Cooperative Power Leaders: Joe Brannan

PUF's Steve Mitnick: Joe, as the leader of one of the largest cooperatives, what is the biggest issue on your mind?

Joe Brannan: Our industry is going through a tremendous evolution. Much has changed over the past three decades, and that transition is continuing. Leaders within North Carolina's twenty-six electric cooperatives are focused on understanding trends in the industry, advances in technology, and how those changes are impacting the expectations of those we serve. We need to learn how to harness those changes to derive benefits and identify where there are risks.

This transition is affecting every level of the electric system. We've already seen increased complexity in the way power is generated and transmitted at large scale, and now change is taking hold downstream in the way power is distributed to consumers. And even in how consumers manage their electric use. Technology is enabling the evolution. Innovation is the driver.

Electric cooperatives are local power providers that are owned and governed by those they serve. As not-for-profit utilities, our mission is to provide the best service we can to our members, and ultimately, put solutions in place that improve their lives and help our communities thrive.

As member-owned cooperatives, if we continue to embrace both the focus on the community and the members within that community, I see good outcomes for us, our members and our communities as the industry changes.

Joe Brannan: The cooperative business model offers the greatest flexibility to not only be nimble, but also to put control in the hands of members who have a voice and a vote.

PUF: As the leader of the organization, how can you influence that change in a positive way?

Joe Brannan: We are changing the way we view our systems and identifying how we can work together. Cooperative leaders in North Carolina are evaluating the tools and structures we have in place, finding efficiencies, and harvesting what's there for the greater benefit of the community.

Technology is enabling change in the industry, and innovation is driving us forward, but we need to understand where those changes are happening. For instance, look at what's taking place in homes today. Smart tools are empowering consumers to take control and better understand the ways they are using electricity.

Taking a step beyond the home, we look at the community. Within the community, new resources are being interconnected to the distribution system and influencing the flow of power on the system.

In the past, our industry has been influenced by two major forces - regulatory oversight and legislative or policy change. Those forces will always exist, and they're important. But now we're seeing market forces that are having an even stronger impact on the evolution of our industry.

Cooperatives are in tune with these market forces and with the expectations of our members. Our structure positions us to work through these issues and find solutions that best serve our members.

It's very important that we not rely solely on a legislative or policy change, or a regulatory fix, for these issues. Where is the inflection point within a business model? For cooperatives, our mission of member service defines that point.

There are many business models that satisfy the needs of the consumer. The cooperative business model offers the greatest flexibility to not only be nimble, but also to put control in the hands of members who have a voice and a vote in our direction through our democratic system of governance.

Looking ahead, as the industry evolves, how do utilities maintain the high reliability and resilience of our system?

Let's start with reliability. As an industry, we should be proud of an infrastructure that has a high level of reliability, and this reliability comes from the top down; central generation and transmission. There's a lot of stability associated with the mass and inertia of the larger grid. So, reliability, which is derived from the scale of the grid system as a whole, starts at the top of the system.

If we think of resilience as the ability to fully recover from disruptions in a short period of time, we need to focus more attention at the local distribution level. In communities that are impacted by natural disasters or man-made situations, utilities are correcting issues locally. They are trying to recover in the shortest period possible, and they are engaging with the community to prepare, manage expectations, and make sure consumers are aware of the utility's response.

That combination becomes key: focusing on effective local approaches at the bottom of the system to complement the stability from the top.

PUF: As the leader of a cooperative, one of your main jobs is to constantly engage your owners/customers. In today's busy world, how do you do that?

Joe Brannan: One place to start is by finding common ground. For instance, most co-ops serve rural areas. In North Carolina, cooperatives provide power to about twenty-five percent of the state's population, but our infrastructure spans forty-five percent of the state's area.

Knowing that our members come from rural areas, we looked for a common element that is important to members and would allow cooperatives to fulfill their mission of service to members.

That common element in North Carolina is quality of life. It sounds very esoteric, but it's very important. As cooperatives, we strive to make sure that the trends that we're witnessing and the evolution of the industry have an outcome that improves quality of life for members.

How do you bring this all together, and find a way to fulfill our mission and act to accomplish the things that need to be done? Focus on that common point, and then identify what steps need to be taken.

There are engineering challenges to overcome. You have a very complex, very massive grid infrastructure. You can't change it overnight. But you must manage it so that you harness the value and then implement solutions or new technologies that benefit cooperative members and the community.

Flexibility is important. Being able to move down the road and make decisions organically, rather than following a prescriptive, inflexible plan. When you think about the end game, there's no discrete point that we're focused on, so we must be flexible and responsive.

