Central’s 80th Annual Meeting was attended by 822 members and many more family members and guests on May 23, 2019. The theme of this year’s meeting was Empowering Our Communities. The chambers of commerce for Guthrie, Stroud, Cushing, Perry, Perkins and Visit Stillwater had booths and greeted meeting attendees. Central’s generation power provider, Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc., headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, provided a virtual reality demonstration of their Thomas Hill coal power plant. The interactive exhibit allowed members to see where their power is generated in a lifelike experience. Central had booths promoting SmartHub, Operation Round-Up, social media, and highlighting the use of drones and smart controls.
Cowboy Jones provided pre-meeting entertainment with vintage vibe country and original Red Dirt music. The Payne County Sheriff Deputies presented the colors. Raymond Nettles, Central Board Vice President, led the membership in the Pledge of Allegiance and gave the invocation.
Carol Dvorak, Central Board Treasurer and Secretary, reviewed the cooperative’s financials with the membership. Dvorak highlighted the cooperative’s equity percentage which is 49.4 percent, compared to a typical equity range of 35-40 percent for other cooperatives. Equity is a strong indicator of how the cooperative is managing rates and investment in plant. Dvorak also highlighted Central’s patronage capital retirement. Over the past five years, Central has returned nearly $6 million in patronage capital back to its member-consumers. Dvorak also highlighted Central’s competitive rates. Central’s average residential rate is 9.55 cents per kilowatt hour compared to a state average of 10.6 cents and national average of 12.9 cents.
Central Board President Bill Davis recognized the 2019 Youth Tour winners, Tanner Thomas and Paeton Watkins. These individuals were selected to represent Central Electric Cooperative and the state of Oklahoma on the all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., as part of the electric cooperative Youth Tour. Davis highlighted the seven cooperative principles which serve as a standard for governing the cooperative. The principles include voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, members’ economic participation, autonomy and independence, education and information, cooperation among cooperatives, and concern for community.
“Upholding cooperative principle number two, democratic member control, is the reason for we are here tonight,” Davis said. “Central has existed for the past 80 years, because we have an engaged membership who participate in member meetings and the democratic process. Democratic member control is what sets cooperatives, like Central, apart from other utilities.”
Davis expanded on the theme of the meeting stating that Central has a vested interest in the 28 communities within its service area. “Central supports our communities, because they are where our members live, work and play,” Davis said. “I am so proud to represent such an organization who invests in our communities.” Davis reported that individuals and organizations throughout Centrals service area benefit from Central’s memberships generosity through Operation Round Up. Central members gave more than $65,000 in 2018 to help those in need. Davis concluded by introducing Central’s newly-named CEO, Hunter Robinson.
Robinson spoke of Central’s scale. Central’s service area covers more than 2,000 square miles which is larger in land mass than the states of Delaware and Rhode Island. The cooperative also has more than 4,300 miles of line to maintain. Robinson showed a route on a map from Stillwater to Los Angeles then to Seattle and back to Stillwater. Central’s total miles of line maintained is equivalent to that route. Robinson highlighted the efficiency of Central. The cooperative has eight members of the board of trustees, 80 employees, and serves more than 20,000 meters. Central is able to gain efficiencies with technology, but technology also offers challenges.
“It is our mission to provide safe, reliable service at affordable rates,” Robinson said. “New technology will affect the way we budget, plan and operate the system. We recognize that wind, solar and smart appliances will change how we operate in the future.” Robinson also said that the cooperative cannot avoid these technologies, but must embrace them.
Another trend Robinson highlighted is urbanization. More than 55% of Central’s membership is 55 or older. Also, 58% of the membership are one to two person households. Statistics show that these demographics are moving to communities with more amenities.
“Urbanization and these specific statistics raise concern for Central, as these demographics are often our most loyal members who are proponents of the cooperative model,” Robinson said. “We see opportunities for Central to educate and inform our younger demographics on the benefits of the cooperative model.”
Robinson concluded his presentation showing the strength of the cooperative network. Central is one of 833 distribution cooperatives across the nation. Together, electric cooperatives power 56% of the nation’s landmass. However, Central is also an autonomous entity that is locally controlled which give it the flexibility to meet members’ needs.
Headquartered in Stillwater, Central Electric Cooperative is a not-for-profit electric cooperative that serves approximately 20,000 members in seven central Oklahoma counties.