There are two prominent types of electric service providers operating in the southern tip of Illinois, namely: investor-owned power companies and electric cooperatives.

Both provide electric energy to their customers, but the essential difference between the investor-owned utilities and the electric cooperatives lies in the fundamental purpose of their existence.

The primary function of investor-owned utilities is to make as much money as possible for the owners of the corporation.   Providing electric energy is the means by which they achieve that purpose.

Electric Cooperatives, on the other hand, exist solely to provide electric energy to their members; there is no secondary purpose.

Occasionally either type of electric supplier can have an identity problem where they appear to be, or advertise themselves as something they are not.

In my opinion, some investor-owned utilities, who in the recent past have promoted programs with the promise of lower electric rates for everyone in Illinois, have pretended to be something they are not in order to surreptitiously achieve their primary purpose of maximizing profits.

Conversely, there are a few electric cooperatives across the nation who are generating margins considerably beyond those required by a not-for-profit corporation.

The term "Touchstone" originally referred to a black siliceous rock used to test the purity of gold and silver, but more recently the term has been utilized to determine the criteria for evaluating the authenticity of a claim.

Recognizing the importance of being genuine to their core values and being what they presented themselves to be, a group of electric cooperatives formed the Touchstone Energy Brand a few years ago and there are now some 600 participants in the program.

Touchstone Energy Cooperatives are local active members of their communities, dedicated to serving commercial, industrial, agricultural and residential customers with integrity, accountability, innovation and commitment to community.

SouthEastern is one of those 600 cooperatives who have committed themselves to meeting defined standards to ensure that we remain true to our goal of improving the quality of life for the communities we serve.