Pedernales Electric Cooperative

Matt Weldon

Candidate for Pedernales Electric Cooperative Board of Directors, District 3

If you are a PEC member of District 2 or 3, please cast your vote during the election window of May 19 to June 12, 2026. For candidate biographies and responses to a set of questions fixed by the utility, go to:  https://www.directvote.net/pec/questionnaire.html

IPEC is a good electric cooperative, and I have benefited from 21 years of its service. Yet every organization should respond to changing circumstances. If elected to the board, I would advocate for diversification of our energy generation to reduce cost risks and to take better advantage of technological advancements. The cooperative model affords the authority to invest in PEC service and in one another.

I served on the Electric Utility Commission for the City of Austin from 2018 to 2022. This is a source of much of my experience. This period included Winter Storm Uri and so I experienced the storm as a PEC customer while responding to Austin Energy (AE) customer inquiries as a commissioner. I witnessed and learned from the contrasting strengths and weaknesses of the two organizations that were especially manifest during this event. For example, AE generated substantial profits during the storm, but parts of the city were brutally ill served due to its distribution grid limitations and that ERCOT’s grid preserving strictures forced AE to limit consumption to only ~½ the power it was producing. Meanwhile, PEC was better able to serve its customers because its distribution sectionalization was better matched to the power capacity apportioned to it by ERCOT. However, it incurred added generation costs that resulted in a period of added charges to the membership. Clearly assuring the better side of both these outcomes should be a goal each utility strives toward. So, I would advocate:

·         Diversify energy resources. PEC has chosen to outsource the bulk of its power procurement obligation to the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and act essentially as a distribution utility. PEC has a contract with LCRA to meet bulk energy needs through 2040. LCRA sources >95% of its power from fossil fuel sources and so its cost of power is poised to ascend relative to more diversified utilities. Austin Energy sources < 35% of its energy from fossil fuel-based sources. The electricity costs per kWh are currently largely the same while Austin Energy’s service fee is $16.50/mo. vs PEC’s $32.50/mo. (in fairness this reflects the cooperative’s more rural network, though AE also distributes 10% of net revenue to the city’s general fund).

The LCRA contract allows a 20% “load release”, meaning that PEC can choose to source more of its energy from other sources than it is currently pursuing. I would like to prioritize cooperative investment within the cooperative’s territory and the membership itself, leveraging the growing array of cost-effective means of generating, storing, and dispatching distributed energy.

·         Enhance distribution grid capabilities. Texas is encouraging utilities to better optimize their distribution networks and embrace aggregation of generation, storage, and demand response opportunities. This should be greeted as an opportunity for expanding member engagement that aligns with our values and business model.

I would like to see PEC achieve new superlatives for performance and customer opportunity, to add to those regarding its history, age, and size. Please feel free to contact me regarding your ideas and concerns: 512.964.9330, matt.s.weldon+PEC@gmail.com or matt.weldon+peccomm@materialway.com

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https://mypec.com/make-your-voice-heard/:

Voting for PEC’s Board of Directors Election Opens

Members in districts 2 and 3 have the opportunity to vote in PEC’s Board of Directors election from May 19 to June 12. All votes must be cast by 5 p.m. on June 12.

As a cooperative, PEC is member owned and member governed, making voting one of the most powerful benefits of your membership. If you live in districts 2 or 3, this is your opportunity to directly influence who leads PEC and the direction of your cooperative’s future.

Voting is simple! Cast your ballot online at pec.smarthub.coop, through the link provided by email, or by scanning the QR code on your election materials.

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Old notes from 2017:
I ran for the role of Director for District 3 in 2017. Though I didn't win, I enjoyed the experience and appreciated the support of all those who provided signatures so that I could be included on the ballot. 

I sought election because I think this will be an important and interesting time to be part of the PEC. The industry is in the midst of rapid change and technological developments are presenting interesting opportunities and challenges. Such periods are when it is most meaningful to participate in an industry. The management team and the staff under John Hewa seemed to have done well, adding new services, improving delivered value, lowering rates...I had hoped to participate in strengthening those trends, even if disappointed by Mr. Hewa's sudden departure.

Among important systemic challenges:

• Increased borrowing.  I hold this up as a tough problem with no simple solution. It is just tough work to be managed as it is due to growth inside the PEC territory and the capital expenses that drives. Few of our market systems are designed to force growth to pay for itself and electric transmission infrastructure is one where we choose to socialize the vast majority of the associated expenses as is true for most utilities and to electricity transmission infrastructure in particular. We perceive reasonable access to electricity, and clean water, as something to which everyone should have access and I support that sentiment. On the plus side, my impression is that senior management worked well of late to lower the cost of future capital to deal with this expansion.

• A very long supply contract with LCRA. This is a simply a legacy constraint on supply and investment options, but we have sufficient leeway in the medium term to explore the growing options on how to best supply power safely, reliably, and at diminishing cost. I will favor capital investment inside our territory and in our membership over source alternatives that remove wealth from the cooperative. I want to see us invest in our cooperative membership when the option exists and such opportunities will grow.

  • Solar and wind investment inside the cooperative are an increasingly superior option due to lower cost, greater local economic value, and betterment of the sustainability and resilience of the generation on which we depend. The PEC is much improved in this regard, supporting net metering and offering above wholesale compensation for excess generation by residential solar power producers and the interconnect of larger systems. An example how a Cooperative can share net benefit between member and the utility.

  • We are at the cusp of rapid growth in electrification of the transportation market. This will be a great opportunity to greatly expand sales volume without requiring a vast investment in new infrastructure. It is a profound opportunity to better leverage our existing infrastructure and improve its use, again benefiting both member and Cooperative.

Challenges create opportunity and I think the PEC is well poised for continual improvement with the exercise of some vision for what the cooperative can do for its members. There are myriad opportunities to improve the service offerings and beneficial affects of the cooperative on the community health and welfare. 

The Board has performed well in general in recent years and seems to be generally supportive of the direction of the management team. That said there are times when the board's motivational transparency could be improved. An example that I would point to comes from the August 2016 meeting in which an election rule change was adopted in a move to single-district voting. I am neutral on that rule change (more) - but I was not happy with the means of its rapid adoption. It came and went before most were aware that it was a pending resolution, nor were member concerns effectively addressed. This issue has been voted down by the membership at two prior annual meetings and even at the specific board meeting at which it was adopted the majority of members who took the time to attend the meeting voiced opposition to the measure. No matter a Director's stance on an issue, I would expect to see acknowledgement of such a reality and some effort to logically address the concerns raised. This is a board session worth watching (link here) or at least review the minutes. This event sparked my interest in running for the District 3 Director role.

I assure you that if members present at a meeting were to oppose my way of thinking on a vote, I will not ignore that fact. I will acknowledge such instances, re-examine my own reasoning, document my thought process, and establish metrics to measure results. How else might we learn as individuals or an organization? If I actively oppose the desires of a majority of the membership there will be no doubt about my reasoning why.

If you have thoughts about the PEC to share, please do so:   matt.weldon+pec@materialway.com