Indiana’s rural electric membership cooperatives are dedicated to delivering safe, reliable, and affordable electricity while actively supporting rural broadband expansion. They do this by enabling broadband providers to use their infrastructure or directly offering broadband services to their members. As broadband deployment increases, co-ops must carefully balance this growth with their core responsibility — maintaining… Continue reading.

Rural electric membership cooperatives in Indiana face the dual challenge of maintaining electric distribution systems while also supporting the expansion of broadband access. As broadband service providers increasingly rely on electric poles to deploy fiber optic cables in rural communities, the relationship between cooperatives (as pole owners) and broadband providers (as attaching entities) has become… Continue reading.

Step 1: Generation Electricity is generated from various sources. Step 2: Step-up transformer Voltage is increased to push the electricity over long distances. Step 3: Transmission power lines Lines carry electricity over long distances. Step 4: Transmission substation Voltage is lowered so electricity can travel across the local system. Step 5: Distribution substation Voltage is… Continue reading.

Electric infrastructure (sometimes referred to as “the grid”) is the network that delivers electricity from power plants to homes and businesses. It consists of three primary components: generation, transmission, and distribution systems.   Transmission  Transmission lines carry high-voltage electricity over long distances. They are supported by large towers and can span many miles and across states. … Continue reading.

Understanding this process is an essential component of grassroots advocacy and civic engagement. While the process can be quite complex, when boiled down there are seven basic steps that lead to a bill becoming a law. There needs to be an idea. The idea is written down by a member of Congress, either a senator… Continue reading.

America was founded on a cooperative spirit. Working together, helping each other for the mutual good – this is the American way. And for good reason: cooperative organizations provide their consumers economic, social and cultural benefits that often wouldn’t be available otherwise. That’s the way it is with electric power cooperatives which were formed to… Continue reading.

When I was in grade school in the early 1970s, our neighbors across the alley had a concrete basketball court in their back-yard. That square slab was a magnet for guys of every size — from high school to grade school — in each of their three sons’ sphere of friends. Between pickup games, a… Continue reading.

By Brian Christenberry When I graduated from Indiana University with a political science degree, my career goals were straightforward — simple though perhaps a bit lofty. I wanted a position in state government where I could craft public policy, assist in drafting laws and just make Indiana a better place. My friends and family applauded… Continue reading.

Loopholes riddle the federal tax code. We’ve all scratched our heads or groaned whenever we’ve heard or read about some of the capricious and crazy deductions allowed by the IRS. Most tax incentives, though, do seem to make sense, and most of us appreciate and take advantage of those we can — such as mortgage… Continue reading.

You’ll probably never see this in a diagram of how electricity flows to your home, farm or business, but power lines don’t necessarily run directly from the generation plant. They take a detour: through Washington, D.C., and Indianapolis. In either place, the legislative or executive branches of government can act like a giant transformer; they… Continue reading.

By Scott Bowers On Tuesday, May 3, voters throughout Indiana will cast their ballots in the 2016 primary election. While the presidential campaign on both sides has dominated the attention of voters and the media to date, there are several other candidates on the ballot who have consistently shown a high level of support for the… Continue reading.

By Tom VanParis I must admit, in some ways, I feel as if I’m reliving my first week of college. I’ve sufficiently prepared for my latest adventure through previous education and experience so I feel confident. But nonetheless, since I’m the new kid on the block, I still have to get acclimated to my new… Continue reading.