It is hard to believe, but this year marks the 24th anniversary for Central Electric Cooperative. We would like to express our sincere thanks for the support we continue to receive from our members and friends. 

Financially, 2023 was a challenging year. The weather was moderate in every season, which was terrific for crews to get work accomplished, but it had a negative effect on the cost of wholesale power and revenue. You can see the November financial report on the bottom of page 3 showing 2023 year-to-date margins are well below 2022 margins.  

Fortunately, excess revenue from 2022 was deferred to help our operating statement in future years. These funds allowed us to meet the financial requirements of our lenders in 2023. As you know, Central Electric is adjusting electric rates in 2024 due to higher wholesale power costs and increased operating expenses. 

Your board of directors and employees are scheduled to go through a strategic planning session in July. We go through this process every two years to identify issues and set goals to improve our operations. Here is an overview of projects already in the works for 2024. 

MEMBER PROGRAMS 
In 2024, your cooperative will continue the traditional list of offerings for our members. This includes scholarships, the NRECA Youth Tour, rebates, electrical wiring, heating and cooling services, a member tour of Basin Electric and system maintenance. We also have a short list of new projects for the coming year.

RESOURCE INTERCONNECTION
Your cooperative will be launching a new internet-based service for members to interconnect an energy resource to our system. Examples of applicable energy resources are solar, wind, batteries, electric vehicles and standby generators. The new service should guide the member and the cooperative through the process of interconnection. The goal is to make the process more consistent, maintain safety, save time and prevent errors that would delay the project or impact reliability.

SYSTEM MAINTENANCE
Central Electric expects to replace 55 miles of the distribution system in the areas of Letcher, Pukwana, Fort Thompson, Fedora, Howard and Mitchell. The crews will also make improvements at three substations, build new lines as needed and install the high-voltage system at the new soybean processing facility near Mitchell. 

HOWARD OUTPOST
The cooperative is planning to build a new facility in Howard with the hope of starting construction by the end of the year.

LOAD MANAGEMENT 
Our load management system allows your cooperative to minimize wholesale power costs by lowering power purchases during peak times. The current system was installed in the 1980s and plans are underway to replace it with newer technology. 

We will start a pilot project this spring to test the new technology by replacing 200 load management receivers. We will be looking for member volunteers to assist us with this important testing. Watch for information on the load management pilot in a future newsletter.
  
THANK YOU
As you can see, it will be a busy year. Thanks for all you do as we work to provide a reliable source of electric energy and excellent customer service to our members. 

Until next month, stay safe!