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Lightning Strikes Twice:
Rio Grande
Electric Co-op Receives Second Military Contract
Who ever said lightning never strikes
the same place twice had never heard of Rio Grande Electric Cooperative!
We’re not talking about the same utility poles being struck twice by
lightning, either, though that has
happened, too.
Rio Grande
Electric Co-op, already counts the military among its membership, having
received an electrical maintenance contract for Fort Bliss, El Paso,
Texas, in 2002. Now, the Co-op has been awarded an unprecedented second
contract in the military’s base privatization process, the award for
Laughlin Air Force Base, Del Rio, Texas. Contract value is estimated to
be slightly over $72.8 million, with a performance completion date of
December 2060.
The addition of
this contract to RGEC’s repertoire brings the total estimated revenue
from military utility system ownership and operation to a whopping total
of approximately $193 million over the course of the next 50 years.
What is good for
the Co-op is ultimately good for Co-op members, employees, and the towns
in which they live and work. Members benefit through an increased
financial base, among which expenses may be shared. Growth within the
Co-op means the addition of jobs at a time when many businesses are
experiencing layoffs, and it means an infusion of outside money into
sluggish rural economies.
About Rio Grande Electric Cooperative,
Inc.:
RGEC has the
largest service territory of any electric cooperative in the contiguous
United States, serving 18 counties in Texas and 2 counties in New
Mexico. These counties include: Brewster, Crockett, Culberson, Dimmit,
Edwards, El Paso, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kinney, Maverick, Pecos,
Presidio, Reeves, Terrell, Uvalde, Val Verde, Webb and Zavala in Texas,
and Eddy and Otero Counties in New Mexico.
RGEC currently
employs 134 people to serve 5,665 members with 11,865 meters. It
maintains offices in Alpine, Brackettville, Carrizo Springs, Dell City,
El Paso, and Fort Stockton, with the Brackettville office serving as
corporate headquarters. The Co-op maintains 9,433 miles of Energized
Line, 143 miles of Transmission Line and 117 miles of Underground Line.
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