
business practices of electric coops and the association's role in its
members' business activity. The Waxman inquiry is a follow-up to a
recent Congressional hearing which focused on questionable actions
taken by Pedernales Electric Cooperative, the largest coop in the
country.
In
its response, NRECA highlighted a recent coop survey regarding capital
credit practices, stating that 77 percent of NRECA members annually
notify their members of the dollar amount of capital credits. With
regard to questions specifically about Pedernales and when NRECA
learned of the coop's actions and what the association had done in
response, the letter states the association heard about the activity
through the media and that "As a trade association, NRECA provides
training and other services that highlight best practices of
cooperative management and governance." In response to Waxman's
questions about problems at specific coops (e.g. Pendernales, Pioneer and Cobb Electric), NRECA said, "an engaged membership brought about significant governance reform."