By Board President Duane Wolbrink and General Manager Ken Schlimgen
The Annual Meeting provides a chance for us to recap 2021 activities and update members on current issues. We are blessed to have a strong team of talented and dedicated employees who are the key to your cooperative’s success each and every year. They are professionals that take pride in serving you, our members, to the best of their abilities. Below are highlights from 2021.
Electric Rates
While the cooperative experienced extreme price hikes on materials, general service rates have not increased since January 2019.
Financials, Sales & Capital Credits
-Rising material prices and fuel costs affected the budget, but it was a positive year overall.
-Energy sales returned to pre-pandemic levels.
-Margins saw a boost from 2020 to 2021.
-$1.376 million in capital credits were returned to member-owners. Of that amount, $550,000 was Central Electric capital credits and $826,000 was Basin Electric and East River Electric capital credits.
Operations Department
-Supply chain issues affected material availability.
-77 miles of new underground line constructed.
-4 miles of new overhead line constructed.
-80 new electric services and 64 services retired.
-Completed annual pole testing, pole replacements, tree trimming and other maintenance activities.
Service Department
-Supply chain issues affected material availability.
-1,654 service requests performed.
-$1,691,170 received in annual revenue.
-$80,900 margins after expenses.
-Service work included heating and cooling installations, electrical improvements, security light repairs and appliance sales and service.
Workplace Safety & Training
-Safety is a top priority and a critical component of Central Electric's overarching mission.
-Employees took part in annual safety training programs including first aid training, CPR training, forklift certification, defensive driving and poletop rescue, among other safety training activities.
-We strive to continually build on the strong safety culture at Central Electric.
Besides those highlights, longtime employees Mick Poncelet and Tim Harrington retired in 2021. Many thanks to both Mick and Tim for their years of dedicated service to the cooperative. We also wish to express our appreciation to retiring board member Bernetta Burghardt. Bernetta provided strong leadership, initiative, encouragement and inspiration while serving as Miner County's director since 2004. Robert (Bob) Banks will officially begin representing Miner County in October.
The Annual Report can be accessed here: https://tinyurl.com/2021AnnReport