SouthEastern Illinois Electric Cooperative began its operations on October 5th, 1938 and is celebrating 72 years of service this year.  SEIEC is very proud to be one of a number of businesses in our area that remain locally owned, locally governed and locally operated in Southern Illinois.  The founders of the electric cooperative program developed a unique business structure that by its very nature, makes electric cooperatives very accountable to the members it serves.  Although much has changed over the last 72 years, there are some things that remain unchanged such as your Cooperative's commitment to the members that it serves.

 

Every few years, the Cooperative membership is surveyed by an independent survey firm in order to determine what areas of our operation need improvement.  In the summer of 2009, 1,260 survey questionnaires were mailed to randomly selected members of SouthEastern Illinois Electric Cooperative, in all 499 completed surveys were returned providing a 95% confidence level in the results.  These results revealed that approximately 94% of SEIEC members are satisfied with the service provided by the Cooperative, 42% feels that their service had improved over the last few years while approximately 52% feels that their service had remained the same.  While these numbers are very good, your Cooperative will continue to strive to improve service reliability to you.

Of the 66.3% of the membership that tried to phone the Cooperative in the past year, 75% reported that they had no difficulty in contacting someone who could help them.  Those who reported difficulty contacting a person to help them were asked what type of difficulty they experienced; the most common problems were problems with the automated phone system and phone was busy/not answered after business hours.  Your Cooperative is aware that there are problems with the phone system and has been researching ways to make improvements in order to provide better customer service to you as Cooperative members.

Regarding climate change and energy efficiency, 56% of the membership feels that CO2 contributes somewhat or a great deal to climate change however approximately 72% would not be willing to pay over $10 to combat climate change.  Approximately 91% of the membership has taken steps to reduce energy consumption by turning off lights when not in use, using compact fluorescent light bulbs, changing settings or installing programmable thermostats and by weatherizing their homes.

When asked if what you presently pay for other household goods and services including other energy sources, would you say that electricity from SouthEastern Illinois Electric Cooperative is less economical, about in line or more economical, approximately 62% felt that it was about in line, 21% felt it was more economical while 17% felt it was less economical.  Unlike other electric utility business structures that strive to produce profits for investors, your cooperative is a not-for-profit organization that strives to provide the highest level of reliable, quality service at rates just high enough to cover the costs of operation.  Your Cooperative will continue to strive to provide reliable electric service at the most reasonable cost.

The 2009 survey incorporated a series of ACSI (American Customer Satisfaction Index) questions which allowed SouthEastern to be ranked with other electric cooperatives and investor-owned utilities across the country.  Your Cooperative scored an 82 in 2009 while the overall score for the Illinois Cooperatives was an 81.

Your Cooperative remains committed to finding new and better ways to serve its members.  Your Cooperative will continue to work diligently to improve and enhance the level of service and reliability that you receive.

See you next month and as always, "We'll keep the lights on for you."