At South Central Power Company’s 88th annual meeting of members on August 15, 2024, five members of the board of trustees were re-elected this year for three-year terms. These include Mike Hummel of Canal Winchester, Reed Bailey of Lithopolis, James Evans of Hillsboro, Ken Davis of Leesburg, and Mike Vinka of Cadiz. Voting was conducted via U.S. mail, the South Central Power website, and in-person at South Central Power offices.
In the treasurer’s report, Don Frank remarked on South Central Power’s 2023 fiscal year. The cooperative remains in solid financial standing, returning about $10 million in capital credit payments in both 2023 and 2024. It is a common practice of not-for-profit electric cooperatives like South Central Power to return excess funds to its members. During 2023, South Central Power invested more than $60 million in our distribution system to safely and reliably power our communities.
Rick Lemonds, president and CEO, gave a business update, which included details about the recent rate increase and the rising costs of doing business. Lemonds also updated attendees about increasing electrical demand and the resulting impact on reliability. He shared how your cooperative is combating these issues, stating that South Central Power is serving as your advocate with elected officials and government agencies to sound the alarm on new Environmental Protection Agency regulations that will continue to force dispatchable generation plants, such as coal and natural gas plants, to shut down permanently.
Board Chairman Ken Davis shared the story of the first electric member connected by South Central Power in 1936. He then shared that in May of 2024, the very first subscriber to connectSCP, South Central Power’s new fiber internet service, was connected in the New Market area of Highland County. Though it has only been a few short months, connectSCP now has more than 1,000 subscribers across Ohio.
Judy Shupe, vice chairman of South Central Power Company Foundation, highlighted Operation Round Up, a program that rounds up members’ monthly bills to the next dollar. The maximum donation is 99 cents per month, and donations average abound $6 per member per year. In 2023, thanks to members’ generous donations, the foundation invested more than $682,000 back into southern Ohio communities, including 101 $1,000 scholarships that were awarded to high school students from 36 local high schools.
Members also voted to approve code of regulations changes to allow an individual to be considered as a candidate for trustee if he/she is a member at the time his/her name is submitted to the nominating committee. In addition, the member must have been domiciled for at least one year in the district within the service territory that the trustee is to represent.
“The big goal is that we want all of our members to have access to high-speed internet, whether that’s from us or someone else. This is an investment not just for our members today, but for future generations of rural Ohioans whom we want to have the same opportunities as their peers in our cities.” — Ken Davis, chairman of the board
“As a not-for-profit cooperative, we are different from other utilities. If we have money left over after paying expenses, we keep track of how much of it is your share. We invest it in the cooperative, and after a period of time, which is currently a 20-year rotation, we pay that money back to you.” — Don Frank, treasurer of the board
“We are continuing to focus on operational excellence — from our back-office operations to engineering a smarter grid, to purchasing and finance, we are mindful of every one of our members’ dollars that we must allocate or spend. We also continue to do the things that matter most to keep costs down and power flowing, like clearing our rights-of-way of trouble trees, replacing outdated poles and equipment, and keeping our workforce on-call when needed for emergencies.” — Rick Lemonds, president and CEO
“For most of us, rounding up our power bill to the nearest dollar only costs an extra nickel or dime a month – it’s around $6 a year. The money goes directly to those in need, such as community organizations, and to hardworking students in the form of scholarships.” — Judy Shupe, vice chairman of the South Central Power Company Foundation board
From the October 2024 issue of Ohio Cooperative Living.