Chris Tackmann, General Manager & CEO
Rick Barrett, Board Chairman
We hope to see you at our Annual Meeting on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at Recreation Park in Tomah. Registration begins at 8 a.m., and the business meeting starts at 9:00 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 Jimmy John’s gift card and cheese and sausage gift bag from Humbird Cheese.
In 2024, due to the generosity of Oakdale Electric Cooperative (OEC) membership rounding up your electric bills to the nearest dollar, we were able to award $92,675 to various organizations in our local communities. Thank you again for your continued support in rounding up your bill.
Oakdale Electric was busy with construction last year and invested nearly $7.7 million in new construction, electric line upgrades, and 232 new services. The capital budget for 2025 calls for us to invest $11.3 million in system improvements. Major areas include Clearfield, Germantown, Oakdale, and Clifton. To help improve power capacity, three new substations will start construction this year in the Clearfield, Armenia, and Bear Creek areas. An additional substation will also be upgraded. The substations were originally planned for construction in 2024 but were delayed for various reasons.
Despite a mild winter at the start of 2024, OEC achieved another strong year in both sales and overall financials. Annual kWh sales exceeded 382 million kilowatts, marking one of the highest sales totals in OEC’s history. However, the increased sales were not sufficient to offset rising costs, leading to a slight increase in electric rates. This was primarily due to higher material costs for distribution equipment, increased fuel costs, and a rise in our wholesale power bill.
Currently, we do not anticipate a rate increase in 2025. However, future adjustments may be necessary to continue offsetting rising costs. We want to reassure you that we scrutinize every expense and only make purchases essential for the long-term success of OEC.
In 2024, external auditors once again gave OEC a clean report regarding our financial systems and controls. We are proud of this achievement, along with the continued retirement of capital credits. Last year, OEC returned nearly $1.3 million in capital credits to our members, and we plan to retire another $1.4 million in 2025.
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!