Ira Gershwin said it best

Letter to the editor in this week's Sandersville Progress

Three years ago Washington County leaders got “engaged” to Cobb EMC, a non-profit co-op entangled in a web of court cases costing co-op members. The shadow of those questionable deals and bad decisions now stretches all the way to Washington County.

Perhaps our local leaders didn’t know the true extent of Cobb EMC’s problems when they signed on for Plant Washington. But now, after repeated court battles which have cost the co-op millions of dollars and forced the members to take THEIR co-op to court at their own personal expense, the writing is on the wall in big bold letters.

Dwight Brown’s legal woes are not over. On July 7, Brown was re-indicted, and charged with additional crimes. In addition to the 31 original counts of racketeering, theft, and making false statements, Brown is now charged with four counts of intimidating witnesses. The District Attorney has not ruled out the possibility of more indictments against other people.

The legal problems aren’t over for the Cobb EMC Board of Directors either. Judge Schuster has ordered the Board of Directors to appear in his courtroom on August 12. The ‘Marietta Daily Journal,” a respected newspaper in Cobb County owned by Ben Tarbutton III’s father-in-law, recently described the Cobb EMC Board of Directors as “unindicted co-conspirators.”  

Did our local leaders know about the dirty dealings at Cobb EMC? We hope not.

We may have fallen in love with Cobb EMC and all the pretty promises it made to us together with Power4Georgians. Four other EMCs called off the engagement two years ago.

 It’s not too late to call off this wedding. Some people will be disappointed. Feelings might be hurt. If we stop now, no one has to buy a bride’s maid dress they don’t like and will never wear again. There won’t be a mess to clean up after the raucous reception. A lot of money can be saved.

This engagement has run its course. Ira Gershwin said it best, “Let’s call the whole thing off.”

Katherine Helms Cummings

FACE Executive Director

Washington EMC member 

Dean Alford's " Ford Pinto of Power Plants"

This letter appears in the July 12 edition of The Sandersville Progress  

Not long after Plant Washington was announced, Power4Georgians conducted some field trips for small groups of people, including elected officials, to visit a South Carolina coal-fired power plant with a proposed expansion. P4G proudly pointed to that facility as a role model for Plant Washington.

Has anyone noticed that Dean Alford isn’t mentioning that plant anymore?  Well it may be because the expansion to build another unit was cancelled.  The company announced that due to falling energy demand, and the increased costs of using coal, the project, called “the Ford Pinto of Power Plants,” is now trying to sell equipment and parts to cover their losses. As published in the company’s  annual report,  “In 2010, Santee Cooper is rethinking ways to help customers reduce their electricity consumption, working towards our goal to meet 40 percent of our energy needs by 2020 from non-greenhouse gas emitting resources, biomass fuels, conservation and energy efficiency.”

P4G also isn’t talking about a Kentucky plant dropped by the East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC, similar to our EMCs) late last year.  FACE provided the Washington EMC with a copy of the audit conducted by the Kentucky Public Service Commission that influenced EKPC’s rejection of the KY plant.  Members of Washington EMC should be aware that in our state, the Public Service Commission has no authority over EMCs; therefore we must count on our Board to make good fiscal decisions. We have no one else to appeal to if they make bad ones.

After 3.5 years of asking the EMC Board repeated questions, FACE members have finally learned that there is no independent study that supports assertions by our EMC Board and Power4Georgians that the success of the Plant Washington project is based on an independent analysis.  “Power4Georgians Plant Washington Coal-Fired Power Plant: Too High a Price for Consumers,”  released by Georgia Watch on June 22nd, is another independent analysis  providing detailed information on why Plant Washington will increase our bills instead of saving us money.  FACE has posted the report on our web site at faceenvironment.org.  EMC members can read it for themselves.         

In his response to the Georgia Watch report, Dean Alford of Power4Georgians implies that Plant Washington is necessary and economically viable, therefore worthy of funding.  It is misleading to speak about Plant Washington as if the $2.1 billion has been secured.   As of this date, no lender has funded Plant Washington.   Furthermore, studies show that there is an excess of electric capacity in our state.

FACE urges EMC members and Washington County taxpayers to learn for themselves why Plant Washington will cost most of us our hard earned dollars while a few very wealthy people are made even richer. 

Katherine Helms Cummings

FACE Executive Director

Cobb EMC Board choses to stick with indicted CEO as leader

February 28 was supposed to be Dwight Brown's last day as the CEO of Cobb EMC. A court ruling had determined that. The Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) and the Marietta Daily Journal (MDJ) both reported last night that the Cobb EMC Board has decided that Brown must stay.

The Marietta paper wrote, "In a prepared statement, Cobb EMC board Chairman Larry Chadwick said, "Nobody knows our co-op and the electric industry better than he does and his expertise will help us continue meeting the objective of supplying reliable and affordable power to our members."

According to the MDJ, the settlement in a previous civil suit with Cobb EMC members required that Brown step down on February 28 and his employment not be continued. While EMC leaders wait for the judge to respond to their request, Brown will work as an independent consultant for the co-op.

Board Chair Larry Chadwick was reported in the AJC to say that eight candidates were interviewed but none could match Brown's knowledge of the co-op or the industry.

This decision by the Cobb EMC Board raises numerous questions, which include:

• how did a co-op of this size become so invested in one employee that no one else can replace that person?  

• if Brown is found guilty of any of the 31 counts of indictment what happens next for the co-op?   

•  if the judge decides that Brown may not work for the co-op in any capacity, what will the next steps be? 

• if Brown is allowed to work for the co-op, what happens when Brown is no longer able to work (due to health issues or his desire to retire)     

• will the Cobb EMC Board ever abide by court rulings and operate within them rather than returning to court repeatedly?

The February 28 date for Brown's departure was determined long ago. Cobb EMC members continue to demand an open and fairly run co-op, which under current leadership they have not received. 

The dark cloud over Cobb EMC leadership continues to grow. The members are to be commended for their determination and work over several years to be sure that their co-op is run for the benefit of members, not for a limited number of insiders.    

Use these links to read the AJC and MDJ coverage.

Katherine Helms Cummings
FACE Executive Director