Lake Region Electric Cooperative
Recap of District Meetings
Thank you to all the LREC members who attended the three 2022 district meetings held last month either in-person or by livestream. Over 220 members, LREC directors, and employees attended the meetings. The recordings of each district meeting are currently available on our District Meetings page. It was great seeing members in-person again in a traditional setting.
The district meetings were held in Districts 3, 6, and 9. Actions were taken to name the following members as candidates for director positions: Mike Brasel in District 3, Charlie Blixt and Todd Bladow in District 6, and Gary Olson in District 9.
It is always exciting to see leadership come from the grassroots efforts of our members, and I appreciate all those who expressed a desire to run for the board. The messages I shared at the district meetings focused on: rate stability, reliability, member engagement, and employee engagement. Our rates remain stable and our reliability continues to improve with the hard work of LREC employees and their utilization of technology such as Exacter.
One of my favorite parts of the district meetings is the question and answer session. We received many questions over the course of the three meetings—ranging from whether underground line is becoming a larger part of LREC’s plan, to actions taken by LREC to protect itself against cyberattacks, to how electric vehicles will impact the cooperative’s future.
I am hopeful and optimistic that many of you will be able to attend our Annual Meeting scheduled for June 2nd, 2022, at Life Church in Fergus Falls. This year, LREC celebrates its 85th year as a cooperative. Our Annual Meeting will celebrate our members and all those who have contributed to the great accomplishments of LREC throughout the years.
Strategic Planning Related to Rate Structure
LREC’s rates have been stable for several years, and the LREC facility charge has also remained stable. We continue to keep our focus on the future of the cooperative. Part of that future includes a strategic approach to analyzing our rate structure and facility charge. We know LREC’s facility charge is low compared to the cooperative’s actual costs based upon prior studies. Part of our strategic approach is to determine whether there is a revenue neutral way to increase facility charges to align more closely with LREC’s actual costs of providing service, while potentially considering a decrease in rates or continued rate stability.
We have had only one rate increase in the last nine years, and our dual fuel rate has not changed since 2008. As a rural electric cooperative, we serve an average of 5 members per mile of infrastructure. Compare this number to certain investor-owned and municipal utilities that have closer to 45 customers per mile. Whether there are 5 or 45 consumers per mile, the costs and maintenance related to the one mile of infrastructure necessary to serve those consumers is the same. Characteristics, such as number of consumers per mile, distinguish co-ops versus municipal-owned utilities or investor-owned utilities that serve areas with a much higher density of people and homes.
We are taking a formal and strategic approach to determine whether a new rate structure should be implemented and, if so, the proper timing of when the new rate structure should be put into effect. LREC’s Board of Directors approved and budgeted for a cost-of-service study to be completed this year. We will continue to keep you informed as we move forward.
LREC Energy Forum
We are very pleased to have held an Energy Forum on February 18th at LREC's headquarters. Due to difficult travel conditions, we changed course and made the forum a virtual event. Even though we could not host the Energy Forum in-person, we still had 30 members who tuned in online. We will continue having member engagement opportunities like this so our members can be involved in various ways. Watch the videos on our Energy Forum page.
LREC, GRE, MREA, and Dan Juhl each shared their perspectives and stories related to energy transition and the cooperative principles, and members asked some great questions. I hope those who attended virtually had a good experience. These types of forums and other opportunities to engage with members are what makes it so enjoyable for me to be a part of this cooperative.
We have greatly appreciated all the members involved with LREC’s Virtual Member Advisory Council (VMAC), Coffee with the Co-op, Brews + Your Views, and the recent Energy Forum. I care very much about LREC, and I hope that offering more opportunities to engage with our cooperative will cause you, our members, to care even more as well.
