By Rick Lemonds, president & CEO
The stretch between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is often a time I like to reflect on the work we undertook for you, our members, in the previous year, as well as look ahead to the exciting work we have ahead of us. 2024 has been a year of milestones as well as challenges at your cooperative, and I’m proud of the work we’ve done and the impact it’s had on members and communities.
Celebrating our 2024 achievements
The launch of connectSCP
One of our major successes this year was the launch of connectSCP, our fiber internet service. We’re excited to have connected more than 1,000 consumers in Highland and surrounding counties in southwestern Ohio, as well as in Belmont and neighboring counties in eastern Ohio. Our 1,000th subscriber marks a significant milestone, and you
can read more about this on the following pages.
Enhanced system reliability
Our long-term commitment to delivering dependable service has yielded remarkable results. Each year in our member meetings and annual report, I provide updates on the investments we are making to trim trees and maintain our system, in our equipment, and in building new substations. These investments have one goal in mind — improving reliability for you, our members. I’m proud to say that 2024’s average outage time per consumer will be among the lowest we’ve reported in recent memory, especially when extreme weather events are excluded.
Balancing rates and managing resources
Despite the challenges posed by rising costs, we’re managing our work and your resources to maximize efficiency and be good stewards of your investments in the cooperative. While we raised the consumer charge for residential members by $5 this year to account for rising costs and to fairly allocate our cost recovery in how we structure our rates, we remain one of the more competitively priced electricity providers in Ohio. We continue to do all we can within our power to remain so.
Setting ambitious goals for 2025
Expanding connectSCP’s reach
In the coming year, we will continue building our fiber network in the far east and far southwest areas of our service territory. We also are seeking grant funding and evaluating business cases in other portions of our service territory, including for our members in central Ohio. Our goal remains the same — we want 100% of our members to have access to high-speed internet, whether it’s from us or from another provider. That includes not just connectSCP, but ongoing work to collaborate with existing internet providers to enhance access and connectivity for our members across different communities.
Ongoing reliability enhancements
We will continue to focus on improving system reliability with the goal of ensuring that our services remain dependable and affordable for all our members. By leveraging our growing fiber network, we’ll improve communication between field devices and substations, allowing us to restore power more quickly — sometimes remotely, without needing a crew on site. This will provide better service, and ultimately, lower costs for you.
Improved member communication
We understand the importance of keeping our members informed. In 2025, we’ll enhance communication regarding outages as they occur in real time, as well as improve our advance notifications on maintenance activities and nonemergency system construction and work. Our aim is to notify you of outages affecting your home as soon as they happen, with regular updates until power is restored. If you haven’t already shared your email address and cell phone number with your cooperative, now is a good time to do so.
A bright future ahead
Looking forward to 2025, I am filled with optimism and confidence in our ability to continue building on our recent achievements. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to our team for their hard work and dedication, and to you, our members, for your trust and support.
Together, we are shaping a brighter future. Let’s make 2025 our best year yet.
From the December 2024 issue of Ohio Cooperative Living.