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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, In 2018, the Nueces Electric Cooperative will |
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celebrate the 80th anniversary of its founding, and this is a |
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fitting opportunity to honor the history of this successful |
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nonprofit, member-owned electric utility; and |
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WHEREAS, In the years before World War II, South Texas was |
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still largely without electric power, and in 1938, leaders from |
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within the community came together to bring electricity to the |
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towns and farms of the area; as a result of their efforts, the |
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Nueces Electric Cooperative was chartered on December 7 of that |
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year, and by January 1940, the cooperative had nine employees and |
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355 members; and |
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WHEREAS, The co-op expanded following the end of WWII, and by |
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the 1950s, it had reached full coverage of its service area; by |
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1962, it had paid off its original loans, and throughout the 1990s, |
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it invested millions in rebuilding old lines; originally situated |
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in an office in Robstown, the utility has relocated twice over the |
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years to new and larger headquarters buildings, and since 2013, its |
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main offices have been located in a state-of-the-art facility in |
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Calallen, with member service centers in Ricardo, Orange Grove, and |
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Ben Bolt; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, Nueces Electric Cooperative and its 82 |
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employees serve more than 19,000 electric meters in eight counties |
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along the Gulf Coast, and its affiliate, NEC Co-op Energy, sells |
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electricity to an additional 26,000 consumers across the state and |
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is the only electric cooperative in the competitive market; since |
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2008, the co-op has been under contract to maintain and operate the |
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electric utility infrastructure on the Naval Air Stations in |
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Kingsville and Corpus Christi, and in 2015, it built the first |
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community solar array in the Coastal Bend; and |
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WHEREAS, The co-op is an active supporter of such community |
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efforts as the Ramiro De La Paz Scholarship Program, the American |
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Cancer Society Relay for Life, and area livestock shows and county |
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fairs; moreover, its members have contributed more than $1 million |
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to nonprofits in the region since 1997; and |
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WHEREAS, For eight decades, the Nueces Electric Cooperative |
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has played a vital role in the economy of South Texas by providing |
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area residents with reliable and affordable electric power; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Nueces |
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Electric Cooperative and extend to all those associated with the |
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co-op sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the Nueces Electric Cooperative as an expression of |
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high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |