The questions members asked most in our recent survey, answered directly by CEO Michael Kirkland
When we surveyed the membership this spring, data centers came up more than almost anything else. You had questions about cost, about water, about who decides, and about whether anyone would tell you the truth. So we did the straightforward thing. We took the questions you actually asked and put them to Michael directly.
We are running this as a question and answer because that is what the survey told us you wanted. Members said they were tired of being talked at and wanted a real back and forth. A list of questions with plain answers is the closest thing to that conversation we can put on a page. The questions below are yours. The answers are his, on the record.
Data Center Updates | Petit Jean Electric Cooperative
Watch the one-minute video above for a plain explanation of what a data center is. Then read on for where Petit Jean stands.
Data centers are all over the news. What is actually happening here?
Very little, and I want to be specific about what that means. There are no non-disclosure agreements on my desk. No hyperscaler has called me. No company has asked to build a data center in our service area. Nothing is planned, nothing is in negotiation, nothing is pending.
What you are seeing on your phone and on the news is real. Data centers are being built across the country, including in other parts of Arkansas. But what is hitting my desk is nothing. The reason we are talking about this now is exactly that nothing is happening. This is the right time to have the conversation, before there is a decision to make, not after.
Then why bring it up at all?
Because we have learned that members deserve to be in the conversation early. You own this cooperative. When big changes are coming to our industry, you have a right to understand them and a right to have a voice in how we respond. Waiting until something lands on my desk to start talking would be too late. So we are being proactive at home, learning alongside our peers, and telling you what we know as we know it.
Do you see data centers as an opportunity or a threat?
Honestly, both. But more opportunity than threat, if it is done right.
The opportunity is jobs and growth. A data center is not a hay barn you put up with a pickup truck full of workers. It takes engineers, skilled equipment operators, construction managers, plumbers, electricians, and IT professionals to build and run one. That is the same reason we do anything at this cooperative. Reliable and affordable power exists so communities can grow, keep their young people, and draw in new opportunity. There is also a financial upside. Spreading fixed costs across a broader base can help stabilize bills for everyone at a time when there is inflationary pressure on everything, including energy.
The threats are just as real. Communities get hurt when they are not told the whole truth and end up in contracts that put costs on the backs of members while big corporations that do not need subsidies get them anyway.
What would make Petit Jean say no?
There are lines I will not cross, and you should know what they are.
If a project would drain our lake, pollute our water, or tear up the land in a way that threatens the agricultural way of life here, that is a line in the sand. If it would create health concerns for our people, that is a line in the sand. And if it would knowingly put costs on the backs of members whose backs are already sore from inflation, that is a line in the sand.
Here is the bigger promise behind all of that. Whether it is a data center, a vehicle we buy, an employee we hire, or every electron we purchase from our power supplier, we are at the table working to get a good deal for you. That is the job.
Who decides if a data center ever does come to our area?
Your elected board of directors makes the final decision. That is how the cooperative is built, and we respect that. But members have a right to a voice in the process before that decision is ever made, which is why we are forming the Member Advisory Program.
What is the Member Advisory Program?
It is a group of members who advocate for the membership to the decision-makers. They are local people who live on our lines; they are volunteers, and they are advocates, not adversaries. No agendas, no axes to grind. Their job is to advocate for the cooperative and the cooperative model, not for any one person, including themselves.
They will not have decision-making authority. What they will have is direct access to me and real influence through feedback, and I can tell you from experience that the power of honest feedback is enormous. The collective mind outperforms the individual every time. It can slow a decision down, but it gets you to a better decision.
We have not made any selections yet. We are putting that back in your hands and continuing to survey the membership on how the group should work. The one thing every member of it will agree to is a simple statement: mission first, people always. Our mission is safe, reliable, and affordable electricity. The people are all of you, always.
What does success look like five years from now?
Reliability better than we have ever had, where we pinpoint outages and respond to storms faster and more cost-effectively than ever. Rates that are competitive and stable. More job opportunities and a growing community. The right people in place with a real succession plan, engaged with the membership and there to serve.
We are not perfect. We make mistakes. But you can trust that we will own them, we will fix them, and we will tell you what to expect moving forward. That is the standard, and this series is one way we hold ourselves to it.
Written by: Angie Hutchins, Communications
Have a question you want answered in a future Straight Talk? Call Member Services at 501-745-2493. This website is where you will always hear from us first.