BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz. – On Thursday, September 17, Mohave Electric Cooperative, Inc. (MEC) held its 80th Annual Meeting at the Anderson Auto Group Fieldhouse. The meeting brought together hundreds of Coop members and guests to celebrate the 80th anniversary of early members coming together to form MEC and bring electric service to rural areas not served by investor-owned utilities. CEO Tyler Carlson’s presentation highlighted MEC’s activities from the past year and a look toward the cooperative’s future.
The annual event, as mandated by the Cooperative’s bylaws, provided members with an opportunity to learn more about MEC’s operations, current initiatives and future plans. Board President Joe Anderson introduced the nine member-elected Directors who comprise Mohave Electric Cooperative’s Board of Directors, along with Cooperative guests and representatives in attendance.
Carlson’s retirement was announced. He will retire Feb. 2027, after 18 years of service to Mohave Electric, including 16 years as CEO.
“I’ve seen firsthand his wit, his grit, — and anyone who knows Tyler will appreciate this one — his tenacity. When Tyler believes something is right for this Cooperative and its members, he doesn’t hesitate. And Mohave Electric is stronger today because of it,” Anderson expressed.
“We have an obligation to serve within our certificated area. We were given a specific certificated area that we solely serve, and the obligation is to serve all loads in that area. We have to offer service even at times specific to electric challenges and risks that load presents. The bottom line is that we will always offer some form of service, regardless of public outcry,” Carlson stated.
Carlson also discussed how some land use projects, including data centers, have not been properly vetted. “The social media frenzy against data centers didn’t begin out of thin air … but there are definitely lessons learned from the past and protective measures that can be implemented to make projects valuable to communities without costing existing ratepayers money,” Carlson continued.
MEC purposefully sat down to develop a process to protect members from incurring costs associated with data centers or other large loads. “This started a couple of years ago when we brought to the MEC members a Bylaw amendment, and Members approved the Class B Membership for large loads.”
MEC then brought this ratepayer protection method to the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) – an independent, third-party regulatory authority for critical review, and the ACC approved it as a streamlined way to process large load requests while protecting ratepayers.
“This isn’t our first rodeo … we’ve been serving large loads since 1959, and as a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative, we’re happy to protect our existing members and have large loads pay for themselves.”
MEC hosted its district meetings earlier in the week, providing members with an opportunity to participate in the Cooperative’s governance and district elections. Members in attendance recommended to the MEC Board of Directors by acclamation that Tracy Weisz (District 1), Joe Solar (District 2), and Joe Anderson (District 3) continue to serve on the MEC Board of Directors for three-year terms.
