March 2024 Highline Notes Editorial

Farewell

Marshal Albright, president/CEO Cass County Electric Cooperative

The time has come to say goodbye as the leader of Cass County Electric Cooperative (CCEC). I am retiring in early April.

My life at Cass County Electric started in July 1986 when I was hired as a load management technician. Over the years, I worked in several positions in West Fargo and South Fargo locations before becoming President/CEO in 2016.

When I look back at the day I started, we had around 11,000 accounts. Today, we serve over 58,000 accounts, and most of the growth has occurred in and around Fargo, West Fargo, and Horace. Account growth has played a critical role in the success of the cooperative. The yearly increase in revenue because of growth provides the necessary resources to maintain stable rates and invest in equipment, technology, buildings, and employees to ensure we deliver affordable and reliable service to our members. From my seat on the bus, we’ve always had the mindset to grow as much as possible, which has been the focus throughout my career. My predecessors, Mike Gustafson and Scott Handy, had the same mindset about growth and were tremendous advocates for economic development, as I have been since 2016.

The cooperative has undergone significant changes in my tenure, the biggest being the move of our headquarters from Kindred to Fargo in 2008. Another beneficial change was to our metering system; before 2016, electric meters were read once a month. Now, we utilize an automated metering infrastructure that sends in 15-minute or hourly data over the power lines. Members can access their hourly data through the Cass County Electric app. Advancements in technology have increased operational efficiencies and service offerings to the membership. Because of our investments in technology, we’ve held the line on our employee count, and our operating expenses per kilowatt-hour (kWh) have remained flat for the past 20 years. In the metro and throughout our service territory, our engineering and operations team have designed a resilient distribution system utilizing leading-edge technologies that support nation-leading reliability.

Commitment to community is one of our core values and a top priority. I assure everyone that we are as committed as ever to supporting community events, programs, and initiatives that allow our members to flourish. I’ve had the opportunity to engage with thousands of our members, city and state leaders, state legislators, business leaders, regional electric cooperative leaders, and employees to build a stronger community.

I am grateful to the board of directors for trusting me as the leader of this incredible cooperative and to all the employees who are committed to doing excellent work by keeping the power on and cost-affordable to enhance our quality of life.

I wish the best of luck to Cass County Electric, the next leader of CCEC, our members, the board of directors, and most importantly, the employees; a bright future is ahead!