Delaware Electric Cooperative’s 2021 annual meeting was held virtually on Tuesday, August 10th. More than 1,300 members registered to watch the webcast, which provided an update to members on the state of their not-for-profit utility.
During the meeting, which was broadcast live through Zoom, President and CEO Greg Starheim provided members with an update on the cooperative’s continuous work to improve reliability and to keep rates affordable. Starheim announced that the cooperative is financially strong and that no rate changes are expected in the near future. The co-op has lowered rates twice over the past 15 months and programs like Beat the Peak have helped to keep DEC rates among the lowest in the region.
Starheim also said the co-op will continue to invest in reliability improvements that will result in fewer outages for members — over the past few years, DEC members have lost power less often. According to Starheim, “We are currently having a record year for system reliability. Where we are at today in Delaware is the reflection of significant investment and focus.”
During the meeting, DEC attorney Jamie Nutter announced that board directors William Wells, Laura Phillips, Thomas Brown, Blaine Daisey, Michael Brown and Hunter Emory were elected to serve three-year terms on DEC’s member-elected board.
More than 4,200 members voted in DEC’s 2021 board election, a record for the Cooperative. A record 14 candidates also ran in this year’s election.
Rob Book, senior vice president of member services, said the cooperative hopes to return to its traditional in-person annual meeting in August 2022.
—Report by Jeremy Tucker, Director of Marketing and Communications, Delaware Electric Cooperative