Northcentral Electric Cooperative 2024 Annual Report
FOR THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FOUR
OUR MISSION
Northcentral Electric Cooperative seeks to be the leading provider of innovative solutions committed to service, reliability, and community.
OUR VISION
We are continually seeking and providing innovative solutions for our communities by upholding the values of safety, continuous improvement, integrity, accountability, and being locally owned and community invested.
Northcentral Electric Cooperative
4600 Northcentral Way Olive Branch, Mississippi 38654
662.895.2151
info@northcentralelectric.com
northcentralelectric.com
Reading
Quorum
Recess Door
Election
Adjourn
greetings
FROM YOUR General Manager & CEO
Northcentral Electric Cooperative is pleased to have served the Northcentral Mississippi community for the last 73 years. Previous challenges persist, and new ones present themselves. However, we continue to realize multiple successes as we strive to improve the quality of life in our community.
Our system reliability remains at one of the highest levels in the country, all while maintaining retail rates in the bottom 35% nationally. 2024 saw Northcentral continuing to manage ever-increasing costs. Lingering high interest rates have kept the cost of capital high as we continue to invest in our system.
Northcentral is actively engaged with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to assure there are necessary generation and transmission resources to more than adequately serve our growing community. Cogeneration and Distributed Energy will be terms you will begin to hear more often. These are projects that could potentially satisfy the energy demands in our area.
Proposed rulings by federal agencies have been enacted that affect certain material procurement and construction of electricity generation. Northcentral will continue to work with our allies and trade organizations with a goal of eventually overturning them. We firmly believe that rules mandating unproven technology with unachievable emissions limits on an unworkable timeframe are a violation of law and previous Supreme Court decisions.
Northcentral Connect, our high-speed fiber-to-the-home internet provider is continuing its buildout as our customer total has grown over 65% from last year. We anticipate maintaining this growth as we
expand our build to the west and add additional customers in areas where construction is complete.
Our culture of safety is, has, and will continue to be an integral part of the foundation of all we do. Safety challenges intensify as we provide storm relief to sister cooperatives in unfamiliar areas and continue to occupy a space in the telecommunications world.
While we constantly encounter risks in the office and in the field, we are determined to satisfy 100% of the rules, covering 100% of our coworkers and community, 100% of the time.
Northcentral Electric Cooperative enjoys adding value to our community with our electric and telecommunications services, and eagerly anticipates the opportunity to provide services and solutions to enhance the lives of those in our community.
KEVIN DODDRIDGE GENERAL MANAGER / CEO
Our CULTURE of SAFETY is, has, and will continue to be an integral part of the foundation of all we do.
DISTRICT 1 BYHALIA
PAT WOODS
PRESIDENT SERVING SINCE 2008
DISTRICT 2
OLIVE BRANCH
DON DICKERSON
SECRETARY
SERVING SINCE 2011
DISTRICT 3
PLEASANT HILL
PHIL LACHAUSSEE
SERVING SINCE 2015
DISTRICT 4
OLIVE BRANCH
TONY TAYLOR
SERVING SINCE 2016
DISTRICT 5
MARSHALL COUNTY
JERRY NICHOLS
VICE PRESIDENT
SERVING SINCE 1998
DISTRICT 6
WATSON COMMUNITY
MORRIS THOMPSON
PRESIDENT
SERVING SINCE 2013
DISTRICT 7
SOUTH MARSHALL, TATE, & LAFAYETTE COUNTIES
PATTY GRIFFIN
SERVING SINCE 2024
DISTRICT 8
MARSHALL, TATE, & LAFAYETTE COUNTIES AT-LARGE
RICKY JONES
SERVING SINCE 2003
DISTRICT 9
DESOTO COUNTY AT-LARGE
JULIE NIBLETT
SERVING SINCE 2015
CHRIS LATIMER BOARD ATTORNEY
Cooperative Leadership
IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Our board members live within the communities they serve. They are your neighbors and represent you, our member in the cooperative’s business. If you have a question, contact your director and they will work to get you answers.
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I-22
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30 years
20 years
10 years
employee
SPOTLIGHTS
Dontrell Stroman was named Fiber Service
Construction Coordinator. Dontrell joined Northcentral as a Fiber Field Technician in June of 2021.
retirements
Josh Feathers became a Journeyman Lineman after completing our five-year Apprenticeship Program. Josh joined Northcentral in May of 2019.
