Friendships, Ladders, and Bucket Trucks: Somerset REC in Costa Rica
(NRECA International, December 2006)

Recently, the NRECA International Foundation got a chance to speak with Rich Bauer, General Manager of Somerset REC in Somerset, PA. We were able to ask him about Somerset’s important and growing relationship with its sister co-op in Costa Rica, Cooperativa de Electrificación Rural de Alfaro Ruiz.

Rich Bauer was first inspired to get Somerset REC involved in Costa Rica after speaking with some contacts at Adams Electric Cooperative in Gettysburg, PA. Adams Electric had been involved in electrification efforts in Costa Rica through a partnership with COOPELESCA, a Costa Rican electric cooperative. Adams Electric’s relationship with COOPELESCA had been so successful, they encouraged area co-ops to get involved in international electrification projects as well. Somerset eagerly accepted the challenge and partnered up with Alfaro Ruiz, a small Costa Rican rural electric cooperative.

On the first trip to visit their sister co-op in Costa Rica, the Somerset crew members were impressed with how well Alfaro Ruiz adhered to the seven cooperative principles and just how friendly all the cooperative people were. “We were treated like family,” Mr. Bauer said, “They were honored to have us there and we were honored to be there.” Though language barriers initially caused a bit of a problem, it was easily surmounted with help from a translator. As cooperative members from the two countries worked together over the course of Somerset’s visit, they were able to cement personal relationships and form long-lasting friendships. In fact, Mr. Bauer explains that the most valuable things he’s gotten out of working with a sister cooperative are “the sincerity and friendship of the cooperative people in Costa Rica.”

Despite all the good work Alfaro Ruiz was doing, Somerset was concerned that they were not operating at optimal levels of safety and efficiency. In order to do their work, Alfaro Ruiz lineman had to prop tall ladders against poles, an inherently unstable set-up. Because lineman had to constantly hold the ladder in place while they were using it, they were limited to the use of one hand while they were working. In the interest of safety and efficiency, Somerset set to work to get Alfaro Ruiz a bucket truck.

Adams Electric donated an old bucket truck they didn’t need anymore, and Somerset raised enough money to ship the truck to Costa Rica. Mr. Bauer and Ron Plank, the Operations Manager for Adams Rural Electric, volunteered their time to go down to Costa Rica and train lineman from Alfaro Ruiz about the bucket truck’s uses. Again, the cooperative spirit shared by the American and Costa Rican co-op employees served as a uniting force and helped the project go smoothly.

Mr. Bauer is confident that the bucket truck will make a concrete difference for people in the Alfaro Ruiz cooperative. “It’s a lot more efficient, a lot quicker, and a lot safer,” to use a bucket truck that to climb poles with ladders, Mr. Bauer said. Alfaro Ruiz cooperative members can look forward to safer, more efficient, and more reliable electricity – a key element in promoting regional economic development. Mr. Bauer is optimistic about Alfaro Ruiz’s future and is already making plans about the future of the sister cooperative relationship. “We’d love to see if we can get them another [bucket truck],” he said enthusiastically.