Chugach Consumers
 

What about the Chugach Electric top 10% efficiency promise?  It's been quietly abandoned...!!

This means your electric rates will remain higher than they need to be.

Shortly after election of the independent reform board in April, 1995 Chugach Electric adopted this ambitious goal:

Board and Staff adopted in July, 1995:  "Vision: To be an industry leader in economic efficiency while providing reliability, value and service to our customers. Specific Requirements: Achieve industry best practices in all of our areas of activity; Be in the top 10% of all electric co-ops and IOU's in economic efficiency."

This was restated in March 1997:

"To be among the top 10% of electric utilities in economic efficiency while maintaining national standards of reliability and safety". (1996 Chugach Electric Association Annual Report, p. 14)   

And repeated again in March, 1997:

Chugach's goal is "To be in the best 10 percent of electric utilities in economic efficiency while maintaining national standards of reliability and safety." This means Chugach is committed to giving you better value for the energy services you buy than 9 out of 10 consumers in the country.  (The Chugach Outlet March, 1997) 

CHUGACH PUBLIC RELATIONS MATERIAL NOW SAYS:

"Chugach's mission is to maximize the value its customers receive by safely providing competitively-priced, reliable energy and services through innovation, leadership and prudent management. Chugach's vision is to be the customer-preferred provider of reliable utility services in regulated and competitive Alaskan markets."  http://www.chugachelectric.com/inside/company.html   

It is not clear if the more measurable 1995 goal has been abandoned, watered down or is still in effect as a separate commitment to Chugach customers.  We haven't seen the crisp and clear 10% economic efficiency promise in recent Chugach documents.  Chugach Consumers believes that this original goal is more appropriate because there ARE no competitive markets:  Utility monopoly service territories continue in Alaska for Chugach retail customers.

The latest morph of the mission doesn't change anything (Feb-March 2003 Outlet bill stuffer):

"Through superior service, safely provide reliable and competitively priced energy."  http://www.chugachelectric.com/news/outlet/feb-mar03_outlet.pdf  

3/05 - This is printed on the back side of Chugach employee calling cards:   
Mission Statement
Through superior service, safely provide reliable and competitively priced energy. 

CHUGACH GENERAL MANAGER BJORNSTAD QUESTION (4/18/02)
[At Resource Development Council breakfast, Petroleum Club; reported in 4/29/02 Alaska Journal of Commerce by Tim Bradner].

KREIG:  Gene, you will recall when I was president the board and Chugach management adopted the goal of taking Chugach Electric into the top 10% of all electric utilities in economic efficiency and value delivered to our customers.  Last night the board, on your recommendation, voted 4 to 3 to extend the IBEW Union contract to 2006 without negotiation.  Chugach salary lists have been placed on all the tables here.  How long is it going to take Chugach to reach this top 10%?

BJORNSTAD:   Well Ray, as we have discussed what do we define as the top 10% in economic efficiency?  What kind of variables to use, climate, labor...I can't answer that....

CHUGACH CONSUMERS COMMENT - Bjornstad and his staff have had seven years to figure out what these factors should be.  It's pretty obvious they have no intention of trying to achieve their goal.  

8/21/02 GOALS ADOPTED BY CHUGACH BOARD FOR GENERAL MANAGER JOE GRIFFITH DON'T INCLUDE EVEN A CHALLENGE TO BEGIN TO MOVE TOWARD THE UPPER 10%!  They say nothing about reducing costs or rates.  They direct the GM to maximize revenues!!  Most of the revenues come from consumer-members that own Chugach!   How do you maximize them?  For what purpose?  This is very discouraging from the coop consumers perspective who are paying these "maximized revenues".

2003 GOALS Revision considered at 4/03 board meeting  2005 GOALS 

MORE BACKGROUND ON SETTING MEASURABLE GOALS TO REDUCE RATES: 

2/20/97 CHUGACH ELECTRIC GENERAL MANAGER EUGENE BJORNSTAD EVALUATION -- Adopted by Chugach board on 2/20/97.  Significant because it is one of the very rare times a general manager's personnel evaluation has become public in an Alaskan electric co-op.  Jump to:   

"CEA's distribution adder is about 4.2�. Reducing it to near the 1� reported by NRECA [National Rural Electric Cooperative Association] for investor-owned utilities will be quite a challenge.

"Although our joint goals were adopted about a year and a half ago, we still do not have numeric targets adjusted for our climate and system specifics. The Board needs to have and agree to the GM's specific plan elements before a contract extension of any significant length is made. Clearly, goals are much less likely to be attained if they are not measurable and at this point the Board has not received measurable goals from the GM."

 

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