- Target:
- NHEC Board of Directors
- Region:
- United States of America
Each May the New Hampshire Electric Coop has an election for directors. NHEC bylaws allow questions proposed by member petition to be included on the ballot. This petition seeks 300 signatures to add the following question to the 2020 NHEC ballot.
Lack of affordable high-speed internet in rural New Hampshire is an increasing impediment to economic development, education, interpersonal and community communication, health care communication, and everyday quality of life. Availability of affordable high-speed internet would benefit members immensely.
Fiber broadband developers will tell you the most difficult part of providing internet service in rural areas is not the cost of the fiber but rather the uncertainties in getting permission to attach to utility poles and associated costs. With control of its poles and rights-of-way, NHEC is uniquely positioned to facilitate the development of fiber to the homes and businesses of its member-owners by providing certainty and predictability to the attachment process.
This amendment would explicitly state in the foundational documents of the organization that NHEC sees facilitating the development of broadband as part of its core mission. Since it is member owned, NHEC should go beyond the base regulatory requirements imposed by the Public Utility Commission and proactively encourage developers to service NHEC members.
NHEC doesn’t need to finance, own or operate a fiber network in order to facilitate others to develop systems. It just needs to make attaching fiber to NHEC poles straightforward, predictable and affordable.
Over 100 electric cooperatives across the country are actively involved in facilitating affordable (+/-$60/month) high speed (+/-100 Mbps up/down) fiber to the home. Shouldn’t NHEC join those cooperatives? If you believe this, please sign this electronic petition to put the question on the ballot and Vote YES on the question when you receive your ballot from NHEC in your May electric bill.
This petition seeks to add the following question to the 2020 NHEC ballot.
Shall the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative amend Article II of its Certificate of Organization dated 18 July 1939 by adding the words “including facilitating access to broadband internet for members” to make the amended article read as follows:
The purposes for which the Association is formed are to generate, purchase, transmit and distribute electrical energy and to render any and all other services in connection therewith including facilitating access to broadband internet for members as provided in Section 3-a of the “Co-operative Marketing Law”.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Get NHEC to Make Facilitating Broadband Part of its Core Mission petition to NHEC Board of Directors was written by Anonymous and is in the category City & Town Planning at GoPetition.