We are seeking a highly qualified individual for the position of Engineering Technician. This position reports directly to the Manager of Operations & Maintenance.

A Bachelor’s Degree in Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Electrical Engineering or a related field is preferred but not required. Any combination of experience and training, that would provide the required knowledge and abilities, will be considered.

RECC offers a competitive salary and benefit plan. Please e-mail a resume, salary history and three references (PDF) by April 20, 2018 to:

RECC Engineering Technician Position
Attention: Tim Hemberger
recc@recc.coop

For more information click here.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer

On Monday, February 5th, tree crews contracted by Rural Electric began vegetation management in the Palmyra area. The crews began their work at the Palmyra substation, marked in red on the map below, and continued along the east circuit highlighted in green on the map below. The crews delivered notices to homes along each circuit that they worked on. They used well-marked vehicles and mostly worked during the weekdays.  If you see unmarked vehicles or suspicious activity around our lines, please let us know immediately.

These line maintenance efforts will help greatly in reducing line loss, power blinks, and outages. If any RECC member would like free mulch from this project, or if there are additional questions, please contact the office at 217-438-6197.

RECC employees collected $475 in cash and checks for the Pawnee Food Pantry. President/CEO David Stuva agreed that RECC would match their donations.  The pantry was grateful to receive the $950 charitable donation and said it would really help their efforts this year. RECC employees have made similar donations the past. This has become a tradition that we would like to see continue for many more years.

The allocation of 2016 margins to members doing business with Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative have been calculated and assigned.  The total of $233,073 of 2016 margins were allocated as capital credits.  We have calculated each member’s share of the total margins based on members use of electricity in 2016.  That amount has been credited to your capital credit account.

The allocations will be on your July bill, which will be mailed on or about August 7^th. You will see a message on the left-hand side of the bill indicating the amount that was allocated to your capital credit account for the electricity you purchased in 2016.  This message only appears on your master account and only appears if you were a customer in 2016. This amount is only an accounting credit.  It cannot be claimed at the present time nor can it be applied against your current electric bill. Your board of directors reviews the financial condition of the Cooperative before determining when and how much capital credits can be returned or retired to the members.

Remember, you must be a member and have service in your name to have capital credits allocated to you. If you are receiving electric service in someone else’s membership or the service is in the name of a deceased person, you will not receive capital credits. Any capital credit retirements will be issued in the name of the person on the membership or the estate of a deceased member.

Members of RECC gathered for their 80th annual meeting of members on Thursday, June 8 at

Glenwood High School in

From left are co-op directors Mel Repscher, John Beatty, Thom Hart, and President/CEO David Stuva

Chatham. Before the meeting, about 550 members and guests enjoyed a pork chop dinner, vendor displays, bucket truck rides and a variety of activities for kids.
Chris Wilcox, Vice Chairman of the Board, welcomed members and recognized the service anniversaries for several co-op employees and directors. He congratulated Lou DeLaby, manager of operations and maintenance, and Dana Smith, manager of member and public relations, on their planned retirements in the coming months.
Elections were held for three positions on the Board of Directors, with Thom Hart of Atwater (District 4), John Beatty of Waverly (District 5) and Mel Repscher of Taylorville (District 6) running unopposed for new three-year terms.
In the officers’ reports, Treasurer Lou Weitekamp said that revenue for 2016 totaled $15,118,580 resulting in net margins of $233,075 compared to margins in 2015 of $364,548.
RECC Chairman of the Board Mel Repscher and President/CEO David Stuva provided updates on co-op projects and accomplishments. Stuva reported that a member satisfaction survey in 2016 showed high results for RECC in prompt outage response, knowledgeable employees and reliable electric service. Ratings improved from a 2013 survey in satisfaction with rates and keeping costs down.
Stuva and Repscher noted that rates are expected to decrease in 2018, when a new power supply contract with NextEra Energy Power Marketing goes into effect. The 10-year plus 5-month contract satisfied the Board’s concerns with potential price volatility and capacity limitations in the Midwest markets, Repscher said. He noted the new contract will provide the Board options to retain higher margins and build higher equity for a stronger future, while reducing the current Power Cost Adjustment on members’ bills.

Two area schools have additional learning opportunities for their students this year, thanks to Touchstone Energy Classroom Empowerment Grants Program from Rural Electric! RECC has awarded $500 mini-grants for projects that will extend beyond their classrooms and broaden the scope of their teaching efforts.

The two grants were presented to:

Sarah Jennings, Morrisonville Grade School – to purchase historical fiction novels for 5^th and 6^th graders as a literacy and history tool, and to help pay for tickets to a theatrical production based on the book at Sangamon Auditorium in Springfield. As a winner of a classroom grant last year, Sarah will also be continuing projects on fossil excavations and a school flowerbed with her students.

