016: Members as Energy Producers: Flathead Electric Cooperative's Net Metering Success Story (with Doug Gilmore)

In this episode of The Co-Op Heroes podcast, we sit down with Doug Gilmore, Power Resources Manager at Flathead Electric Cooperative in Kalispell, Montana, to explore how one cooperative turned a complex challenge into an innovative opportunity.

Flathead Electric serves one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. Kalispell was recently voted the fastest-growing micropolitan city in the United States. In just five years, the cooperative added 8,300 meters while facing another challenge: members were asking to install their own solar systems and feed power back to the grid. The easy answer would have been "no."

Instead, Doug and his team asked three questions: What do our members want? How can we enable that? What guardrails do we need?

The result was a thoughtfully-designed net metering policy that balances member autonomy with system reliability. Rather than simply reacting, Flathead Electric created six key policy components that serve the cooperative's needs while giving members what they want. Flathead is proving that innovation and safety can coexist, and they now manage nearly 300 (and growing) net metering applications annually.

Featured topics:

• How to say "yes" to complexity instead of defaulting to "no"
• Net metering policy design: six components that work
• Managing the "duck curve" and the challenges of solar generation
• Time-of-use rate design and how to align incentives with system needs
• Cost-of-service analysis to ensure no rate class subsidizes another
• Economic development through smart rate structures
• The power of the cooperative network: sharing ideas across regions and states
• Working in a cooperative where membership ownership changes everything
• The challenge of rapid growth and how planning prevents problems

Doug shares how the cooperative principles of member ownership, democratic governance, and the willingness to collaborate create space for thoughtful innovation.

When you work for a utility where neighbors are members, decisions take on deeper meaning. When you're part of a network of co-ops across the country willing to share best practices, everyone gets smarter.

This is a story about embracing complexity, serving members well, and how cooperatives thrive by thinking outside the box while staying true to their core values.

The Co-Op Heroes podcast brings you real stories from electric utility operators: the people who work around the clock to keep our communities powered and served.