Jeff Conrad, President and CEO of Wabash Valley Power
Every week, there seems to be another headline warning about rising electricity prices. One recent report really stood out to me. In July, the Citizens Action Coalition shared that over the past year, rates from Indiana’s investor-owned utilities (IOUs) rose by an average of 17.5%.
As the CEO of a utility, I take that personally. I know what higher electric bills mean for families, farms, and small businesses. That’s why I’m proud of what we’ve achieved over the last 10 years. Our rates have gone up less than 1% annually. In a time when double-digit increases are making news, that’s no small accomplishment.
We are the wholesale power provider to 21-member co-ops across Indiana and Illinois. That means we generate and purchase the electricity your local co-op delivers to your home or business. We make up most of your electric bill, but not all of it. Your local co-op’s costs, such as billing, maintaining lines, and responding to outages, make up the rest. So, when our wholesale price goes up, your retail bill from your local co-op often does, too.
Holding the line on our wholesale rates hasn’t been easy. Since 2014, we have navigated a global pandemic, supply chain shortages, workforce challenges, volatile commodity prices, and extreme weather events. Yet we have maintained stable rates through careful planning, smart investments, and the dedication of our team.
Looking ahead, I believe we can keep this momentum going. We are constantly exploring new ways to provide safe, affordable, and reliable electricity. Sometimes that means upgrading infrastructure. Other times, it is about deploying innovative technology. One exciting development on the horizon is battery storage. This technology will allow us to store electricity when it is less expensive and release it when prices peak — a strategy that could deliver significant savings for our member co-ops and, ultimately, for you.
I don’t like to be lumped into the general “rate hike” narrative because our story is different. Serving rural communities is inherently more expensive. In Indiana, co-ops average just seven consumers per mile of line, while IOUs average 34. Fewer consumers per mile means higher costs to deliver electricity, yet we have proven we can manage those costs effectively.
No matter what the headlines say, we are successfully working day and night to keep your power reliable and affordable — that’s a story worth telling.
Jeff Conrad
President & CEO
Wabash Valley Power Alliance