York Electric Cooperative Appoints Craig Spencer as New CEO

York Elec­tric Coop­er­a­tive (YEC) proud­ly announces the appoint­ment of Craig Spencer as its new Chief Exec­u­tive Offi­cer (CEO). Spencer’s appoint­ment to CEO will offi­cial­ly begin on June 11, 2024, fol­low­ing the retire­ment of E. Paul Basha. Spencer tran­si­tioned from Vice Pres­i­dent of Engi­neer­ing, a role he has held since 2003, to Chief Oper­at­ing Offi­cer (COO) after the board’s deci­sion. Spencer, who joined YEC in 1992, has played an inte­gral role in the cooperative’s growth and suc­cess.

Spencer’s appoint­ment fol­lows a thor­ough selec­tion process over­seen by the board of direc­tors, which includ­ed inter­nal and exter­nal inter­views. The deci­sion to appoint Spencer was unan­i­mous, reflect­ing their con­fi­dence in his abil­i­ty to lead YEC into the future while main­tain­ing the cooperative’s core val­ues.

With over three decades of expe­ri­ence at YEC, Spencer brings a deep under­stand­ing of the cooperative’s oper­a­tions, cul­ture, and mem­ber needs to his new role. As VP of Engi­neer­ing, he has been instru­men­tal in ensur­ing the reli­a­bil­i­ty and effi­cien­cy of YEC’s ener­gy deliv­ery infra­struc­ture, earn­ing the trust and respect of col­leagues and mem­bers alike.

“In Craig Spencer, we have found a leader who embod­ies the val­ues and prin­ci­ples that define York Elec­tric Coop­er­a­tive,” said Tom Set­tle­myre, Chair of the Board of Direc­tors at YEC. “Craig’s exten­sive expe­ri­ence, cou­pled with his unwa­ver­ing com­mit­ment to our mis­sion, ensures a seam­less tran­si­tion and con­ti­nu­ity of ser­vice excel­lence for our mem­bers.”

Out­go­ing CEO E. Paul Basha leaves behind a remark­able lega­cy of lead­er­ship and com­mu­ni­ty engage­ment, hav­ing served YEC for a total of 35 years, with 23 as the co-op’s CEO. Spencer is hon­ored to fol­low in his foot­steps, build­ing upon the strong foun­da­tion laid by Basha and steer­ing YEC towards con­tin­ued suc­cess and inno­va­tion.

“I am deeply hum­bled and hon­ored to assume the role of CEO at York Elec­tric Coop­er­a­tive,” said Craig Spencer. “I am com­mit­ted to uphold­ing the cooperative’s pri­or­i­ty to always look out for our mem­bers, ensur­ing that we con­tin­ue to meet their evolv­ing needs and those of our sur­round­ing com­mu­ni­ties.”

As Craig Spencer pre­pares to assume the CEO posi­tion on June 11, 2024, YEC reaf­firms its com­mit­ment to deliv­er­ing reli­able, safe, and afford­able ener­gy solu­tions, con­tin­ued com­mu­ni­ty engage­ment and edu­ca­tion, while empow­er­ing mem­bers and enrich­ing the com­mu­ni­ties it serves.