Keeping LREC in Position to Serve You Now and in the Future // November 2023 CEO Column

LREC exists to serve our members and our communities. We are committed to providing safe, reliable, and affordable electricity and other energy-related services while improving the communities we serve. These services are delivered to you by the people at LREC who are committed to providing you with the best member experience possible. I am proud of the way LREC continues to put itself in a great position to serve you now and well into the future. This column highlights new employees joining the LREC team and LREC’s willingness to continue to evolve as the needs of our members change over time.

We are excited for our recent additions to the LREC team. We hired seven new linemen this year who will be there for us day and night, just like all the linemen have done before them. We are excited about our new electronic systems supervisor who will lead LREC into the future upon retirements of longtime and dedicated employees. We are grateful to our retiring employees for transferring their knowledge and skills so we can continue to be the cooperative you deserve.

We are excited about how LREC is evolving as an organization by hiring people with diverse backgrounds and experiences who are mindful of our service, history, and cooperative spirit, and take purposeful actions while bringing positive energy to the cooperative. Another part of LREC’s evolution includes the strategic network and alliances we continue to build, such as working with Minnesota Rural Electric Association (MREA), National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), Star Energy Services, Safety and Health consultants, and a data analyst consultant, all of which provide very specific expertise and support when called upon.

We are thankful for the support of the LREC Board of Directors when it comes to investing in our reliability. It continues to trend positively because of our dedicated and hard-working employees, system upgrades, technology like AiDash that improves our vegetation management program, and Exacter that improves reliability by identifying equipment that needs to be replaced or fixed before it causes an outage. The people of LREC, together with the equipment available to them, are all here to serve you and provide you with the best member experience possible.

This year we have seen rate structure changes. The graphs above compare LREC to a peer group of other Minnesota electric cooperatives. The graphs reflect the monthly costs of LREC members who use 1,000 kW of electricity per month and compare what it would cost to use the same amount of electricity at other Minnesota electric cooperatives.

We know inflation in recent years has been difficult for many and assure you we are focused on providing the best service and value we can. We continue to take action to keep LREC in a position to best serve you now and in the future.