Shelby Electric Cooperative Annual Meeting

THREE INDIVIDUALS WERE ELECTED TO THE SHELBY ELECTRIC CO-OP BOARD OF DIRECTORS. THEY INCLUDE ROBERT HOLTHAUS OF STONINGTON, GREG MACKLING OF DALTON CITY, AND BRENT LIVELY OF TAYLORVILLE. EACH WILL SERVE A THREE-YEAR TERM)

Shelby Electric Cooperative’s (SEC) consumer-members gathered at the Shelby County 4-H Fairgrounds on June 7 for their co-op’s Annual Meeting of Members. Prior to the meeting, the members were treated to a pork chop dinner served by the Shelby County Pork Producers, music by the Hood Family Band, and activities for children and adults alike.

The business meeting began at 1 p.m. when members heard updates from the co-op’s leadership. Board Chairman Robert Holthaus welcomed the members and stated that the board is committed to the safety of both employees and members and is continuing to pursue member access to fiber internet in their homes.

In the financial report, Board Treasurer Greg Mackling announced that SEC is in good financial condition. He explained that in 2023, electric services sales added up to $37 million, while it cost $23 million to purchase the power supply. “That means for every dollar the co-op spent, 61 cents was spent to purchase the electricity.” Total margins for 2023 added up to $3,407,976. The margins have been allocated and will be returned to cooperative’s consumer-members in the form of capital credits in the future.

President/CEO Josh Shallenberger provided a co-op update in his report. “We have had a lot going on this past year,” he said. “The theme for the day is ‘powerful past, future focused.’  I am confident the cooperative is well positioned with its current employee talent to continue the great work that has been done up to this point.”

In addition to efforts made to provide fiber internet to members, Shallenberger discussed the continual improvements the cooperative is making with the electric distribution system to enhance reliability. Due to the many environmental changes and pending laws in the works, the future landscape of how power is generated and supplied is ever evolving. This led to a discussion with Eric Hobbie, President/CEO of Prairie Power Inc., SEC’s power supplier. In a town hall meeting style, Shallenberger and Hobbie discussed electric distribution, power generation, reliability, and energy policy.

Hobbie commented, “As I look to the future, we spent the last 50 years building generation to match new demand. The new future may be more about managing the load, and what you can and cannot use to match the available generation at any time. And it is a big dynamic change that is going to affect the utility industry and consumer-member practices.”

Shelby Electric Cooperative Scholarship winners, Jessi Wright and Jay Bliler of Taylorville, and Caroline White of Tower Hill were introduced at the meeting. The Association of Illinois Electric Cooperative (AIEC) President/CEO Craig Sondgeroth presented a brief statewide update and congratulated John Berns of Pana, who represented SEC, as a winner of the AIEC Thomas H. Moore Scholarship.

During the meeting, the membership also voted on an amendment to SEC’s bylaws. Bylaw changes require a majority vote of SEC members attending the annual meeting, and this one was approved.

In addition, an election was held for three seats on the board of directors. Robert Holthaus of Stonington, Greg Mackling of Dalton City and Brent Lively of Taylorville were re-elected to three-year terms to represent districts 1, 2 and 7, respectively.

At the conclusion of the meeting, door prizes were drawn, and Larry Mollohan from Taylorville was the grand prize winner of $250 “Shelby Electric Dollars.”

Shelby Electric Cooperative (SEC) is a member of Touchstone Energy — a national alliance of local, consumer-owned electric cooperatives providing high standards of service. SEC is committed to providing superior service based on four core principles: integrity, accountability, innovation, and commitment to community. The co-op serves more than 10,000 meters over 2,208 miles of line in parts of Christian, Cumberland, Effingham, Fayette, Macon, Montgomery, Moultrie, Sangamon, and Shelby counties. For more information visit shelbyelectric.coop, like the cooperative on Facebook, facebook.com/YourCoop, or search Shelby Electric Cooperative.