October is National Cooperative Month, which reminds us to celebrate the benefits of being served by an electric cooperative. When you signed up for service with LPEA, you became a member of the cooperative. We are owned by the members we serve and are governed by a board of directors that you elect. All cooperatives share the common values of integrity, accountability, innovation, and commitment to community.
Integrity: Members first. Every day. That’s the power of co-op membership. It means we deliver energy to our members at the cost of service, unlike investor-owned utilities that typically distribute their profits to investors across the nation. Any profits we earn are returned to members in the form of Capital Credits.
Accountability: With members in charge, you can feel confident the decisions made are in your best interest and the best interest of our community– a stark contrast to investor-owned utilities where the investor with the most shares has the most clout.
Innovation: LPEA offers innovative solutions to better serve members and meet their needs, including cutting edge programs promoting energy efficiency and beneficial electrification.
Commitment to Community: LPEA invests time, money, and expertise to improve and strengthen our local communities.
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When we say LPEA celebrates co-op month, it really means we are celebrating you! After all, our co-op wouldn’t exist without you, our members.
Our core business purpose is to be your electricity provider, but the larger mission of the co-op is to help make our corner of the world a better place to live. “Concern for Community” is one of seven guiding principles that all co-ops share.
Similar to how our wires run through our service territory, our concern for community flows through all of our decisions––because being a co-op means being a responsible partner and good neighbor.
LPEA works to help our communities thrive through initiatives led by our employees and local board that’s comprised of neighbors who live right here in our community. Because we’re local, we understand our community’s unique needs and strive to help meet them.
We’re proud to support local youth through our youth tour and scholarship programs. With your help, we offer a Round Up your bill program to benefit our community’s non-profit organizations. We support area food banks, like Pine River Shares, Manna Soup Kitchen, and other charitable organizations, such as the United Way.
The word “cooperative” is close to “cooperation,” meaning people working together towards a common goal—mutually benefitting one another and the larger community. That’s the essence of the cooperative spirit. Our employees and member-elected board members are invested in the community where they live and serve.
Above all, as a co-op, we put our members’ priorities first. As your trusted energy partner, we know that saving energy and money is important to you. That’s why we have numerous programs in place to help, including rebates for your Beneficial Electrification (BE) efforts, On-Bill Financing (OBF), and Time-of-use (TOU) programs.
If you haven’t already, we encourage you to download our app, SmartHub. The app allows you to conveniently monitor and manage your energy use, pay your bill, update your contact information, and more. And we’re here to help, so call us if you have questions about your energy bills.
LPEA is continuously examining ways to operate more efficiently while continuing to provide the highest level of friendly, reliable service you expect and deserve. That’s just one of the many benefits of being your local co-op. We were built by the members we serve.