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By Nancy Nixon You've counted on your local electric cooperative to provide you with quality service for many years. So, when you see your cooperative's truck in your neighborhood, you assume the driver is there to repair or install electric service. Imagine your surprise when he pulls out a satellite television dish. A couple of weeks later, your neighbor excitedly shows you the new cellular phone that she got from where? You guessed it, the local cooperative office. A few days later, you're talking with the butcher about recent burglaries in your area. Wouldn't you know it? He's already inquired at the local cooperative office about a security system for his home. What's going on? Cooperative members nationwide are enjoying a host of new services and products that are in the offering because, guess what— you asked for them. For years, rural dwellers have longed for specialized products and services such as appliances, surge suppression, satellite TV, cellular phones, security services and more. They have also wanted more selection and better service on those they currently have. Their electric cooperatives have been listening to their needs and have been attempting to make those requests reality. While Illinois cooperatives share many similarities, they vary in size, geographic location and in member needs. Although most co-ops offer some type of non-electric services such as consulting on energy efficiency and new home construction, exactly what they offer may vary depending upon member needs. Some cooperatives are offering new services to their members, while others, such as Adams Electric Cooperative in Camp Point, have been providing a variety of services for many years. In 1959, Adams Electric recognized that residents in rural Adams, Brown and Schuyler counties needed a good reliable appliance sales and service location. At that time there were not enough local appliance dealers to adequately service the market area, and in addition, the cooperative wanted to sell items that use electricity. Adams Electric's decision to sell and service appliances 40 years ago has made an even greater impact because of recent changes in the marketplace. With the emergence of mass merchandisers such as Lowe's, Best Buy and Circuit City, many of the few small town appliance dealers still scraping out a living often have been forced out of business. The consumers in the marketplace have been faced with a new dilemma — service. Although the prices on the appliances sold through the mass merchandisers are quite low, consumers pay dearly in limited service. For instance, if your refrigerator were to go out today, a repairman might not be in your area until a week from now. And, what if the repair on your appliance needs parts or requires a trip back to the factory? Now you're looking at two weeks without a refrigerator instead of one. By providing local appliance sales and service, Adams Electric's entire market area — members and non-members alike have been served with quality products and service. Candace Weeks, Adams Electric member services assistant, says she hears often that her co-op 12 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING JULY 1999 members "want to buy from people they know and who they know will be around for years to come when they need service." They have become "gun-shy" because of the promises made from those dealers who are no longer in business. According to David Stuva, Adams Electric member services manager, this is the best public relations vehicle the co-op has. Not only has it provided a much-needed service throughout the years, the co-op has beefed up its marketing efforts and hopes to make the venture more profitable. Adams Electric continues to add new products and services to its mix, with several, such as surge suppression, security, propane gas and weatherization under evaluation. The cooperative wants to minimize risk and do all the appropriate research before any definite decisions are made. Several Illinois electric cooperatives now offer propane or natural gas service. For example, Corn Belt Energy Corporation became a natural gas marketer a year ago in response to the Customer Select Pilot Program of Northern Illinois Gas Company. "This first year has forced us to learn the nuances of the natural gas business, and it has also given us an insight into what a truly competitive utility environment is like," said Jeff Reeves, president/CEO of the Bloomington co-op. Corn Belt Energy already has contracts with 650 commercial, industrial and residential accounts. Reeves is also looking at supplying customers with their own mini generating plants. Fuel cells and microturbines, fueled by natural gas or propane, could soon provide a cost-effective source of electricity. "We are going to keep a close eye on fuel cells and microturbines as this technology develops. We may look at becoming a supplier of this technology," said Reeves. Shelby Electric Cooperative in Shelbyville has been offering propane gas as a service to its members for the past four years. Jim Coleman, Shelby Electric's president/CEO says, "We started our diversification because our power rates were going up. Offering new services such as propane has allowed us to return profit from these ventures to the cooperatives' members in the form of reduced rates. We knew the major propane companies were not doing a sufficient job satisfying their customers, and that's another reason we got involved." Shelby Electric Cooperative offers many other diverse services and is still pursuing new ones for its members. According to Coleman, "It doesn't matter what the product is. Whether you're selling electricity or widgets, it's still a service. If you can provide a reliable service that the members can depend upon, it doesn't matter what the service is."
