EECA held its Annual Meeting on Thursday, July 9, at its headquarters in Murphysboro. As a thank-you for attending, all registered members received a $20 bill credit on their August bill and were entered to win attendance prizes.
Each year, this meeting is an opportunity for EECA members to hear important updates about their cooperative and participate in the cooperative’s democratic process. There was no contested director election this year, but Directors Rick Asaturian of Carbondale, Mary Jo Homan of Chester, and Steve Prest of Coulterville were elected by acclamation. During his annual report, EECA General Manager and Executive Vice President Shane Hermetz shared updates on the cooperative’s financial health, system improvements, and future priorities.
If you weren’t able to attend, here are the key takeaways from his remarks.
Capital Credits Return to Members
As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, EECA returns margins to members through capital credits. Later this year, more than $1.3 million will be returned to members who received electric service from EECA in 1996, 1997, 1998, and/or 1999. For more information about this year’s capital credit retirement, see page 18C.
Rates Remain Stable
Hermetz shared that members have seen the benefit of recent Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) and Distribution Cost Adjustment (DCA) changes, which have resulted in lowered electric bills/rates in recent months. While inflation, supply chain challenges, and growing energy demand nationwide continue to influence the cost of providing electricity, EECA expects rates to remain stable for the remainder of the year, with no significant changes anticipated at this time.
Bringing Outside Dollars Back to Members
Over the past several years, EECA has secured more than $6M in state and federal grant funding to improve reliability, strengthen infrastructure, and support economic development across southern Illinois. By pursuing grant opportunities whenever possible, EECA can make system improvements while helping keep costs down for members.
This outside funding has supported projects including expanding electric vehicle charging infrastructure; constructing a shared materials warehouse to improve outage response for multiple cooperatives; building two new substations to support business growth and reliability—one in the Baldwin area and the other near the I-57/I-24 interchange; accelerating pole replacements and right-of-way maintenance; and installing advanced technology in substations to improve system monitoring and reliability.
Members Can Earn Bill Credits
Members were encouraged to enroll in Peak Power Rewards, a voluntary demand response program that rewards EECA members with bill credits when they can reduce their energy use during short periods of high demand. Over 900 EECA accounts have already enrolled, and members who participate can earn credits simply by making temporary adjustments to their energy use during notified events. To learn more or sign up, see page 6 of this magazine or visit eeca.coop/ppr.
Annual Meeting Scholarships
The evening concluded with attendance prize drawings and the announcement of the 10 recipients of EECA’s $1,000 Annual Meeting Scholarships. Congratulations to:
- Isak Fagerland: 2023 Elverado High School graduate, attending Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville
- Emma Rogers: 2025 Carterville High School graduate, attending Southern Illinois University – Carbondale
- Tate Schaber: 2026 Trico High School graduate, attending John A. Logan College
- Layne Young: 2026 Steeleville High School graduate, attending Murray State University
- Brayden Ellis: 2026 Trico High School graduate, attending Purdue University
- Bryce Edwards: 2025 Murphysboro High School graduate, attending Quincy University
- Isaac Mayer: 2026 Pinckneyville Community High School graduate, attending Rend Lake College
- Tucker Deming: 2026 Trico High School graduate, attending Ranken Technical College
- Rylie Myers: 2026 Chester High School graduate, attending Southern Illinois University – Carbondale
- Jillian Price: 2026 Homeschool graduate from Carbondale, attending Southern Illinois University – Carbondale.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for this year’s meeting. We’re proud to serve you, and we look forward to seeing you again in 2027!