Tricounty Rural Electric Cooperative’s 88th Annual Meeting was held virtually on Wednesday, Sept. 17. Board election results were announced, with one board member being re-elected and a new one joining.
Election results:
- District 4 trustee winner: Incumbent Kenneth Maag (representing Harrison and Monroe Townships in Henry County) was unopposed and reelected.
- District 7 trustee winner: Cheryl Chapa (representing portions of Swan Creek Township in Fulton County) was elected to the board.
Members who tuned in to the meeting heard reports on the co-op’s financial standing and operations from board leadership. Board President Marvin Green detailed more than $3.3 million was invested in the utility plant this year, which included the completion of the new Maroe Substation, upgrades to equipment, and rebuilding of aging distribution lines. Nearly $735,000 was also invested in maintenance and right-of-way work across Tricounty’s 624 miles of line.
CEO Brett Perkins reported that nearly $797,000 was returned to members in 2024 through capital credits retirements and estate payments, marking the 47th consecutive year of general retirements. Since 1950, the co-op has returned more than $22.6 million in capital credits to its member-owners.
Perkins noted the value of capital credits, saying, “Unlike investor-owned utilities, our members share in the success of the cooperative. Our capital credits retirements place us among the top 10% of co-ops in the nation when measured as a percentage of equity.”
Reliability was also a key focus of the meeting. Perkins highlighted the importance of the ongoing work to strengthen the system through line rebuilds and a 12.5-mile tie line between the McClure and Maroe substations. The cooperative is also coordinating with its transmission provider on upgrades expected to be completed in 2026.
“These investments strengthen reliability for our members,” Perkins said.
On rates, Perkins explained that while controllable costs have risen only 1-2% annually, uncontrollable expenses such as fuel and transmission have climbed at a much higher pace. PJM capacity prices recently increased 800%, which is reflected in the Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) line item on members’ bills.
“Our goal is always to keep rates competitive while maintaining financial strength,” Perkins said. “Tricounty remains one of the lowest-costing electric cooperatives in Ohio.”
Tricounty also reported another year with no lost-time accidents or electrical contacts. The co-op continues to prioritize safety through monthly employee trainings, high-voltage safety demonstrations, and safety education in the Ohio Cooperative Living magazine.
In addition, Tricounty awarded eight scholarships to area students in 2025 and hosted its annual Member Appreciation Day at Sauder Village in July, where more than 600 members and guests attended.
Perkins closed the meeting by thanking members for their continued support.
“Our mission is to provide safe, reliable, and affordable electricity, 24/7, 365 days a year,” he said. “We encourage members to contact us with any questions about their co-op.”
More information, including financials, is available below. Please give our office a call with any questions. Thanks for being a member of your community cooperative!
We are pleased to report to the members another positive report on the financial condition and operation of your cooperative for the past year. A part of the margins generated by your cooperative was used to make capital credit retirements this year. As a cooperative member-owner, you benefit in a way no investor-owned utility customer ever will. Your capital credit account is a benefit that is exclusive to Tricounty member-owners. Our good financial position allowed your board to feel confident in retiring $597,591 in patronage capital last December. This retirement was 50% of 2005’s and 15% of 2023’s allocations to current and former members. This was the 47th consecutive general retirement of capital credits made by Tricounty. In addition, $199,196 was paid to deceased members’ estates during the year. Including this $796,787 from the past year, Tricounty has returned more than $22.6 million in capital credits to our member-consumers.
The total assets of your cooperative now exceed $26 million. We continue to build line extensions, install new services, and rebuild older lines. Our right-of-way (tree-trimming) maintenance program helps prevent power outages and reduces damage to our overhead lines during storms.
Tricounty’s 88th annual meeting — consisting of the District 4 and District 7 director election results, management reports and auditor reports — is posted above for members to view.
Should you have any questions as you review the accompanied financial data and/or view the online reports, please feel free to give us a call.
With the annual reports now being posted online and in the magazine, the board and staff were available to the membership to answer any questions at this year’s Member Appreciation Day at the Sauder Historic Village on Saturday, July 19. More than 600 members and guests enjoyed the day. Thank you to those who attended and made our day so successful.
Tricounty’s primary objectives are to provide SAFE, AFFORDABLE, and RELIABLE electricity to our members. We also take pride in supporting our COMMUNITY throughout the year.
Safety: The safety of our members, employees and community is the highest priority for our cooperative. Our cooperative continues to have monthly safety trainings, has performed high voltage safety training for our local fire departments, and publishes safety tips in Ohio Cooperative Living magazine. Tricounty had no lost-time accidents or injuries this past year. Our goal is to keep all our communities and members aware of the dangers involved in dealing with electricity.
Affordability: The most difficult thing that your cooperative trustees and management must do is determine the rates that we charge our members. One of the operating principles of your cooperative is to provide reliable electric service at affordable rates, while maintaining the cooperative as a financially secure business, now and into the future. We strive to keep our rates competitive while balancing ever-rising expenses and meeting financial targets required by our financial partners. Outside pressures of increasing material costs and increasing wholesale power costs will continue to be a challenge in the future. We strive to be financially stable, operate with the same level of service, maintain our distribution system, and refund capital credits. Tricounty remains one of the lowest-cost cooperatives in the state and we strive to maintain the quality of service you expect.
Community: One of the Seven Cooperative Principles is “Concern for Community.” Tricounty is committed to supporting our community and future leaders. Tricounty provided eight scholarships to area students in 2025. Receiving Children of Members Scholarships were: Madeline Bailey, Caden Paul Bishop, Maci Bostelman, Rosemary Brewster, Lylah Huddle, Claudia Long, Nicholas Nahrwold, and Olivia Rettig.
Reliability: Tricounty continues to invest in maintenance and capital improvements to provide you, the members, with the reliability of power you have come to expect. We continue to rebuild aging lines, trim trees, and improve our system. In May, and at an investment of $3.1 million, we completed our new 69-kilovolt Maroe substation on the corner of State Route 109 and State Route 18. Our regional transmission provider is targeting to have the new transmission lines from Weston to Defiance completed by early 2026, which will provide bi-directional transmission feeds to our McClure,
Maroe, and Malinta substations.
Unfortunately, we have encountered several outages and issues beyond our control during this project, which was
not the standard of service you have come to expect. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we are
optimistic that when completed, the new transmission lines will increase
transmission and distribution reliability in the area. The biggest challenge to reliability moving forward is the everlooming capacity issue. With baseload generation plants closing and demand for more electricity from growth, AI, and data centers ever increasing, rolling brownouts will become more of a possibility in the near future.
Closing: Your cooperative has been committed to providing our members with safe, reliable, and affordable electricity. We are excited about the projects, programs and services designed to enhance the quality of life for our members. We will continue to put safety first and are committed to providing excellent service to our members. Your Board of Trustees and employees appreciate and thank you for your cooperation and support throughout the past year.