I anticipate that in the future, we will see more activity at a distribution level than we see today. For that to be done in a very controlled and beneficial way, I see opportunities to tie components together and make new technologies work smarter within the system. To interface what's happening on the local distribution system with the upstream side, because there's a lot of value throughout that whole supply chain.

Starting with a home, what elements exist that can better control energy use? Tap into those. On an electric distribution system, what control elements can help manage imbalances that may exist and ensure balance upstream? Integrating those kinds of new technologies can bring real value.

There was a time when we could physically wire everything, but the environment in which we live, and where we're going, is a digital environment. You must engage more partners to bring all this together, to manage it in a way that integrates benefits both upstream and downstream.

PUF: Talk about the workforce that's important to your vision.

Joe Brannan: There are two elements of the workforce that I think are key for us. One element is the employees of G&T and distribution co-ops, and as the industry changes, helping those employees expand their skill sets to meet emerging needs.

The other element involves a skilled workforce that exists outside our cooperatives' walls. As the industry changes and as the pace of change accelerates, we will need to be partnering with the right people. We will be best served by internal experts who are supported by external partners. We need to be able to focus on a smart combination of those we employ, plus the partners.

As an engineer, I always like to look at variables. The one variable we cannot get our arms around is the pace of change.

If we knew the pace of change, we could focus solely on developing our employed workforce. But given this variable, we recognize there may be skill sets needed in a shorter period than can be developed internally. Partnering with experts outside our walls gives us more flexibility to respond and gives us more access to collaborative advantages.

For example, cooperatives in North Carolina are working on innovative projects at all levels of the system, including microgrids, community solar and demand response initiatives. In Missouri, cooperatives are working in parallel on equally exciting projects like broadband initiatives for their members. As cooperatives, we share what we learn with each other. We are part of a strong national network that facilitates the exchange of information, so we can learn from one another and share lessons learned and best practices.

To me, that's one of the greatest features of having a network that is autonomous, but integrated.

It's an environment that allows for an accelerated learning process. If you can accelerate your learning, you can apply it with more confidence for a positive result.

PUF: How do you think your organization will change three to five years from now?

Joe Brannan: It will be different. We're facing some new situations, and I envision changes in the way our employees interact with each other. We've eliminated silos that existed years ago, when we had to be very structured in what we were doing. We are adapting to an environment that will require the exchange of ideas and skills from across the organization.

Something that helped us move forward in North Carolina was to see technology as a true enabler. We were trying to figure out how to stimulate innovation, so we pulled together a cross-functional work group.

We put eight people in a room, all from different departments, including our communications area, engineering, accounting and IT. We basically said, "Okay, here's the challenge that we want to overcome. You have one month. Come up with an idea of how we can bring all of this together and demonstrate the connectivity that has to take place."

This was a new way of thinking and working together, and I'm not sure if they were excited or scared to death. But a month later, they came back and presented several ideas. We discussed their ideas and ultimately created a charter for two of our most innovative initiatives. Microgrids built within cooperative communities in North Carolina are contributing in a big way to our efforts to stay at the forefront of emerging technologies.

You must bring in ideas from different parts of your organization and facilitate the exchange of those ideas. You have to be willing to listen to what those ideas may mean for your organization. You should not limit employees to work only within their discipline, because many of these employees are big thinkers who are looking well beyond their area of the company.

I'm looking for that skill and big thinking, and I'm finding it in departments across the organization. I believe the workforce is going to have an even greater concentration of critical thinking skill sets in three to five years, and it's going to be interesting to manage.

Despite the changes, I do see one constant for electric cooperatives. Our mission and focus on service to members and communities will remain unchanged, and that focus will guide us through industry change.

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See additional articles:

• Curtis Wynn, CEO, Roanoke Electric Cooperative
• Jeff Wadsworth, CEO, Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association
• Kevin Short, CEO, Anza Electric Co-op
• Barbara Nick, President and CEO, Dairyland Power Cooperative
• Brian Heithoff, CEO, High West Energy
• Joe Brannan, CEO, North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation
• CEOs Mark Schwirtz Golden Spread Electric Co-op and and Zac Perkins, Tri-County Electric Co-op
• Tim Lindahl, CEO, Wheat Belt Public Power District
• Bill Reffert, CEO, ERMCO; Pat Howle, CEO, Horry Electric Co-op; and Kevin Jordan, Engineer, Horry Electric Co-op
• David Swank, CEO, Central Electric Co-op