Changes approved to Bylaws, Resolutions at 2023 Annual Meeting

A change to Basin Electric’s bylaws was approved at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Membership.

The amendment decreases the amount Basin Electric can hold as deferred revenue from $500 million (which was a temporary amount set during the 2022 Annual Meeting) to $415 million and requires that deferred revenues must now be used within a period of seven years (decreased from 10 years) after the revenue is initially collected and deposited.

The Bylaw Review Committee, which is made up of one manager and one director from each district, reviews proposed amendments to the bylaws and provides recommendations to the membership. The committee met virtually in May to discuss the amendment. Members of the committee also re-elected Doug Hardy, CEO of Central Montana Electric Power Cooperative, as chairperson at that time. The committee met again in June and voted to recommend the revision to the membership. Basin Electric members voted to approve the bylaw change on Aug. 16.

“The rate stability fund was one of the topics discussed during our annual visits with ratings agencies in New York early this year,” said Basin Electric Board President Wayne Peltier at the Annual Meeting. “They see the fund and the long-term all-requirements contracts we have with our members as major strengths, and as a result the agencies reaffirmed our ratings. In fact, Moody’s went one step further and upgraded our outlook from stable to positive. Why does this matter? It helps lower the cost of borrowing money, which makes building generation and transmission more affordable for our cooperative family.”

The membership also approved minor edits and updates to the cooperative’s resolutions at the Annual Meeting. The edits were recommended for approval by members of Basin Electric’s Resolutions Committee at their meeting on June 8. The committee also re-elected David Sigloh, director from Upper Missouri Power Cooperative, as its chairperson at that time. The committee met again in August prior to the Annual Meeting to address any additional resolutions members brought forth, but there were none.

The Resolutions Committee is made up of directors from each of Basin Electric’s districts and a member of the co-op’s board of directors.

“The resolutions and bylaws committees perform an essential role, regularly reviewing the documents that govern and direct the cooperative’s activities,” says Chris Baumgartner, Basin Electric senior vice president of Member and External Relations. “They are another prime example of how Basin Electric engages with its members to ensure that all voices are heard.”