Erin Nicolas, South Fork Elementary School School – to purchase a projector for her special education classroom to share spreadsheets, websites and videos with all her students.

As a Touchstone Energy electric cooperative, RECC’s focus is on our communities, and these projects will enhance the education and experiences of youngsters in our area. We’re looking forward to hearing the positive results that will come from these schools!

On members’ July electric bills, which were mailed on August 4, there was a message on the left hand side of the billing statement indicating the amount of capital credit equity allocated to each member for electricity purchased in 2015. This message only appears on your master account and only appears if you had an active account in 2015.

As a member-owner of your cooperative, you share in any annual margins. Your share of these margins is called “capital credits.” At the end of each year, these net margins are allocated to each member on a basis of the dollar amount of energy used during that year. We provided you with the amount of the allocation for the year on your electric billing statement.

These allocations are not available as cash nor can they be applied as payments on your electric bill. These monies are used by your cooperative for long-term debt retirement, reserves, emergencies, system improvements and other contingencies.

Capital credits may be paid to members as the board of directors deems appropriate and as the financial condition of the cooperative permits. RECC has returned over $3 million in capital credits to members, for all margins earned since our beginning in 1937 through 1982.

For more background on capital credits, click here.

RECC sent three students (middle) to Washington, with a stop at the Gettysburg Memorial Cemetery in Pennsylvania. Lucas Motley from Palmyra, Hannah Gudgel from Pawnee, and Riley Jennings from Litchfield represented Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative, with chaperones John and Sandy Lex. Sandy is RECC’s Executive Assistant.

Three local students were among the 64 Illinois high schoolers attending the 2016 Youth Tour to Washington for a week of education and fun in the nation’s capital. Illinois electric cooperatives sent 64 students on the trip, June 10-17, with nearly 1,700 students from 43 states in Washington for the annual event.

RECC sponsored Hannah Gudgel from Pawnee and Lucas Motley from Palmyra on the Youth Tour trip, and Riley Jennings from Litchfield was a self-sponsored “Willie Wiredhand” attendee. RECC’s Executive Assistant Sandy Lex was a chaperone for the trip, along with her husband, John.

Lucas Motley, Riley Jennings, Congressman Rodney Davis, and Sarah Gudgel

The Youth Tour, sponsored by the electric and telephone cooperatives of Illinois, is an introduction to our democratic form of government and cooperatives for rural youth. Over 51,000 high school students from across the country have taken part in the Youth Tour since its start in the 1950s.

In addition to the U.S. Capitol, students visited Arlington National Cemetery, the Washington National Cathedral, Smithsonian Museums, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the World War II Memorial, memorials to Presidents Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington and Roosevelt, the National Archives, and a number of other historical sites.

The Illinois group also visited the Saudi Arabian Embassy, and met with Senator Dick Durbin and Representatives Rodney Davis and Darin LaHood during the busy week.

Illinois electric cooperative youths enjoyed many sites in Washington, D.C.

Local state representatives met with students from area schools during the Illinois Electric and Telephone Cooperatives Youth Day on Wednesday, April 13 in Springfield. More than 225 students from around Illinois had an opportunity to visit the State Capitol, view state government in action and question their legislators on key issues.
Pictured (L-R) are: Dana Smith, Manager of Member and Public Relations; Riley Jennings from Litchfield High School, Lucas Motley from Northwestern High School, Rep. Sara Wojcicki-Jimenez, Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, Hannah Gudgel from Pawnee, and Sandy Lex, Executive Assistant at Rural Electric. The students also visited with Senators Sam McCann and Andy Manar at the Capitol.
Students also heard from Secretary of State Jesse White in his office. During lunch, Treasurer Michael Frerichs challenged the students to take an interest in the political process and encouraged them to follow their dreams and do what interests them because life can take interesting turns and twists.
While in Springfield, the students also toured the Old State Capitol and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum.
Youth Day is designed to introduce young rural leaders to state government. There were 24 co-ops from across the state represented at the event, which has been held for nearly 50 years.
All three of the students in RECC’s group will be participating in the Youth to Washington Tour to be held June 10 – 17. Over 1,000 youths from around the country will be part of this educational event in our nation’s capital.

RECC membersreceived refunds on their electric bills for December, for the retirement of $268,957 in capital credit equity earned in 1982. Over 1,000 members still served by the co-op saw a refund credit on their billing statements mailed January7, while 1,549 members who no longer have an active account received refund checks.

“Capital credits represent our members’ ownership in the cooperative,” says RECC Board chairman Jimmy Ayers. “As a not-for-profit cooperative, we strive for a relatively small operating margin each year, to meet our financial obligations and to be prepared for unexpected costs such as a large storm. When we have that margin at the end of the year, we re-invest the money in our system and can eventually pay it back to the members.” The latest capital credit retirement brings the total retirements made to RECC members to over $3.4 million.