Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas CEO headed to Colorado

by Roby Brock ([email protected]) 784 views 

Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. CEO Duane Highley.

Duane Highley, who has served as the president and CEO of Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation and Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. since November 2011, has accepted the position of CEO of Tri-State Generation and Transmission Cooperative in Westminster, Colo.

Tri-State is a not-for-profit association of 43 member electric cooperatives and public power districts in four western states.

Highley will succeed retiring CEO Mike McInnes at the Colorado cooperative. A leadership transition will take effect April 5, 2019, according to a statement from Tri-State.

“I’m grateful to the board for their confidence and honored by the opportunity to lead this remarkable organization of dedicated and talented employees,” said Highley. “Together with our board, members and staff, our association will bolster what remains our key focus – serving the needs of our members so they can deliver on their promise to rural communities across the west.”

A spokesperson for the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas said the non-profit’s board of directors will make a decision in the near future on replacing Highley.

The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas comprise 17 electric distribution cooperatives; Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (AECI), a Little Rock-based cooperative that provides services to the distribution cooperatives; and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. (AECC), a generation and transmission cooperative. The distribution cooperatives provide electricity to approximately 500,000 customers in Arkansas and surrounding states.