Our 2023 theme, “Unmatched Value,” gets straight to the point — your co-op membership provides an unbeatable return for the investment.

At the heart of our mission is the relentless pursuit of value for our members. Your ownership in this not-for-profit co-op is different from being a customer of an investor-owned utility. Your membership represents not just access to electricity, but a partnership in progress, reliability, and community.

KEEPING YOUR LIGHTS ON

We are proud to deliver unmatched power reliability, ensuring that you can always count on us — rain or shine — to keep the lights on. In 2023, power was available 99.99% of the time because we invest $3 million to $4 million each year in upgrades to our system.

2023 Year-in-Review Projects:

• 202 new services built and nearly 100 upgrades, mainly due to the growth in New Haven, Indiana

• Rebuilt 15 miles of old line and replaced over 300 rejected or broken poles due to vehicle accidents or weather.

• Performed nearly 570 miles of right-of-way trimming through contractor Mint City Utilities. This reduces the number of outages due to trees and branches.

• Substation maintenance and upgrades at Hessen, Ft. Brown, Baseline, Roselm, Herb Monroe, Convoy, and Antwerp substations.

• Installed 2,000+ advanced RF meters, aiming to complete the change-out by fall 2024. These meters will provide members with more accurate energy use data they can track in SmartHub.

• Added 51 radio-controlled switches to our system for a total of 4,850+, which are activated during high-demand peak alerts to help members save and keep co-op rates stable.

Your co-op also advocates on your behalf to elected leaders at the state and national levels through America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC (formerly ACRE Co-op Owners for Political Action). Last fall, we gave local elected officials a tour of our Mone “peaking” gas plant in Van Wert County, Ohio, educating them on how reliable electricity could be at risk due to dwindling baseload generation and increasing demand on the grid.

Other entities have expressed concerns, including the North American Reliability Corporation, stating in their 2023 report that the entire eastern half of the U.S. “is at risk of insufficient operating reserves under extreme conditions,” like a cold winter storm when natural gas production plummets and intermittent renewable sources like solar can’t cover the gap. If our PJM region’s electric grid experiences more demand than supply, rolling outages may be required to prevent widespread blackouts.

Changing government energy policy to prevent the premature closing of reliable fossil fuel power plants is key, so PPEC educates legislators to prioritize reliable, affordable energy supporting an “all of the above” energy policy using the full spectrum of available resources, both renewable and non-renewable.

HELPING YOU SAVE

As a not-for-profit cooperative, we have diligently worked to maintain our at-cost electric service. We understand the importance of affordability in your daily lives, which is why PPEC provides members with peak load management programs, free home energy audits, efficiency rebates, energy-saving calculators, and use analytics through SmartHub to help you save. Coming this spring, an innovative new feature in SmartHub — Home Energy Analytics — will give members appliance use breakdowns and estimated bill projections to better help you control your electric bills.

PPEC takes it another step further and returned $2.5 million to members last year in patronage capital credits — one of the most visible perks of co-op membership, usually returned as a credit on your December electric bill. We know most families need that extra help before the holidays.

COMMUNITY COMMITMENT

Our commitment to value also extends beyond the realm of electricity. As a cooperative deeply rooted in our community, we take immense pride in giving back. Throughout the year, we conducted safety demonstrations for thousands of local police, fire, and emergency personnel, as well as students of all ages. We partnered with area economic development agencies and participated in parades, service projects, junior fair livestock auctions, and other events to uplift the next generation, foster pride in the places we call home, and teach the public lifesaving electrical safety.

In 2023, Operation Round Up donated $52,000 to local charities and initiatives that otherwise may have slipped through the cracks. We awarded $5,400 to seven area students in scholarships; sent seventh grader Allison Kuhlman of Ottawa to Camp Kilowatt, and sent two local students to Washington, D.C., on an all-expenses-paid Youth Tour leadership trip (Braden Knippen of Fort Jennings High School and Henry Ballard of Hicksville High School).

We surveyed you and the response was overwhelming — our members love our annual Member Appreciation Day! In 2023, more than 1,700 members and family attended our family carnival event at the Paulding County Fairgrounds, including free activities like Touchstone Energy Hot Air Balloon rides, a zip line, bounce houses, and more. This year, our event will be held at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo on Aug. 3, 2024.

Many of you stay updated by following the co-op on social media. Last year, we gained nearly 800 new followers across all platforms — and nearly 200 members signed up for our Co-op Connections discount program at both local and national retailers. We revamped this program, added new deals from area businesses, and taught members how to use the free mobile app. This is another way your cooperative brings value to the community, encouraging the public to shop small and helping members save on everyday expenses.

STAFF AND RATES

Our highly skilled staff members are dedicated to serving you. We are restructuring departments to ensure maximum efficiency and service excellence. We said goodbye to retiring CEO and President George Carter in April, thanking him for his 35 years in the electric co-op industry, including 18 with PPEC. In his position, we welcomed Randy Price, coming to PPEC with 35 years of experience in the co-op industry, including as CEO of Carroll White REMC in Monticello, Indiana.

Safety Manager Dee Renollet retired in July 2023 (26 years of service) and Lineman Jay Denny retired in January 2024 (24 years of service). We also welcomed new faces, including Apprentice Lineman Cody Vandemark; Engineering Manager Nick Eltzroth; HR and Administration Manager Stacy Morrison; Member Service Representative Jamie Mericle; Safety Manager Mark Steele, CSP; and Network Technician Jason Geyer (a former intern).

In 2023, we conducted a cost-of-service study through Power Systems Engineering to ensure our current rates will protect the long-term financial health of the cooperative. We were advised an adjustment was needed to cover our increased fixed costs, ensure our rates are fair across all member classes, and cover the true costs of providing power to 13,600+ members. Since 2020, average equipment costs are up 40% to 60%, and inflation, supply chain issues, and long material wait times make it harder to provide reliable power 24/7/365. As such, our board of trustees approved a rate increase effective on the bills members will receive in May 2024. (See page 16C for details.)

The average residential member using 1,200 kWh a month will see a monthly increase of $26.45. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2022 figures, the average residential customer in Ohio pays 13.9 cents per kWh, while the average Indiana customer pays 14.6 cents per kWh. After PPEC’s rate adjustment, the average residential PPEC member will pay 12.9 cents per kWh — still lower than the average in both Ohio and Indiana.

In fact, the average PPEC member’s bill is less than $7 a day — less than a medium pizza. Think of all the ways electricity powers your life … Talk about value!

In closing, we want to express our gratitude for your continued support. We remain steadfast in our commitment to serving you with integrity, reliability, and excellence. Thank you for being a valued member of our cooperative.