William David Champion, Jr., President/CEO of Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative in Paxton, has led his cooperative in building SkyQuest®, a very successful high quality, small dish DBS (DIRECTV®) system in a very short period of time. In the original survey to its co-op members, Eastern Illini received an impressive 36 percent approval rating in favor of offering the service. This told Eastern Illini that getting into DBS was a tremendous way to serve a previously unserved market for members and non-members alike. Already 12,000 customers strong in just five years, and with room to grow, the subsidiary boasts an 18 person staff. While Champion runs several successful subsidiaries, he cautions other co-ops against becoming too overzealous and moving too quickly. "We want to add the greatest value for our members that we can. First and foremost, we never want to forget the core business and the reason they joined the cooperative, which is to buy electric service at an affordable price. We have to keep these other services manageable and control the risks." While many cooperatives are pursuing these services on their own, others are teaming with other cooperative partners. These cooperatives can preserve their independent status but are able to offer their members additional services as a result of these joint ventures. Cooperative partnerships are also being formed to strengthen core business activities. Future power supply needs and the quest to provide lower energy costs brought about the formation of the Alliance for Cooperative Energy Services (ACES). ACES is a power marketing subsidiary comprised of five generation-and-transmission (G & T) cooperatives from five states, including Southern Illinois Power Cooperative (SIPC), in Marion. The creation of ACES has helped these energy suppliers become more efficient and provide better rates. Tim Reeves, president and general manager of SIPC says, "We've come a long way, and although we've been tempted to resist change, we've pursued a number of progressive strategies, which include joint ventures with other cooperatives. These will make our organization stronger in the future." When situations such as power shortages occur, these united cooperatives are much better prepared to not only hold down JULY 1999 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING 13 costs but also reduce power interruptions. One man's desire for improved radio communication led to another joint venture of electric cooperatives. Communication voids while attempting to talk with line crews in the outer reaches of service areas has been a thorn in the side of many electric cooperatives for years. Not only has the lack of communication led to less efficiency, thus increasing response time for member service calls, it has also caused major concern regarding linemen safety. Tom Hentz, president/CEO of EnerStar Power Corporation in Paris, was experiencing these communication problems. Frustration caused by them compelled him to create an 800 MHz trunking system to provide an avenue for a superior communication system. His plan was two-fold; fill the voids in communication at his own cooperative and create a system that could be marketed in a much broader area. EnerStar was soon joined by Shelby Electric Cooperative in Shelbyville, then by the former Illinois Valley Electric Cooperative in Princeton and Corn Belt Energy Corporation in Bloomington. This united group then formed a subsidiary called Clear Talk Communication to market the thriving system. Marketing the system throughout the state has been a successful venture, servicing such entitites as the Illinois State Police, public safety agencies, farmers, trucking companies and other commercial and private users. These businesses have the benefit of a dependable, reasonably-priced radio communications sytem with good service and wide coverage. Together, the three co-ops (Illinois Valley has since merged with Corn Belt), using the same radio frequency, are now able to cover two-thirds of Illinois with their communications network, from I-88 in the north to I-64 in the south-central part of the state. In addition to safety considerations, the new system provides the cooperatives improved operational efficiency, noticeably better member-service and additional revenue for the cooperative. Growing up in the country, you and your neighbors always knew if an unfamiliar car had passed by your house or was in someone's driveway. Although this was fuel for gossip, it was also an early form of neighborhood security. Now, with the exodus of urban dwellers to the country, it's common to see many strangers driving in rural areas. Dual income households are on the rise, leaving many rural homes vacant during the day, creating a lure for would-be burglars. For the first time, rural folks are concerned about the security of their homes and property. When co-op members have been surveyed, the need for security systems has come up repeatedly, prompting the birth of security providers like Alert Security & Energy Services.
