President's message
By Todd Ware, President & Chief Executive Officer
The Energy Cooperative has leak repair has reduced our unaccounted-for gas to .35%. This over 68,900 members residing percentage decreased by almost 44% from 2020. In addition, in 15 counties. Our values have the natural gas cooperative is just shy of completing its not changed since Licking automated metering infrastructure (AMI) upgrades. Rural Electrification lit up rural central Ohio. We have a The electric division makes system reliability and outage solid foundation built on those times a top priority. Our commitment to reliability is evident values, but we keep our eyes with over $12 million dollars spent on capital improvement on the future and your needs projects. From the Palmyra Substation upgrades to total as they continue to change. We distribution line rebuilds, our electric division will continue hope you share our pride in the to strive toward the lowest outage percentages possible. The Energy Cooperative’s history AMI meter project was completed with a read rate of 99.4%. Todd Ware and its growth as we have been We will consider AMI enhancements to increase member serving our member-owners since 1936. benefits as they are available. While we move into 2022, I must take the time to reflect on the progress of 2021. Overall, this year has been one of growth. From increasing members numbers to employee retirements, many new beginnings are taking place here at the Energy Cooperative. We are grateful to move into another year full of tremendous opportunities.
The Energy Cooperative feels strong about our members receiving the best service possible. In 2021, ACSI scores for both natural gas and electric were, like the previous year, at 83 and 89. However, the retention percentage decreased by a few points, bringing the linear score relatively flat for 2021.
The cooperative will continue seeking and reviewing opportunities to provide you with the best service. Our commitment to you is to work hard in 2022 to meet your service expectations.
Safety remains and will always be at the top of our priorities. We work hard to deliver your energy reliably while keeping employees and members safe. We continue to participate in national safety review programs for electric and natural gas and are considered leaders within those programs. As a result, our safety metrics continue to be significantly better than both state and national industry averages. Our electric cooperative has gone over twenty-two years without a lost-time injury.
The future is bright here at the Energy Cooperative. Between massive growth opportunities and challenges, 2022 will be an eventful year. Leading this team is truly a humbling experience. We continue to retain and attract the most bright, talented employees who directly impact our bottom line. Their high level of loyalty and dedication to the cooperative and its principles is evident. In addition, I’m grateful for a Board of Directors who continues to provide excellent leadership and support to the Energy Cooperative family. Big things are coming for our communities in 2022, and we cannot wait to be a part of it.
Consolidated financial results for the year were excellent as we reported a positive net margin of over $9.3 million. This number was slightly better than the budget and was driven by higher sales/margins and lower expenses. In addition, consolidated comprehensive income was $9.6 million, which was over the budget. These results raised our equity position to almost twenty-two percent. The natural gas cooperative continues to experience significant new growth as we added 729 new residential members. Over twenty-five miles of pipe were replaced or added, including upgrading aging infrastructure. The replacement of this aging infrastructure and our focus on 3
