HAPPY NEW YEAR! It’s hard to believe we’ve turned the page and 2026 is already here. What does this year hold for your Cooperative?
We’re starting with a theme of Strong Foundations—a reminder that the actions, planning, and participation we commit to today will make our Cooperative stronger for years to come. That strength is built through reliability, infrastructure upgrades, a strong safety culture, new technology, energy efficiency programs, and grassroots engagement with elected officials.
A Major Safety Milestone
Before we go any further, we’re proud to share that ECI REC has reached 500,000 hours without a lost-time accident!
This milestone reflects our team’s dedication to safety and the culture we continue to build together. A safe workplace means reliable service for our members, and it’s a foundation we’re committed to strengthening every day.
Stay tuned for our next issue, where we’ll highlight our most important safety asset—our employees.
Investing in Reliability
In this issue, you’ll also read about our four-year, $26 million Work Plan to modernize and strengthen our electric system. This major project will help ensure continued safe, reliable, and affordable service across our service area.
Protecting Our Service Territory
As we plan for the future, it’s critical that we can continue to serve the members and communities who built this Cooperative more than 80 years ago. Reliability doesn’t happen by chance—it’s also shaped by the laws and policies that govern our service area.
That’s why we stay engaged with our elected officials through events like our recent legislative night, where we invited
our area legislators to visit our Cooperative, tour our headquarters facility, and visit with our Board and key staff members. We spoke about what is important to our Cooperative, and they shared what we can
expect when the session convenes in January.
We want to make sure decisions made at the Capitol don’t create challenges for our Cooperative or our members. In particular, ECI REC—and Iowa’s electric cooperatives statewide—support the current law defining electric service territories and will continue to oppose any changes that could weaken it. We will continue to advocate for fair, consistent policies that protect our members and preserve the cooperative model that has served rural Iowa so well.
The Bottom Line
Defined territories protect you—the member—by keeping power dependable, rates fair, and service local.
As we build on these strong foundations in 2026, we remain committed to serving our membership with safe, reliable, and affordable electricity. Together, we’ll continue to power our communities, support local growth, and strengthen the cooperative spirit that makes our service area a great place to live, work, and thrive.