< Back

Contact:
Tracy Warren, NRECA
703-907-5746
Mobile: 703-517-3411

LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, November 20, 2008 – The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) today dedicated its new 46,000 square foot building. 

The new building will house NRECA’s Lincoln operations, which administers claims for 900 separate benefit plans covering over 160,000 electric co-op employees nationwide and their families.   NRECA’s Lincoln-based operations outgrew the former office space: the office started with approximately 50 employees and now has157 employees.  

In keeping with the electric cooperatives’ commitment to energy efficiency, the building is one of the most modern, energy efficient commercial developments in the region.  Builders drilled 123 wells (300-feet deep) for the building’s ground source heat pump.  The building also uses a web-based, adjustable lighting control system and daylight harvesting to reduce energy used to light offices.  

“NRECA first rented space in Lincoln in May 1984, almost 25 years ago. With the construction of this building we have firmly planted our roots in Lincoln, Nebraska. The new building embodies our commitment to the communities we serve,” noted Glenn English, CEO of NRECA.

“The benefits administration is a first-class operation,” English said, “these employees deserve a first-class building.”  According to an outside audit, the Lincoln office processes 90 percent of their claims within 10 days with a 99 percent accuracy rate.

Each quarter the employees in Lincoln sponsor charity events.  In the first quarter, when two employees moved to India to work in an orphanage, employees made sure the orphanage would be well stocked with clothes and supplies.  Employees also raised money for the American Cancer Society by participating in the Relay for Life.  Other beneficiaries include “Angel Tree,” a project bringing toys to needy children at Christmas; the United Way Campaign; and an annual food drive. 

In recent years, the growth of member-owned electric cooperatives – co-ops added 400,000 new members in one year – has outstripped the growth of investor-owned utilities. Today more than 900 electric cooperatives power Alaskan fishing villages, dairy farms in Vermont and the suburbs and exurbs in between, providing reliable and technologically advanced service to 42 million Americans.

Printable Version