Illinois
COMMENTRY

In praise of local ownership

I read the other day that Art Modell, current owner of the Baltimore Ravens football team, is putting a part of his franchise up for sale. For a paltry $125 million you too can own a small portion of a big league sports franchise.

You don't have $125 million? Well, neither do I. Being an owner of a major league sports franchise is just a benign fantasy for most. The attraction goes beyond the great view of the game you get from the owner's box. There is something about the value of ownership and the sense of control you get when you own a piece of something as seemingly important as a major sports franchise. And while we may not have the money to take our place among the sporting elite, my guess is that someone will approach Mr. Modell with a big checkbook in return for that feeling of ownership and control.

Ronald D. Earl

Owning a utility is another hot item right now. You can't pick up the business section of the newspaper without seeing another merger or acquisition. Dynegy buys Illinois Power. Central Illinois Public Service Company merges with Union Electric. PECO and Commonwealth Edison make themselves even bigger and more powerful by wrapping their arms around each other. And Central Illinois Light Co. is purchased by AES Corp., one of the largest energy companies with interests in 105 power plants. Being the owner of an electric utility may not have the glamour of owning a sports franchise, but there is no denying the value of ownership and control.

This puts electric cooperative members and the citizens of the state's municipal electric systems in pretty fast company. After all, each of them is a utility owner. OK, so it's not as exciting as owning the Cubs or Cardinals, and your ownership doesn't come with a luxury box behind home plate. But membership in a cooperative or being a citizen of a municipal system brings with it something most consumers can only dream of, a measure of true control over their electric utility.

Think about what this means. If you belong to an electric cooperative or are a citizen of a municipal electric system you actually choose the people who run the utility. Through them you control how the utility is run, how it is maintained, how it will prepare for the future. And if you don't receive the level of service and attention you think is appropriate, you and the other members have the time-honored right to throw the rascals out and put in people who will do the job the way you want it done.

This is the other remarkable part about being an owner of your electric system. Ownership buys responsiveness. I bet the phone number of your cooperative manager is right there in the book. I know mayors field calls at all hours of the day and night because our citizens expect not only a high level of service, but also responsiveness and accountability. Such closeness to the customer will become even rarer for most people as mergers push repair trucks further away to centralized locations and calls to an 800 number become the closet contact with most utilities.

Other folks know how lucky we are. We receive a number of calls each year from communities that would dearly love to own their electric system. The problem is, it's very tough to get into the business now. The cost is high and the politics complex. Given the changes going on in the industry today, creating a new municipal system or a new cooperative won't get any easier. Which simply underlines just how blessed members of a cooperative or citizens of a municipal electric system are. They already have a level of self-determination that is the envy of other utility customers. The ownership and control of our electric systems are things that we should guard jealously. As an old song says, "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."

So go ahead and daydream about owning a piece of your favorite sports franchise. Then when you snap back to the here and now, remember that you are already an owner in another important industry.

And on Sunday it's the product of your company, electricity, which lets you watch the game right there in that luxury box known as your living room.

Ronald D. Earl is general manager and chief executive officer of the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency. The Illinois Municipal Electric Agency is a not-for-profit unit of municipal government comprised of 39 of the states' 42 municipally operated electric systems. Earl also serves as a member of the board of the American Public Power Association and th,e Mid-America Interconnected Network (MAIN) and is a member of the advisory board of the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISQ).

The opinions and views of guest commentators are their own and may not represent those of the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives or the electric co-ops of Illinois.

4   ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING JANUARY 2000