Inlandannualreport2016 web

IT’S YOUR COOPERATIVE 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

WE ARE A MEMBEROWNED ENERGY COOPERATIVE COMMITTED TO SAFE, RELIABLE SERVICE AT COMPETITIVE RATES.

CONTENTS 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15

BOARD OF TRUSTEES BOARD PRESIDENT & CEO LETTER FINANCIAL STATEMENTS INLAND BY THE NUMBERS RELIABILITY INNOVATION MEMBERSHIP COMMUNITY

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

1 | INLAND POWER

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT KRISTINA BAHR

BRIAN SLAYBAUGH

GALE RETTKOWSKI

AT-LARGE POSITION A Board President Trustee since 2001 Spokane Valley, WA

DISTRICT 7 Board Vice President Trustee since 2011 Pomeroy, WA

DISTRICT 5 Trustee since 1975 (Lincoln Electric), 1995 (Inland) Wilbur, WA

GERALD DAVIS

DANNY LEE

RICHARD ZIEHNERT

AT-LARGE POSITION B Trustee since 1984 Pullman, WA

DISTRICT 1 Trustee since 2015 Nine Mile Falls, WA

DISTRICT 2 Board Treasurer Trustee since 2013 Elk, WA

JAMES KROLL

DAVID SHILL

GARRY ROSMAN

DISTRICT 6 Trustee since 2007 Colfax, WA

DISTRICT 4 Trustee since 1990 Spokane Valley, WA

DISTRICT 3 Board Secretary Trustee since 2012 Davenport, WA

ANNUAL REPORT 2016 | 2

LOOKING BACK ON A GREAT YEAR & AHEAD TO AN EXCITING FUTURE.

DEAR VALUED MEMBERS, At Inland Power, our team is rallied around six core beliefs that give us a sense of purpose and serve as our guiding core values each and every day. As we look back to 2016, we’re proud of these beliefs – affordable rates, safety, reliability, innovation, membership and community.

After all, Inland Power was founded in 1937 by some spirited forerunners who were dedicated to getting their farm neighbors “to see the light” and we continue in honor of their drive, effort and dedication.

it hard to diagnose after the fact. Now with the digital system reading every hour, our members literally have access to 24 reads every day, and that level of detail has been a real eye opener for many members. With the ability to correlate consumption to activities, members can actively take control of what level of usage makes sense for their lives and budget. That easily accessible information has led to comments from our members including:

2016 WAS THE YEAR TO

• “I didn’t think our new hot tub would use that much electricity.”

INNOVATE AND EXCEL

• “That little space heater sure drove up my bill.”

AT INLAND POWER.

• “We decided that the old extra refrigerator we plugged into the garage really isn’t worth the additional usage we’re paying.”

As you’ll see in this report, 2016 was the year to innovate and excel at Inland Power. After a couple of years implementing new internal software and digital meters, your staff had a focus on growth, success and productivity throughout the cooperative. Their collective willingness to explore new opportunities and try new things is part of what makes Inland Power a great cooperative.

Inland Power always strives to be on the cutting edge of cost-effective technology. It was in pursuit of a better approach that we first brought digital meters to our system. And we couldn’t be more proud of the numerous benefits we’ve experienced with instantaneous meter reads and expeditious power restoration provided by the vast technology of these meters.

One of the positive aspects we’ve experienced is how well the digital meters are working for members in conjunction with their online SmartHub account. It has been an amazing conservation tool that raises awareness of energy usage by identifying high and moderate use activities. With our old metering system, meter reads were self-read monthly, which generated a bill a month later. If a bill triggered questionable use, enough time had passed that most members had forgotten certain activities that generated an uptick in usage, making

3 | INLAND POWER

• “Wow, I can really see the impact frigid temperatures have on my bill.”

We’ve also been able to solve some family mysteries as well, so to speak, like when a homeowner asked us to check on unexplained usage happening at their closedup cabin. Having the ability to show what days and times the usage happened, the homeowner discovered that a couple of teenagers were, well, ‘being teenagers’ and sneaking into their parent’s cabin without permission. It’s really been a great tool for our members in some very basic, as well as, unique ways.

There’s no doubt this past year has been a very politically charged time, and we have been working with our legislators in Olympia to ensure rural areas get a voice in the halls of power in Washington. It’s not about red states and blue states. It’s about real people in real places facing real challenges. It’s about our co-op living out the principles of our movement: concern for community and democratic member control.

We’ve been using our collective efforts in Olympia to ensure our members’ concerns are heard politically by imploring our lawmakers for less stringent rules to the renewable energy policy act. Cleaner energy sources are a good thing – but at what price? Without significant tax subsidies, wind and solar remain prohibitively

expensive. The energy needs of the nation are serious, but they must be balanced with the needs of the citizens and the environment. They must be affordable and realistically achievable. That is our legislative message on behalf of you, our members.

