NRECA’s Louis Finkel says electric cooperatives must stay focused on affordability, reliability, and relationships as Washington enters a new era.
When Louis Finkel walked into the Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Association’s Power & Policy Summit in Eau Claire last month, he wasn’t there simply to deliver another Washington update. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) senior vice president of government relations came to listen.
“There’s no replacement for being around the members and hearing what’s on their minds,” Finkel said. “Not just doing it over a Teams call, but being on their home turf, hearing what is important to them, understanding their culture, and how policy affects their business.”
Those conversations reinforced what Finkel hears across the country: electric cooperatives are entering one of the most consequential political and regulatory periods in decades.
Growing electricity demand, aging infrastructure, data centers, federal permitting, disaster recovery, environmental regulations, and a closely divided Congress are all converging at the same time.
“The North Star for all cooperatives,” Finkel said, “is how the decisions we make affect the member at the end of the line.”
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s Senior Vice President of Government Relations Louis Finkel (left) addresses Wisconsin electric cooperative leaders with WECA President and CEO Rob Richard.
A changing energy landscape
Finkel described today’s energy challenges as unlike any he has seen during more than three decades in Washington.
Electricity demand is climbing rapidly—driven largely by artificial intelligence and data centers—while many older power-generating plants are approaching retirement. At the same time, utilities are facing rising costs for transformers, generation equipment, and transmission infrastructure.
“Affordability and reliability are obviously key,” Finkel said. “Especially at a time when demand is growing, and there are questions about whether federal policy is going to allow us to meet the moment.”
He said electric cooperatives need a federal regulatory system that supports, rather than delays, investment in new generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure. That includes permitting policies that allow utilities to build projects more efficiently and a disaster assistance system that helps communities recover after severe weather without placing the full financial burden on cooperative members.
“We don’t want federal policy to impede our ability to keep the lights on at costs our members can afford,” he said.
The data center debate
One of the fastest-moving issues facing electric cooperatives is the explosive growth of data centers.
While the topic has become increasingly political, Finkel urged cooperatives to focus on the fundamentals rather than the rhetoric.
“Our role is to provide power,” he said. “It’s not to decide whether a data center should be built or where it should be built.”
Instead, he said cooperatives should evaluate projects through the lens of their members.
Can the cooperative continue providing reliable service? Will existing members be protected from higher costs? Will the data center pay for the infrastructure it requires rather than shifting those costs onto residential and business consumers?
“I think those are some really good, easy fundamentals,” Finkel said.
As utilities across the nation prepare for significant load growth, he said maintaining those principles will become increasingly important.
Working for you
Finkel also discussed several federal regulatory issues that remain top priorities for NRECA.
Among them is the Department of Energy’s reconsideration of distribution transformer efficiency standards. After utilities, manufacturers, and federal officials spent years developing a compromise that balanced improved efficiency with manufacturing realities, DOE is once again evaluating the rule.
Finkel said NRECA is encouraging the department to maintain the compromise, because regulatory certainty allows utilities and manufacturers to make long-term investment decisions.
“Even if the revised rule or regulation isn’t perfect, consistency creates a level of business assurance and certainty,” he said. “That’s good.”
He also pointed to FEMA reform, permitting reform, and continued support for Rural Utilities Service financing as some of NRECA’s highest legislative priorities. These issues may not generate headlines, he said, but they directly affect electric cooperatives’ ability to recover from storms, finance infrastructure improvements, and provide reliable electric service.
Advocacy matters
In addition to speaking at the summit, Finkel participated in WECA’s first annual PAC Golf Scramble, emphasizing that advocacy is about far more than politics.
Wisconsin electric co-op leaders gather for WECA’s PAC Golf Scramble.
He acknowledged that many Americans have grown frustrated with today’s political environment but argued that electric cooperatives cannot afford to disengage.
“Nobody likes money in politics, including me,” Finkel said. “But it’s the circumstance by which we operate.”
Unlike many political action committees, he noted, America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC is funded by thousands of individual cooperative employees, directors, and supporters across the country—not by large corporate contributions.
“It’s not about partisanship,” he said. “It’s about supporting candidates who support what’s most important to electric cooperatives and the members at the end of the line.”
Building relationships
Perhaps Finkel’s strongest message was that advocacy doesn’t begin when legislation is introduced, or a crisis happens.
Instead, he encouraged cooperative leaders to build relationships with elected officials early—and maintain them over time.
“You can never start too early,” he told summit attendees. “Invite them to your cooperative. Show them your facilities. Invite them to board meetings. Help them understand why electric cooperatives are different.”
Those relationships, he said, become invaluable when Congress is debating FEMA reform, Rural Utilities Service funding, permitting legislation, or disaster assistance.
“It’s the reason to do it,” he said. “To make sure that on your worst day, your member of Congress knows you and is going to be able to help.”
A consistent mission
Finkel discussed politics and highlighted races that could affect control in Washington and Wisconsin, but regardless of what happens in November, Finkel said that like WECA’s priorities, NRECA’s priorities remain remarkably consistent.
Whether working with Congress, the White House, or federal agencies, NRECA continues to advocate for policies that improve reliability, keep electricity affordable, strengthen rural infrastructure, and protect the cooperative business model.
For Wisconsin’s electric cooperatives and WECA—which is celebrating 90 years of advocating on behalf of the state’s electric cooperatives—that mission remains as relevant today as it was when the first power lines were built.
“Our agenda doesn’t change,” Finkel said. “The issues we care about today are the same ones we’ll care about tomorrow. Everything comes back to serving our members.”—Julie Lund