The 2024 Annual Meeting of Members will be held on Saturday, May 18 at the cooperative office located at 04125 State Route 576 in Bryan. Members who wish to cast their vote using a paper ballot may drive thru and drop it into the official ballot box anytime between 9 am to noon on that day.
Members who choose to cast their vote electronically may do so beginning April 22 using their secure account on the SmartHub app. Click on the "My Account" button at the top of this page to log in or create an account. This voting method will be available from April 22 until noon on Friday, May 17.
Following the closing of the drive-thru meeting on May 18, all votes (paper and electronic) will be tabulated and the results will be announced here and on the NWEC Facebook page (www.facebook.com/north.western.electric).
Each member-owner that participates in the annual meeting either by casting their vote in person at the drive-thru event on May 18 or voting online via SmartHub, will receive a $25 bill credit on their July electric bill.
THE BALLOT
The official ballot will contain options to accept or reject one proposed change to the Code of Regulations and to accept or reject the 2023 Annual Meeting minutes as presented in the April issue of the Ohio Cooperative Living magazine and mailed to each cooperative member.
TRUSTEE NOMINATIONS
No nominating petitions were received for District #1 or District 2; therefore, the following incumbents are considered elected by affirmation and will not appear on the official ballot:
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District 1 - Keith Stark
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District 2 - Mitchel Headley
To learn more about Keith and Mitch, check out their bios: Trustee Bios
PROPOSED CHANGE TO THE CODE OF REGULATIONS
Member-owners are asked to vote on a suggested amendment to the current Code of Regulations. This proposed change has been reviewed and approved by the cooperative’s board of trustees.
Summary of proposed change
NWEC trustees receive extensive education and training to help them make decisions that best serve the needs of our members and strengthen the future of the co-op. During the course of their service, trustees go through rigorous training to ensure they are well-versed on current electric utility trends and issues, and the cooperative business model, and become acutely aware of the needs of the co-op’s membership. This knowledge is not quickly or easily acquired and should be utilized as long as possible by the co-op and its membership.
By approving this code change, members can help ensure NWEC trustees have the ability to continue offering their hard-earned expertise to serve the co-op’s membership.
PROPOSED CHANGE: Proposed deletions are shown using strikethrough and proposed additions are underlined
ARTICLE IV - BOARD OF TRUSTEES, SECTION 2. Election and Tenure of Office.
The Board shall divide the service area of the Cooperative into seven districts so that equitable representation may be given to the geographic areas served by the Cooperative. The Board shall have the power to change the boundaries of such districts whenever in their opinion the purpose of this Section requires such a change. Each district shall be represented by one Board member. Not less than two Board members shall be elected each year by secret ballot at the annual meeting of the members, or at any meeting held in lieu thereof as hereinbefore provided, by and from the members to serve for a term of three years or until their successors have been elected and shall have qualified, subject to the provisions of this Code of Regulations with respect to the removal of Board members. Board members may be elected by a plurality vote of the members. In case of a tie vote, there shall be a second secret ballot for the office and if the tie is not broken thereby, the election to such office shall be decided by a flip of a coin. No person shall hold the office of Board member for more than five consecutive three-year terms. A break in tenure of one year or more shall qualify the person for re-election to the Board.
If accepted the language for only the sentence shown in bold above would read as follows:
No person shall hold the office of Board member for more than seven consecutive three-year terms.
To view the Code of Regulations in its entirety, click below:
Proposed Draft of the 2023 Annual Meeting Minutes
On the official ballot, member-owners are asked to vote to accept or reject the minutes from the 2023 Annual Meeting, as presented below:
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The 2023 annual meeting of the members of North Western Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NWEC) was held at Edon Northwest School in Edon, Ohio, on the 15th day of April 2023. A total of 199 people, 118 member-owners and 81 guests, attended the meeting.
Registration and in-person voting were available from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Member-owners were invited to enjoy a meal, meet with trustee candidates, learn from representatives of Buckeye Power, Inc., about how NWEC's electricity is generated, view up-close safety gear worn by linemen, and hear about the services provided by NWEC and its subsidiary company, NW Ohio Propane, LLC. (NWOP).
The business meeting followed at 5 p.m. with 55 people in attendance. In accordance with the cooperative Code of Regulations, member-owners could also vote online from March 20, 2023, through April 14, 2023, at noon.
Invocation and Welcome
Following the invocation by Mitch Headley, Board of Trustees Secretary, Board Chairman Chris Oberlin thanked Wicked 'Wiches Catering & BBQ and Dakota Parrish for the meal served prior to the meeting. He also thanked the Edon Junior Class students and parents for their assistance during the meeting, Malanga Enterprise LLC for audio services and Seibenaler Enterprises for the golf carts. Oberlin welcomed the member-owners and their guests, then introduced the Board Trustees. Everyone present was then asked to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Chris Oberlin at 5:00 p.m. He asked for a motion to dispense with the reading of the official notice of the meeting as printed in the March issue of Ohio Cooperative Living magazine and for the adoption of the agenda as mailed. A motion was made and seconded. Motion carried. Chairman Oberlin closed the in-person voting, and cooperative attorney Christopher Walker joined by a group of member-owner representatives left the gym to tally the in-person votes.
