SIEC Peak Power Rewards & Capital Credit Retirement Update

Lowering Power Costs Together: Why You Should Join Our Peak Power Rewards Program

Every October, electric cooperatives across the country celebrate National Co-op Month. It is a time to reflect on what makes our cooperative business model unique: we exist not to generate profits for outside investors, but to serve the member-owners across Union, Pulaski, Johnson, Alexander, and Massac counties, as well as our neighboring members in Jackson, Williamson, and Pope counties.

While our crews remain hard at work maintaining our lines—continuously testing utility poles, replacing aging infrastructure, and aggressively trimming rights-of-way to safeguard reliability—operational excellence also means tackling our single largest expense: wholesale power costs.

That is why we launched our Peak Power Rewards Program (PPR).  A few forward-thinking members have already enrolled, but to unlock the full financial benefit for our entire membership, we need more of you to participate.

What Is the Peak Power Rewards Program?

Wholesale electricity is priced like almost everything else: when regional demand surges, the cost to generate and deliver that power skyrockets. These high-demand periods—known as "peaks"—typically occur on the hottest summer afternoons and coldest winter mornings, often between 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM, or 7:00 AM and 10:00 AM, respectively.

The Peak Power Rewards Program allows participating members to voluntarily reduce electricity usage during designated peak events. In return, you earn direct financial incentives while helping your cooperative avoid expensive wholesale demand charges.

The Clear Benefits of Signing Up

  1. Earn Cash Credits on Your Electric Bill:

Participation pays directly. Southern Illinois Power Cooperative (SIPC) calculates peak cost savings and reconciliations based on $1 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy saved during an event compared to your baseline usage over the preceding 10 days. By shifting flexible electric loads during a called event, you earn direct credits that reduce your bill.

  1. Help Stabilize Electric Rates for the Entire Co-op:

Wholesale power accounts for more than 60% of SIEC's total operating expenses. The peak demand set across our system drives the capacity rates we must pay for the entire year. When hundreds of members trim just a little bit of electricity during those critical hours, it significantly flattens our system's peak demand—keeping wholesale costs down and directly helping us maintain stable, affordable retail rates for everyone.

  1. Protect Grid Stability Across Our Region:

Regional energy reserves have tightened across the Midwest in recent years. By enrolling, you become part of a reliable local resource that helps prevent grid overloads and avoids the need for emergency, high-cost generation during extreme weather conditions.

  1. You Stay in Control:

Participation is voluntary, transparent, and easy. When a peak event is anticipated, enrolled members receive advance notification, giving you time to plan and make simple, short-term adjustments—such as delaying laundry, adjusting your thermostat a couple of degrees, or pausing heavy pump usage.

True Cooperative Partnership in Action

At our September board meeting, management presented a formal capital credit retirement recommendation to our Board of Directors—another proud hallmark of the cooperative model, returning margins directly back to the members whose investments built our system.

The Peak Power Rewards Program carries that exact same cooperative principle forward: when we work together, the value stays right here at home. A handful of participants is a great start, but widespread enrollment transforms our membership into an active partner in holding down power costs.

Enrolling takes only a few minutes, costs nothing, and puts money back in your pocket while protecting our collective grid.

To sign up or learn more about the Peak Power Rewards Program, visit call our office at 618-827-3555.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership, and Happy Co-op Month!

 

Grateful to serve you,

David

Executive Vice President & General Manager