Last year at this time, I provided you with our 2016 cooperative to-do list. As we begin 2017, I’ll take a moment to reflect on the past year and provide a look ahead at our plans for 2017.
During 2016, Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives successfully:
- Brought modern electric service to the residents of the remote village of La Soledad, Guatemala. We left with memories of a lifetime and provided hope for generations to come.
- Kicked off the OurSolar program and are nearly halfway through the construction of 20 community-based solar power systems across Ohio that will provide energy to our member-owners well into the future.
- Worked collaboratively with your local electric cooperative, as well as with Ohio’s large investor-owned utilities (which control the high-voltage grid that we are connected to), and achieved significant reliability improvements in the delivery of power across Ohio. The result? Fewer power outages.
- Provided grants for four community site development efforts, which we hope will result in the establishment of new businesses in the communities that we serve.
- Via survey of our member-owners, achieved our highest-ever American Customer Satisfaction Index rating (85, for those keeping score).
While the results from the past year are gratifying, we still have much work to do in the year ahead:
- We will expand and improve our job training and development program for electric line workers.
- We will work with state and federal officials to develop more flexible and cost-effective ways to achieve environmental goals.
- As American Electric Power moves away from its traditional role as an Ohio power plant owner/operator, we will develop plans to transition our long-term partnership for the operation of our power plants.
- We will continue to expand and improve our efforts to support job creation, economic development, and member satisfaction across the communities that we serve.
We hope to keep you informed of these efforts through the year in this, your monthly member magazine. In March, look for an updated, redesigned publication, based on reader recommendations.
Above all else, as we look ahead to next year, I thank you for your continued support and patronage of your local electric cooperative. Together, we are better and stronger. God bless you and yours in the New Year.
