The commitment of Brunswick Electric to provide safe, reliable, and affordable power for our member consumers is as strong today as it was over 80 years ago. As we enter into our 81st year we are focused beyond simply what we were formed to do and why we exist, and are concentrating on how we will continue to be relevant to our membership into the future.

As an electric cooperative, we are guided by 7 principles. Following these closely means that every decision is made from the perspective of our member owners and out of concern for the communities we serve. This is why we exist; to create value for our members. As our industry is constantly evolving, we must continually evaluate and change how we bring value to you.

The following initiatives for the upcoming year support our vision to be the trusted energy resource for our members, and create the highest possible value through our services and incredibly reliable power system.

Enhancing the feedback we receive from our members

The key to understanding the value you place on the existing services we provide is to, quite simply, ask your opinion. We’ll accomplish this in a variety of ways in order to ensure the broadest member participation and input possible. We’ll be included in the NRECA national survey this year, and will be initiating member advisory committees, focus groups and intercept surveys, and you’ll see us at civic club presentations and other community group meetings as well. Our board is elected to serve you, and we encourage you to reach out to the director that represents your area; you can find a map of districts and the associated directors on our website.

Benchmarking performance among utilities across the nation

The overall performance of the cooperative is often described by key ratios; calculated for aspects of our business that range from finance to operations and growth. These key ratios and their trends over time are recorded by many utilities across the nation, and from these we can benchmark how we are performing in key areas. Expanding the use of benchmarks to all aspects of our business will enhance the performance of our processes. Brunswick Electric has been an industry leader in ways that impact reliability, managing costs and the services that are available to you, and we will continue to make sure we lead the way on your behalf.

Ensuring financial stability and consistency for rates to our members

Being financially sound allows us to maintain the reliability you expect and build the infrastructure necessary to sustain our area’s growth. Proactively addressing the trends that impact our costs together with very carefully developed rate structures prevents drastic changes and establishes fairness for our membership. Rates will now more accurately reflect how our costs are incurred, and we will be providing options, including Time-of-Use rates, that will offer you more flexibility in how you incur energy costs.

We are excited to continue to be there not just FOR you - but WITH you, having the voice of our membership drive the services we offer. The employees of BEMC are delighted to be at your service, their dedication is unmatched among electric utilities.