EnerStar holds 2010 annual meeting
Posted on 03-23-2010
NEWS RELEASE FROM:
Angela Griffin, Manager of Member Services
EnerStar Electric Cooperative
11597 IL Hwy 1
Paris, IL 61944-8447
Direct Telephone 217-466-7603
E-mail: agriffin@enerstar.com
www.enerstar.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
PARIS – EnerStar Electric Cooperative members celebrated the co-op’s 72nd year of operation at the co-op’s 71st annual meeting held Saturday, March 20, at Crestwood School in Paris. Members heard reports on the co-op’s equity, rates, reliability improvements, new smart grid automated meters and the cost of climate legislation and regulation.
EnerStar members also re-elected three board members to three-year terms. They are Donald Baggs of Marshall, Dale English of Paris and David Sprigg of Marshall.
President/CEO Peter Kollinger told members that local distribution rates would not be going up. However, he said wholesale power costs are climbing across the country. Wabash Valley Power is EnerStar’s wholesale electric supply cooperative and Kollinger said the generation and transmission co-op expects wholesale prices to rise 3.5 percent for the next 10 years.
Adding to that Kollinger said, “Carbon legislation that may pass will increase these costs further. It is a big unknown and why we ask your continued support in the Our Energy, Our Future campaign.”
Members filled out cards at the meeting asking Congress to support legislation that will stop EPA regulation of carbon dioxide and other green house gases. EnerStar members have joined with a nationwide grassroots effort by co-op members to ask Congress to address energy and climate change issues with fair, affordable and achievable legislation. Kollinger said members could join the grassroots campaign at any time by going to www.ourenergy.coop.
As a cooperative any margins left after paying expenses are posted to each members capital credit account based on their use of electricity. Kollinger said the co-op has over the years returned a total of $2,781,615 in capital credit payments to members. In 2009 the co-op refunded $182,990 to members and $121,391 to member estates.
Kollinger reported the co-op is moving closer to meeting its financial goal of achieving 40 percent member equity, which represents the members ownership. At 35% now, he said it should reach nearly 36 percent by year-end.
The co-op’s reliability is also improving. Kollinger said, “In 2009 Mother Nature was kind to us, but our employees efforts also contributed to fewer power outages.” He added that right-of-way clearing and other preventive maintenance efforts have improved reliability.
The co-op is also building a new substation in 2010 north of Martinsville which will improve system reliability in the southwestern portion of the EnerStar service territory.
In the near future, the coop plans to build transmission tie lines that will connect all EnerStar substations. The cooperative will have the ability to “back feed” any of the substations during an extended outage or if experiencing transmission problems, thereby improving reliability for the entire membership.
Kollinger also reported that the co-op is moving forward with installation of its automated meter infrastructure (AMI) smart grid project. Full deployment should be completed by August. He said the new meters have two-way communications with the cooperative office and help pinpoint outages quickly, improve billing, monitor voltage levels and identify blinking light issues. The new “smart” meters will help the co-op offer new services in the future.
EnerStar Electric Cooperative is a member of Touchstone EnergyÒ — an alliance of more than 702 local, consumer-owned electric utilities around the country. EnerStar Electric Cooperative is committed to providing superior service based on four core principles: integrity, accountability, innovation and commitment to community. The co-op serves more than 5,334 members over 1,520 miles of line in parts of Clark, Coles, Douglas, Edgar and Vermilion counties. For more information visit www.enerstar.com.
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