Northland Connection: December 2025

2025: Celebrating the Power of Our Co-op Community

As we close out 2025, I find myself reflecting on just how much we have to be proud of as a cooperative. Each year brings new challenges and new opportunities, yet one thing remains constant: the commitment of our employees, our board of directors and our membership to move this cooperative forward. Because of that shared commitment, we continue to grow, remain financially strong and deliver safe, reliable energy with a level of member service that sets us apart. None of this happens by accident. It happens because of the dedicated people who make up this cooperative family.

Reliability has always been at the heart of our mission, and this year reaffirmed why our continued investment in the system is so critical. Although we faced a significant number of storm-related outages across our service territory, our overall reliability remained strong. Excluding major storm events, our year-to-date outage minutes per member stand at just 49 minutes. This is an impressive indicator that our system is performing well under normal operating conditions. Even when outages occur, our crews respond quickly and safely, restoring power in an average of 91 minutes. This level of performance speaks volumes about the skill, dedication and preparedness of our operations team.

In 2025, we also invested more than $11 million in new and upgraded infrastructure. These investments ensure that our system remains resilient and capable of meeting the rising demands of our growing membership. Each dollar spent is part of a long-term plan to keep your electric service dependable well into the future.

Of course, a cooperative is only as strong as the people behind it, and our employees are truly the backbone of everything we do. I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to every member of our team for their dedication throughout the year. Their commitment to serving our members is evident in every outage restored, every member interaction and every improvement made to our system and operations.

This year brought several recognitions and industry awards that reflect the high standards our employees uphold daily. Among the achievements that we are most proud of is our continued safety performance. PCEC now holds top spot for the most consecutive hours without a lost-time accident among rural distribution cooperatives in the state, exceeding 1.5 million hours. This is a remarkable milestone and a testament to the priority our employees place on working safely for themselves, their coworkers and our members.

Our board of directors also plays a crucial role in our success, and I am grateful for their strong leadership and thoughtful decision-making. In August, we held our biennial strategic planning session, bringing together board and staff to evaluate our long-term goals and reaffirm our strategic vision. These discussions guide our work for years to come and ensure we remain focused on reliability, financial strength and member service.

Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives (AMEC) Director of Safety Training Bruce Stumpe presents a 2025 safety award to PCEC General Manager/CEO Dave Deihl for consecutive hours without a lost-time accident at AMEC’s annual meeting.

One of the areas we continue to monitor closely is wholesale power costs. We continue to see rate increases from our wholesale power provider, Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AECI), and our transmission provider, NW Electric Power Cooperative, as both organizations invest heavily in expanding generation capacity and upgrading infrastructure to support long-term reliability. These investments are essential to maintaining reliable electricity for our region, particularly as energy demand continues to rise and the grid evolves.

While we are finalizing our 2026 annual budget, I am pleased to share that we do not anticipate any rate increases in the coming year. This can be attributed to our strong equity position, continued operating efficiencies and prudent planning by our leadership team and board. Holding rates steady while still making necessary investments is an accomplishment we take seriously, and one we are proud to deliver for our members.

As we look ahead to 2026, I am optimistic and encouraged by the momentum we have built together. Our cooperative is strong, stable, and well-positioned for the future. Thank you for your support, your engagement and your trust. It is an honor to serve you, and we look forward to another year of providing the safe, reliable and affordable energy you expect and deserve.

From all of us at PCEC, I wish you a wonderful Christmas and a bright year ahead.

Platte-Clay 2025 Highlights

PCEC Art Contest Winners Announced

PCEC 2025 Safety Poster Contest winners from left to right, Remi from Kearney, Maci from Kearney, and Wyatt from Edgerton.

PCEC hosted its 5th Annual Safety Poster Contest this October, and we’re excited to share this year’s winning young artists. With 80 entries submitted, our employee judges had a tough job as each poster showed tremendous creativity and a strong commitment to safety.

