In this episode of The Co-Op Heroes podcast, we sit down with Doug Gilmore, Power Resources Manager at Flathead Electric Cooperative in Kalispell, Montana, to explore how one cooperative turned a complex challenge into an innovative opportunity.

Flathead Electric serves one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. Kalispell was recently voted the fastest-growing micropolitan city in the United States. In just five years, the cooperative added 8,300 meters while facing another challenge: members were asking to install their own solar systems and feed power back to the grid. The easy answer would have been "no."

Instead, Doug and his team asked three questions: What do our members want? How can we enable that? What guardrails do we need?

The result was a thoughtfully-designed net metering policy that balances member autonomy with system reliability. Rather than simply reacting, Flathead Electric created six key policy components that serve the cooperative's needs while giving members what they want. Flathead is proving that innovation and safety can coexist, and they now manage nearly 300 (and growing) net metering applications annually.

Featured topics:

• How to say "yes" to complexity instead of defaulting to "no"
• Net metering policy design: six components that work
• Managing the "duck curve" and the challenges of solar generation
• Time-of-use rate design and how to align incentives with system needs
• Cost-of-service analysis to ensure no rate class subsidizes another
• Economic development through smart rate structures
• The power of the cooperative network: sharing ideas across regions and states
• Working in a cooperative where membership ownership changes everything
• The challenge of rapid growth and how planning prevents problems

Doug shares how the cooperative principles of member ownership, democratic governance, and the willingness to collaborate create space for thoughtful innovation.

When you work for a utility where neighbors are members, decisions take on deeper meaning. When you're part of a network of co-ops across the country willing to share best practices, everyone gets smarter.

This is a story about embracing complexity, serving members well, and how cooperatives thrive by thinking outside the box while staying true to their core values.

The Co-Op Heroes podcast brings you real stories from electric utility operators: the people who work around the clock to keep our communities powered and served.

In this episode of The Co-Op Heroes podcast, we sit down with Zach Anderson, Chief Operating Officer of Wolverine Power Cooperative, to discuss one of the most significant achievements in cooperative energy history: the restart of the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station.

When Palisades entered decommissioning status, it seemed like a closed chapter. But Wolverine Power Cooperative and their partner Hoosier Energy saw something different: an unprecedented opportunity to secure carbon-free baseload power that could serve their members for decades.

What followed was a bold move that had never been successfully executed in the United States: bringing a nuclear plant that was going to be decommissioned back online.

The cooperative difference shines through this story. Unlike investor-owned utilities that must seek board approval and navigate complex profit motives, Wolverine's member-owned structure allowed leadership to move quickly and decisively. When Holtec, the plant's owner, needed three things: NRC approval, DOE loan support, and a committed power partner, Wolverine stepped up. That partnership became the catalyst for the entire project, ultimately securing long-term contracts for 100% of Palisades' output.

Featured topics:

• The history of G&T cooperatives and their role in providing reliable power supply
• How cooperatives can move faster and more decisively than traditional utilities
• The unprecedented challenge of restarting a decommissioned nuclear plant
• Creating a balanced energy portfolio: wind, solar, natural gas peakers, and baseload nuclear
• Local economic impact: $10 million annually in tax revenue and 600 six-figure jobs
• Rate stability and price competitiveness for member cooperatives
• How decarbonization and reliability work together as partners, not competitors
• State-level support behind the Palisades restart

Zach shares how Wolverine's decision to secure this abundant, carbon-free power source leaves the cooperative in its strongest position in nearly 80 years. The impact cascades through the entire cooperative network: members get price stability, clean energy, and reliability, while the state gains crucial decarbonization leadership. This is cooperation in action, where bold decisions by one G&T benefit the distribution co-ops and consumers it serves.

In this episode of The Co-Op Heroes podcast, hosts Pablo Fuentes and James Tanneberger sit down with Chad Mertz, Vice President of Strategic Communications at Hoosier Energy to explore the challenge facing the entire cooperative movement: communicating with the next generation. Chad dives into the creative solution that's changing how communities understand the difference co-ops make.

Hoosier Energy is a Generation and Transmission cooperative, one of 45 G&T co-ops across the country that provide the backbone of power supply and transmission for member cooperatives like South Central Indiana REMC. When Chad joined Hoosier Energy four years ago, board members and member CEOs raised an urgent concern: younger people simply didn't understand what a cooperative was or why it mattered.

The numbers told the story. A survey revealed a stark generational divide: 93% of adults over 65 had a positive perception of co-ops, while that number dropped dramatically with each younger demographic, creating what Chad calls "a diagonal line" of declining awareness. Recruiting young talent became difficult. Events lacked young attendees. The cooperative message wasn't reaching the generations that already aligned with co-op values, whether they knew it or not.

Rather than resort to traditional advertising, Chad's team recognized something powerful: young people are naturally attracted to cooperatives because of their values: local decision-making, democratic governance, and reinvested margins instead of corporate profits. These values reflect what Gen Z and Millennials actually believe in, they just didn't know co-ops embodied those ideals.

Featured topics:

• Why younger generations are naturally aligned with cooperative principles
• The challenge of communicating co-op value in an investor-owned utility world
• Crafting authentic stories from real member communities
• Using multimedia and geo-targeting technology to reach local audiences
• How storytelling builds long-term relationships where traditional marketing falls short
• The spring campaign featuring customized videos highlighting local cooperative heroes

Discover how the cooperative movement thrives when people understand the real difference it makes, not through selling, but through authentic stories that reveal the human side of community service. This is how you bridge the gap between mission and market, between legacy and future.

The Co-Op Heroes podcast brings you real stories from electric utility operators, the people who work around the clock to power and serve our communities.