Member and community service are more than just an incidental offering for Jo-Carroll Energy. “Our mission is to enhance the quality of life for our members,” says Michael Hastings, president and CEO of the Elizabeth, Ill.-based rural electric and natural gas cooperative. “We examine the needs that are out there and determine what we can do cost-effectively to help our members any way we can.”
One example of the cooperative responding to a community need is the addition of a high-performance broadband Internet service, Sand Prairie Wireless, to its portfolio in recent years. The cooperative had initially used wireless broadband technology to communicate with its substations, gas mains and metering points, but expanded its use to members, the majority of whom live in hilly, tree-lined areas.
Read more ...
Smaller crude oil producers are typically underserved by pipeline infrastructure despite representing a significant portion of total onshore United States crude oil production. This is because of the lack of volume per producer and credit strength that is needed to justify the expenditure.
In its first year of operation, First River Energy LLC is looking to change that. “We are building a business focused on a niche, underserved market,” founder and CEO Johan Themaat says. “The small independent producer is underserved in terms of quality, reliability, transparency of service and pricing – and we are going after that.”
Read more ...
When vessels of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) need maintenance, they berth at a jetty alongside the shop facilities of Fleet Maintenance Facility (FMF) Cape Breton. Located at the navy’s dockyard in British Columbia, the FMF shops repair and overhaul the RCN’s ships and auxiliary vessels, and is known as the “Corner Garage” among sailors.
“Every ship that we have in the fleet, whether it’s large or small, will at some point in their maintenance cycle have work done by FMF Cape Breton, and from time to time, the Army and Air Force send work our way,” RCN Project Director Clive H. Orford says, noting that the FMF typically employs a staff of more than 1,000 workers. “They’re kept very, very busy.”
FMF Cape Breton, which has grown to its current organization from its colonial-era beginnings in the mid- 1800s, is also quite self-sufficient, Defence Construction Canada (DCC) Site Manager Richard Gudz adds.
Read more ...
The city of Davenport, Iowa’s public works department is responsible for more than just the upkeep of local streets and sewers. “This department is larger and more diverse than many others across the nation,” Director of Public Works Michael Clarke says.
The department consists of 19 divisions including facilities and building maintenance, solid waste disposal, snow and ice removal, sewers and forestry. The department also maintains the city’s wastewater treatment plant and oversees its regional airport and public bus system. “Managing all of these things can be pretty exciting and a lot of work, but we benefit from synergy because everything’s under one roof,” Clarke says.
Read more ...
Quick communication in today’s world is essential, and the more remote an area is, the more critical is its need for communication. It was with that in mind that the Copper Valley Telephone Cooperative (CVTC) was established in Valdez, Alaska, in 1961, just two years after statehood was achieved.
“It was pretty much just VHF radios before then,” General Manager and CEO Dave Dengel relates. “No investor-owned utility wanted to provide service out here. So the residents got together and formed this co-op and gave it access to low-interest loans from the Department of Agriculture to help build out our network. So it’s been a model that has worked pretty good in rural Alaska and rural America. A lot of rural phone companies are co-ops.”
The electricity in the area also is provided by a cooperative.
Read more ...