In addition, Inland Power continues to serve you with energy that is 87% renewable and 97% carbon free, as you can see in the chart above.

Community is one of our core values and a vital part of our mission and service delivery. For decades, we’ve been giving back by supporting schools, higher education, and livestock shows just to name a few. It’s why we formed Operation Round Up in 2013. Supporting our community and rounding up small change may seem trivial, but we believe when even just one life is touched, a chain reaction can be unleashed that ultimately makes everyone and everything in its path stronger.

2016 alone, we saved $1.9 million. This is a direct saving in lower electrical rates to each of you.

Lastly, we would like to thank our great employees.

Day after day they are the ones who ensure great member service, reliability and the success of your cooperative. In 2016, Inland Power was honored to be named one of the top 25 places to work in the Inland Northwest by the Journal of Business.

This award was based on employee engagement surveys and feedback. This is a huge honor and very gratifying success for the cooperative. We are very proud of this outstanding achievement.

In the following pages, you will see what makes your cooperative special. We would like to thank our employees for their dedication, effort and willingness to embrace change this past year to accomplish all the successes highlighted in this annual report. We continue to believe that

WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR EMPLOYEES FOR THEIR DEDICATION, EFFORT AND WILLINGNESS TO EMBRACE CHANGE THIS PAST YEAR. Inland Power is in great financial shape. As you can see in the financial section of this report, Inland’s operating margins were $4.8 million. In addition, in 2016 Inland Power entered its fourth year of our $173 million BPA prepayment program to help support upgrades to the federal hydro system. This program is paying great dividends. In

Chad V. Jensen Chief Executive Officer

our products, services and the value they add to our members remain the fundamental elements of our continued success. In 2017, Inland Power celebrates 80 years in business. That’s a tremendous feat and we look forward to another successful year of serving your energy needs.

Kristina Bahr Board of Trustees, President

ANNUAL REPORT 2016 | 4

2016

2015

$ 149,441,000

$ 147,323,000

11%

ASSETS

5,489,000

5,091,000

588,000

493,000

Accounts and Notes Receivable

8,967,000

10,380,000

Materials and Supplies

3,087,000

3,259,000

BPA Prepayment

143,094,000

152,103,000

Other Prepayment

4,269,000

Other Assets 479,000

$ 315,414,000

Accounts Payable Long Term Debt BPA Prepay Long Term Debt Other Liabilities

IRRIGATION

1,944,000 367,000 $ 320,960,000

EQUITIES, MARGINS & LIABILITIES

Equities and Margins

COMMERCIAL

$ 95,981,000

$ 92,467,000

6,371,000

5,978,000

56,791,000

59,233,000

140,618,000

149,954,000

12,571,000

10,135,000

Deferred Gain and Credits 3,082,000 3,193,000

$ 315,414,000 $ 320,960,000

NUMBER OF METERS 42,000

40,000

38,000

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

STATEMENTS OF REVENUES AND MARGINS

OPERATING REVENUE

2016

2015

$ 67,786,000

$ 66,822,000

EXPENSES

35,699,000

33,958,000

Operations and Maintenance

7,615,000

10,121,000

Consumer Accounts & Marketing

2,314,000

2,457,000

Administrative and General

6,305,000

6,573,000

Depreciation

6,773,000

6,492,000

Taxes

4,123,000

4,075,000

55%

ADMIN & OPERATIONS

25%

EXPENSES

Cost of Power

40,352

Cash and Cash Equivalents

RESIDENTIAL

39,872

Investments in Assoc. Organizations

69%

20%

38,950

Net Utility Plant

39,502

REVENUE

39,010

2016 FINANCIAL STATEMENT & RATES

BALANCE SHEETS

TAXES, DEPRECIATION & INTEREST POWER COSTS

20%

Interest 2,263,000 2,414,000

2,694,000

732,000

NET BENEFITS OF BPA PREPAY

1,900,000

2,213,000

NATIONAL AVERAGE

9.24¢

206,000 214,000

1200

NON-OPERATING MARGINS

12.22¢

NET MARGINS

$ 4,800,000

$ 3,159,000

600

$1,250

WASHINGTON AVERAGE

CAPITAL CREDIT RETIREMENTS (Thousands)

2012

5 | INLAND POWER

2013 2014

2015

$1,500

OPERATING MARGINS

8.5¢

$ 66,090,000

$1,500

Out of 891 cooperatives in the country Inland Power ranks 14th for lowest rates.