Debbie Hester retired with almost 23 years of service to Northcentral as a Work Order Clerk in the Accounting Department.
finances
O125 asset Growth +18% Utility Plant Growth +16%
1.2 +3% +1.6%
ur financial statements represent performance from July through June of the 2024 fiscal year, compared to that of the previous year. As of the date of this publication, the audit report of our accounting firm, Franks, Franks, Wilemon, & Hagood, P.A., was incomplete. wholesale power cost members served total employees billion kwh sold member equity Growth membership growth -5%
35,497
northcentral electric cooperative balance sheet
FOR THE YEARS ENDED JUNE 30
MEMBERSHIP EQUITY AND LIABILITY
northcentral electric cooperative income statement
YEARS ENDING JUNE 30, 2024 & 2023
department reports
safety & loss control
Growing up I can remember several encouraging statements I heard at church on a regular basis. My father’s friends at church would always challenge one another to “keep on keeping on,” or “you gotta know that you know.” I’ve thought about those sayings many times over the years from many different perspectives. From a safety perspective, it reminds me that even with the best intentions, the best plans, and the best preparations, there will be setbacks. It also reminds me that in any setback you know that you gave your best effort, your best guidance, based on your strongest conviction on the issue.
Nationally, it’s been a very difficult year for some in our industry. The significant increase in energy demand in many places across the country, coupled with new telecommunications infrastructure, stand in stark contrast to the experience level and expectations of today’s workforce. The tension of these very opposing realities has netted a sharp increase in serious injuries and, in far too many cases fatalities. Managing these realities and expectations will continue to challenge our industry for the foreseeable future.
Locally, Northcentral is actively managing growth and an increased demand for services, balancing the realities of a younger workforce, while maintaining our commitment to workforce development. That commitment is both internally with continual employee training/development and apprenticeship programs, as well as external by participation in and support for local workforce development programs in community colleges and high schools.
Northcentral believes every employee has the right to come to work and return safely back home to their family and loved ones. We are intentional with our work procedures and proactive in preventing injuries to employees. There is NO greater responsibility in the workplace!
With that in mind, I am thankful and blessed to report that Northcentral Electric Cooperative has not experienced a lost-time injury in eighteen months, or 336,000 man hours worked. This is a truly remarkable achievement only possible through the actions, commitment, and compassion of my co-workers.
I want you to know that Northcentral’s CULTURE OF SAFETY extends to you, our members! If we can be a resource to help you or your organization make the same commitment to safety, please email me.
JD COX DIRECTOR OF SAFETY & LOSS CONTROL JCOX@NORTHCENTRALELECTRIC.COM
I am thankful and blessed to report that Northcentral Electric Cooperative has NOT EXPERIENCED A LOST-TIME INJURY in EIGHTEEN MONTHS, or 336,000 man hours worked.
department
reports
construction
Steady growth, system improvements, and Northcentral’s fiber build made for a productive year in the construction department. While I am proud of the amount of work completed this year by our overhead and underground crews, service men, and contractors, it is most important that we accomplished this safely.
Over 450 new underground electric services were installed to new homes in the past year. Primary conductor and fiber conduit was installed in six new or expanded subdivisions. We also built service to 12 new commercial locations. Additionally, over 1,100 utility poles were changed out either to make ready for fiber construction or due to failed inspections.
It is also notable that we had several employees attend lineman training schools and advance through our apprenticeship program. Josh Feathers completed the program and is now a Journeyman Lineman. It is gratifying to see these employees advance in their careers. Additionally, our department brought on four new employees over the past year.
Northcentral was able to send 8 MEN AND EQUIPMENT TO ASSIST Central Florida and Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperatives in their restoration efforts following Hurricane Idalia last summer.
We’re thankful to have avoided any major storm work on Northcentral’s system last year. It is always better to be able to send help for storm restoration instead of needing help. Northcentral was able to send 8 men and equipment to assist Central Florida and Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperatives in their restoration efforts following Hurricane Idalia last summer.
Northcentral is always thankful for the community that we serve. We also enjoy being in the community and had a number of opportunities last year, participating in four different Touch-aTruck events and several school career fairs.
