There are nine trustees on the Pioneer Board  – three each from the Champaign, Miami and Shelby districts. Each is elected by secret ballot to a three-year term, and may be re-elected to up to six additional consecutive terms. One trustee is elected each year from each of the districts.

The Board of Trustees is entrusted with protecting, preserving and defending the assets of the Cooperative. Each trustee is expected to participate in electric cooperative training and conference opportunities to ensure he or she is able to make well-informed decisions regarding Pioneer and its members’ needs. This requires additional time commitments beyond the monthly meeting.

Pioneer also has three elected nominating committees called county boards. Each board has 12 members  elected by secret ballot. They also serve three-year terms with the same opportunity to be re-elected to up to six additional terms. Four trustees are elected each year to each of the county boards.

The function of each county board is to select candidates to run for the Pioneer Board of Trustees and for its district nominating committee. County board members typically meet two evenings a year.  While not making governance decisions for the Cooperative, the county boards have a very significant role in its success. Effective nominations by these committees ensure whoever is elected from the ballot will be capable leaders and will have the best interests of Pioneer and its members as their goal in serving.

Want to know more about the boards, or to be considered for nomination? Email your interest to nmcmaken@pioneerec.com September 10th. Inquiring does not obligate you in any way, nor does it guarantee you will be a nominee. It does mean you will be contacted by a county board member to discuss your potential interest.

It might help to visualize a cooler full of ice. On a day where the temperature reaches 95°F, the ice will melt much faster than on a day where the temperature reaches 70°F. Your house is the same as that cooler – insulated to slow the flow of heat from the outside to the inside in the summer, and slow the flow of heat from the inside to the outside in the winter. The rate at which your home gains or loses heat has a direct relationship with the temperature differential between the inside of your home and the outdoor temperature – the bigger the difference, the more your cooling or heating system will have to work to keep the inside temperature at your desired level of comfort.

In addition to increased usage as a result of warmer temperatures, the cost of your bill has increased as a result of an increase in the Power Cost. The Power Cost is the cost associated with producing power at a power plant and moving that energy along high voltage transmission lines to our distribution substations. In an effort to secure baseload capacity to meet Ohio electric cooperatives member’s future energy needs, Buckeye Power made a sizeable investment in an existing coal plant. While members may not need this extra capacity right now, typically this excess generating capacity can be sold on the market to help offset costs. However, with downturn in the economy overall electricity sales have been down, thus causing an increase in the Power Cost on your bill. Despite this increase, Buckeye Power’s rates are still competitive with those of investor owned utilities across the state.

May 27
June 10
July 8
August 12
September 30