Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HR2163 Compare Versions

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1	1	H.R. No. 2163
2	2
3	3
4	4	R E S O L U T I O N
5	5	WHEREAS, Pedernales Electric Cooperative, the largest
6	6	electric cooperative in the United States, is marking the 85th
7	7	anniversary of its incorporation in 2023; and
8	8	WHEREAS, PEC traces its origins to 1935, when the Rural
9	9	Electrification Administration was established by the federal
10	10	government with the purpose of expanding electrical service to
11	11	rural areas; at the time, rural electrification was a prominent
12	12	issue in Texas, where only 2.3 percent of farms had power, and after
13	13	promising to make it a priority for his constituents in the 10th
14	14	Congressional District, then-Congressman Lyndon Baines Johnson
15	15	joined with local rancher E. Babe Smith and began discussions with
16	16	farmers, ranchers, and business leaders about electrifying the Hill
17	17	Country; and
18	18	WHEREAS, On May 8, 1938, Pedernales Electric Cooperative,
19	19	Inc., was formed, and on May 19, Congressman Johnson and
20	20	representatives from Blanco, Burnet, Gillespie, Hays, and Llano
21	21	Counties met in Austin to sign an official document incorporating
22	22	PEC; on September 27 of that year, the Rural Electrification
23	23	Administration granted PEC a loan of over $1.3 million to construct
24	24	around 1,800 miles of line, the single largest allotment ever made
25	25	by the administration; and
26	26	WHEREAS, On October 27, 1939, the 1,800 miles of transmission
27	27	line energized through a substation in Bertram, bringing electrical
28	28	service to the cooperative's first 422 customers in Burnet County;
29	29	initially, some 3,300 families signed up for the service, and in
30	30	1947, PEC was declared to be the largest cooperative in the world;
31	31	and
32	32	WHEREAS, Today, PEC's service territory spans 8,100 square
33	33	miles and more than 387,000 connected meters, an area nearly the
34	34	size of the state of New Jersey; the cooperative is owned and
35	35	governed by the members it serves, and it benefits from the
36	36	leadership of an elected board of directors as well as an executive
37	37	team, which is responsible for managing PEC's day-to-day operations
38	38	and overseeing its more than 800 employees; and
39	39	WHEREAS, Pedernales Electric Cooperative has played an
40	40	essential role in the lives of thousands of Hill Country residents
41	41	over the past 85 years, and this noteworthy milestone offers a
42	42	fitting opportunity to recognize the leaders and members of the
43	43	organization who have been instrumental to its success; now,
44	44	therefore, be it
45	45	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
46	46	Legislature hereby honor Pedernales Electric Cooperative on the
47	47	85th anniversary of its incorporation and extend to all those
48	48	associated with its operations sincere gratitude for their work to
49	49	"keep the lights on" across Central Texas; and, be it further
50	50	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
51	51	prepared for PEC as an expression of high regard by the Texas House
52	52	of Representatives.
53	53	Zwiener
54	54	______________________________
55	55	Speaker of the House
56	56	I certify that H.R. No. 2163 was adopted by the House on May
57	57	25, 2023, by a non-record vote.
58	58	______________________________
59	59	Chief Clerk of the House