{"id":35583,"date":"2022-03-30T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/?p=35583"},"modified":"2022-03-29T09:46:03","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T13:46:03","slug":"700-viewers-tune-in-for-ppecs-86th-annual-meeting-broadcast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/700-viewers-tune-in-for-ppecs-86th-annual-meeting-broadcast\/","title":{"rendered":"700+ viewers tune in for PPEC\u2019s 86th Annual Meeting Broadcast"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
PPEC Board Chairman Dr. John Saxton (left) welcomes newly elected District 4 Trustee William \u2018Bill\u2019 Beckman to the PPEC board. 2022 election results were announced during the co-op\u2019s annual meeting.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative\u2019s (PPEC) 86th Annual Meeting of Members premiered on Facebook and YouTube at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 19, 2022. More than 700 viewers tuned in to watch the meeting over the weekend to hear co-op updates, a recap of 2021, and election results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 29% of eligible District 4 members voted in PPEC\u2019s 2022 elections, many enjoying the new capability to vote conveniently online through their secure SmartHub account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Board election results were announced, with each board member elected to serve a three-year term:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Incumbent William Dowler of Paulding was re-elected to District 2 (represents Van Wert County in Ohio). No candidates submitted petitions to run against Dowler, so he was re-elected by affirmation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 New trustee William \u2018Bill\u2019 Beckman was elected to District 4 (represents Emerald, Jackson, Blue Creek, and Paulding Townships in Paulding County, Ohio; Delaware township in Defiance County, Ohio). District 4 had an open seat with three candidates running for election after Jay Dangler\u2019s decision not to run for re-election. Candidates Scott Strahley and Fred Pieper (both from Paulding) also ran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Incumbent Steven McMichael was re-elected to District 5 (represents Maumee, Adams, Jefferson, and Jackson Townships in Allen County, Indiana). No candidates submitted petitions to run against McMichael, so he was re-elected by affirmation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The election was run by a third-party company named Survey and Ballot System. The certified election results can be found at www.ppec.coop\/2022AnnualMeeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Board Chairman Dr. John Saxton, Secretary-Treasurer Dr. Ron Black, and President and CEO George Carter reflected on 2021\u2019s challenges and successes, highlighting the \u201chuge struggle\u201d PPEC endured last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot only have we had to battle through the pandemic as you all have, but we also dealt with material shortages and price increases like we have never seen. In some cases, price was irrelevant because the material was unavailable,\u201d said PPEC President and CEO George Carter. \u201cThis may last well into next year and will continue to put pressure on our service cost.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter also reported that the cost of purchased power from Buckeye Power (PPEC\u2019s electricity supplier) increased dramatically this year, two factors for which include the price of fuel and the transmission cost. To put the fuel cost into perspective, Carter reported that for the year 2007, the total cost of fuel averaged $471,000 per month. Meanwhile, in January (one month) of this year alone, the cost was $1.1 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same is true for transmission costs, but higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince 2015, transmission costs have increased $3 million and are now 20% of our total Buckeye bill,\u201d Carter said. \u201cLooking back to 2007, total transmission costs were just above $1 million; in 2021, the total was just under $6 million. That\u2019s a nearly six times increase! This trend is expected to continue and will undoubtedly put upward rate pressure on the cooperative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other 2021 highlights reported on during the meeting included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 PPEC received its highest-ever score in the comprehensive RESAP safety inspection, conducted by Ohio\u2019s Electric Cooperatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Total margins were down from the prior year \u2013 a result of higher wholesale power costs from Buckeye Power \u2013 but above budget at $4.78 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 The largest capital credits refund in co-op history: $2.3 million was returned to members last December via capital credits \u2013 this is proof of each member\u2019s ownership in the co-op.