WYSOX — Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative members voted in one new director and re-elected two incumbents at the utility’s 2006 annual meeting, held Saturday, July 22, on the Wysox Fire Department’s recreational grounds.

In a two-way race for directorship for Zone 5, Michael J. Coleman of Montrose defeated incumbent Donald P. Kannenberg of Little Meadows, who was seeking his 10th term as director. Coleman is the president of Cargill Taylor Beef, Wyalusing.

In another contested race, Claverack members re-elected Zone 4 incumbent Thomas J. Elliott of Towanda RR 5 over challenger Gerard A. Zeller of Athens Township. Incumbent James E. Luce of Laceyville, who ran unopposed, was unanimously re-elected to represent Zone 6 on the Claverack board.

Three of Claverack’s nine board seats were up for election this year. Directors are elected to three-year terms.

Despite heavy bouts of rain, over 2,000 people attended the outdoor meeting to hear election results and business reports from the cooperative’s management team and directors.
Bobbi Kilmer, Claverack’s president and chief executive officer, updated members about the cooperative’s activities and achievements of the past year.

She also told those on hand for the 69th annual gathering that they can expect to see continued stability in generation rates, despite the double-digit generation-rate increases being implemented at electric utilities in Pennsylvania and throughout the nation.

She explained that Claverack’s wholesale power supplier, Allegheny Electric Cooperative, owns a generation mix of low-cost hydroelectric and nuclear power and has only limited exposure to open market pricing.

“With respect to rates, the news is good,” Kilmer told the audience. “I expect that our generation costs will remain fairly stable in the coming years, which translates into stable rates for you.”

Kilmer also reported the co-op invested over $2 million in its distribution system last year in an effort to improve system reliability.

“This includes rebuilding lines, updating substations and providing our crews with better equipment to respond, troubleshoot and repair problems when they do occur,” she said.

This year, she noted, the cooperative is building a three-phase tie line between Franklin Forks and Great Bend substations to provide greater reliability to members in northern Susquehanna County.

During a reorganizational meeting that immediately followed the annual meeting, Thomas J. Elliott was elected board chairman. Steven T. Sliwinski of Troy was re-elected as board vice-chairman. Robert A. Hess of Montrose was re-elected secretary-treasurer, and James W. Zick of Kingsley was re-elected vice secretary-treasurer.

Unlike investor-owned utilities, Claverack is a non-profit organization, owned by its consumer-members. A democratic organization by nature, the cooperative conducts an annual meeting each July to update consumer-members on the progress made during the year.

Annual meetings also provide consumer-members with the opportunity to offer input and voice concerns before the board of directors and management staff.

Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative, with headquarters in Wysox, provides electricity to more than 17,700 members in Bradford, Susquehanna, Wyoming, Tioga, Lycoming, Sullivan, Lackawanna and Luzerne counties.

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