INLAND POWER

$ 65,092,000

$1,500

TOTAL COST OF ELECTRIC SERVICE

$1,500

INLAND POWER HAS THE LOWEST RATES IN THE NATION

2016

ANNUAL REPORT 2016 | 6

INLAND POWER

BY THE NUMBERS

40,352 86 METERS

EMPLOYEES

INLAND POWER SERVICE TERRITORY

MILES OF LINE

7,668

5.25 MEMBERS/MILE OF LINE

2016 KWH SALES

883,839,301 2016 ELECTRIC REVENUE

$65,916,019 TOTAL UTILITY PLANT

$231,217,224 NET UTILITY PLANT

$149,441,273 7 | INLAND POWER

ANNUAL REPORT 2016 | 8

RELIABILITY RESOURCES

2013

1.942

2014

1.656

2015

1.430

2016

1.440

dedication of your team and sustained investment in the strength of the distribution system.

As technology continues to enhance and develop so do the systems that allow Inland Power to become more knowledgeable about outages and outage causes in the field. With our new digital meters, we have more information at our fingertips than ever

2016 OUTAGES BY CAUSE POWER SUPPLIER

44.5%

start to focus our efforts to reduce outages. While this is a work in progress we are improving and

SNOW/ICE

before. This means that we can now better track outage causes, low voltage issues and other areas that may impact the quality of your service. During 2016 we have been able to monitor that data and

UNKNOWN

EFFECTIVELY.

come by chance. It is through the hard work and

10.9%

PRUDENTLY AND

1.705

TREE

on this page is a summary of the accomplishments made over the last 12 months.

ANIMAL

FIRE

WIND

duration of outages throughout our system. Listed

2.4%

6.7% 6.5%

advancing our ability to reduce the number and

9.9%

OUR MEMBERS’

2012

PLANNED

WE ARE UTILIZING

flip of a switch. This kind of performance does not

5.1%

BUDGET ENSURES

24/7 to ensure that service is available to you at the

AVERAGE NUMBER OF OUTAGES PER MEMBER BY YEAR

MANMADE

IMPROVEMENT

without safe and productive employees. We work

12%

LONG-TERM CAPITAL

Inland Power could not reach any of its lofty targets

EQUIPMENT

DEVELOPING A

LIGHTNING

0.9% 0.7% 0.4%

9 | INLAND POWER

Hired two full-time pole test & treat inspectors.

Completed a five-year maintenance and

Since the wind and snow storm of

Began construction of a second

Crews continue to replace

They have a yearly rotation schedule to test Inland

operations plan for our distribution system.

2015, Inland Power has committed

power transformer in the West Plains

aluminum bells and cutouts as

Power’s 101,918 poles. In 2016 alone, we replaced

This plan will help us evaluate the weakest

itself to hazard tree mitigation beyond

substation to bring additional power

they are a consistent culprit in

1,050 poles that failed Inland’s test and treat

portions of our service territory and more

our normal right-of-way tree clearing.

to the Airway Heights area. The

outage causes. 273 bells and 380

program to help increase reliability of the system.

proactively plan preventative maintenance.

In 2016, approximately 5,000 hazard

transformer is scheduled to come online

cutouts were replaced in 2016.

trees have been removed.

in early summer 2017.

ANNUAL REPORT 2016 | 10

Hand in hand, we take the journey to pioneer

A FEW EXAMPLES OF INNOVATION THAT YOUR TEAM HAS ACCOMPLISHED OVER THE LAST YEAR

the way in this fast-paced environment as

OUTAGE MANAGEMENT MOBILITY

DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN

NEW DIGITAL METERS

WORKFLOW PROCESS IMPROVEMENT

our new metering system, host a wealth of

With the amount of proactive real-

During the wind storm, we identified

We are nearing the completion of

Another area we have focused

information about your account and electric

time outage data being received

the need to have a very robust

the new digital meter rollout and are

on over the last year is workflow

use. Members can now manage payments,

from the meters, and the increasing

disaster response plan so we could

currently sitting at a 98.5% meter

and process improvement. As

sign up for services and check their electric

expectations from the members on

continue to provide the level of

read rate. The project has had a huge

technology and job demands

use down to the hour, all at the touch of a

outage communications and status

service expected by our members.

impact throughout the organization

change, we have to look closely

updates, it was critical to get information

Over the past year, we began the

from billing to operations and

at how these can complement

in the hands of crews. Each crew is now

process of defining a complete

engineering. We have only begun to

each other in order to gain

geared up with smartphones and iPads

disaster response plan, which

see the impact this system will have

efficiencies and ultimately

The new digital meter installation is by

with connectivity back into the outage

covers power backup, redundant

on helping to identify and increase

provide the best service we can

far the broadest reaching and impactful

management system. This provides crews

communications connectivity at our

reliability throughout our distribution

to the members.

organizational change in Inland history.

with the ability to receive live updates as

main office, to contingencies in the

system.

