Over 200 Central Texas Electric Cooperative members gathered August 16th in the Fredericksburg High School Auditorium for the co-op’s annual members’ meeting. CTEC Board President Mark Hahn welcomed everyone and CTEC Board Member Doylene Bode provided an invocation.
After an introduction of board members and some meeting formalities, the business of the meeting included the election of four directors to represent their respective districts on CTEC’s Board of Directors. They were: Mark Reeve, District 2 (Kerr County, second elected term); Connie Stockbridge, District 3 (Mason County, second elected term); Wayne Seipp, District 4 (Llano County, second elected term); Joseph “Joby” Wieser, District 5 (Gillespie County, second elected term). As the cooperative’s bylaws stipulate, a CTEC director’s time on the board is limited to four threeyear terms.
The meeting continued with a video presentation. Mark Hahn, Board President from Mason County, began the video report, “We are grateful to have this time to update you on the status of your co-op and share some of the projects and plans we have for the future. Central Texas Electric Co-op’s mission is to provide our member-owners safe, reliable, high quality utility service at a reasonable cost. We strive to accomplish this goal through investments in technology, education and infrastructure as well as exploring opportunities in the restructured utility market and maintaining the financial integrity of your cooperative.”
Board Vice President James Low then shared the operations report. “The most important part of our mission statement is to provide safe utility service to our members. While we often talk about the importance of reliability, it is equally important that the electricity provided to your home is delivered safely. The safety of our members and employees is by far our top priority. As of the end of July, CTEC employees are approach- ing 1,000 days worked without a lost time accident. This is over 700,000 hours worked by approximately 135 employees who drive thousands of miles a year and perform hazardous jobs in all kinds of weather. On behalf of the board, I would like to recognize the employees of CTEC for this accomplishment.” Vice President Low went on to describe the growth CTEC has experienced over 2021 and how that growth affects the cooperative’s operation efforts. Low continued, “Outages are events that no one enjoys, including your electric cooperative. Unfortunately, they do happen. When the lights go out, SmartHub is a great tool to report & monitor outages. It can be used with your smart phone, tablet, or computer. You can report an outage in less than a minute, putting this information immediately in the hands of CTEC service crews. There are also many other benefits to utilizing SmartHub. You can make payments, view billing and usage information, and sign up for email, text or push notifications about your bill, planned outages and co-op announcements.”
Board Treasurer Connie Stockbridge reported on the financial state of the co-op, “As we complete our look at your cooperative’s mission statement, our final goal is providing you electric service at a reasonable cost.” Stockbridge continued, “ During 2021, the electric distribution plant in service increased in value by over 13 million dollars. This increase was due to construction of new lines and system improvements. It is the goal of the board and management to keep our system in top condition so that we can provide our members the most reliable service possible,” Treasurer Stockbridge continued, “CTEC’s 2021 operating revenue was more than 52 million dollars. Your board recognizes that as a member, it is important to you to understand where each dollar that you pay to CTEC goes. Power cost represents the largest expense your cooperative has. It is over 34 cents of every dollar collected. Since it is the largest part of each member’s bill, your board prioritizes seeking out low cost power providers and negotiating contracts to keep those prices low.
At year-end, CTEC’s total assets were over 241 million dollars, with an equity ratio of 40%. I am proud to report that your electric cooperative has a strong financial position. Our rates are competitive among other electric providers, and your board strives to keep your electric bill as low as possible.”
Doylene Bode, Board Secretary, addressed CTEC’s community efforts. “While Central Texas Electric Cooperative aims to keep our mission statement at the heart of what we do for our members, we also play a role in uplifting the communities we serve.” Secretary Bode discussed the cooperatives scholarship program which is in its 25th year. Over that time, CTEC has awarded $664,000 dollars in scholarships from money that comes from unclaimed capital credit checks that have been returned to CTEC from the state. Scholarships are awarded to members whose primary residence is served by CTEC. She went on to explain another youth targeted program that CTEC offers, “Every year CTEC hosts an essay contest for high school students to win a 10-day trip to Washington D.C. This amazing opportunity allows these students to see with their own eyes, sights they may have only experienced in history books.” The video then featured this year’s three Government-in-Action Youth Tour participants who shared their memories and experiences on the trip that took place in June of this year.
Secretary Bode returned to discuss another of CTEC’s community programs called Operation Round-Up. “This program allows members to round-up their monthly electric bill to the next whole dollar. Those cents then are added to the Operation Round-Up fund and organizations, or individuals can apply for a grant. These funds can help community and social programs, a family that lost a home in a fire, or assist in paying unexpected medical bills. The average contribution is only 50 cents per month, but that small amount has allowed CTEC to gift over $180,000 to those in need. If you are not already participating in Operation Round-Up, please consider becoming a part of this important program. Joining is easy; just go to our website or contact your local office. Together, we can make a big difference to those in need!”
President Hahn closed the video with comments on CTEC rates, “Before we close, there is one last thing that I would like to touch on - the amount of money that you pay for your electric bill each month. For the last few years, we have been reporting on our successes in power contract negotiations. As a result of those contracts, you are actually paying less for 1500 Kilowatt hours today than what you paid at any time in the last 12 years. By combining our resources, we are able to enhance our buying power, which ultimately benefits you. This is a true example of what the cooperative’s founders intended when they formed CTEC 75 years ago. We are quite proud of this and we hope that you are as well.”
Following the video report, CEO Loth gave special recognition to eight employees with extended tenure at the cooperative, combining for a total of 275 years of dedicated service.
As at all CTEC members meetings, a question-and-answer session for members was included, providing members an opportunity to voice questions and comments.
The meeting ended with a drawing for more than $2,000 in door prizes that were all donated by Central Texas Electric Cooperative’s generous suppliers. To view the full video report, visit the CTEC website at <www. ctec.coop>.