LIGHT READING INLAND POWER AND LIGHT M AY 2 0 1 8
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Members Gather for 81st Annual Meeting Inland Power’s 2018 Annual Meeting was a success and we thank all of our members who attended our 81st Annual Meeting on Saturday, March 31, 2018 at Northern Quest. The primary purpose of the annual meeting is the election of your board of trustees. Three trustees are elected every March on a rotating basis and each serve three year terms. This year, the members voted for trustees in Districts 1, 3 and 5. Congratulations to Danny Lee (District 1), Garry Rosman (District 3) and Gale Rettkowski (District 5) who were re-elected to serve another three years on Inland’s board. In addition to the election, the annual meeting is a great avenue to learn what is occuring at your cooperative. Inland’s CEO, Chad Jensen, provided an update on the latest happenings at Inland. During his address Chad began with a quick reflection on the foundation of the cooperative and the vision Inland’s three founding fathers had in 1937 to power communities and empower members to improve the quality of their lives. Our purpose and vision remains the same today, but the world we live in is very different. Airbnb is now the largest hotel chain, but owns no hotels. Amazon is the world’s largest retailer, but owns no store fronts. Uber is the largest taxi company, but owns no taxis. In this world of digital transformation, Inland Power remains focused on our purpose...empowering our members. Here are a few ways Inland Power is helping you:
Low Rates - At Inland, our single
largest cost of doing business is our wholesale power costs from Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). Over one half of our costs go towards power supply and we continue to incur rising power costs from BPA. Inland and the board review rates annually and determine if adjustments are needed
to cover our costs. As a nonprofit electric utility, our goal is to set rates as close to our actual costs as possible while maintaining sufficient cash reserves for equipment maintenance, infrastructure improvements and unforeseen events. In October 2017, BPA increased Inland’s power rates by 5.4% and our transmission costs by 1%. This is forcing us to move our service availability charge to $23.55 and our kilowatt charge to $6.8 cents per kWh as of April 1, 2018.
Value - Chad also highlighted that our entire region benefits from our abundance of clean, low cost hydro power. The national average price for residential service is now 13.01 cents per kWh, whereas the Washington state average is 9.73 cents per kWh. Inland remains well below both of these with an average rate of 8.56 cents per kWh if we include the service availability charge and calculate the total cost for an average monthly usage of 1,500 kWh. Electricity is still a great value. About the only thing you can still get for a penny is electricity. If you assume the average rate for a kilowatt-hour of electricity is 10 cents (even though Inland Power’s rate is still only $6.8 cents even after our rate increase). A penny worth of electricity equates to 100 watts. 100 watts is enough power to light a 9-watt LED lightbulb – the equivalent of a 60-watt incandescent bulb – for 11 hours - all for less than a penny. Where else can you get that kind of value? Gas has come down from its stratospheric level several years ago, but there is still no comparison to the value of electricity. If a gallon of gas costs $2.80 and your car gets 25 miles to the gallon, you can drive 157 yards – less than two standard blocks – on a penny’s worth of gas. At Inland Power, electricity continues to be a bargain as we strive to make improvements and be your valued cooperative. After over 80 years of service, Inland’s core mission has never changed – we are committed to providing you with safe, reliable electricity at affordable rates and with great member service.
2018 Winners Thank you to all of our members who participated in the 2018 Inland Power Trustee election. Electronic Vote Winners: • $750 Visa Gift Card - Rodger Small • $500 Inland Power Credit - Rich Hobson • Keurig Coffee Maker - Tyler Mattson • Kindle Fire - Katherine Bluthardt • Bose Soundlink - Michael White
Mail In Ballot Winners: • $500 Visa Gift Card - Scott Hopkins • $500 Inland Power Credit Margaret Robertson • $250 Inland Power Credit Thomas Hoon • Bose Soundlink - Teresa Tom • Kindle Fire - Jana Gatlin
We also congratulate those members that won prizes at the annual meeting.
i n la n d powe r is my coope rat ive