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July 10, 2006 | Thomas Hill celebrates 40 years of reliable service to rural electric cooperatives Contact : Nancy Southworth A two-day event commemorating the 40th anniversary of Associated Electric Cooperative’s (AECI) first power plant, Thomas Hill Energy Center, near Moberly, Mo., wrapped up July 7. Thomas Hill Plant Manager Tom Watkins honored the plant’s preceding five plant managers and other guests. He spoke of the plant’s 40-year record of providing economical, reliable power to rural electric cooperative members. “It’s a good thing when you can be a steward of that kind of asset,” Tom said. O.B. Clark, AECI board president, recalled how as a newcomer to central Missouri in the early 1960s, he learned of a “bunch of farmers who thought they could get an electric power plant built and didn’t have a clue how hard that was going to be.” "I had faith in the rural people to get it done,” he said. “…Today, we‘re celebrating 40 years of working for rural people. The vision is still alive today.” Forty years after Thomas Hill began operation, AECI is again planning for additional power supply to serve rural electric cooperative members. The cooperative plans to construct a new coal-based power plant to generate around-the-clock electricity for its members. The proposed plant site is northwest of Norborne, Mo., in Carroll County. An alternate site is in Holt County near Big Lake. At the Thomas Hill celebration July 7, attendees included Director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Doyle Childers, as well as AECI management, staff and board members. Three Missouri legislators in attendance talked about the importance of reliable power supply for rural communities. Missouri State Senator Chuck Graham of District 19 noted how electricity will literally power future voting as Missouri moves toward electronic voting. Missouri Representative Kathy Chinn of District 8 spoke about how important electricity is to her family’s livestock farm. Missouri Representative Therese Sander of District 22 related how electricity literally means life to a personal friend on a ventilator. Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. is owned by and provides wholesale power to six regional and 51 local electric cooperative systems in Missouri, southeast Iowa and northeast Oklahoma that serve more than 800,000 customers. AECI’s mission is to provide an economical and reliable power supply and support services to its members with the vision of being the nation’s lowest-cost wholesale power supplier. AECI is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative.
An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V Released: 10 July 2006
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