October 2017 MANAGER’S MESSAGE
October is Co-op Month
Dear Members,
The Benton Rural Electric Association is joining 30,000 cooperatives nationwide in October to celebrate National Co-op Month, which recognizes the many ways cooperatives are committed to strengthening the local communities they serve.
Benton REA delivers electricity to more than 10,000 members in our 3-county service area. It is our mission to provide Benton REA’s members with affordable and reliable energy and other member-driven compatible services. Your Rural Electric Association strives to enhance the quality of life for all of its members.
There are many benefits to you as a member when you receive electricity from Benton REA, such as our reliability record, energy conservation programs and commitment to community. But, the one thing that makes us a different kind of utility is the return on your investment. This is called “capital credits”.
Because we are a cooperative, we operate at-cost, meaning any margins, or net income dollars, derived from revenues after subtracting expenses, remaining at the end of the year are allocated to each member who purchased electricity during that year. Those margins then get returned to members when we mail you your capital credit check. We’ve been operating this way for 80 years and will continue to put our members first in the years to come.
In a recent survey, you–the members–told us that you are very satisfied with the services that you receive from Benton REA. Through your survey responses, you gave Benton REA an 89 out of 100 in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). That’s 11 points higher than the national average for all of the 745 Touchstone Energy Cooperatives nationwide! I think that the ACSI score indicates that we at Benton REA are consistently trying to exceed your expectations with regard to customer service, and we are certainly committed to continuing that effort!
We hope you’ll celebrate National Co-op Month with all the cooperatives of which you are a member, including Benton REA.
Sincerely,
General Manager
mikeb@bentonrea.org