Open to third graders across our service territory, the contest encouraged students to explore the theme “How do I stay safe around electricity?” Each year, PCEC uses this contest to help promote electrical safety awareness in a fun and engaging way.

This year’s student winners are Remi and Maci from Kearney, and Wyatt from Edgerton. Each winner received a $100 gift card in recognition of their outstanding artwork.

Teachers who submitted entries on behalf of their classes were also entered into a separate classroom prize drawing. This year’s teacher prize recipients were Ms. Ashcroft and Ms. Paul from Kearney Elementary and Ms. Pendleton from North Platte Intermediate.

A big thank-you to all the students and educators who participated. Your enthusiasm and creativity help make our communities safer!

Apply Now for Youth Tour Contest and Education Scholarships

High school juniors have the opportunity to win a free trip to Washington, D.C. next summer by participating in Platte-Clay Electric’s 2026 Youth Tour contest. To apply, students must complete an online application by March 6, 2026.

Finalists will interview with a panel of judges in the spring. Judges will choose two students to represent the co-op at the 2026 Youth Tour leadership conference in Washington, D.C. and four students will represent PCEC at 2026 Youth CYCLE youth leadership conference held in Jefferson City.

Youth Tour is an annual youth event sponsored by rural electrical cooperatives around the country. More than 100 students from the Show-Me state and over 2000 students nationwide will have the opportunity to tour museums, visit America’s historic monuments and meet their elected officials.

Learn more about the Youth Tour contest and apply online by visiting www.PCEC.coop/YT.

In addition, PCEC will once again be giving away three $1,000 higher education scholarships in 2026 to high school seniors or undergraduates who are pursuing a degree that could be used in the electric power industry. The application deadline for this is also March 6. Applications can be submitted at www.pcec.coop/scholarship.

Eligible degrees include any fields that could be used in the electric industry such as line work, engineering, business, human resources, marketing, finance, accounting and information technology.

Utility Pole Inspections Underway

Each year, Platte-Clay inspects 10% of utility poles as part of the co-op’s routine maintenance program to reduce outages and safety hazards. All poles are inspected and documented over a ten year period of time, ensuring timely repair.

Crews from our partners at Lee Utility Inspection are in the process of inspecting over 4,000 poles.

Lee crews will be out in marked vehicles and may need to access fields or yards to evaluate pole integrity. This year’s inspections are underway across our service territory.

Members can report damaged poles at any time by calling our office at (816) 628-3121.

Used poles are available to members on a first-come-first-served basis, free of charge, at PCEC office locations or near varying job sites throughout the cooperative’s service area. Members may inquire about the availability of used poles by contacting the office during regular business hours.

Donate Coats and Cans For Those In Need

Community Holiday Drive Continues through December

To assist those in need in our community, please bring a donation of gently-used or new coats or non-perishable foods to one of our offices. We will continue to collect these through the end of the month in Kearney and Platte City.

PCEC Kearney Headquarters:
1000 W. 92 Highway, Kearney, MO

PCEC Platte City District Office:
15055 Bethel Road, Platte City, MO 64079

New Director Election Process Begins in January

PCEC members can choose to run for the board of directors through a fair, open and transparent annual membership election process. Board members serve three-year terms, and three of the nine board seats are up for election each year — one from each of our three service districts (North, South and West).

Any member interested in running for the PCEC Board of Directors in 2026 should contact the co-op beginning Jan. 1, 2026, to receive candidate information packets. To become eligible for election, director candidates are required to submit nomination petitions with at least 15 qualifying member signatures to the co-op by Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026.

To contact the co-op with your interest or if you have questions about the process, please email PCEC Human Resource Director Angie Kinard at angiek@pcec.coop.

PCEC will begin annual election voting in May. Members will be able to vote online again this year, with a paper ballot option available. Members can also vote in person prior to the annual Business Meeting May 28, when results of the election will be announced.

Directors play an important role in the cooperative by giving members a seat at the decision-making table through local representation. Each director on the Platte-Clay Board of Directors receives $500 for each local meeting attended with no other benefits paid.