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Delaware Electric Co-Op President/CEO Bill Andrew retiring

The Delaware Electric Cooperative’s Board of Directors is preparing to hire a new president and CEO.

 

The man currently in that post announced that he is retiring next year.

Bill Andrew is stepping down as head of the Harrington-based Co-Op next July.  He’s been with the co-op in various capacities for 22 years.

He says it’s been an honor to lead the Cooperative and says one of his accomplishments came very shortly after he took over the top spot.

 

“On about my 45th day as president of the Cooperative, we elected to notify the Public Service Commission (PSC) (in 2006) that we were going to opt out from under their control - because we had duplicate regulation," said Andrew. "We are regulated by our Board of Directors who are elected by our membership and about 82% of the Cooperatives across the nation are like that.”

Andrew says at that point the Co-Op’s rates were not necessarily as competitive and service was not quite as good.

But he says focusing on rates, reliability, and customer satisfaction has allowed the Delaware Electric Co-Op rates to keep rates at their 2007 level. (12 cents per kilowatt hour). Andrew also counts developing the Co-Op’s Beat the Peak program as an accomplishment. He says that program has saved members $34 million since it launched in 2008.

 
 

Andrew succeeded Paul Bienvenue who recruited Andrew to come to the Cooperative from Delmarva Power in 1998. Andrew was at Delmarva Power 21 years before making the switch.

 

Andrew says he plans to spend a little more time at home and less on the road and spend time with his wife and grandchildren after his retirement.

 

Kelli Steele has over 30 years of experience covering news in Delaware, Baltimore, Winchester, Virginia, Phoenix, Arizona and San Diego, California.