As electric cooperatives seek franchise renewals, PARE asks a simple question.

If franchise renewals determine the future of electric service, rates, and reliability, why are consumers often excluded from the process?

PARE calls for greater transparency, accountability, and meaningful consumer participation in electric cooperative franchise approvals.

June 15, 2026 – Partners for Affordable and Reliable Energy (PARE) appeals to Congress to place consumers at the center of electric cooperative franchise renewals.

The group said the approval process should not rely solely on technical reports and regulatory evaluations. It must also consider the actual experiences of consumers who pay for and depend on electric service every day.

As more cooperatives seek and secure franchise renewals, PARE stressed that hearings should serve as an opportunity for consumers to ask critical questions. These include concerns about electricity rates, service reliability, system losses, disaster preparedness, governance, and the long-term plans of their cooperative.

“We consumers pay our electric bills every month, and we deserve a voice in franchise renewals, deciding whether our cooperative has earned another 25 years of public trust. A franchise is not an automatic entitlement. It is a public trust that must be earned through affordable rates, reliable service, transparency, and accountability,” said Nic Satur Jr., Chief Advocate Officer of PARE.

Unfortunately, many consumers are denied meaningful opportunities to raise these concerns. While Annual General Membership Assemblies (AGMAs) are intended to promote transparency and accountability, some cooperatives fail to hold them regularly, like PALECO. Others do not adequately address issues on rates, reliability, system losses, governance, and future plans. In some cases, consumer engagement takes a backseat to ceremonial activities and raffle draws, as seen in FICELCO. This limits opportunities for member-consumer-owners to receive updates, seek answers, and participate in decisions that directly affect the service they pay for every month.

As a result, many consumers remain uninformed about the actual performance, financial condition, governance issues, and future direction of their cooperative. PARE stressed that franchise renewal hearings should not become routine legislative exercises. They must provide consumers with a meaningful platform to evaluate whether cooperatives are fulfilling their mandate.

PARE also argued that the current evaluation process should move beyond NEA performance ratings. Consumers continue to express confusion over why some cooperatives receive high ratings – such as triple AAA and double AA classifications – yet still experience prolonged brownouts, unreliable service, high system losses, and expensive electricity rates. This has been the case with BATELEC II, FICELCO, and MOELCI I just to name a few.

These concerns highlight the need to ensure that franchise evaluations reflect not only administrative compliance but also the real experiences of consumers on the ground.

“Consumers deserve to know what concrete plans cooperatives have to lower rates, improve reliability, reduce system losses, strengthen disaster response, and improve service quality. These are the questions that matter most to households, businesses, farmers, students and communities that rely on electricity every day,” Satur said.

PARE further emphasized that accountability should not end with cooperatives. Congress and the House Committee on Legislative Franchises also share responsibility for ensuring that only qualified, transparent, and consumer-focused cooperatives receive franchise approvals. If a cooperative fails to deliver affordable and reliable service, consumers have every right to ask whether the approval process was sufficiently rigorous and whether warning signs were adequately scrutinized before a franchise was granted.

“A franchise is a privilege granted in the public interest, not an automatic entitlement. Shared accountability between cooperatives, regulators, and policymakers will help ensure that renewals are based on actual performance and consumer welfare, not simply paperwork and compliance reports,” Satur added.

PARE said franchise renewals must become a platform for transparency, accountability, and genuine consumer participation. Consumers deserve answers, not excuses. Those entrusted with delivering an essential public service must be prepared to demonstrate that they have earned the public’s trust and are capable of fulfilling their responsibilities for the next generation of consumers.