Ozark Border customers will not see an increase in prices in 2018 and the electric cooperative is working to minimize any possible increases for 2019, according to General Manager David Schremp.
Schremp, who marked 2017 as his first year as manager, spoke Saturday at the cooperative's annual meeting. Ozark Border also marked its 23 consecutive year of refunding capital credits, officials said.
With more than 800 members registered to vote, election results were as follows: Dewayne Ligons, District 1, 546; Gary Melton, District 2, 546; Bill Crawford, District 3, 547; and Jeff Holloway, District 4, 534.
In 2017, the cooperative saw a number of challenges but through cost control measures were able to end the year in a sound financial position, said Schremp, during the meeting at Three Rivers College. Total kilowatt sales dropped for the third year in a row, along with average electric useage per household and the number of active accounts, he said. A record flood in May 2017 also left devastation through a lot of the western service area, he said.
The current year has seen an increase in kilowatt sales, primarily due to changing weather conditions, Schremp believes.
"By constantly working to streamline and find more efficient ways to operate, we can say with certainty that there will not be a rate increase in 2018," he said.
The cooperative expects to see power supply costs increase in 2018, he added.
"We are attempting to position ourselves to deal with it so it has as minimal an impact on the rates as possible," Schremp said.
New services in 2018 include an expanded SmartHub app that allows customers to pay their bill, view useage and report outages. More than 5,000 members are using it, Schremp said.
A text notification system to provide information on outages and other things has also been implemented.
"One of the strengths of our cooperative and our country is the willingness of everyone to work together for common goals," said board president Darrell Atchison, in presenting financial information.
The financial records were audited by Kraft, Miles and Tatum and have been reported to the Rural Utilities Services, he said.
The highlights include, Atchison said:
* At the end of 2017, the cooperative was providing service to 39,534 consumers and maintaining 5,980 miles of power line. "We continue to be one of the larger electric cooperatives in Missouri," he explained.
* In June 2017, the cooperative refunded $1,038,000 in capital credits to member/owners and in June 2018, another $1,069,000 in capital credits were refunded. * Ozark Border was organized in 1938 and has grown to an organization with over $233 million in assets.
* In 2017, the average annual operating expense of all electric cooperatives in Missouri was $530 per consumer compared to $362 per consumer for Ozark Border.
*. In 2017, Ozark Border had a ratio of 449 consumers for each full-time employee, while the average for all Missouri Cooperatives was 301 consumers per full-time employee. "Our operating efficiency has remained among the best in Missouri for a number of years," Atchison said.
The district reported:
* Total assets
2017 -- $233,496,102
2015 -- $222,867,014
* Total liabilities and
equities
2017 -- $233,496,102
2015 -- $222,867,014
* Operating revenue
(as of Dec. 31)
2017 -- $67,996,286
2015 -- $67,319,472
* Purchased power cost
2017 -- $41,460,961
2015 -- $41,513,470
* Distribution expense
2017 -- $9,108,704
2015 -- $8,741,933
* Total cost of
electric service
2017 -- $67,130,050
2015 -- $67,119,994