At the helm: OPALCO’s Hildreth talks solar, broadband, family

Published 11:36 am Wednesday, October 1, 2014

By Cali Bagby, Islands’ Sounder associate editor

For eight years, Foster Hildreth has been preparing for his new role as general manager of Orcas Power & Light Cooperative.

Now, as he officially takes the helm, he looks to the community to help him with the future.

“I am focusing on what the membership wants to see and how to provide the best service we can,” he said.

At OPALCO’s 77th Annual Meeting last May, it was announced that Hildreth would become general manager when Randy Cornelius retires.

“I was groomed by Randy,” Hildreth said. “His mentorship really helped me.”

Hildreth started out at OPALCO in the finances and member services department in 2006. He was named assistant manager in 2011.

Cornelius said in a press release that “Hildreth is fully up to speed and very knowledgeable about all aspects of our co-op business—in fact, his contributions to date have placed us in the impeccable financial position that we enjoy today. The membership is in good hands.”

Hildreth earned a Bachelor of Science in finance and real estate and master’s degree in business administration and finance at the University of Southern California.

Before living on Orcas, Hildreth was in southern California working as the executive manager for several high profile public and private enterprises.

He oversaw the city of Pasadena’s $117 million seismic retrofit and rehabilitation of the 1927 historic City Hall building. He also managed significant projects for the Disney Development Company and the Robert Mayer Corporation.

According to an OPALCO press release, “Foster has put these skills to work for our co-op by improving our processes for budgeting, scheduling, financial tracking and project management.”

Island Life

While not at the office, Hildreth said most of his time is devoted to family, especially playing with his two children, Stormy, 12, and Burly, 10.

His daughter Stormy is a frequent performer at community events and Hildreth can be seen at every show, in the front row recording each moment.

“Watching Stormy sing is amazing,” Hildreth said. “But she got that from her mother [Chantelle Hildreth].”

Burly, on the other hand, has picked up the game of golf and left his father in the dust.

“He’s only been playing for two years, but he beats me,” Hildreth said.

Upcoming projects

As general manager, Hildreth is excited about continuing OPALCO’s mission and getting a few items off the ground.

“Our core mandates are providing safe and reliable power, keeping rates down and embracing our conservation energy efficiencies and renewables programs,” he said.

Community Solar is one project hitting the islands this year. Basically, the program will help people who do not have the ability to put solar on their house to get linked with a community solar garden.

According to Hildreth, you buy a portion of the capacity of a solar panel and you get that percentage of production out of that panel, which is essentially a credit on your power bill.

Hildreth also looks forward to moving ahead with broadband. After failing to reach a certain number of members to sign up online last year, OPALCO has decided to go another direction by allowing those that want broadband to receive it and are willing to pay.

According to Hildreth, OPALCO continues to conduct membership surveys and has seen strong, enthusiastic need for it in light of communications challenges after a CenturyLink underwater cable was severed on Nov. 5. Islanders experienced the loss of telephone, 911 and internet service for nearly a week.

“We are reaching out to homeowners’ associations and different groups, and there is an interest and a lot of support for broadband,” he said. “We are focusing on what we can do, not what we can’t do.”

OPALCO is already in the process of expanding their communication infrastructure to maintain the reliability and safety of their power grid. This expansion will allow islanders to also use that infrastructure for broadband.

To see a map of existing and future fiber connections, visit www.opalco.com/island-network and click on “Service Locations.” The website also offers a request form for new hook-ups.

You can find out more at the upcoming OPALCO board meeting on Oct. 16, 8:30 a.m., at the OPALCO Office, 183 Mt. Baker Road, Orcas Island.