COVID-19 has disrupted our daily lives.  Some families and businesses have transitioned to remote work, while many are spending more time at home due to the stay at home orders. Because of these changes, our member-consumers are seeing a surge in home energy use. That leads to higher electric bills.

In response to the economic impact of COVID-19 and the financial hardships to many families, KV REMC suspended the disconnection of electric service for non-payment. We’ve also waived late payment fees. However, these disconnect suspensions are not bill waivers. Member-consumers will be responsible for those bills in the future.  

As a not-for-profit organization, Kankakee Valley REMC is owned by its member-consumers. Through this unique business model, each member-consumer shares in the operational costs of the cooperative. Our goal is to deliver quality service without a profit – service at cost, shared by our membership.  This means your cooperative has limited reserves to sustain high levels of unpaid bills.

We strongly encourage member-consumers to pay at least a portion of their bills as they are able. Doing so will avoid a large multi-month balance in the future. If you would like to establish a payment plan, please contact our office.  We’re here to help you.  In addition, we suggest that you be mindful of your energy use and consider adjusting certain habits to avoid higher costs later. 

Be assured that throughout these uncertain times, KV REMC will continue to provide you with the highest quality of service possible. Although it hasn’t been business as usual, our focus remains on keeping your life as normal as possible.  I am confident we will get through this the cooperative way. 

Here are some ways to manage your energy while your family spends more time at home.

• Setting your thermostat one degree lower when heating or one degree higher when cooling can reduce energy use.
• Do full loads of laundry and wash with cold water.
• Air-dry dishes to cut your dishwasher’s energy use by 50 percent.
• Substitute LEDs for conventional lightbulbs. 
• Unplug appliance and electronics when not in use.