Episode Transcript
[00:00:08] Speaker A: Welcome to the Buzz, a podcast by Boone Electra Cooperative. The buzz is a monthly message to our community celebrating what it means to be a member owner of your local electric cooperative, Boone Electric Cooperative, your co op, our community.
[00:00:26] Speaker B: Hello, and welcome back to the Buzz. I'm Zach Smith, communication specialist at Boone Electric Cooperative. Today we're returning to our series on the seven cooperative principles. Joining us today is a familiar face, Boone Electric cooperative board president Kim Ponder. Kim, thank you for returning today.
[00:00:43] Speaker C: Well, you're welcome. Glad to be here.
[00:00:45] Speaker B: Today we're talking about cooperative principle number three, which is member economic participation. And Kim, as a member of the board, which we've previously established, you are also a member of the co op, correct?
[00:00:57] Speaker C: Correct.
[00:00:57] Speaker B: As you helped us explain a few episodes ago, members have a say in the business of the cooperative, and that's because members like yourself economically participate in the cooperative, correct?
[00:01:08] Speaker C: Correct. That means I get a bill each month.
[00:01:12] Speaker B: You pay an electric bill to the co op. So you're a member. You don't necessarily pay in to become a member of the co op anymore. But that's kind of how this all started back in the day, right, when they first organized the cooperative.
[00:01:25] Speaker C: Absolutely. So, you know, I think about my grandparents were probably a part of that very beginning process, and you had your egg money or, you know, just your collection as such, and that was your way to really become part of the cooperative. You know, they had to have that ability to pull resources together to get everything started. It was not easy to come by, but it did allow them to become a member. And as members, you know, I think their investment helped create who we are today. So I remember them being incredibly proud of being a member.
[00:01:54] Speaker B: Yeah. An investment like you just mentioned is important because even though we were organized almost 90 years ago, at this point, Boone Electric still has costs. Right. And that's the most important thing. That member capital, the money that they spend on their bill funds, is the continued existence of the cooperative.
[00:02:12] Speaker C: Yes, that's correct. So you get started and you get a system built up, an infrastructure built up, but there's still cost. It's more than just flipping the switch at the door. You know, Boone is really tasked with delivering electricity through the network of poles and wires, transformers. There's other equipment out there that physically delivers the energy from the generation plant to possibly a substation, then to your home or to your business. So that actually costs money, additional monies for us to fund each month.
For that to happen, the infrastructure has to be constructed. We have to maintain that. And in some cases, storms, there's some outages. Apparently we have a lot of squirrels in our area that take the polls and the transformers out, but those have to be replaced. And so sometimes what a member sees on their statement is what we call a service availability charge, and that's really what is collected to help cover those ongoing costs.
[00:03:06] Speaker B: Thank you for explaining that, because I know there are members out there who, they see that line on the bill, and it's not always immediately apparent what that exactly is. It can kind of seem like one of those additional fees that you might find on a receipt these days, but that actually is what it is. It is covering the cost of making your electric service available and all those various construction or maintenance needs as far as the equipment goes that you mentioned.
[00:03:31] Speaker C: Yeah, that's, you know, I kind of probably look at that more as a reliability cost. Right. The continuation of just keeping everything done. It's no different than us keeping up with our homes or automobiles or anything that we have as an asset.
But it is a separate cost outside of what the electricity that you're actually using each month. Your meter measures kilowatt hours, and that's really your energy usage. So that's a different cost, if you will, each month that we are responsible.
[00:04:02] Speaker B: For and for everybody who's keeping score at home, who wants a lower energy bill. That got everyone's attention right now. I'm sure that usage portion of the bill is the one that you have the greatest control over, correct?
[00:04:15] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. You know, that's one of the things I love about Boone Electric is some of the programs that we offer. There are various services that we can provide, such as energy audits, rebates, efficiency tips to help people use less electricity, and that gives you control over lowering your bill. But I think that's an indicator of who we are as a co op and making sure that the power is reliable and that it's safe and it's affordable. And we're deeply invested in those three things.
