Legal and Government Relations
The AIEC legal department provides countless services for which cooperatives might otherwise have to pay expensive legal fees. Each year the legal department:
- Assists with service area disputes under the Electric Supplier Act
- Updates members on relevant litigation
- Intervenes in litigation
- Acts as a liaison between local, state and federal officials
- Formulates new and revises old cooperative bylaws
- Assists member systems and local counsel with issues under the jurisdiction of Federal Energy Regulatory
- Commission, federal and state EPA, OSHA, and the Department of Transportation
- Assists with the development and improvement of member system safety and compliance programs
- Manages the workers’ compensation insurance programs for all member electric cooperatives at a fraction of the cost of securing these management services elsewhere
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Nick Reitz
Vice President of Government Relations
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Brenda Carter
Vice President of Regulatory Compliance
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Baylee Flowers
Legal and Government Relations Coordinator
Thomas H. Moore (IEC) Memorial Scholarship Fund
Regulatory Services and Compliance
AIEC provides research and counsel on statutory and regulatory changes that impact our members, identifying what regulations are applicable to cooperatives. Regulatory services include but are not limited to, OSHA, EPA, DOT, FMCSA, IDOT, NERC, and FERC along with Illinois statutes, regulations, standards, and codes. Our staff is available to support members in compliance to these regulations by assisting with required cooperative policies, reports, inspections/audits, training and more. The AIEC, in partnership with cooperative safety leaders, administers the NRECA Rural Electric Safety Achievement Program (RESAP), a safety framework to improve safety performance and culture. AIEC is available to assist with the development and continuous improvement of member system safety programs.