Friday, July 25, 2008

Electrifying news!


Hey! Even with the pay cut I'd still take a position as a board member.


Not bad pay for part-time "work".


Electric co-op board members cut own pay
Roger Croteau - Express-News

Board members at the Pedernales Electric Cooperative voted to cut their compensation package by more than 40 percent at their Monday meeting.

The move came after the board’s compensation committee presented a report recommending a 22 percent cut.

Board members will get a monthly fee of $1,500, plus $750 for attending regular meetings and $500 per committee meeting. The original recommendation from the committee was for a $2,000 monthly pay and meeting fees of $750.

“It is beholden on us to make a statement to our membership,” said Director Patrick Cox. “Every business I know, every family I know, is making belt-tightening decisions. We need to make a substantive reduction.”

The board also eliminated PEC’s payment of all health, dental and life insurance benefits for board members and their dependents.

As a result, the average board member’s compensation is expected to drop from $49,800 last year to about $29,000. By comparison, the average board compensation for the largest electric cooperatives in Texas is about $31,000 a year, and for the group of the largest electrical cooperatives in the nation, it is about $65,000 a year.

The move comes after a spring board election that put four new members on the board.
PEC has 223,000 members in an area that covers 8,100 square miles, and includes portions of Comal, Blanco and Hays counties.

PEC, the nation’s largest electric cooperative, was embroiled in controversy over pay and benefits for directors and management last year.

A lawsuit by members was settled in March, calling for PEC to begin paying capital credits to members and have an independent audit conducted. The cooperative also reformed its board election process and its longtime general manager resigned.