About Us
This website
is designed to inform and stimulate discussion among our members.
You will come to understand that we value not only your business,
but your participation in the operation of your electric utility.
As members/owners
of PKM you elect a board of directors that meet monthly to develop
policy by which your cooperative is governed and operated. The
board of directors appoints a manager who’s responsibility is
to employ a competent staff that will carry out the policies of
the cooperative and operate the utility in an efficient businesslike
manner that will benefit the member/owner.
I have heard
the difference between investor owned utilities and cooperatives
described in many different ways, but I feel the following explanation
is best. First off let us understand that any business relies
on customers to stay in business and remain successful. An investor
owned utility has what can be called a dual responsibility. They
are responsible to their customers (like all businesses) and they
are responsible to their shareholders (the people who own the
stock). Often times the shareholders and the customers have different
interests, because for the most part, they are not the same people.
It has been described that cooperatives have double responsibility.
They have the same responsibility to the customer (in our case
the member) and they also are responsible to the owners. In the
case of cooperatives the customer and owner of the equity in the
business are the same people.
We operate
your cooperative under a simple philosophy, with the exception
of litigation (not common) and privacy rights of individuals,
anything about your cooperative’s operations, polices or plans
is information that is your right to access.
Another part
of our philosophy is that your comments are not only welcome,
they are encouraged. My home phone number 218-523-4135 is listed
for after business hours and weekends. Let us know what you think.
We want to
live up to your expectations.
