Oklahoma Living Magazine

Electric cooperatives name new CEO

Chris Meyers is new on the job, but not new to the utility industry

Chelsey Simpson

After a broad search, the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives’ board of directors chose Chris Meyers to serve as the organization’s new chief executive officer. The post was recently vacated by Larry Watkins, who retired last month after 30 years at OAEC.

Meyers is no stranger to the needs of electric consumers in Oklahoma. He spent 24 years at Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E) in various capacities, most recently as the manager of state governmental affairs. He and his wife, Lori, have three children: Megan, 20, Jacob, 18 and Claire, 15.

To introduce himself to our readers, Meyers sat down with Oklahoma Living editor Chelsey Simpson for a Q&A session.

I know you live in Edmond now, but where are you from originally? Do you have rural roots?

I grew up in Cunningham, Kansas, which is where my family has lived for several generations. My great-grandfather farmed there. My mother grew up on a farm near Willowdale, Kansas, which is nothing more than a church. She remembers when they first got electricity from their co-op

So did you grow up farming?

My dad is in the banking business. Our family runs a small private bank there in Cunningham. My dad had several part time jobs as a high school student, and one of them was as janitor at the bank. The owner of the bank took a liking to him and allowed him to work his way up. Other than the time he left for the army, he has been at the bank continuously since he was 15 years old. Last month he turned 75. He still goes to the bank nearly every day.

How did your dad’s life influence you and what you bring to your career?

He was a good role model. In a town of 500 people, you wear every hat. He has been the mayor for a very long time—not necessarily because he wants to be, but he could never get anybody else to run. He is always happy to pitch in. With a rural upbringing, if you see something that needs to be done, you just do it, and you grab a few people to help you and they are always wiling. You don’t worry about whose job it is. Life is more of a cooperative effort; people have to be willing to step up.

What brought you to Oklahoma?

I graduated from Kansas State University in 1984 with a degree in engineering and I thought I wanted to work in the oil industry. I got a job with Getty Oil and moved to Oklahoma in 1985, but the oil bust had just occurred. I decided to look into working for utilities and wound up at OG&E for 24 years.

What did you do at OG&E?

A little bit of everything! I started out in engineering but only spent two years there and then moved to sales and marketing where I was really dealing with the public and customers more. Then OG&E did a large reorganization, and I wound up in charge of operations—linemen, meter readers, that kind of thing. I finished my career there in the legislative department. I have been very lucky in the sense that I have been able to do a lot of different things. I think it gives me a broad perspective.

Out of all the things you have done, what will be the most important experience you bring to your new job?

The legislative knowledge will probably be the most helpful to me in this role because the local co-ops do a great job taking care of the operational side of the business. Here at the statewide, we have to look out for co-op interests at the state and national level.

What are your goals and top priorities so far?

There are a lot of legislative issues that need attention. There are so many things going on at the federal level that can have an impact on the members’ price—that’s what I’m worried about is affordability. There are a lot of great ideas; we want to be clean and we all want to be efficient. But we need to make sure we don’t run over people in the process. There’s a right way to do it, a smart way to do it.

This is a complex business that is not easily understood. A lot of well-intended people trying to do what’s right can have some unintended consequences that you might not feel in your pocketbook until it is too late. That’s when we have to watch out for the members and make sure we take care of them.

Here at the statewide office we have good people and good staff taking care of business. I want to gain a full understanding of the services we offer the co-ops so I can make sure we are providing the best quality we can. We want to listen to feedback from the co-ops—that’s when you know if you are successful.

Was there anything about the job that particularly interested you?

I’ve always been a fan of the cooperatives. I’ve always had good working relationships with them over the years. The business itself is the same; the only difference really is who you work for. With investor-owned utilities you work for the investor, and with the cooperatives you work for the member. Both business models are good, but they are different.

As a farm boy, were you the odd-man out at your old job?

Yes. Being a rural guy, I like knowing people in the rural cooperative family and knowing they are like I am when it comes to our values. That isn’t to say we are any better, but this is the culture I grew up in so it is where I fit.

So you are excited to get back to your roots a bit?

I love the opportunity to get out of the city and go to Tipton and Hollis—those are the kind of communities I am familiar with. Tipton is twice the size of my hometown!

What kind of things do you like to do in your free time?

I enjoy the outdoors – bird hunting and canoeing. I like to be outdoors every chance I get, which is not often enough. I also like woodworking—I even built my own canoe. My son and I took it to Canada to use it for the first time. It had never even been in the water! We had to have a certain amount of faith to know it wouldn’t sink.

Are there a lot of activities your family does together?

