Annual Meeting

The past leadership of United Cooperative Services didn’t rest on their laurels after achieving the co-op’s first crowning successes delivering electricity to its members in 1938.

Rather, by their constant drive to achieve more for their members, the cooperative’s original forebears pushed the boundaries for high achievement, said Patsy Dumas, United’s board president. By doing so, they ensured a culture to attain the best possible service for members would become the blueprint for the utility provider that would endure for the co-op’s 86 years and beyond.

“Today, we demonstrate that same passion and vision by delivering reliable electricity service to our growing membership,” Dumas said. “But, as more than 27,000 of our members and growing know, we have also improved our members’ lives by bringing high-speed, fiber-optic internet to you when nobody else would. And just like you have rated our electric service as best-in-class, you have also given our internet service the highest satisfaction score in the nation for two years in a row, giving United’s internet a 92 in customer satisfaction. That mark outperforms competitors who scored no higher than 80.”

During her address, Dumas thanked members for the opportunity to serve them during this year’s Annual Meeting, held virtually on Oct. 18. This was the fifth virtual annual meeting where members could attend either online or by telephone.

Officials also announced that co-op members chose Tommy Cantrell to represent District 3 (Southwest Hood Co., Bluffdale, Tolar); Clifton Hall would serve District 4 (Eastern Johnson Co., Alvarado, Grandview) and John Jones would serve District 5 (Western Johnson Co., Keene, Joshua, Godley).

“Throughout the year, the board collaborates with United CEO Cameron Smallwood to tackle issues that impact all of us,” Dumas said. “Rest assured, the employees, management and board of directors at United remain committed to delivering exceptional service and value while maintaining fiscal responsibility to you and our cooperative. There’s no shortage of challenges in today’s business environment. But as a cooperative, we’ll face and overcome them together—with innovation, agility and vision.”

Smallwood said members had again received their member dividend checks or credits on their bill in October. The program was discontinued during 2021 and 2022 following the Brazos Electric Cooperative bankruptcy, though it was reinstated in 2023.

“United is a nonprofit electric distribution cooperative, and that means we don’t exist to send any profits or margins that we make to other people,” he said. “We keep them here at the cooperative, and we return them to you over time. A really important piece of being a cooperative is returning past margins back to our members. We’ve really enjoyed giving that back to our members over many years, and that is the essence of the cooperative business model. Our mission is simple: providing you, our members, with exceptional service and value. That’s a key competency that we have as a co-op.”

Since 2000, United has returned $87.4 million back to the membership, he said.

Even while experiencing breakneck 3.5 percent growth and despite rising costs due to inflation in all sectors, the cooperative continues to boast efficient operations due to conservative business practices and higher efficiencies that translate to lower overall costs compared to similar-sized cooperatives, Smallwood said.
He highlighted that United was able to serve 514 meters per electric employee, he said, compared to the national average of 525. Also, United averages about $399 per meter for total operation and maintenance costs compared to the national average of $417 per meter.

“Again, we are working to save our members money each and every day,” he said. “The number of meters we serve per electric employee is pretty impressive when you compare it to other cooperatives. And what does that mean? It means we’re more efficient with our time. What does that mean for you? That means we’re keeping our costs as low as we can. We’re working to save our members’ money every day.”

Members can watch this year’s Annual Meeting  in its entirety by visiting www.ucs.net/news-releases.