Dear Member-Owners,
As we enter the final stretch of hurricane season, Roanoke Cooperative remains vigilant in protecting the reliability of our electric grid and the safety of our member-owners. In northeastern North Carolina, we know all too well how natural disasters can disrupt daily life. From hurricanes and ice storms to the emerging threat of wildfires, severe weather has left its mark on our communities and our cooperative system over the past thirty years.
While hurricanes and winter ice storms remain the most familiar threats, state forestry officials have also noted that wildfire risk is rising even in eastern North Carolina, where prolonged dry spells and high winds have led to several large wildfires in recent years. That’s why Roanoke Cooperative is working to prepare for all types of natural disasters—both the ones we know well and those that are emerging.
That’s also why we are highlighting two important pieces of legislation now before Congress:
- The FEMA Independence Act (H.R. 2308)
- The Fixing Emergency Management for Americans Act (H.R. 4669)
Both measures aim to strengthen the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and ensure faster, more effective support for communities like ours when disaster strikes. Key provisions include:
- Faster reimbursements to cooperatives and local governments for recovery costs.
- Stronger independence and leadership authority, enabling FEMA to act quickly and decisively during disasters.
- Improved transparency in disaster response and funding.
We have also seen firsthand how costly disaster recovery can be. When Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina in 2024, recovery costs soared into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Cooperatives across the state, including Roanoke, provided mutual aid to help restore power. Experiences like this underscore why faster reimbursements and clearer processes are so critical—delays in federal support strain not just the affected communities, but also the cooperatives and partners who step in to help.
For electric cooperatives, these reforms are vital. When storms topple power lines or wildfires threaten infrastructure, the speed of federal response directly impacts how quickly we can restore service and how effectively we can reinvest in strengthening the grid. Delays in reimbursement slow recovery and place an undue burden on the very communities already facing hardship.
Roanoke Cooperative strongly supports this legislation because it directly benefits our member-owners. By making FEMA more efficient, accountable, and responsive, we can ensure that rural communities are not left behind during times of crisis.
As your cooperative, we will continue to advocate for policies that make our system stronger and our recovery faster. Whether we face hurricanes, ice, or fire, our commitment is the same: to serve you with reliability, resilience, and care.
In Service,
Marshall Cherry
President & CEO