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Member growth increased in 2021, with sold kilowatt-hours increasing 5% over the prior year<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Three apprentice linemen graduated from the 4-year, hands-on Central Ohio Lineworker Training (COLT) program in Mt. Gilead, Ohio, and will soon be journeyman linemen: Terry Minic, Garrett Gerdeman, and Jordan Mohler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Retiree Mary Arend was commended for her 26 years of service to the co-op as a member service representative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Members were asked to save the date for PPEC\u2019s Member Appreciation Family Fun Event on Saturday, July 23, 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Board Secretary-Treasurer Dr. Ron Black reported that \u201cthe financial health of our cooperative is strong,\u201d with operating expenses under budget by $326,000 (5%) and utility plant investments \u2013 including poles, wires, transformers, and other equipment \u2013 increasing by $5.7 million in 2021. PPEC\u2019s auditing firm of Bashore, Reineck, Stoller, and Waterman issued an unqualified, or clean audit opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Board Chairman Dr. John Saxton gave an overview of the board\u2019s concerns and priorities, including setting the company\u2019s tone, ensuring safety is top of mind, reviewing budgets and monitoring performance. Succession planning was reviewed to address board turnover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCurrently, we have five board members with less than five years of experience on the board,\u201d said Dr. Saxton. \u201cAdditionally, this year, Trustee Jay Dangler chose not to seek reelection, so we welcomed a new board member in District 4. It takes several years to get a good understanding of the industry and what\u2019s required, which is why we require educational training through our National Association \u2013 NRECA. We must maintain this active education, which is vital for a strong board.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Saxton also addressed 2021\u2019s detailed strategic planning session, including preparation for electric vehicles (EVs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWill EVs have a major impact? Should the cooperative install charging stations? If members buy EVs will their existing home services be able to manage the additional load? Will the existing electrical system manage the additional load if EVs are the majority of vehicles produced in coming years? Changes to the grid take years of planning and construction\u2026your board is committed to providing the membership with a reliable electric system and reasonable rates, meaning we must continually plan, stay educated, and empower our employees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A total of $750 in bill credits were drawn at random from those members who watched the meeting and left a comment. Winners were as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

$50 BILL CREDIT WINNERS:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Leonissa Hermiller, Columbus Grove (OH)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 John Pier, Oakwood (OH)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Machetta Salyers Porter, New Bavaria (OH)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 John Smalley, Cecil (OH)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Janice Gfell, New Haven (IN)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Paula Meek, Hicksville (OH)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Staci Miller, Grover Hill (OH)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Kevin Kettels, Continental (OH)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Sandra and Anthony Payton, New Haven (IN)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Valerie Turner, Hoagland (IN)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Karen and Dennis Ricker, Delphos (OH)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Christine Gable, Ottawa (OH)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Jill and Nathan Patrick, Ottawa (OH)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Eugene F Siefker, Columbus Grove (OH)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Jerry Schlaudroff, Monroeville (IN)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To view the annual meeting recording, visit www.ppec.coop\/2022AnnualMeeting. PPEC\u2019s 2021 Annual Report, 2021 audit, and the certified election results can be found here as well. Those wanting more information can call the office at 800-686-2357.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative is proud to serve more than 12,900 members in Paulding, Putnam, Defiance, Van Wert, and Allen counties in Ohio, and Adams and Allen counties in Indiana. Since 1935, our not-for-profit model has allowed us to provide affordable, reliable, and safe power to rural areas with pride.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative\u2019s (PPEC) 86th Annual Meeting of Members premiered on Facebook and YouTube at 10 a.m. on Saturday,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":35584,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2230,6,92],"tags":[13902,10834,1995,13903],"class_list":["post-35583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-community","category-community","category-election","tag-dr-john-saxton","tag-paulding-putnam-electric-cooperative","tag-ppec","tag-william-bill-beckman"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/PPEC-Board-Chairman-John-Saxton-welcomes-Bill-Beckman-to-board.jpeg?fit=666%2C490&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2YQd9-9fV","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-27 07:56:50","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}