Changes are coming to Cobb EMC as the utility’s new leader tries to enact several transparency initiatives to restore the co-op’s tattered reputation.
As part of a “New Day” strategy, CEO Chip Nelson rolled out his plans Wednesday that include a host of changes, including holding open board meetings, creating a member advisory committee and redesigning the EMC logo. At the same time, two of the EMC’s longest-serving and highest-ranking board members -- Chairman Larry Chadwick and Vice Chairwoman Sarah Brown -- have decided not to seek re-election when their terms are up next year. Both announced their decisions during a board meeting this week.
Nelson called the transparency changes a new chapter for the EMC.
“The word is transparency; we have nothing to hide, at least I don’t perceive we have anything to hide,” he said. “It is a new day and we have nothing to hide.”
The initiatives, specifically the open meetings and proposed advisory committee, are some of the most open among the state’s 42 electric membership corporations, which don’t have open meetings or advisory committees, Nelson said.
Like other Georgia EMCs, the Marietta-based utility is self-regulating, with limited oversight from the state’s Public Service Commission, and not required to provide detailed information about its actions. EMCs generally have routine procedures, determined at each EMC, for members to appear before local boards of directors, according to the Georgia EMC trade organization, of which the state’s co-ops are members.
Nelson’s proposals will have to be approved by the board of directors, possibly next month, and they come as the latest part of the long aftermath of a 2007 lawsuit against the utility by a group of its 190,000 customers.
“This is certainly something that the plaintiffs wanted all along and at least they are talking in the right direction," said Butch Thompson, one of the original suing members, who was briefed on the initiatives early Wednesday. “My only ambition is to see tings restored to the way they were before the Dwight Brown era.”
EMC members had criticized the utility for its lack of transparency, including the compensation of its board members and CEO, which have been revealed in the lawsuit’s aftermath.
As part of the changes, the EMC is moving away from the Cobb Energy brand by moving 555 Cobb Energy employees back to Cobb EMC, along with the branding on customer bills.
The customer lawsuit charged that the for-profit company, Cobb Energy, had been built on the co-op’s back to siphon off co-op assets and wrongly enrich former CEO Dwight Brown and other EMC executives.
For even more transparency, Nelson disclosed his salary Wednesday, months after becoming CEO and after previous requests by the media for the information were denied.
Nelson, who was selected by the board in July to take over the position, earns a base salary of $474,000, including a club membership, cell phone and company car. With other benefits, including health and life insurance, his total compensation is $483,000. Brown, who had led the EMC since 1993, was paid $574,659 in 2010.
Comparatively, the CEO of Jackson EMC -- which serves about 205,000 customers in 10 metro Atlanta and northeast Georgia counties -- earns $425,000 and receives a Christmas bonus with other employees ($360 in 2010). He doesn’t receive a paid life insurance policy or country club membership.
The EMC also plans to begin a system of paying credits to customers using funds left over after the company’s costs at the end of the year, depending on its finances. In previous years the company had kept the money for reinvestment.
With board approval next month, monthly EMC board meetings will be open to members beginning Jan. 1. Reviewed quarterly reports will be released beginning next week and posted online about 45 days after each quarter ends.
An election for four of the 10 seats on the board is slated for Nov. 12, with qualifying running through Oct. 12.
About the Author
