From the Top with CEO Patrick Grace

As we continue rolling with what 2020 throws at us, I can't help but wish it were a normal year. It's August, which means we should be preparing for our Annual Meeting and Member Appreciation Night, where we would greet thousands of you to thank you for being loyal members. We should be welcoming entertainers and stressing about ensuring each detail represents the appreciation we have for you. We should be preparing the dozens of prizes our sponsors help us give away, assigning employees their duties for the evening and running last minute network connection and security tests to operate all our technology. We should be stocking the Kids' Zone with games, face paint and prizes. Most importantly, we should be double- and triple-checking that our caterer has enough food prepared to feed you and your families.

Instead, here we are, still in the midst of a pandemic. Each of our communities differ in their mandates and policies but one thing remains the same: social (and physical) distancing must continue if we are to beat COVID-19.

We haven't had a whole lot of luck with our last few Annual Meetings. First the Lloyd Noble Center was under construction and our longtime caterer retired. It took a couple of tries, but we eventually found one. We were excited to make this Annual Meeting one of the best yet, and we can't wait to provide that to you next year.

On a different note, we had some wild summer storms over the last few weeks and we are proud of the work our line crews and logistics team did to ensure power wasn't affected longer than it had to be. We have taken a measured and strategic approach over the last few years to decrease our outage times system-wide. As a result, OEC members are enjoying shortened outage times and improved reliability. It's all part of our mission to improve your quality of life with the safe delivery of highly reliable, reasonably priced electric service, innovative energy programs and exceptional member service.