Your electric cooperative: Working for you

Electric cooperatives are not-for-profit organizations controlled by local people who are members of the cooperative, elected by the membership to represent the interests of their fellow members. Those interests generally align along the themes of safety, reliability, value, and service.

While each electric cooperative is unique, reflecting the communities it serves, the people it employs, and the history of decisions that have come before, each electric co-op also shares the attributes of democratic local control for the benefit of its members.

Over the years, Ohio’s electric cooperatives have aligned themselves in order to realize the mutual benefits that come from new cooperative organizations — organizations founded, owned, and controlled by the co-ops for the benefit of their members. Some cooperative service organizations are national, providing services such as at-cost financing, insurance, information technology, telecommunications, after-hours call centers, and employee benefits management.

In Ohio, Buckeye Power is the co-ops’ locally based generation and transmission service provider, and Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (OREC), is their state-based trade association. Both are owned and controlled by Ohio’s electric cooperatives and are run for the benefit of the co-ops and their members. Leaders from your electric cooperative provide oversight to Buckeye Power and OREC, ensuring decisions are made that support the themes of safety, reliability, value, and service.

The co-ops have invested in Buckeye Power to be able to jointly own and control power plants that provide a reliable supply of electricity, at cost, and that investment paid off again this year. While costs have increased over the past several months, the outstanding performance of our power plants has allowed Buckeye Power to produce more power than members required, sell the excess, and earn more revenue.

Co-op representatives who govern Buckeye Power have again determined that these additional revenues be returned in the form of lower power costs to members over the next several months. In total, nearly $40 million will be returned to cooperative members to offset some of the increases in power supply costs this year. That comes out to about $5 per month in savings for the average household.

That’s just one way your cooperative works for you — day in and day out, year in and year out. We appreciate your patronage and support, and we are here for you.

Pat O’Loughlin PRESIDENT & CEO OHIO’S

Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives

6677 Busch Blvd. Columbus, OH 43229 614-846-5757 www.ohiocoopliving.com

Patrick O’Loughlin President & CEO

Caryn Whitney Director of Communications

Jeff McCallister Managing Editor

Amy Howat Associate Editor

Crystal Pomeroy Graphic Designer

Contributors: Margo Bartlett, Jodi Borger, Colleen Romick Clark, Getty Images, W.H. “Chip” Gross, Catherine Murray, and James Proffitt.

OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING (USPS 134-760; ISSN 2572-049X) is published monthly by Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc. It is the official communication link between the electric cooperatives in Ohio and West Virginia and their members. Subscription cost for members ranges from $5.52 to $6.96 per year, paid from equity accruing to the member.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to editorial and advertising offices at: 6677 Busch Boulevard, Columbus, OH 43229-1101. Periodicals postage paid at Pontiac, IL 61764, and at additional mailing offices. Nothing in this publication may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc. All rights reserved. The fact that a product is advertised in Ohio Cooperative Living should not be taken as an endorsement. If you find an advertisement misleading or a product unsatisfactory, please notify us or the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Consumer Protection Section, 30 E. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43215. Periodicals postage paid at Columbus, OH, and at additional mailing offices.

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Departments

4 POWER LINES

Giving feedback: Members’ participation in surveys lets the co-op know when improvements might be needed.

8 Best in the nation: Ohio Cooperative Living earns a prestigious recognition from the national electric co-op organization.

10 WOODS, WATERS, AND WILDLIFE

Mohican country: Full of natural beauty, southeast Richland County offers something for everyone.

12 CO-OP PEOPLE

Man of steel: An Oxford man gains national prominence as he takes his new hobby to the next level.

15 GOOD EATS

Grab and go: With a little advance work, these snacks will be ready to take with you when you head out the door.

19 LOCAL PAGES

News and information from your electric cooperative.

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National/regional advertising inquiries, contact Cheryl Solomon

American MainStreet Publications

847-749-4875 | cheryl@amp.coop

Cooperative members: Please report changes of address to your electric cooperative. Ohio Cooperative Living staff cannot process address changes.

Alliance for Audited Media Member

37 CALENDAR

What’s happening: March/April events and other things to do around Ohio.

40 MEMBER INTERACTIVE

A bug’s life: Butterflies and mantises and bees, oh my! Members have found some unique images of the insect world.

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