DARIN FARLEY DIRECTOR OF CONSTRUCTION
department reports engineering & operations
Northcentral takes pride in building and maintaining a healthy and robust electric distribution system to serve an ever-growing and diverse membership. Ongoing system improvements, maintenance, and investments in technology are a necessity in meeting member expectations and increased demand. Growth and extreme temperatures bring about the challenge of balancing system loads. We saw two new electric peaks set over the last year, with the highest ever at 312 megawatts. Our new North DeSoto Substation proved its worth during these events in helping system loading in the northwest portion of our service area and providing relief to our other 10 stations.
Our members enjoy strong electric service reliability, thanks in part to board-approved investments in system improvements and right of way. Northcentral has achieved good, system-wide right of way clearance and is now trimming on a regular cycle. This means that we are mostly trimming overhanging vegetation and new growth.
To compliment right of way and system reliability efforts, Northcentral has and continues to install additional layers of circuit protection, both with and without remote control. This allows automatic restoration of power in localized areas and reduces the size of outages to a minimal number impacted to isolate faults.
At fiscal year end, Northcentral’s fiber project now passed more than 18,000 homes and businesses and amounted to over 775 miles of mainline fiber. The work and pole replacements required to provide adequate space and height for these new facilities further increases system resiliency, reliability, and safety.
As technology evolves, we are continuously seeking ways to leverage our existing software and applications, while also
evaluating new technology offerings. Over the past year, we launched our outage map, which uses our current outage management system. The map is available through our mobile app and all web browsers. We are also preparing to roll out a texting service for electric outage reporting. These offerings are in response to member feedback, and we hope to continuously improve in meeting your expectations.
Northcentral has taken advantage of a flexibility provision in our contract with TVA to either purchase or self-generate up to 5% of our wholesale energy from another source. In late 2024, the first of three solar farms developed and owned by Silicon Ranch came online. The two other farms are expected to be in operation in 2025. Northcentral has long-term contracts in place to purchase 100% of the renewable energy generated at these locations, which is estimated to save Northcentral and its members approximately $2 million per year in today’s rate environment.
Material delivery times and inventory are improving, but the supply chain is still somewhat fragile. Northcentral continues to remain ahead of the curve by proper planning and by working with suppliers and other utilities, sharing and trading inventory to fill immediate gaps. We’re in good shape now and look forward to times when material cost and supply are better balanced.
LARRY JOHNSON DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS LJOHNSON@NORTHCENTRALELECTRIC.COM
Our members enjoy STRONG ELECTRIC SERVICE RELIABILITY, thanks in part to board-approved investments in system improvements and right of way.
department reports
finance & administration
Northcentral’s rapid growth in plant continues from the construction of new services and investment in our fiber infrastructure. Plant assets grew by $62 million to a total of $306 million. Fiber plant that supports utility operations and services offered through Northcentral Connect now amounts to $75 million. The growth was financed with an increase in long-term debt of $46 million, bringing total long-term debt to $107 million.
Electric sales revenue was $137 million for the year, a slight dip from last year which can be attributed to lower fuel cost from TVA. 72% of electric sales revenue went to cover wholesale power cost from TVA of $99 million. General operating expenses were flat, and maintenance expense was marginally higher for the fiscal year. Other operating expense grew by $1.8 million, largely due to depreciation on new plant.
Northcentral sold 1.2 billion kWh during the year, which ranks us among the top 12% of cooperatives nationally in that category. Our membership also grew by 1.6% over last year. Both statistics are great indicators of the strength of the region that we serve.
We have a total of 125 TALENTED FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES that share in a commitment to safety and standard of service that sets Northcentral apart, not only as a leading provider of innovative solutions but also leading employer.
Our base retail rates rose by 1.6% in October 2023, and 2% in March of this year. TVA also raised wholesale rates by 4.5% in October 2023. Fuel cost averaged 2.81 cents per kWh, about 16% less than the previous year. Northcentral’s average residential retail rate is 10.27 cents per kWh.
We continue to expand services offered by our fiber broadband affiliate, Northcentral Connect. At fiscal year end, we had approximately 4,500 active subscribers, with another 400 households in various stages of the onboarding process.
Support for our continued growth is strong with great employees. Northcentral added 10 new employees over the last fiscal year. We have a total of 125 talented full-time employees that share in a commitment to safety and standard of service that sets Northcentral apart, not only as a leading provider of innovative solutions but also leading employer.
