CEO’s Report: Power with Purpose

Since rebranding to Heartland Energy in 2022, Power with Purpose has been more than just a tagline—it’s a commitment. It represents the many ways we go beyond delivering electricity to energize and uplift the communities we serve.

While our mission prioritizes providing reliable, affordable power, it also calls us to be a partner in progress. By living out this mission, we’re delivering more than electricity.

When I think of Power with Purpose, I’m reminded of the diverse programs we offer our customers, from economic development and energy efficiency to electrification and cutting-edge cybersecurity. Each initiative is designed to create lasting value and empower our communities to thrive.

Customer programs

Power Forward

The Power Forward program has evolved significantly since we first introduced it in 2008. As technologies advanced, we modified the rebates offered to ensure they were in line with products on the market. 

While today our focus is on electrification, the goal really hasn’t changed. We are still incentivizing the purchase of efficient electric appliances. 

We recently increased the rebate amounts offered for the purchase of air source heat pumps and electric water heaters. We believe these are the best, most efficient products and want to provide the appropriate incentive to encourage customers to choose cleaner, safer options that enhance their homes’ comfort and efficiency.

Economic development

Our economic development program provides a variety of opportunities to empower rural communities.

We provide programs that attract businesses and create jobs, ultimately strengthening the communities we serve while ensuring long-term energy demand and stability.

We offer something for everyone including accessible financing through our HELP Fund to rebates on electric bills along with grants to support growth and development in the communities we serve.

In 2024, our growth incentive program surpassed $2 million in electric rebates provided to new and expanding businesses while also marking the 20th anniversary of the program.

Safety

Safety comes in many forms. From cyber safety to personal safety, Heartland offers programs to keep both our municipal customers safe, as well as their employees.

Cybersecurity threats only continue to grow. Municipalities are no exception to the risk of data breaches and cybercrime.

Fortunately for customers in South Dakota, they can sign up for free cybersecurity assessments through Project Boundary Fence. Funded by the state Attorney General’s office, the program helps secure municipal networks from cyber attacks through internal and external testing of technology infrastructure.

Testing is performed by cybersecurity professionals from Dakota State University. To ensure all our customers are protected, we partnered with DSU to offer this same service to customers outside of South Dakota.

Employee safety is also paramount. It is a top priority for every municipal employee to perform their work with the proper protective clothing.

We recently launched our flame-resistant clothing store for the second year. Eligible employees can purchase items with both their city logo and the Heartland Energy logo. FR clothing keeps workers safe from suffering severe burns and injuries.

Advocacy

Decisions at the state and national levels can have an impact on the operations of Heartland and of our customers.

We engage with lobbyists to monitor activity in the state legislatures and keep us informed of any actions that may affect our industry. 

We also attend state legislative events hosted by municipal organizations. This gives us a chance to interact with lawmakers and educate them on public power.

Advocacy at the national levels is also prudent. Each year, we attend American Public Power Association’s Legislative Rally to hear about the latest policies and visit with our Congressional delegation about our concerns.

Stability in operations

Beyond the services we provide, the core of our operations is providing reliable power supply to our customers. Heartland has a dedicated team working every day to ensure we fulfill our mission of ensuring sound decision making.

Heartland ensures a reliable power supply by maintaining a diverse energy portfolio including coal-fired baseload power and renewable wind energy. 

We recently filed an Integrated Resource Plan on behalf of our customers defining our resource mix and expected demand for the next five years.

Also in 2024, we completed a Strategic Plan outlining our goals for the next several years along with strategies to achieve those goals.

Heartland Energy continues to provide steady rates along with strong financial metrics, thanks to long-term planning. This didn’t come without some tough decisions along the way, but today we are seeing the benefits of those decisions with a solid foundation for future success.

Moving forward

These are only a few examples of how we strive to provide Power with Purpose to our customers. We also provide education through a series of customer meetings throughout the year as well as a partnership with Frontier Energy to keep customers up to date on the latest funding opportunities.

The essence of Power with Purpose is not just the programs we deliver or the services we provide, but in the relationships we build and the trust we earn.

Customer service is a top priority at Heartland. We hope our programs and services provide value. More so, we hope we are a trusted and valued partner to your community.