CEO’s Report: Celebrating Public Power

This week we once again celebrate Public Power Week – a time to recognize the many benefits of being served by a community-owned, locally-controlled electric utility.

This is the week to educate your customers about public power. After all, do all your customers know they live in a public power community? Do they understand what public power means?

If not, you’re not alone. After all, understanding the different types of electric utilities isn’t probably on the top of most peoples’ lists. But your customers can also be your biggest advocates. So, it’s worth taking some time to ensure they recognize the benefits your utility offers.

Community investment; local service

I believe the most important benefit of public power is the investments made back into the communities they serve.

Electric revenues often supplement community amenities and contribute to an increased quality of life.

As a wholesale power supplier, Heartland also invests in the communities we serve. We provide incentives and rebates to help promote business growth, housing, workforce development and more.

Businesses may prefer to locate in a public power community because it provides a one-stop shop for all necessary services. From electricity to water and sewer to roads and streetlights, public power communities make it easy for new businesses to set up shop.

They also know that if they need help or have a question, they can talk to someone right in the community who will be quick to respond.

Local control is another distinct advantage. Decisions are made with the long-term future of the community in mind, because those making decisions live in the community and want what’s best for everyone.

Decisions can also be made relatively quickly by those with first-hand knowledge of how those decisions will impact the utility and the community.

Customers of a public power utility are also the owners. Depending on the structure of the utility, customers can run for election or seek appointment to the council or board overseeing the utility.

Every customer has a voice as meetings are open to the public with an opportunity for public comment.

Celebrating success

Heartland celebrates Public Power Week in a variety of ways.

One of the most important aspects of our celebration is recognizing an outstanding public power employee from one of our communities with the Distinguished Service Award.

There are so many public servants deserving of this award. We continually see employees of the utilities we serve who go above and beyond their assigned job duties. They truly care about the community and work every day to make it a better place to live.

This year’s recipient, Kristie Sikkink of Bryant, SD, is certainly no exception.

To help promote public power, we submitted advertisements to local newspapers along with a letter to the editor.

We will also be filling our social media feed all week with pictures from our customer communities. We encourage you to share our posts on your own social media pages to help spread the word of the public power advantage.

This is also a great opportunity to recognize your employees. Post a picture on social media and thank them for their dedication to the utility and the community

Educational opportunities

The electric utility industry is constantly changing. Fortunately, there are many resources available to public power communities to stay abreast of the latest developments.

The American Public Power Association provides a variety of both in-person and virtual events to stay educated on the latest topics and trends. They also have resource manuals and a plethora of other information on their website.

I would challenge you during Public Power Week to check out one or more resources they have available. You may be surprised what you’re able to pick up.

Heartland also hosts different meetings throughout the year to keep customers informed. Keep an eye on your Inbox for an invite to our next event, the Winter Conference. We have great speakers lined up to discuss the evolving industry, the latest safety topics and how the election may impact the industry.

We will also give an update on our 2025 budget at the Winter Conference. This will be in lieu of a separate budget meeting this year. Due to low attendance in past years, we made the decision to incorporate the budget presentation into the Winter Conference. I hope to see you there.

I hope you all enjoy some of the beautiful fall weather and enjoy celebrating Public Power Week.