Today In Mississippi

Independence Day inspires
appreciation of freedoms

By Michael Callahan
Electric Power Associations of Mississippi Executive Vice President/CEO

The celebration of our nation’s birthday July 4 should include reflection on the things that distinguish our free society—and help keep it free.

Our men and women serving in the armed forces immediately come to mind.

Other aspects of our freedom are more easily taken for granted. Consider the newspaper lying in your driveway and the TV channels delivering news into your home. Only in a free republic could these media publish news and stories independent of government interference.

As every civics student can tell you, free speech—including freedom of the press—is considered a fundamental right protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Look at it this way: Freedom of the press is one of the first things to go when a repressive government rises to power. Totalitarian states attempt to block the free exchange of news, ideas and opinions in all media (including the Internet). The goal is to subjugate citizens by keeping them uninformed and uninspired.

Your electric power association, on the other hand, believes knowledge is power. We hope you will learn more about your electric cooperative by reading Today in Mississippi. The more you know, the better you will understand your electric power association’s mission and value to your community, as well as your role as a member of an electric cooperative. We also hope you’ll gain a deeper sense of what it means to be a Mississippian.

Here’s another hallmark of a free society: the freedom to organize a consumer cooperative to obtain needed goods and services for oneself and others.

That’s exactly how your electric power association came to be. Rural residents in your area could not get electricity at any cost from investor-owned utilities, which served mostly towns and cities in the early 20th century. So, despite their lack of experience in operating an electric utility, rural folks created their own not-for-profit electric cooperative to buy wholesale electricity and deliver it to their farms and homes. By paying a small membership fee, others were able to become members of the local electric cooperative, and they gained a vote at its annual meeting.

As more member-owned electric cooperatives took root across the state, significant barriers to a better quality of life and economic development in rural Mississippi fell by the wayside.

The electric cooperative tradition in Mississippi is stronger than ever. Twenty-five electric power associations distribute affordable, reliable electricity to some 700,000 members in the state. Each electric power association is governed by a member-elected board of directors, and every director is a member. Every member gets one vote in the election of directors, regardless of the amount of electricity he or she uses.

Although each electric power association is an independent business, all 25 work as one to achieve common goals, from consumer advocacy to emergency power restoration to the publication of Today in Mississippi for their members.

We hope you feel free to tell us how we can better serve you. And happy Independence Day!

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Electric Power Associations of Mississippi
P.O. Box 3300 Ridgeland, Mississippi 39158-3300 phone 601.605.8600 fax 601.605.8601