Over 750 SouthEastern members endured soaring outdoor temperatures to attend their Cooperative’s 67^th Annual Meeting which was held on the campus of Southeastern Illinois College.  For those members who were unable to attend, this month’s column will be used to update you on what is happening with the business you own.

SouthEastern experienced a good year in 2004, with energy sales approaching 50 million dollars which produced an operating margin of $824,000.  Installation of the new computer system is nearing completion and even though the Cooperative’s old NCR computer was no longer manufactured nor supported by the vendor, conversion projects are somewhat like a human heart implant; they are never easy and there is always a substantial recovery period before everything is back to normal.

The Cooperative’s automated meter reading project is progressing and some 8000 meters are expected to be operational by the end of the year.  In addition, the Cooperative increased its tree trimming budget by one million dollars and those efforts are having a positive impact on quality of service.  The program to replace 40 miles of power line originally constructed in the 1950s is progressing well, with about 20 miles of new line already installed and an additional 20 miles scheduled for completion by the end of the year.

Even with the rate increases of recent years, SouthEastern members still have the second lowest rate of any electric cooperative in the State and the average member spends about $94 dollars a month for electric energy.  That energy is used for lighting, air conditioning, refrigerators, freezers, microwaves, coffee makers, televisions and a host of other appliances as well as being used to wash and dry the family clothes, all for a cost of $3.13 per day.  Even those families who use electricity for heating, on the average, spend less than $5 dollars per day to meet every energy need in their home, a real bargain when compared to the price of just one gallon of gasoline or diesel fuel.

Unfortunately the price of all forms of energy is increasing as the developing nations of the world vie for limited natural resources, a situation which is having a negative impact on our economy, with the price of all forms of energy increasing.  The national average price of heating oil surged to $2.00 a gallon during the past winter, up 33% from the previous year; the average price of propane increased by 19% for the same period and the price of natural gas has almost doubled since the year 2000, resulting in hundreds of dollars of additional costs each year for users of those fuels.

Electricity prices have also increased, but electricity has the most stable price of any energy source with the national average residential rate only increasing to 8.49 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2004, essentially the same rate as your Cooperative.  In addition SouthEastern will return almost two million dollars of patronage capital this fall, which makes our rate even more competitive.

Due to the increased demand for all energy, SouthEastern’s power supplier, which is the Southern Illinois Power Cooperative at Marion, has seen dramatic increases in the price of coal, natural gas and diesel fuels used to generate electricity.  Power purchased from other generating plants during peak periods has increased in price as well, and SIPC ended the 2004 year with a 6.3 million dollar loss.  In addition, property taxes paid by the power plant to Williamson County have soared from 1.3 million dollars in 2003 to almost 2.7 million dollars for 2005, and as a result SIPC has notified SouthEastern that our wholesale power cost will increase by approximately $2,000,000 in the coming year.