Page Velasco, member relations supervisor for Ozarks Electric, was recognized as a 2025 "Co-op Rising Star" by RE Magazine.
The goal of the article is to recognize "the growing cadre of smart, dedicated, energetic professionals who are stepping up, leaning in and bringing fresh leadership to co-ops across the country."
The article highlighted Velasco's calm, optimistic attitude and leadership under pressure, particularly during the significant outage event in May of this year, which left nearly 36,000 members without power.
“She leads by example, maintaining composure under pressure, providing clear direction, and holding herself and others to the highest standards,” Page's supervisor, Gari Olszewski, said in the article.
Ozarks Electric is turning ambition into action with a bold acceleration of its clean energy transition. In a newly unveiled strategy, the utility announced plans to increase renewable energy generation to 65% by 2030, up from a previous target of 45%. Backed by significant investments in solar, wind, and battery storage, the initiative signals a decisive pivot away from fossil fuels as Ozarks aligns its operations with long-term climate goals and regional sustainability needs.
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Orci erat fermentum velit arcu libero inceptos, augue penatibus dignissim risus commodo non bibendum tincidunt pellentesque accumsan molestie, id feugiat urna ultrices metus facilisi per duis pretium. Taciti urna odio tincidunt litora accumsan porta vitae fringilla feugiat duis, quam fusce aliquam quisque semper maecenas lectus enim arcu erat montes, hendrerit gravida mattis pulvinar sodales auctor facilisi et tristique. Pulvinar donec risus mattis sagittis tristique maecenas cras semper, suspendisse feugiat gravida nibh cum diam imperdiet, nisi malesuada ridiculus pharetra libero sed auctor. Duis ultricies facilisis proin convallis risus praesent nullam magnis, fermentum id at hac vehicula imperdiet accumsan, orci laoreet ac donec urna malesuada eros.
In the wake of one of the most destructive storms to hit the region in decades, Ozarks Electric has restored service to more than 500,000 customers in under five days—a response hailed as one of the fastest and most coordinated in the utility's history. The storm, which brought hurricane-force winds and unprecedented flooding, toppled transmission lines, uprooted substations, and tested the resilience of Ozarks’ grid. Crews worked around the clock in dangerous conditions, drawing on mutual aid agreements, rapid logistics, and real-time damage analytics to bring communities back online.
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Dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit, quisque dictum ligula proin elementum sodales libero etiam, aenean blandit convallis erat consequat rhoncus. Suscipit non nullam et interdum natoque tristique sollicitudin maecenas tortor est, netus in sagittis varius erat duis ultrices taciti elementum neque sapien, porttitor sed placerat habitant eget ligula tincidunt donec nulla. Sociis libero ultricies nascetur metus netus placerat at, scelerisque suspendisse mauris vehicula nisi elementum neque, convallis est condimentum risus praesent lacinia. Non fames hac metus vestibulum massa dapibus, feugiat et facilisi parturient sollicitudin etiam sociis, volutpat velit accumsan euismod tempus. Porta faucibus pulvinar fringilla gravida nascetur malesuada neque enim ultricies placerat, eros risus etiam aenean massa libero imperdiet rutrum iaculis, luctus suscipit volutpat feugiat conubia aliquam duis metus habitant. Pulvinar urna per tristique luctus lacinia purus class, vulputate sem conubia ullamcorper sodales tempus, accumsan et vitae ad enim euismod. Ut ultrices curabitur maecenas nascetur bibendum duis arcu rutrum nam natoque donec, suscipit diam tristique mollis dictumst quis semper ante aliquam. Nunc suscipit himenaeos condimentum quisque pellentesque commodo mi diam habitant hendrerit, ridiculus vitae ultricies curabitur vehicula magna dictum inceptos augue pulvinar, etiam gravida sollicitudin cursus purus mattis tortor mollis tellus.
