We know this has been a hard year for many household budgets, and as your local co-op, we understand the frustration of seeing your power bills rise alongside the cost of every other necessity in your life.
We're also feeling the squeeze, as the costs of maintaining our electric system—labor, materials and wholesale power—only continue to rise.
We’re managing the same way you are—carefully, with an eye on every dollar. It’s our responsibility to be good stewards of your co-op and your money. We must ensure every dollar you spend with us delivers real value. We believe that’s the case. Here is how we put those dollars to work for you.
- We hire, train and employ lineworkers who keep our system running and respond quickly to outages. Our lineworkers live in this community. Many are Broad River Electric members. When your lights go out, so do theirs, and they may already be on the road to restoring your power before you've even finished calling the outage number.
- We operate and maintain an electric system—thousands of miles of line and poles—that delivers all the power you need, the instant you need it.
- We staff our office with dedicated member services staff. Whenever you need help, you can talk to a local person, not a call center rep in another country reading from a script. They’re your neighbors. They can answer your questions or connect you with an expert. They understand your concerns and can get you the help you need, whether it’s paying a bill, enrolling in budget billing or exploring ways to conserve energy and save money. If you're facing financial hardship, they'll take the time to discuss your options and connect you with available assistance programs and local organizations that may be able to help. Our goal isn't just to answer your questions—it's to help you find solutions.
- We make strategic investments in our community. We work to bring jobs and opportunities to our area through economic development. That growth brings additional revenue that helps offset our rising cost of doing business.
- Through charitable programs such as Operation Round Up, Washington Youth Tour and Bright Ideas educator grants, we help neighbors in need and create opportunities for the next generation.
Now, here’s where your money doesn’t go—to shareholders on Wall Street. Broad River Electric isn’t owned by investors. It’s owned by you and every other member we serve. Any margin left over after covering the cost of providing safe, reliable power goes straight back to members through capital credits. Over the last five years, Broad River Electric has returned more than $844,000 in capital credits retirement.
That’s the value of cooperative electricity. It’s safe. It’s dependable. And it’s the kind of personal service you can expect from a cooperative that's invested in the people and communities it serves.
