Western Illinois Electrical Coop. welcomed over 300 members, families and
guests to our Annual Meeting held at the Hancock County
Extension Center on June 24.
All registered members received a $10
bill credit. Before the
meeting, members could visit with Randy Sprunger of Air Evac, learn about
energy saving building practices display by The Wall or have their blood pressure
checked by the Hancock County Health Dept.
During the business meeting, Rob
Gronewold and Janet Spory were re-elected to the board. Manager Paul Dion
spoke of the rising costs of wholesale power and WIEC’s attempt to
reduce expenses. He said that one expense represents almost 70 percent of
all the cooperative’s expenses. “We have tried our best to protect our
members from rising costs,” Dion said. Since 2007 the wholesale
cost per kWh has increased 88 percent. Although the cooperative has raised
rates and the facility charge, these increases have not kept up with the
increases in wholesale power. It is Dion’s hope that wholesale power
costs will level off once Prairie State Energy Campus, the newest and
cleanest coal plant, goes on line.
Many vendors donated prizes
that were given away. At the
end of the meeting, five $100 bills were given away.
Click
here for a full listing of prize winners!
Entertainment for the evening was Brent Olsen, who shared with the crowd
his views on life in the Midwest.
After the meeting, the Directors reorganized and re-elected Rob Gronewold
as President, Jay Morrison as Vice-President, Janet Spory as
Secretary-Treasurer and Bill Newton as Assistant Secretary-Treasurer.
