Officials with Midland Power Cooperative announced Jan. 9 an unprecedented $750,000 year-end bill credit for its power customers.
The announcement marks the second time in the Cooperative’s history that a year-end bill-credit has been issued, and surpasses the previous credit by a quarter of a million dollars.
Midland Power board members said the credit was the result of the overwhelming success of the voter-approved merger with Humboldt County REC in January 2013.
“By voting to pass the merger, our members were showing us that they trusted us to grow larger and still maintain our commitment to them,” said Jack Runge, president, Midland Power. “We succeeded in proving that this trust was well-founded, and this bill credit substantiates that confidence.”
Runge said the merger allowed Midland Power to maximize efficiency, eliminate duplications of service and further streamline service throughout the expanded territory.
“With this merger, we’re operating in a wider area,” said Runge. “But we’re not just keeping up our level of service. We’re actually getting better.”
The funds being returned to Midland Power member-consumers would have, at a for-profit utility, ended up in the pockets of its investors, Runge said.
“Midland is a cooperative, and our customers are our investors,” he said. “What that means is, when we do our job well, that money goes back to our members. And that’s not a bad way to do business.”
Midland members can expect the credit to show up on their bills starting January 15. The size of each member’s credit has been calculated based on the amount of money they spent with the co-op over the course of 2013.
Anyone with questions regarding Midland Power’s year-end bill credit is encouraged to call 800-833-8876.
Midland Power Cooperative is a member-owned, not-for-profit, electric cooperative that provides electricity to homes and businesses in portions of the seventeen following counties in Iowa: Boone, Calhoun, Dallas, Franklin, Greene, Grundy, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hardin, Humboldt, Kossuth, Marshall, Pocahontas, Polk, Story, Webster, and Wright. Midland Power serves these areas from its headquarters in Jefferson and additional locations in Humboldt, Boone and Iowa Falls.
