Editor, Times-Union:
It is disturbing to find out that our rural KREMC co-op signed a nondisclosure agreement with Prologis long before it was announced that they were seeking farmland in the middle of an agriculture zoned area. Dalton Caley, “representing” KREMC, spoke in favor of the farmland being rezoned to I-3. I am sure this wasn’t supported by the membership of the co-op since no communication was ever done about the proposed project.
KREMC is a non-profit organization unlike the for-profit investor owned utilities like Duke Power, NISPSCO, and Indiana and Michigan Power and Light which is owned by AEP. They answer to global stockholders rather than a local rural membership that actually own the company. These companies own the transmission lines, not KREMC, so I have to wonder how KREMC can say they can support a hyper Data Center in this agriculture area that will consume 100MW to 250MW per day which can run 25,000-50,000 homes. Prologis will not pay state sales tax on their consumption of electricity because a law from 2019 which exempts large consumption “customers,” unlike the membership does which contributes to the state income.
KREMC membership has the right to know the implications of a project of this magnitude as it relates to increase in rates to pay for the new infrastructure, reliability of power, and priority of outages as it pertains to residents versus Data Center. These are important issues to the rural membership since the purpose of KREMC is to service the rural and agriculture base which was established by Rural Electrification Act of 1939 not outside interests of global shareholders of Prologis.
When KREMC released its 7 Cooperative Principles on their Facebook page was further concerning because they have violated most of them by their actions of supporting this zoning change:
1. Voluntary and Open Membership
2. Democratic Member Control
3. Member’s Economic Participation
4. Autonomy and Independence
5. Education, Training, and Information
6. Cooperation Among Cooperatives
7. Concern for Community
KREMC is a member-owned cooperative which means that members technically own the co-op. This gives the membership a supposedly say in how it functions. KREMC currently serves 18,500 households, which consist of small businesses, farmers, and residents which reside with service area. Prologis is not a local business, doesn’t reside in the area, doesn’t interact with local community, nor will be a part of the community activities.
There needs to be accountability to the membership not Prologis.
Cathy Folk
Leesburg, via email