What You Told Us in the 2009 Touchstone Energy Cooperative Difference Survey
Thank you to those members who completed the survey conducted by Access Energy Cooperative earlier this year. When compared with results of similar surveys conducted across the nation, it helps us gauge how you feel the cooperative is doing in meeting your expectations for safe, reliable, efficient service and environmental responsibility.
We are pleased to report that you rated Access Energy significantly higher than the utility industry average for customer satisfaction.
One question we asked you about was whether or not you understand that you are a member of the cooperative, NOT just a customer. Being a member means you are also an owner of the cooperative. Access Energy Cooperative exists solely to serve you, not as an entity to earn a profit. So this means that any money left over at the end of the year is allocated back to you, the member and owner, in the form of a dividend check. We are pleased to see that member recognition is growing.
ANNUAL MEETING
We also discovered that our members are more apt to attend your annual meeting than members across the nation. The annual meeting is not only a lot of fun for the whole family, you can vote for directors that set the policy under
which your cooperative is operated, find out about green energy, our rebate programs, energy efficient heating and cooling options, as well as what is happening in the energy industry. Plan to attend the annual meeting on August 4th and bring the whole family for a free meal, live entertainment by Jake McVey, pick up your dividend check and learn about your cooperative.
BUILDING LOYALTY
The majority of our members indicated that they are very satisfied with our service reliability, that we treat members fairly, we deliver on our promises, we provide bills that are easy to understand, and resolve your problems quickly.
You scored us even higher than most other cooperatives in areas like providing information about safety, communicating about rising costs, giving money back in the form of dividends, and helping you manage your energy bills.
RATES
You also indicated that we are doing a good job of controlling our costs and providing energy at the lowest possible rate. The Access Energy Cooperative members’ survey results stated the average electric bill runs between $50 to $100, compared to the national benchmark that shows a much higher percentage of average electric bills in the range of $100 to $200.
Top Energy Issues
Our members and cooperative members across the nation agree that cooperatives have a responsibility to protect the environment for future generations and that we should take a balanced approach to meet future energy needs. You indicated that you would like to see us invest more money and fund resources to protect the environment. We are working on projects to do just that. Our power supplier added another 150MW wind project to their generation mix.We increased educational and rebate programs for energy efficiency and renewable energy, and we still have our Access to Green Energy program, available for members.
Thank you again for your participation in this survey. This is one example of how democratic control assures that your employees are operating your cooperative in a safe, reliable, efficient manner, while managing environmental responsibility.