Working Together and Starting Recovery
By Steve Foss, CEO

These past months have been anything but normal. For everyone. 

I wanted to take a moment to discuss how we’re planning on moving forward as we continue to work through the COVID-19 global pandemic. It is far from over, but we are slowly seeing things return and it will likely continue in that direction. We understand and anticipate it may be a bit longer until we are back to what we consider normal. 

I want to reiterate that FreeState is taking care of our employees, so they can take care of you. We are following state guidelines and look to our health care community for guidance as we work through this unprecedented time. We are an essential service, and we take that role seriously. Even though our staff is distanced, they are committed to helping our members because power is vital as we work and learn from home. 

As we head into the summer our priority is maintaining the quality, reliability and stability of the services we provide. We are preparing for severe weather by making certain we have access to the materials and labor needed to respond to weather events that are common this time of year. 

Not only are we looking at how we outwardly distribute power, but we are also taking comprehensive looks at revenue requirements and our 10-year financial forecast. The board of trustees and management have been looking at ways to balance the downward trend in sales and the impact of rising costs and a struggling economy around us. 

On Pages 16B and 16C we continue with our promise of financial transparency. We want our members to be aware of where we are, where we need to be, and how we’re working behind the scenes to maintain financial security with minimal effect on our members — because the impact of this pandemic has been overwhelming for all of us. 

As we look at what to do next, it’s important all of our members know that your co-op has taken measures to mitigate costs. We’re cutting back on all expenditures and we’ve worked to evaluate all of our expenses. We are reducing the costs we can control but many costs associated with distributing electricity are outside of our control. 

Please know that we will continue to do what we can to help those directly impacted by COVID-19. If you have a hardship, please call us so we can review your options.