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December 21, 2023

Message from the President, Ron Salyer Winter is here, and your co-op is well prepared for the usual challenges of the season: frigid temperatures, snow, and ice. Some winter weather creates particularly challenging conditions for lineworkers when they’re called upon to restore electric service, but our crews are ready 24/7 to address outages, with safety our top priority. Every year, and this year is no different, Pioneer asks our members to also be prepared, because those winter storms and temperatures are unpredictable and can bring down power lines, trees, and branches, causing potentially longer outages than members expect, high energy...

November 20, 2023

Message from the President, Ron Salyer As I outlined in the November issue of Ohio Cooperative Living magazine, Pioneer Electric’s distribution rates will increase on January 1, 2024, for the first time since 2016. This adjustment is necessary to offset the escalating costs of materials and other operational expenses, driven by inflation and increasing lead times for purchasing needed equipment. (See page 18 for details.) For our average residential member, who uses 1,250 kilowatt-hours each month, the increase will equate to about $4.13 per month, or 2.3%. Depending on their billing cycles, members will start to see the rate adjustment...

October 27, 2023

The Pioneer Electric Cooperative Board of Trustees, based on recommendation from management, has approved a 2.3% distribution rate increase for residential members, which will begin effective January 1, 2024. Depending on your billing cycle, members will start to see the rate adjustment beginning on electric bills received between mid-January and early February. The cooperative has maintained a stable electric distribution rate for eight years, with the most recent increase occurring in 2016. That’s a testament to practical decision-making by our board and management team. We were able to avoid a previously anticipated rate increase in 2020 due to purchasing delays...

October 26, 2023

The short answer is: No. We want our members, specifically those in Champaign County, to know that as a member of the not-for-profit electric cooperative the proposal does not apply to their service. Therefore, Pioneer takes no position on this issue. However, your vote could affect others in the county served by other electric utilities. Under retail choice (deregulation) customers of AES Ohio and other investor-owned utilities choose a power supplier for the generation portion of their electric service. Ohio’s electric cooperatives do not participate in retail choice (deregulation) because our current means of providing power is in our members’...

September 21, 2023

Electricity is an essential part of our daily lives, powering our homes, businesses, and countless devices. It’s crucial to stay informed and aware of potential scams that target cooperative members. Understanding how to recognize and protect yourself from these scams is important. Here are some common electric utility scams and ways to avoid falling victim to them. Impersonation scams involve scammers posing as employees or representatives of your electric cooperative. They may contact you via phone, email, or even show up at your doorstep, claiming that your bill is overdue or that there’s a technical issue with your service. Here’s...

September 20, 2023

Earlier this year, Pioneer Electric Cooperative requested the active participation and feedback from its members, via Ohio Cooperative Living and pioneerec.com, regarding the new Demand-Response (DR) Standards and Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Standards. These requirements were introduced under the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, amending Title I of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). Cooperatives, and some other non-regulated electric utilities, were required to consider implementation of these standards. The PURPA standards, as outlined PURPA Standards to Consider are designed to: Promote energy conservation provided by electric utilities. Optimize the efficiency of electric utilities’ facilities and resource...