FEBRUARY 2023
THE MESSENGER A Publication for North Arkansas Electric Cooperative Members
MESSAGE FROM CEO
Youth Tour apps due March 17
Speak up for reliable, affordable electricity If you’re like most people, you don’t like energy curtailments, rolling blackouts or warnings that they are possible. Well, the United States cannot just stop building power plants and/or shut down perfectly good plants and not expect curtailments to be a possibility, especially during periods of extreme weather. Curtailments are going to become more frequent across the U.S. and more painful until a hard lesson is learned. If we want reliable, affordable electricity, then the madness of shuttering our power plants must stop. Attacks from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have been under way for 20 years, and they’re working. Wind and solar have a role in a diverse generation mix, but they are intermittent resources. In time, and See RELIABILITY on back.
North Arkansas Electric Cooperative is accepting applications for the 2023 Youth Tour. Up to five high school juniors will be selected for the all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., June 16-22. Download the application at naeci.com/youth-tour. NAEC must receive applications by March 17. Call 870-895-6210 with any questions.
Operation Round Up scholarship application posted at naeci.com North Arkansas Electric Cooperative’s member-funded Operation Round Up® program awards thousands of dollars in scholarships to local graduating high school seniors each year. In 2022, 15 students were awarded $1,000 scholarships, and two students were awarded $4,000 scholarships to be disbursed in $1,000 annual installments for up to four years. NAEC is accepting applications for the 2023-2024 scholarship program. The application is available at naeci.com or through high school counselors’ offices. Applicants must mail or deliver the typed application to NAEC by April 13. They must include a high school transcript and three letters of recommendation. To be eligible for the scholarship, high school seniors must graduate at the end of the 2023 school year, and their parents or legal guardians must be NAEC members. Applicants also must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale through the first semester of senior year. The scholarship must be used to attend an accredited institute of higher learning on a full-time basis. For more information, please contact Tori Moss at tmoss@naeci.com or 870-895-6210. Members can help fund future scholarships by enrolling their account(s) in Operation Round Up. Volunteers allow their bill to be “rounded up” to the next dollar each month. Call NAEC at 870-895-3221 to join.