[00:04:43] Speaker B: There was a gentleman who works in the cooperative industry who described it to me once as, and I'm paraphrasing what he said a little bit, but he said, I don't know of another industry that tries to help the people who buy its product use less of that product. And that's always kind of been the phrase that's stuck in my head. And you mentioned those various things that we do to teach people how they can use electricity or save some money watching what's going on in state and federal legislation that could impact those rates for our members, we're always looking for ways to make the system more efficient in delivering that electricity. So there is a lot that goes into making sure members get the most of their investment.
[00:05:21] Speaker C: So as a banker, I love that we use the term investment, and I think that's the most important aspect of being a member of the economic participation as it relates to the success of a co op.
One of the things that we would talk about is capital credits. And for those of you out there, that's when we, at the end of the year, we've paid all of our bills, we've covered all of our expenses, and if there's any profit or margin left over, we are able to then return that to the members. And I think that's a fantastic benefit. It's a value to us and probably something that sets us apart from other organizations.
[00:05:56] Speaker B: Certainly a big difference between a cooperative electricity utility and other types of electric utilities.
So we not only try to help people use less money, you're telling me that we're also giving it back. What?
[00:06:11] Speaker C: Right, because we are called a nonprofit, and that's truly the intent of the heart of a cooperative.
[00:06:18] Speaker B: And we don't necessarily retire those, like at the end of 2024. We're not immediately going to be able to look back at 2024 and return the capital credits from 2024, right?
[00:06:28] Speaker C: No, no. It's a 20 year process, so we ask that people keep us up to date with where they're living in the event that they move. But the process has been in place for as long as I can remember and probably before. So it's a practice that we've had. But, you know, we're fortunate to be a part of a financially sound organization. You know, I think we're still faced with some headwinds as costs are still high. You know, we're trying to build more transmission and generation to keep up with our members demands. But I'm really proud that we're managing all of this. And our rates are still lower than any of our other providers in the area, if maybe not even the state or the country. We're incredibly low at this time.
[00:07:11] Speaker B: And you bring up an excellent point that I forgot to mention earlier about keeping the co op notified of your change of address, even if you, at some point down the road, are no longer a member of Boone Electric cooperative. We're going to go back to that last record that we had to try to find you. The waiting, exactly. To try and find, to get your money back to you. Nothing nefarious. It's good, but people don't always know about that. We try to print that list every year in rural Missouri magazine and let.
[00:07:38] Speaker C: People, it takes up two or three pages.
[00:07:40] Speaker B: I think sometimes it's quite a list.
[00:07:42] Speaker C: And it's amazing because people look for their name and they look for their neighbors names. And so it's pretty impactful to do that.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: Yeah. So if you're listening to this and you were once on the co op or are still on the co op and you haven't updated your address, please let us know. And it just kind of feels like we're at one of those unique points for the electric cooperative industry where there is so much going on, there's so much potential, that it's really exciting to see how things are going to evolve overall in the near future. And hopefully you'll be able to come back and talk with us about some of those things, too. But I appreciate you being here to explain the economic aspect of the cooperative because it seems obvious from that standpoint of getting a bill. But all the other stuff that's tied into that economic participation isn't always obvious.
[00:08:30] Speaker C: It's not always as obvious. And I would tell you that the education is there. If you have questions, reach out to the co op. Reach out to any of the staff, the directors, whoever you find. I have found that they've always been very helpful and very kind in helping to better understand that.
[00:08:46] Speaker B: Yes, we're always happy to help people better understand that scenario. Kim, thank you again for being here.
[00:08:51] Speaker C: You're welcome. My pleasure.
[00:08:53] Speaker B: Thank you for joining us here on the buzz. Be sure to come back next month, and until then, we'll see you somewhere down the line.
[00:09:02] Speaker A: Thank you for tuning in to the Buzz, a podcast by Boone Electric Cooperative. To subscribe or for more information, you can find us on Facebook, Instagram pics, and LinkedIn. And of course, you can always visit us. BoonElectric Co op, Boone Electric cooperative, your co op, our community.
