Below is a summary of the Government Relations Panel at the 2024 Basin Electric Annual Meeting.
Moderator:
- Jean Schafer, senior legislative representative at Basin Electric
Panelists:
- Steve Barnett, general manager with the South Dakota Rural Electric Association
- Jenny Glumack, director of government affairs with Minnesota Rural Electric Association
- Zac Smith, communications and government relations director with the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives
- Shawn Taylor, executive director with the Wyoming Rural Electric Association
The Government Relations panel began with each panelist giving a quick overview of their association membership and providing a status of their legislative make up.
The first question Jean Schafer posed to the panel was, “When it comes to keeping the lights on for rural America, what top issue keeps you awake at night”? Answers varied from the amount of demand on the current electric grid, to the decrease in baseload generation due to current governmental policies. Environmental issues including wildfires were also mentioned.
The panelists went on to discuss their involvement at the federal level and stated which key agencies they’re working with most on issues affecting their states. Shawn Taylor mentioned Wyoming is working closely with the Forest Service and The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to help with wildfires as well as right-of-way issues. Jenny Glumack said Minnesota is very involved in federal funding and is currently working with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Zac Smith said North Dakota works closely with the USDA Rural Development office. Steve Barnett mentioned South Dakota is also working with the U.S. DOE as they’ve applied for funding for infrastructure improvements.
State specific questions were then posed to each panelist. Subjects varied and included property tax in North Dakota, land-owner bill of rights in South Dakota, a generation tax in Wyoming, and tax appurtenances in Minnesota.
The panel discussion closed with each panelist stating what policy makers can do to help electric cooperatives in each of their representative states.
