3,838 Fairfield Electric Cooperative members turned out for the 86th Annual Meeting held May 12-16. As in years past, the week consisted of drive-thru registration and voting, as well as the annual business meeting that was livestreamed from the cooperative’s Blythewood office.
Members reelected Keith Lewis (District 1), Cynthia Able (District 2), and Timothy Hopkins (District At Large) to the Board of Trustees.
In his remarks, Fairfield Electric CEO Bruce Bacon recognized the employees for their commitment and efforts during Hurricane Helene last September. “Our employees did an outstanding job restoring power. There was much work to be done, and our line workers worked tirelessly removing trees, replacing poles and putting wire back in the air,” he said. “Our dispatch team did an outstanding job analyzing outages and directing our crews. Our other employees also provided support in preparing and delivering meals and material and supporting their fellow employees in many ways.”
Bacon also spoke about the challenges the cooperative is facing. “We continue to face rising costs. Materials like utility poles and transformers continue to climb in price, requiring us to be thoughtful and efficient with every investment,” he said. “We are working diligently with our energy partners to balance traditional power generation with emerging renewable technologies - all while ensuring a stable, reliable grid.”
The annual business meeting concluded with the prize drawings. Sheila Butler of Ridgeway was the lucky grand prize winner of the 2017 Chevrolet Silverado. Brittany Liebfred of Winnsboro won the 42-inch Craftsman riding lawn mower. Finishing out the top-three prize winners was David R. Rist of Chester, who received a $500 credit on their electric bill. A complete list of the winners can be found here.
Fairfield Electric Cooperative serves more than 32,000 customers in Fairfield, Kershaw, Richland, Chester, and York counties. Fairfield Electric is one of twenty electric cooperatives in South Carolina. Together these cooperatives serve more than 500,000 members in over 70% of our state.