We hope to see you at our Annual Meeting on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at Recreation Park in Tomah. Registration begins at 8 a.m., and the business meeting starts at 9 a.m.; please come early for coffee and donuts. Each member account will receive one welcome gift, and following the meeting, all members in attendance will receive a $10 Kwik Trip grocery card.
In 2023, Oakdale Electric returned almost $1.4 million in capital credits to our members. An aggressive retirement is planned again for this year with another $1.4 million. External auditors gave your cooperative another clean report regarding our financial systems and controls. Both the continued retirement of capital credits and a clean report are something that we are very proud of.
In December 2023, Oakdale, working with OneEnergy Renewables, finalized the construction of two solar gardens in our service territory. The combined output of these two systems is 4.5 megawatts (MW) and can provide energy to approximately 1,000 homes each year. We are very excited and proud of this accomplishment. In 2025 or early 2026, we are looking at constructing an additional 4.5 MW somewhere in our service territory.
The sale of electricity was strong for 2023. Annual kWh sales surpassed more than 371 million kilowatts, which is one of the highest sales totals Oakdale has ever had. Unfortunately, though, the higher sales were not enough, which led to a small increase in our residential facility charge. This was due to increases in our material costs for our distribution equipment, higher costs for fuel, and increases in our wholesale power bill. We are still hoping to not have a rate increase in 2024; however, depending on costs and kWh sales due to weather, a small one may be needed later this fall.
Oakdale Electric was busy with construction last year, and invested nearly $6.5 million in new construction, electric line upgrades, and 264 new services. The capital budget for 2024 calls for us to invest $7.5 million in system improvements. This includes starting the construction of three new substations to improve power reliability in the Castle Rock, Oakdale, and Armenia areas.
There are two bylaw amendments that are being proposed. The first amendment is lowering the number of petition signatures that is needed to run for the board from 15 to 10. The second amendment is to allow the membership to cast a unanimous ballot at the annual meeting for a member who is running unopposed for a board seat. This change would allow the cooperative to save money on ballot printing and voting process costs. You can read more about the proposed change in the Annual Report.
The future continues to look bright for Oakdale Electric Cooperative. You, our members, are an integral part of the cooperative business model. Without your support, feedback, and appreciation, Oakdale Electric Cooperative’s success would not be possible. Thank you!