2026 Annual Meeting Recap

 

Each year MEAG Power invites Participants to its annual meeting with the goal of providing attendees valuable insights, knowledge and networking opportunities that they can use to better manage their communities.

In addition to the program offerings, this year’s conference celebrated America’s 250th anniversary.  As MEAG Power Board Chairman Tim Houston remarked, the Declaration of Independence established the idea that local communities can shape their own future. As leaders of our cities, we have the responsibility of shaping the next 250 years, and that starts with knowledge and wisdom.

MEAG Power’s President and CEO Jim Fuller kicked off the main conference session by giving an update on several developments, including planned uprates at Plant Vogtle Units 1 & 2 and Plant Hatch Units 1 & 2. Uprates are upgrades made to non-nuclear areas of a plant that increase energy output. The planned uprates are projected to add 40 MW to MEAG Power’s share of energy from those units by 2031.

The costs of the upgrades will be partially offset by external funding sources. In 2025, MEAG Power collected $169 million in outside funding sources largely from nuclear production tax credits. This represented approximately 15% of MEAG Power’s total 2025 budget.

Other highlights he noted were that the Pineview Solar facility went COD on May 15, 2026, that MEAG Power has begun its latest integrated resource plan (IRP), and that the acquisition of a site at Plant Wansley where new generation could be built has been completed. Finally, he gave an update on the large load RFP process which is underway and will continue through the rest of the year.

Jessica Taylor with the Cook Political Report gave a nonpartisan outlook on national and state political races. She offered her firm’s current analysis for the mid-term elections and the latest political polling related to those races and the major political parties.

Noted energy and data center expert Peter Kelly-Detwiler presented an update from his talk at last year’s annual meeting. He discussed the latest growth projections for data center demand, the importance being placed by data center owners on energy quality and availability, the rise of local opposition to data center construction, the potential impact from AI on electricity rates, and a view on how to think about the risks and rewards of hosting a data center in your community.

Kirk Hudson, GM of the Chelan County PUD in Washington state, discussed how his utility is responding to the volume and velocity of change taking place in the power market. He shared the guiding principles they developed to manage how they respond to the demands from large load customers.

Sezaneh Seymour, VP and head of regulatory risk and policy at Coalition, a leading provider of cyber insurance and security services, offered a framework for understanding and responding to digital risk. This includes threats from people targeting utilities, how they are breaking into protected systems, the impact these intrusions can cause. She said it’s imperative that utility leadership understand that disruption is inevitable and take steps to implement processes that help utilities recover quickly.

Afshin Molavi, a recognized expert in geopolitics, provided many examples of how globalization continues to play a role in our everyday lives and how the pace of change is increasing exponentially. He discussed the factors driving today’s international system, including how energy is being impacted by events in Ukraine, Russia and Iran, as well as U.S.-China relations.

During the Annual Meeting, Participant voting delegates re-elected Tim Houston and Chad Warbington to the MEAG Power Board, and elected new member Daniel Graves, Mayor of Elberton, to three-year terms. Delegates also elected Chris Hewitt, CEO of the Crisp County Power Commission, to a one-term to fill the vacancy resulting from the retirement of Albany City Manager Terrell Jacobs from the Board after 14 years of service. The Board recognized Mr. Jacobs with a special resolution commemorating his service, and thanked Greg Thompson for his many years of service on the Board as well.

At the Tuesday evening event, Jim Fuller and MEAG Power management presented President’s Awards which recognize employees for exceptional service and dedication to MEAG Power and the Participant communities. This year’s award recipients were Patricia Brown-Hayes, Cash Management Analyst, Lisa Mitchell, Supervisor, Transmission Operations & Maintenance, and Daniel Williams, Facility Manager.