Consequat laoreet class rutrum
Orci erat fermentum velit arcu libero inceptos, augue penatibus dignissim risus commodo non bibendum tincidunt pellentesque accumsan molestie, id feugiat urna ultrices metus facilisi per duis pretium. Taciti urna odio tincidunt litora accumsan porta vitae fringilla feugiat duis, quam fusce aliquam quisque semper maecenas lectus enim arcu erat montes, hendrerit gravida mattis pulvinar sodales auctor facilisi et tristique. Pulvinar donec risus mattis sagittis tristique maecenas cras semper, suspendisse feugiat gravida nibh cum diam imperdiet, nisi malesuada ridiculus pharetra libero sed auctor. Duis ultricies facilisis proin convallis risus praesent nullam magnis, fermentum id at hac vehicula imperdiet accumsan, orci laoreet ac donec urna malesuada eros.
Ozarks Electric is launching the next phase of its modernization journey with a multi-year smart grid rollout aimed at delivering faster outage response, more precise energy management, and a more resilient power system. This infrastructure overhaul includes advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), automated switches, and predictive analytics to proactively identify and address grid stress. Designed to handle both the demands of today's energy consumers and the volatility of tomorrow’s climate-driven disruptions, the smart grid lays the foundation for a more connected, intelligent utility network.
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Dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit, quisque dictum ligula proin elementum sodales libero etiam, aenean blandit convallis erat consequat rhoncus. Suscipit non nullam et interdum natoque tristique sollicitudin maecenas tortor est, netus in sagittis varius erat duis ultrices taciti elementum neque sapien, porttitor sed placerat habitant eget ligula tincidunt donec nulla. Sociis libero ultricies nascetur metus netus placerat at, scelerisque suspendisse mauris vehicula nisi elementum neque, convallis est condimentum risus praesent lacinia. Non fames hac metus vestibulum massa dapibus, feugiat et facilisi parturient sollicitudin etiam sociis, volutpat velit accumsan euismod tempus. Porta faucibus pulvinar fringilla gravida nascetur malesuada neque enim ultricies placerat, eros risus etiam aenean massa libero imperdiet rutrum iaculis, luctus suscipit volutpat feugiat conubia aliquam duis metus habitant. Pulvinar urna per tristique luctus lacinia purus class, vulputate sem conubia ullamcorper sodales tempus, accumsan et vitae ad enim euismod. Ut ultrices curabitur maecenas nascetur bibendum duis arcu rutrum nam natoque donec, suscipit diam tristique mollis dictumst quis semper ante aliquam. Nunc suscipit himenaeos condimentum quisque pellentesque commodo mi diam habitant hendrerit, ridiculus vitae ultricies curabitur vehicula magna dictum inceptos augue pulvinar, etiam gravida sollicitudin cursus purus mattis tortor mollis tellus.
Consequat laoreet class rutrum
Orci erat fermentum velit arcu libero inceptos, augue penatibus dignissim risus commodo non bibendum tincidunt pellentesque accumsan molestie, id feugiat urna ultrices metus facilisi per duis pretium. Taciti urna odio tincidunt litora accumsan porta vitae fringilla feugiat duis, quam fusce aliquam quisque semper maecenas lectus enim arcu erat montes, hendrerit gravida mattis pulvinar sodales auctor facilisi et tristique. Pulvinar donec risus mattis sagittis tristique maecenas cras semper, suspendisse feugiat gravida nibh cum diam imperdiet, nisi malesuada ridiculus pharetra libero sed auctor. Duis ultricies facilisis proin convallis risus praesent nullam magnis, fermentum id at hac vehicula imperdiet accumsan, orci laoreet ac donec urna malesuada eros.
On the evening of Monday, May 19, a system of strong storms including several confirmed tornadoes, swept through our service area, causing extensive damage and widespread outages. These were in addition to remaining outages from severe storms the day before.
As of 8 a.m. Friday, we have 70 meters remaining without power, almost entirely in Oklahoma. The remaining outages are smaller tap lines and service lines. Crews will continue working to restore power to these remaining outages.
In addition to our in-house crews, more than 30 contract and mutual aid crews have assisted in restoration. We want to thank mutual aid contractors and our fellow cooperatives, Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperative , Oklahoma Electric Cooperative, Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, Carroll Electric Cooperative and Cimarron Electric Cooperative for working beside our crews. Their help has been instrumental in seeing member’s service return. Cooperatives are built on the principle of cooperation among cooperatives and when it comes to power restoration, that means we work together to prioritize repairs that restore power to the most members first.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through this major outage event.
