If you’ve ever tried to explain to a friend from out of state how Wisconsin winter weather works, you know it’s complicated. One minute it’s sunny and 35 degrees, the next minute you’re scraping ice off your windshield with a rewards card from Kwik Trip while the windchill takes all feeling out of your fingers.

Energy policy can feel a lot like that—unpredictable, fast‑changing, and occasionally requiring tools you didn’t know you needed. That’s exactly why your electric cooperative leaders work hard to stay engaged in both Madison and Washington, D.C.

And today, I’m inviting you—our consumer members—to join us in that effort.

Electric cooperatives were built on a simple but powerful idea: when people come together, they can accomplish what none of them could do alone. That principle shaped rural Wisconsin decades ago, when neighbors banded together to bring electricity to places investor-owned utilities ignored. And it’s the same principle that guides our work today as we advocate for policies that keep your power reliable, affordable, safe, and locally controlled.

To help us in this endeavor, I ask that you please consider joining America’s Electric Cooperative PAC, a voluntary, strictly nonpartisan, member‑driven program that helps ensure the voices of cooperative members are heard where decisions are made and supports the advocacy that protects your co‑op and your community. It does not support political parties. Instead, it supports candidates—regardless of affiliation—who understand and value the cooperative business model.

Electric cooperatives don’t have shareholders, Wall Street interests, or corporate profit motives. Simply, we have you! Cooperatives have always relied on member participation. You elect your board. You attend annual meetings. You help shape the direction of your local cooperative. Supporting the PAC is simply another way to live out the cooperative principle of democratic member control.

Think of the PAC as a tool. It helps ensure that when we speak up about issues like reliability, affordability, broadband expansion, or infrastructure investment, our voice carries weight. Let me be clear, your contribution doesn’t “buy” influence. More importantly, it builds relationships. It ensures that when decisions are made, cooperative members aren’t forgotten. It provides your cooperative leaders with opportunities to share local stories about how policy decisions affect rural communities. Even the most compelling message needs a way to be heard, and the PAC is our megaphone, so we are not drowned out by the noise and toxicity of state and national politics.

I want to stress again that this is completely voluntary. And this isn’t about taking sides, picking teams, or cheering for “your guy” like it’s the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field. It’s not about ideology. It’s about practicality. This is about making sure the people who write the rules understand how those rules affect the folks who keep the lights on—literally.

Joining America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC is simple. As you’ll see below, you can sign up with your credit card using the QR code, or you can mail in a check. And yes, even small contributions—just a few dollars a month—have a tremendous impact and help strengthen our collective voice. When many members give a little, it adds up to something meaningful. It shows lawmakers that cooperative members are paying attention. It shows that we’re engaged. And it shows that we’re serious about protecting the reliability and affordability of the electric service you depend on every day.

So here it is again, plain and simple: I’m asking you to please join with your local cooperative leaders and me in signing up for America’s Electric Cooperative PAC. Not because it’s political, but because it’s practical. Because we want to protect the cooperative way of doing things—local control, community focus, and reliable and affordable service.

I sincerely thank you for your consideration, and I hope you have a wonderful New Year!

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Make Your Voice Heard: Join Today

Over the past year, your cooperative leaders have been on the front lines—meeting with lawmakers in Madison and Washington, D.C.—to make sure your concerns about energy reliability are heard. These conversations aren’t just policy debates. They’re about keeping the lights on in your home, the machines running at your business, and our communities thriving.

You count on reliable power every minute of every day. Yet today, for the first time since neighbors banded together to form the Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Association in 1936, the very reliability of our nation’s electric grid is at risk. And this is why we are asking for your help!

At WECA, our mission is to ensure that the voices of Wisconsin’s electric cooperatives are heard loud and clear at the State Capitol and in the Halls of Congress. From protecting reliability and affordability to advancing sensible energy policies, we are working every day to make sure cooperative priorities are the priorities of our elected officials.

But reliability doesn’t happen by chance. Energy issues are front and center in today’s political debates, and policymakers need to hear the cooperative story. Federal and state officials often don’t see the faces behind the bills they debate. That’s where America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC comes in.

For more than 50 years, cooperative members across the country have joined forces to support candidates who understand the cooperative difference and stand with consumer-members like you.

Through America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC, you have the power to:
• Keep your energy bills affordable while ensuring reliable service.
• Protect our rural economy and local jobs when new laws are written.

Can one person really make a difference? Absolutely. Wisconsin is one of 47 states with electric cooperatives, and together we represent millions of families. Every contribution—no matter the size—adds another voice to a movement too big for lawmakers to ignore. We ask that you please join us today and sign up for America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC to help ensure our lawmakers are working on policy solutions for safe, reliable, and affordable power for you and your family.

Either scan the QR code at left, or click the following link to pay online: www.cooperative.com/pacdonation

• Regular: $2.08/month ($25/year)
• Century Club: $8.33/month ($100/year)
• Vice-President’s Club: $20.83/month ($250/year)
• Other: $_________________________

To pay by check, click the image below, print, and complete the form to be mailed along with your payment.

 

 

 

 

Contributions to the NRECA America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC are not tax-deductible for federal income tax purposes. Contributions to America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC are voluntary and will be used for political purposes. You have the right to refuse to contribute without reprisal. Federal law prohibits contributions from foreign nationals who lack permanent resident status. Any contribution guidelines presented are merely suggestions. You are free to contribute more or less than the suggested amounts, or not at all. NRECA will not favor or disadvantage anyone by reason of the amount contributed or a decision not to contribute. For more information on the PAC, please contact your local cooperative or NRECA PAC team at 703-907-5799 or by email at pacteam@nreca.coop.