Your Kankakee Valley REMC leadership team is excited for the new year. Even though the calendar year might change, your cooperative’s key principles don’t. Putting our member-consumers’ needs first is our number one priority year after year.

As is the case every year, your cooperative is focused on working smarter, being more innovative and adapting quickly to your changing needs. We might not have all the answers for these initiatives, but what we do have is a motivated, knowledgeable team poised to deliver exciting programs and services.

The future of energy is changing. This year, we will continue to develop a broadband program for our member-consumers. As a not-for-profit entity whose only mission is to serve our members, we are not looking to make money through this program. But we must be financially responsible with your resources and be certain that the program meets high-level standards. Developing a broadband solution for the community we serve takes time, but your leadership team is working diligently on this initiative.

The appeal of electric vehicles and smart home technology is gaining momentum. Consumers are changing their behaviors and are increasing their interest in energy efficiency. This encourages us to become more technologically savvy. Working alongside our power supplier, Wabash Valley Power, we will investigate programs to meet your expanding needs, while also helping the cooperative stabilize rates for the future and reduce our power supplier’s bill to us. The REMC leadership team will investigate electric vehicle and in-home demand response programs that would be appealing and add value to your membership.

Your cooperative board of directors is continuing to search for a new CEO. The board members are confident they will identify the most qualified candidate to lead the organization.

Kankakee Valley REMC is well-positioned to offer new opportunities to our member-consumers. We will keep you updated on our progress in this magazine. And, mark your calendar for June 18 and plan to attend our annual meeting at the Porter County Expo Center. We’ll share more information with you then.