CO-OP NEWS

www.kvremc.com

CONTACT US Toll Free: 800-552-2622 Local: 219-733-2511

OFFICE HOURS 7:30 a.m.–4 p.m. Central Time Monday-Friday

STREET ADDRESS 8642 W. U.S. Highway 30 Wanatah, IN 46390

MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 157, Wanatah, IN 46390

EMERGENCY POWER OUTAGES To report a power outage, please call 800-552-2622. We are available to serve you 24 hours a day. When calling, please provide the name in which your account is listed. Also, please be sure to check your fuses or breakers.

KANKAKEE VALLEY REMC STAFF Scott Sears, Chief Executive Officer Alissa Tucker, Executive Assistant Angie Swanson, Office Manager Amanda Steeb, Communications and Marketing Director Dave Howell, Purchasing and Facilities Manager Scott Hanson, Director of Operations Bri Travis, Director of Engineering

OFFICE CLOSING

KV REMC will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday Nov. 24 and 25.

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facebook.com/KVREMC

FROM THE CEO: Where does your energy dollar go?

When you go grocery shopping, it’s easy to see where every dollar goes. Some money pays for fresh produce, some goes to dairy products. It’s easy to know what your grocery budget covers because everything is right there in yourcart.

It’s not quite as simple to see where your energy dollars go. First, it’s important to know your electricity is supplied by a not-forprofit membership cooperative, rather than a for-profit utility. While for-profit utilities try to make money for stockholders and Wall Street, our job as your electric power co-op is to deliver reliable service while keeping your bills as low as possible.

If you think of your monthly electric bill as a shopping cart, it contains a variety of items that make up what you pay. About a third of your “cart” covers what it costs Kankakee Valley REMC to provide electricity to your home or business. That portion covers everything from maintaining power lines, employing our office staff and line crews, and using this magazine to inform and educateyou. The remaining two-thirds is the cost to buy that electricity. We don’t operate power plants, so our power provider, Wabash Valley Power Alliance, uses its buying power to negotiate with the wholesale market for the most reliable power at the lowest cost.

In other words, two-thirds of your energy bill is based on market prices for electricity.

The power market is affected by national and global economic factors like inflation and weather trends. While we can’t control what happens in global energy markets, our leadership works hard to keep our operating costs as low as possible. After all, our mission has always been to help you make the most of every dollar you spend on energy.

I encourage you to turn to the next page to see all the areas that your dollar supports each month.

“While for-profit utilities try to make money for stockholders and Wall Street, our job as your electric power co-op is to deliver reliable service while keeping your bills as low as possible.”

SCOTT SEARS

Chief Executive Officer

Continued from page 5

We need your help!

EMAIL SURVEY TO BEGIN SOON

Data gathered will help plan for the future

During this month and next, Kankakee Valley REMC will be conducting a survey of residential co-op member-consumers. The survey, formerly done via telephone, will now be done by email. This survey is conducted every three years, and helps our power supplier, Wabash Valley Power Alliance, determine how much power will be needed in the near future.

If you are contacted to participate and don’t wish to, you will not be pressured to do so. The email you receive asking for your participation will come from info@kvremc.com. We greatly appreciate those who do take the time to help us plan better for the future. If you have any questions about the survey or the process, please call the Kankakee Valley REMC office at 800-552-2622.

High School Students Selected for Junior Board Program

Kankakee Valley REMC has a longstanding commitment to strengthening the communities its member-consumers call home. Since we are focused on the future, preparing our students to become the next generation of community leaders is one of our priorities. We do that through a variety of activities and scholarships.

Through the new Junior Board of Directors program, we are providing an opportunity for high school juniors to network with other young leaders as well as business professionals. Over the next nine months, students will participate in fun activities that will strengthen leadership skills and career development while they interact with the cooperative, local businesses, community leaders and non-profits. Upon successful completion of the program, students will be awarded a scholarship.

Visit facebook.com/KVREMC to see program updates!

Congratulations to the following students who were selected to this distinguished program.

• Brianna Irzyk

North Judson-San Pierre High School • Emma Gillard

Knox Community High School • Evan Meyer

Victory Christian Academy • Ryan Kratz

Kouts Middle/High School • Mackenzie Schultz

Tri-Township High School • Dylan Andrews

Washington Township High School • Noah Doms

Tri-Township High School • Addie Gorski

Tri-Township High School • Carter Welkie

Tri-Township High School • Damien Frasure

North Judson-San Pierre High School

Top Row: Ryan Kratz, Emma Gillard, Carter Welkie, Evan Meyer, Damien Frasure Middle Row: Mackenzie Schultz, Brianna Irzyk Bottom Row: Noah Doms, Addie Gorski, Dylan Andrews

You may see a credit on your bill

If you are currently a Kankakee Valley REMC member-consumer and were also one during 2004-05 and/or 2021, you can expect to see a credit on your bill generated in December. This credit is from our power supplier, Wabash Valley Power Alliance.

WVPA is a non-profit cooperative, just like KV REMC. Any margins it earns over and above its expenses, maintenance or capital improvement are returned to its memberconsumers. KV REMC is a memberconsumer of WVPA. This return is referred to as capital credits.

Your KV REMC board of directors has decided to pass these capital credits on to the member-consumers who received power from KV REMC during the retirement years. The capital credit you receive is based on how much electricity you used during those years.

Capital credits allow memberconsumers to benefit directly from the commitment of our power supplier to prudent fiscal management.

ENTER TO WIN A BILL CREDIT!

Each month we ask three questions from the Kankakee Valley REMC articles.

DRAWING THREE WINNERS: $75, $50, $25

Each month, one name will be drawn for each dollar amount. The winners will receive a bill credit on their next electric bill.

OCTOBER WINNERS

Congratulations to the October winners! • $75: James Z. - Chesterton • $50: LouAnn V. - Hebron • $25: Paul M. - Kouts

HOW TO ENTER

Enter online by visiting kvremc.com/quizcorner or mail your answers to: KV REMC, Attn: Quiz Corner, P.O. Box 157, Wanatah, IN 46390

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT CORNER ANSWERS IS THURSDAY, NOV. 11.

u If you are currently a KV REMC member-consumer and also one during _____ and _____, you can expect to see a credit on your bill generated in December.

vThe cost of purchased power makes up how much of what you spend on electricity?________________

wThe survey to help our power supplier, Wabash Valley Power Alliance is conduct every ________ years?

Name: ____________________________________________

KV REMC Account No. _______________________________

Address:___________________________________________

Statement of Non-Discrimination

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by the USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/ complaint_filing_cust.html and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call 866-632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Ave., SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: 202-690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Kankakee Valley REMC P.O. Box 157 8642 W. U.S. Highway 30 Wanatah, IN 46390