Alert Security & Energy Services, a privately held Illinois alarm contractor, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Soyland Power Cooperative. Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative and McDonough Power Cooperative in Macomb are operating the first Alert Security offices. The subsidiary sells, installs, services and monitors its wireless security systems. Alert Security's systems provide life safety, property protection and energy management services. What this means to the rural consumer is that they can have access to a variety of security options both when they are at home and away. According to Don Reutter, life safety consultant from the Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative area office, "The reason the co-ops got involved initially was because the members showed interest in the intrusion alarm aspect of the business. These additional services were an added bonus." Not only can one's home be made burglary safe, it can also be monitored for heat and freeze conditions, smoke and fire, carbon monoxide, water damage and power outages. The system can also provide emergency health care monitoring and response and no activity monitoring. According to Reutter, future plans are to grow the Alert Security to 16 locations. In the near future, six more will be started up in addition to the offices in Paxton and Macomb. In these examples; ACES, Clear Talk and Alert Security & Energy Services, Inc., the participating cooperatives aren't just demonstrating the cooperative way within their own communities, they're joining forces with other cooperatives to be stronger. Their subsidiaries' profits can positively affect the co-ops' bottom line and be returned to members as capital credits or used to lower electric rates, and their additional products and services can provide a better quality of life for members. The non-electrical services offered through Illinois cooperatives are quite impressive. A listing of those services offered by each coop is on the facing page. Champion's basic premise is, "If you are doing what the members are asking you to do, how can you go wrong?". What have your coops done for you lately? Just look at the list, and you might just be surprised. 14 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING JULY 1999 Co-ops provide more than electricity Adams Electric Cooperative -Camp Point - Phone (217) 593-7701 -Appliance sales and service expansion. Looking into surge protection and home weatherization. Clinton County Electric Cooperative, Inc. - Breese - Phone (618) 526-7282 - Geothermal financing, $1 water heaters, discount cellular phone service, Certified Comfort Home program. Coles-Moultrie Electric Cooperative - Mattoon - Phone (217) 235-0341 - Power Protector whole house surge protection, water heater maintenance program. Corn Belt Energy Corporation -Bloomington - Phone (309) 662-5330 - Clear Talk Communication system mobile radios and pagers, natural gas service, EC Home™ mortgage financing, Surge Sentry meter base whole-house surge protection, reverse osmosis water purifier. Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative - Paxton - Phone (217) 379-2131 -SkyQuest® satellite TV, DIRECTV®. Rural TV, Utili´soft® utility software, IlliCom Net Services (Internet service) Alert Security & Energy Systems (a subsidiary of Soyland Power Cooperative) - security systems and service. Egyptian Electric Cooperative Association - Steeleville - Phone (618) 965-3434 - Uninterruptable power supply leases, Certified Comfort Home program, energy audits and energy analysis, blower door tests, water service, Internet service. EnerStar Power Corp - Paris -Phone (217) 463-4145 - Clear Talk Communication system (mobile radios and pagers), EnerStar Resources (propane gas), load scheduling for other co-ops, mapping services. Projects in the works: 24-hour dispatch center, building a business park south of Paris. Farmers Mutual Electric Company - Geneseo - Phone (309) 944-4669 - Surge protection equipment, security lights, energy audits. Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative - Winchester - Phone (217) 742-3128 - Subsidiary Illinois Rural Telecommmunications provides DIRECTV®, Internet and 24-hour call center services. The co-op provides appliances, appliance repair, surge protection, water treatment and wiring services. Jo-Carroll Electric Cooperative -Elizabeth - Phone (815) 858-2207 - Dual fuel reduced heating/cooling, Envirowatch home protection, water heater program, Evergreen wind generated power, ETS heaters/electromates, First Call emergency response system, SecureHomesm whole-house surge protection plan, Rural TV, electric grills/smokers. McDonough Power Cooperative - Macomb - Phone (309) 833-2101 -Propane gas through subsidiary MPC Energy, Inc., Alert Security & Energy Systems (a subsidiary of Soyland Power Cooperative) - security systems and service, surge protection Menard Electric Cooperative - Petersburg - Phone (217) 632-7746 -Surge suppression (whole house and point of use), geothermal rebates, hot water heaters, Certified Comfort Home program, DIRECTV® Monroe County Electric Co-Operative - Waterloo - Phone (618) 939-7171 - Electric heat rebates, free water heaters for new electric heat installations, water heater purchase discount, pure water purification systems, Total House Surge Suppression program, budget billing, fax service for a small fee for members, "new" Ameritech cellular phone rate for members. Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative Co. - Auburn - Phone (217) 438-6197 - Surge suppression leasing, all sizes of generators for sale, water filter systems - reverse osmosis. Shelby Electric Cooperative -Shelbyville - Phone (217) 774-3986 - DIRECTV®, Rural TV from subsidiary KASCOM, Inc., Clear Talk Communications mobile radio and pager service, Cellular One, $1 water heaters, security lighting, propane gas through subsidiary Shelby Energy Company. SouthEastern Illinois Electric Cooperative, Inc. - Eldorado - Phone (618)273-2611 - EC Home™ mortgage program, surge protection leasing. Will soon be offering AMR - automatic meter reading and automatic outage reporting. Southern Illinois Electric Cooperative - Dongola - Phone (618) 827-3555 - Operates South Water water system. Sells surge suppressors, gives rebates for geothermal heating/cooling, dual fuel systems. Spoon River Electric Co-operative - Canton - Phone (309) 647-2700 - Storage units, paging service, surge suppression, free electric water heaters. Wayne-White Counties Electric Cooperative - Fairfield - Phone (618) 842-2196 - Billing and collection functions for New Hope Water District, surge protection, Rural TV. Western Illinois Electrical Cooperative - Carthage - Phone (217) 357-3125 - Currently surveying future options. JULY 1999 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING 15 |
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