MARK NICHOLS DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION MNICHOLS@NORTHCENTRALELECTRIC.COM
department reports marketing & business development
Northcentral’s service area is still targeted by industry and site consultants looking for livable, business-friendly, and affordable places to locate. In partnership with TVA and our local and state development authorities, we were able to recruit over 800 new jobs and more than $300 million in new capital investment in our area over the next five years. Working with existing industry, over half of this is due to expansion and/or relocation of operations, some from just north of the state line. These numbers don’t include the residential home building and commercial development that have continued and support our communities.
We are fortunate to serve some top international names that all either invested or re-invested in DeSoto and Marshall Counties. Companies like McKesson, International Paper, PepsiCo, Saks, and Asics have shown that North Mississippi is fertile ground with their commitments over the past year.
Northcentral remains committed to invest in our future leaders through volunteerism, scholarships, and involvement in our area schools. Eight graduating seniors in our service area were honored this year with college scholarships. Early this year we were represented by thirteen area high school juniors in the Cooperative Youth Leaders Program. These remarkable students spent three days in late February at the Cooperative Youth Leaders Workshop in Jackson. This summer, these students experienced Youth Tour in Washington, D.C., for a sixday, all expense-paid tour of our nation’s capital.
As a member-owned cooperative, one of our core principles is “Concern for Community.” This principle was demonstrated in a number of ways, from employee volunteerism to holiday food distribution to our annual employee-funded family adoptions
at Christmas. It is also evident in Northcentral’s continuation of the Community Care Fund, a matchinggrant program offered by TVA to address community needs. Northcentral and TVA each contributed $26,000 last year, which greatly helped the efforts of the DeSoto County Dream Center, YMCA of Memphis and the Mid South, Marshall and DeSoto County Career and Technical Education, and the Isaac Chapel Rosenwald Historical Museum and Education Center.
Northcentral remains committed
to INVEST IN
OUR
vehicle chargers along I-22, at the intersection of Hwy 309 and Dempsey Rd. The site was developed using a grant from TVA, which covered almost 80% of the cost. The program goal is to reduce range anxiety and ensure that there are public fast chargers located at least every 50 miles along major interstates and highways in TVA’s seven-state service area. At fiscal year end, the site was hosting an average of 30 unique drivers each month.
FUTURE
LEADERS through volunteerism, scholarships, and involvement in our area schools.
A new TVA matching grant program was launched this year called Home Uplift. We successfully completed three projects, providing energy efficient upgrades and home improvements for lowincome homeowners. Five other projects have been approved and are in process, fulfilling our goal for the initial round of funding.
I am pleased to report that Byhalia is now a key stop in TVA’s Fast Charge Network! In April, we commissioned our first two public Level 3 electric
The marketing of Northcentral Connect fiber has been a major focus over the past year. We have had great success in our earlier phases with roughly half of every home passed taking our service. Our newer phases in the Barton, Center Hill, and Lewisburg areas are a welcome challenge as we convert subscribers from existing providers. If you have not yet registered for Connect, I encourage you visit northcentralconnect.com and sign up for fiber internet, served by the folks you know!
MICHAEL BELLIPANNI DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
the seven cooperative principles
Cooperatives around the world operate according to the same set of core principles and values, adopted by the International Cooperative Alliance. These principles are a key reason why America’s electirc cooperatives operate differently from other electric utilities, putting needs of our members first.
02
Voluntary and Open Membership
Membership in a cooperative is open to all people who can reasonably use its services and stand willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, regardless of race, religion, gender, or economic circumstances.
Democratic Member Control
Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions. Representatives (directors/trustees) are elected among members and are accountable to them. In primary cooperatives, members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote); cooperatives at other levels are organized in a democratic manner.
Member’s Economic Participation
Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative. At least part of that capital remains the common property of the cooperative. Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing the cooperative; setting up reserves; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative; and supporting other activities approved by the membership.
Autonomy and Independence
Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control as well as their unique identity.
Education, Training, and Information
Education and training for members, elected representatives (directors/trustees), CEOs and employees help them effectively contribute to the development of their cooperatives. Communications about the nature and benefits of cooperatives,particularly with the general public and opinion leaders, help boost cooperative understanding.
Cooperation among Cooperatives
By working together through local, national, regional and international structures, cooperatives improve services, bolster local economies, and deal more effectively with social and community needs.
Concern for Community
Cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies supported by the membership.
