October is National Co-op Month and Alfalfa Electric Cooperative is joining cooperatives across the U.S. to celebrate. Co-ops come in all shapes and sizes, but they each have a common goal: to provide goods or services for their co-op members.
Electric co-ops, including AEC, exist to serve their members. Our priority is to provide affordable, reliable energy to our local communities. Because we are led by you, the members we serve, we can evolve to meet your needs.
AEC has implemented changes to improve service to our members. The co-op now offers PREPAID BILLING. This method of payment has many benefits. There is no security deposit or late fees; the member buys electricity as needed.
AEC employees also worked together to create a NEW BILL DESIGN, which is easy to read and contains a graph of monthly usage for a year, average daily use and cost. Members can also compare energy usage from the previous month and the current month of the previous year.
Your co-op also has an UPGRADED PHONE SYSTEM. Lora Miller, member services, says the upgrade is improving AEC’s service to its members. “When we have many outages, numerous phone calls come into our office. Calling back each member promptly is next to impossible,” she said. “However, with this update, I can send multiple text messages to members with cellphones, letting them know that AEC has logged the outages and will get the power restored as soon as possible. When a single member calls in an issue, I can text them to let them know what the linemen found and are working on. Communication with members has improved, so we love that.”
We encourage members to update their contact information, including phone numbers and email addresses. Having the correct and up-to-date contact information helps AEC reach our members more effiently.
As we celebrate Co-op Month this October, we’re focusing on how co-ops grow for their members.
CO-OPS GROW COMMUNITIES: Co-ops help communities grow by promoting economic empowerment, fostering community engagement and supporting the unique needs of co-op members. “Concern for Community” is one of our core principles — and being community-focused is essential to everything we do.
CO-OPS GROW TOGETHER: Co-ops are all about cooperation, not competition. That’s why electric co-ops work together to share lessons learned, successful strategies and better ways to serve our members. We’re better when we grow together!
CO-OPS GROW TOMORROW’S LEADERS: Electric co-ops serve as fertile ground for growing tomorrow’s leaders through various youth engagement programs. Whether through school demonstrations, community events, scholarships or the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour program, we’re committed to providing opportunities for local youth to learn and thrive in our community and beyond.
CO-OPS GROW FOR YOU: At Alfalfa Electric, your satisfaction is our goal. It’s why we were formed many years ago to fulfill a uniquely local purpose. We’ve come a long way since then, and your needs continue to evolve. That’s why we’ll never stop growing for you!