Leadership and Management Reports
Board of Trustees Chairman Chris Oberlin opened the business meeting at 5 p.m. Oberlin started out by saying that he decided to run for the Board of Trustees in 2020 because he was concerned that the leadership was not operating in the best interest of the membership. After his time on the Board, he has learned that the cooperative structure is changing. NWEC has adapted to keep power safe, reliable, and affordable. The cooperative is doing business as it should and better than municipalities and investor-owned power providers.
Chairman Oberlin reported that NWEC has some of the fastest outage response times in our area, if not the state, and continues to provide affordable electricity to members. The cooperative is repairing, replacing, and upgrading its distribution system to provide reliable power while allowing room for future growth.
Oberlin stated that NWEC is looking ahead and adapting to the changing electrical needs, the challenging push for more green energy, and supply chain and transmission issues. The grid and infrastructure are predicted to increase by 100% to accommodate the future challenge of electric vehicle consumption. However, the automotive industry is not showing the validity of this happening based on the quantity of non-electric vehicles produced now and what is planned for years to come. This is a challenge as the cooperative doesn't want to overspend on something that may never come.
In February 2023, NWEC implemented a rate increase of less than 2%. Chairman Oberlin reminded the member-owners that this was the first adjustment in seven years. At the same time, AEP and First Energy announced that they would have an increase of nearly 30% before the end of the year. Additionally, NWEC is in the top 10% of the nation in the retirement of capital credits. The cooperative retired over $850,000 in 2022 and almost $22 million since the beginning of the cooperative.
President/CEO Darin Thorp reviewed some of the changes that happened in the past few years. He reported on the installation of the new radio-frequency meters, which eliminated the need for manual meter reads and is saving the cooperative around $60,000 per year. The cooperative is currently in the second year of a 4-year work plan that includes an upgrade to the Farmer substation, several three-phase rebuilds, a single-phase to three-phase line conversion and rebuilding a stretch of transmission line.
President Thorp reported that following a seven-year negotiation process, NWEC has acquired additional service territory from Toledo Edison, north of the Ohio Turnpike to State Route 20. Included in that territory is an area on the northeast side of the turnpike exit at State Route 49, recently purchased by Pilot/Flying J. The company plans to break ground later this year to construct a new truck plaza.
President Thorp reported that a major concern for the cooperative is the increased cost of materials and the overall shortage of common supplies. Every component used on NWEC's system has experienced increases in both cost and supply lead times. Additionally, the cost of utility trucks has increased by 90%. He reaffirmed that NWEC would continue to be prudent with the member-owners’ money as these challenges are navigated.
President Thorp stated that NWEC's subsidiary company, NWOP, continues to grow. More than 2,100 customers are currently served at more than 2,500 locations in the tri-state area, with 849 of those customers being NWEC member-owners.
Guest Speaker
Craig Grooms, COO of Buckeye Power, the cooperative's wholesale power supplier, updated member-owners on electric cooperative news and projects across Ohio. Grooms reported that Ohio's electric cooperatives performed well at keeping the lights on and explained the industry's growing challenges.
Grooms stated that in 2009 Ohio had 21 coal-fired power plants capable of producing 22,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity. Later this year, there will only be four remaining coal plants with less than 7,000 MW of capacity. Reducing the capability to produce electricity, especially during periods of severe weather, could result in rolling blackouts like others across the country have experienced.
Grooms asked member-owners to come together for a common cause by informing and educating their neighbors on the need for reliable power and sharing with them that the integrity of America's electrical grid must be a priority.
Grooms reported that Ohio's Electric Cooperatives is committed to providing reliable, affordable, and environmentally responsible power to all the member-owners in our state and that the organization has made that known to elected officials in Washington, D.C., and Ohio.
Auditor's Report
Trent Weickert from the auditing firm, BHM CPA Group presented via a pre-recorded message. He stated that BHM had completed the audit of the financial statements of NWEC and its subsidiary NWOP for the year ended December 31, 2022, and issued a report on March 13, 2023 with an unmodified (clean) opinion. BHM did not encounter any significant issues or concerns, nor were there any uncorrected misstatements.
Weickert presented financial highlights. The Cooperative's current ratio improved from 1.44 to 1 at December 31, 2022. Net margins were approximately $1.37 million and $1.74 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Operations have generated positive cash flows over the same periods, $1.76 million and 2.2 million, respectively. Strong operations have contributed to improving the strength of the balance sheet and increasing members' patronage capital balances. Additionally, the Cooperative returned approximately $860,000 of patronage capital back to the membership during the year ended December 31, 2022, and $950,000 during the year ended December 31, 2021.
Old/New Business
Chairman Oberlin asked if there were any issues pertaining to old business. There was none voiced.
Chairman Oberlin asked if there was any new business. A discussion regarding the NWOP financials followed. A few member-owners asked questions, and Chairman Oberlin and President Thorp provided answers while urging any member-owners with additional concerns to contact the office to schedule an appointment. NWEC Trustees and management are happy to answer any questions they may have.
Election Results
Christopher Walker announced the voting results for the trustees, the proposed change to the Code of Regulations and the 2022 annual meeting minutes.
- District 4 Trustee – Chris Oberlin
- District 5 Trustee – Ryan Wehri
- District 6 Trustee – Jordan Ruffer (re-elected by affirmation)
- ARTICLE III – MEETING OF MEMBERS – Accepted
- 2022 annual meeting minutes – Approved
Chairman Oberlin adjourned the meeting at 6:01 p.m.