The cost of electricity is on a lot of minds these days, and we understand why. You count on us to power your home, your farm and your business, and we know affordability matters to every family and every operation in our community. That is not lost on us.
What makes Crow Wing Power different is that we answer to you, our members, not shareholders. We are a not-for-profit owned and governed by the members we serve, which means every dollar you pay goes back into the system that keeps your lights on. When we make a decision, we make it as your neighbors, because that is what we are.
Because we answer to you, keeping your rates affordable is our job rather than an afterthought. Before we ever ask members to pay more, we look for savings everywhere we have control, whether that means pressing our suppliers for better prices or keeping equipment in service as long as it can safely do the work. We also partner with our power supplier, Basin Electric, to share expenses that would be far heavier to carry alone.
Some of the work ahead of us, though, cannot wait. Much of the grid was built generations ago, and the poles, wires and equipment that have served us faithfully are aging. Replacing them costs more than it once did, and building an electrical system ready for the future takes real investment. We make those investments because keeping power reliable tomorrow means taking care of the system today.
Not every cost sits within our fences, either. State and federal energy policies increasingly dictate how power gets generated and delivered, and those mandates can raise costs without making the grid any more reliable for rural Minnesota. This is where being part of something bigger pays off. Our statewide association, The Minnesota Rural Electric Association, carries our voice to the Capitol, pushing for energy policy that keeps power affordable and reliable for communities like ours.
Affordability, though, is only half of what we owe you. Affordable power means little if it is not there when you flip the switch on a cold January morning, so we will not trade away the dependability you count on for short-term savings. Striking that balance is the heart of cooperative service.
So while the pressures on the cost of electricity are real, they do not tell the whole story. The rest of the story is a cooperative that fights for you at home and at the Capitol, one that measures success not by profit but by whether your power stays on and your bill stays fair. That is the difference of belonging to an electric cooperative, and it is a difference we work to earn every day.