The kids are very active athletically. Both of my daughters have state championship rings in volleyball and my son is on the golf team. The kids’ sports consume a lot of our time and keep us on the road, so we also like to be at home when we can.

Is there anything else you think our readers might be interested to know about you?

My first car—which I bought with every dime I earned over my youth—was a 1970 Monte Carlo. I was really careful with it, and in 1979 I parked it and didn’t drive it much at all. Now I’ve given it to my son, and his first car is the same as my first car. And I’m lucky because he is just as careful with it as I was. I just thought, what have I saved it for, really? What better thing to do than to give it to him? Now it is for him to enjoy.

Chris Meyers’ first day on the job was February 1.

Chris Meyers
General Manager,
Oklahoma Association
of Electric Cooperatives

In last month’s issue of Oklahoma Living we highlighted the impressive career of Larry Watkins and the years of dedicated service he generously gave the state’s electric cooperatives. Larry is a close friend of mine, as he is a friend to so many across this state and nation. For that I am both thankful and blessed. We all wish him and his wife Natalie the best as they enter the next, and well deserved, phase of their lives.

Larry leaves big shoes to fill, but with his kind offer of assistance over the upcoming months, I am confident that the transition will be smooth. In the very short time that I have been here I can see that Larry has left OAEC in very good shape.

As for me, I am both proud and honored to be a part of the cooperative family. Having been raised in a rural area I know firsthand the important role that electric cooperatives play in our small communities and farms. The member-owners we serve and the men and women who work for the cooperatives are of strong character and have a great work ethic. We know what it means to help a neighbor and we know what it means to have been helped by a neighbor. I don’t think there can be anyone more proud of their rural roots than I am. It feels good to be in a role of service to your local cooperative and, ultimately, you.

While your local co-op is committed to providing affordable and reliable electricity day in and day out, here at the statewide office we are committed to a role of support in the areas of safety and training, self-funded insurance and outreach. We are also monitoring state and national legislation that has the potential to impact our member-owners either positively or negatively. There are many challenges ahead, but with our grassroots network in place across the state and nation and with the resources available to us from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), we are well positioned to manage and influence that change in a common sense manner.

Over the months ahead, stay tuned to the articles in Oklahoma Living. In every edition we provide important information about current events in the industry, how you can be more energy efficient and utility related technologies. The electric utility industry has never been faced with so much change in so many areas of the business.

Thanks to the many of you who have welcomed me on board. I am looking forward to working with you.

Glen English
CEO,
National Rural Electric

Cooperative Association

Let's avoid a "glorious mess"

The federal Clean Air Act was passed to control specific pollutants on a local scale. But in 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the term “pollutant” in the Clean Air Act could include carbon dioxide, and required the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to “make the call” on whether or not to clarify carbon as a threat.

One of the main authors of the most recent version of the Clean Air Act, U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), warned that using the Act to regulate carbon dioxide, which was never considered by Congress, will result in a “glorious mess.”

Ignoring that concern, late last year EPA announced it would include carbon dioxide in a list of pollutants contributing to climate change to be regulated under the Clean Air Act. It seems that “glorious mess” could indeed become a reality.

The Clean Air Act in its modern form was originally passed in 1970 to control harmful pollutants like nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide on a local and regional level. And in every case where these emissions fell under federal regulation, proven technology existed to address the goals of the legislation.

But when it comes to carbon dioxide emissions from coal—and natural gas-fired power plants—no such solution currently exists. Experts estimate at least a decade of research on promising technologies like carbon capture and storage must be conducted before a viable approach to limiting carbon dioxide gas from smokestack emissions can be found.

In many ways, regulating carbon dioxide emissions under the law is akin to using a hammer to tighten a screw. You may eventually get the screw hammered in, but better tools are needed―ones that don’t put your electric bills at risk during these tough economic times.

Electric cooperatives have been fighting to make sure any energy or climate change policy remains fair, affordable, and achievable. Much of this effort so far has been focused on legislation being considered by Congress, but the EPA’s actions have opened a new front in the fight.

The Oklahoma’s electric cooperative are asking you to make you voice heard. Reach out to your elected officials in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate and ask them to support fellow members of Congress who are doing important bipartisan work to prevent EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the federal Clean Air Act. Urge them to sign on to the Murkowski-Lincoln resolution (S.J.RES. 26) in the Senate, and the Skelton-Emerson-Peterson bill (H.R. 4572) or Pomeroy bill (H.R. 4396) in the House. Together, we can make a stand that will help ensure an affordable energy future―and prevent an economic train wreck. Visit www.ourenergy.coop today to send that message to Congress.