NCSC held its 45th Annual Membership Meeting June 15 in Chula Vista, California, during CFC Forum 2026. NCSC Board President Steve Rhodes, CEO of Florida-based CHELCO, presided over the meeting and announced in his president’s report that NCSC is now doing business as Utility Capital Solutions.
“To understand why this change makes sense now, it helps to look back at why NCSC was created in the first place,” Rhodes said. “NCSC was incorporated on Feb. 10, 1981, to help cooperatives pursue specialized financing opportunities that were not easily addressed through traditional structures. Over time, that role expanded. What began as a highly specialized financing vehicle evolved into a broader source of capital solutions for rural utilities.”
“As member needs changed, NCSC changed with them. The organization broadened its support from early power plant lease transactions to a wider array of financing for infrastructure, acquisitions, broadband, renewable energy, business operations and other special projects.”
Rhodes said Utility Capital Solutions better reflects the organization’s current role serving electric cooperatives, telecommunications providers and their affiliates with specialized financing for acquisitions, broadband and renewable energy projects, as well as other infrastructure and business needs.
“That is why now is the right time for a new name and brand,” Rhodes said. “The NCSC name has a proud history, but it comes from an earlier chapter in the organization’s life. Utility Capital Solutions better reflects the full scope of what we do today. It is clearer, more modern and more immediately recognizable. Most importantly, it speaks directly to the value we provide: practical capital solutions that help rural utilities move projects forward, meet urgent needs and serve their communities with confidence.”
Utility Capital Solutions Board Elections
Utility Capital Solutions members elected two newcomers and reelected a director to the board at the Utility Capital Solutions Annual Membership Meeting (* reflects an incumbent).
Utility Capital Solutions Class E Results
DISTRICT 1
Steve Harmon*, President and CEO
Community Electric Cooperative (VA)
DISTRICT 3
Jenny Scharmer, Director
MiEnergy Cooperative (MN)
Utility Capital Solutions Class T Results
DISTRICT 2
Jason Dandridge, CEO
Palmetto Rural Telephone Cooperative, Inc. (SC)