After a long, nearly three-year journey, the

outages change as well as allows them the

event we need to relocate personnel

ability to update outage information from

to continue electric services to our

the field to provide members with more

membership.

we pave the way towards creating value for our membership. You’ve never had so much information about your cooperative and your account at your fingertips as you do today.

Our SmartHub portal and app, combined with

button.

project is nearing completion and moving to maintenance and full operation mode.

accurate outage restoration times and

We are experiencing a read rate of 98% and

status updates. In addtion, we launched

will be working to get those last meters

SmartHub messenger service that allows

communicating by the end of 2017.

members to opt in to email and text alerts for outage updates on their accounts.

INNOVATION 11 | INLAND POWER

ANNUAL REPORT 2016 | 12

MEMBERSHIP Inland Power is your cooperative and we want you to feel like a valued member with every interaction. Our employees work hard to give our members the best in member service. Year over year we receive high member service marks compared to our peers. This past year, 93% of our members rated their experience dealing with

METERS PER EMPLOYEE

Inland as excellent and the majority of the remaining were satisfactory. Our members

INLAND POWER 469

deserve the best and we will continue to make member satisfaction a high priority.

NATIONAL AVERAGE 306

In addition to great service, your cooperative strives for efficiency and productivity.

The best indication of our productivity and efficiency is our high number of meters

WASHINGTON AVERAGE 290 BPA CUSTOMER AVERAGE 280

per employee. This statistic is a key ratio used to compare efficiency against other cooperatives across the nation. Inland Power is significantly higher than the national median, a statistic we are very proud of. Our great employees are just one way we make doing business with Inland Power as easy as possible.

At the March 2016 Annual Meeting, a new set of bylaws was proposed and approved by the membership. These bylaws were drafted to better serve the membership and allowed for greater membership participation regarding board elections and

TOTAL NUMBER OF PHONE CALLS

53,943

districting. The first change expanded the trustee voting process to allow for voting AVERAGE WEEKLY PHONE CALLS

by mail, electronically or in person with a goal to increase member participation.

1,037

The second amendment allowed for the board of trustees the ability to change board districts per policy rather than through bylaw amendments. With the everchanging number of members within each district, this gives the board more liberty to redistrict to ensure equal membership representation within districts.

SMARTHUB ACCOUNTS

14,180 13 | INLAND POWER

PAPERLESS BILLS EMAILED

73,392

PAPER BILLS SENT TO HOME

424,272

PAY M E N T S P R O C E S S E D T H R O U G H

59,473 62,243 ELECTRONIC CHECK 142,131 PAPER CHECKS 170,143 SMARTHUB

CREDIT CARD

NEW SERVICE APPOINTMENTS

684

AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL MEMBER BILL

$113.10 | $3.77 M O N T H LY

DA I LY

ENERGY EFFICIENCY REBATES

776

ESTIMATED KWH SAVINGS FROM ENERGY EFFICIENCY

6,673,452 ANNUAL REPORT 2016 | 14

At Inland Power, we are committed to serving the communities where our members and employees live and work. Year over year our giving continues to grow and you can see our employees giving back to our communities through monetary gifts, volunteer time and food drives. This year your cooperative returned almost $70,000 to the communities we serve in the form of charitable donations.

By sponsoring youth sports teams, local high schools, scholarships to member’s children and more, we are striving to make our communities better places to live and work.

The Operation Round Up program

Inland employees continue to sponsor

15 - $1,000 excellence award college

$22,500 donation to SNAP,

Sponsored 34 community sports

continues to grow with a balance

83 students from Snowdon Elementary

scholarship and three - $1,000

providing energy assistance

teams and educational events,

of $27,608. To date, we have 2,492

fulfilling all needed requests for

lineman scholarships for line school

to hundreds of our members.

along with participating in

participants and have donated to

weekend food for kids in need. In total,

awarded to member’s children and

livestock auctions and 4H groups

over 13 organizations since the

Inland and its employees donated over

dependents.

to support our incredible youth.

program’s inception in 2013. Thank

$13,500 to this program in 2016. In

you to our generous members for

addition, Inland employees sponsored

contributing to this great program.

a Tree of Sharing, sponsoring 25 students in need of gifts and clothing during the holidays.

COMMUNITY 15 | INLAND POWER

ANNUAL REPORT 2016 | 16

10110 W Hallett Rd. Spokane, WA 99224

inlandpower.com

RELIABILITY

INNOVATION

COMMUNITY

MEMBERSHIP