Big Sky Co-ops Electrify Rural Bolivia, with CFC Assist

In February 2020, a team of 14 volunteer linemen from 10 Montana electric cooperatives traveled to Bolivia where they worked to frame and run wire across 91 poles, connected transformers, cleared right-of-way and set poles to bring electricity to rural Villa Cotóca. The trip was organized by the Montana Electric Cooperatives’ Association (MECA) and NRECA International, with $95,000 in financial assistance from CFC and NCSC.

Although the brutal heat and humidity made the work grueling at times, all the linemen agreed the project was important and worthwhile since it was life-changing for the villagers.

“This group here, they adapted well to changes. They did a great job day-in and day-out,” said Team Leader Kyle Kearns from Ravalli Electric Cooperative in Victor, Montana. “We just hammered on this project until it was a success.”

Linemen Empower School and Businesses

Kearns said the villagers were very appreciative of the cooperative crew’s hard work, especially bringing electricity to the school and enabling villagers to enhance their businesses or launch new ones.

The Bolivian government had previously pledged to supply a new computer for every child at the village school, but they were not delivered because there was no electricity. Now, students will soon receive the computers.

A local store owner explained it had been challenging for him to offer cold drinks because he had to run a generator to power the cooler, and fuel was expensive. Now, cold beverages can always be available and much-appreciated in the stifling climate. Another villager planned to launch a wood-working business after purchasing an electric saw.

“MECA greatly appreciates the sizable donations we received from CFC and NCSC, which will cover about half of our total costs for this trip,” said MECA CEO Gary Wiens. “The funds were vital for helping cover the cost of materials, travel, lodging and food for the work team.”

MECA’s First International Trip Overcame Several Hurdles

This was the first time MECA and its members had participated in an international project, and although the trip itself lasted just 15 days, planning and preparation started back in 2018 and involved a lot of work, under an accelerated schedule that was not without a few last-minute hurdles.

“NRECA International typically tells the statewide which projects are available a couple of years down the road, to allow enough time for planning,” MECA COO Lea Potoczny explained. “In this case, the schedule was accelerated because there was a slot open for early 2020 in Bolivia, and due to the timing that Montana was requesting, that was the project that matched up for us.”

MECA sent out a request to its member cooperatives for team leader nominations, and Kearns was selected. MECA then asked members to submit names of linemen who were interested in volunteering for the Bolivia trip. Once the team was in place, the paperwork and immunization process began.

As it turned out, that was a bit of a challenge because of the distance team members had to travel to get their immunizations. “There is only one clinic in the entire state of Montana that provides the required immunizations, so our team members had to travel either to Billings, Montana, or to Spokane, Washington, to receive the proper vaccines,” Potoczny said.

Another challenge MECA encountered was that Bolivia changed the original project dates within a few weeks of the team’s scheduled departure. “Because of an issue the government had at the end of 2019, the poles and other materials were not available to be delivered in time for when our team was set to arrive,” Potoczny explained. “So we had to push our dates back a few weeks, which in turn meant that a couple of our original team members could not go because of personal commitments during the new project dates.”

Fortunately, alternate crew members had already been selected, and the original members were able to be replaced.

Kearns reflected that all of the planning and hard work was worth it. “Just the smiles on their faces, you can’t put words to it. It’s just amazing to watch these kids out here.”