Cooperative organizations are owned by their members and place the needs of their members first. Cooperatives around the world operate with a basic set of principles and values. Included in these principles are Education, Training, and Information as well as Cooperation Among Cooperatives, and Concern for Community.
Working together, your board of directors, general manager, senior staff, and employees form a team that leads your cooperative. This team embodies the cooperative principle of Education, Training, and Information, while working to deliver electric power safely, reliably, and affordably to our members. Our complex industry requires specialized education, knowledge, and training, which is why we continuously invest in training at all levels of the organization to provide our members with dependable electricity when and where they need it.
Our cooperative team also uses their skills and talents in planning for the future. The electric utility industry operates in a rapidly changing environment. In Texas, our industry is currently experiencing a number of challenges because of an ever-growing population. Consumer adoption of new products like electric vehicles is increasing. In addition, industrial and commercial operations are expanding and require large amounts of electricity. There is a strong demand for new generation resources, both traditional and innovative. The sum of these changes present potential challenges to the reliability of the Texas grid and have a significant impact on planning for management of the electric system in the future. Fortunately, advances in technology continue to provide new tools and opportunities to better control, manage, and operate the Texas grid.
The Magic Valley team uses the cooperative principles in preparing for the future of electric power delivery. We are always learning —always studying—new developments, innovative technologies, and economic trends. The Magic Valley team is always shopping for the future, but not always buying. The team is prepared with the education, training, and information we need to make thoughtful and informed investment decisions that are in the best interests of our members today as well as in the future.
As a cooperative, we operate under the principle of Cooperation Among Cooperatives. Magic Valley Electric and eight other electric distribution cooperatives in the southern region of Texas work together through South Texas Electric Cooperative and San Miguel Electric Cooperative, two generation and transmission electric cooperatives, or G&Ts. Through these G&Ts, Magic Valley participates in the ownership and operation of electric generating facilities. These facilities generate the power that MVEC needs to meet members’ demands for electricity. Through these G&Ts, Magic Valley also participates in ownership and operation of transmission infrastructure that delivers electric power in wholesale form to distribution level systems like Magic Valley. Distribution level systems then deliver electric power at a retail level to homes and businesses. By applying the principle of Cooperation Among Cooperatives, Magic Valley enhances the reliability and affordability of generating and delivering electric power to our members.
Another cooperative principle that is important to Magic Valley is Concern for Community. Your Magic Valley team is committed to its mission of providing safe, reliable, and affordable power. We understand that electricity is crucial to the health, growth, and economic prosperity of families, businesses, and our local communities. Magic Valley is also active in supporting these communities through service projects and scholarship programs.
Although MVEC is actively involved in supporting the Rio Grande Valley, our concern for community doesn’t stop there. Last fall, Magic Valley, along with other Texas cooperatives, partnered with NRECA International in sending a team of volunteer linemen to Guatemala to build an electric line to a remote mountain community. We arehonored to have participated in such a worthy cause that brought electricity to a remote mountain village that had never experienced the power of electricity that many of us take for granted each day.
Magic Valley is proud to operate as a cooperative organization that puts the needs of its members first. We are dedicated and privileged to serve you, our members, and the communities where we live. We are committed to education, training, and information, so that we can take steps today that will position Magic Valley Electric Cooperative for a strong and bright future.
In closing, I would like to say thank you for allowing Magic Valley Electric Cooperative to be your electric service provider. We promise that we will always do our best for you.
