Hoosier Energy hosts 2026 Annual Meeting

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Posted on May 23 2026 in A Co-op Perspective, Bartholomew County REMC, Clark County REMC, Daviess-Martin County REMC, Decatur County REMC, Dubois REC, Harrison REMC, Henry County REMC, Jackson County REMC, Orange County REMC, Southern Indiana Power, WIN Energy REMC
Members of the Hoosier Energy executive staff, from left, Chris Blunk, Rob Horton, Jon Jackson, and Scott Bowers participate in a panel discussion at the 2026 Annual Meeting.
Members of the Hoosier Energy executive staff, from left, Chris Blunk, Rob Horton, Jon Jackson, and Scott Bowers participate in a panel discussion at the 2026 Annual Meeting.

In April, Hoosier Energy hosted its 2026 Annual Meeting, the first in two years after last year’s event was canceled due to severe storms and tornado threats.

As with most things in the energy industry, much has changed in two years. Yet Hoosier Energy’s mission to provide reliable and affordable energy remains unchanged even as it adapts and evolves. The meeting and the 2025 Annual Report shared the fitting theme “Bold Moves, Cooperative Priorities.”

Hoosier Energy President and CEO Donna Walker acknowledged both sides of that coin in her opening remarks. “We’re going to share with you some of the bold steps that we’re taking to shape our energy future here at Hoosier Energy,” she said. “But I also understand these sessions are set against a really challenging backdrop. Consumers are more and more concerned about reliability these days. With aging infrastructure, insufficient firm generating resources, more severe weather events, and cyber and physical security threats to the grid, all of that comes together to pose greater concerns and risk about power outages.” 

Walker then passed the baton to Jim McMahon of Charles River Associates. His presentation, entitled “Wired for Change: Industry Trends and Implications,” covered everything from industry headlines dominating the news to graphs charting trends and changes in the energy sector. In the process, he discussed data centers, energy affordability, and the energy transition.

Following a short break, the first panel discussion of the day was “Navigating Federal & State Energy Dynamics, A Policy Discussion”. It featured NRECA’s Hill Thomas, who works on federal government initiatives, Indiana Electric Cooperatives CEO John Cassady, and Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives CEO Craig Sondgeroth. The discussion included the impacts of politics and the opportunities that open and close depending on the administrations at the state and national levels. Affordability was a central theme.

The second panel discussion followed the day’s theme “Bold Moves, Cooperative Priorities,” and was comprised of Hoosier executive staff members Chris Blunk, Rob Horton, Jon Jackson, and Scott Bowers. They discussed supply portfolio performance, transmission costs, the impact of the DOE GRIP award, digital reliability, large loads/data centers, and managing affordability.

The final session of the day was with Holtec International President, Kelly Trice. He provided some history and behind-the-scenes information on the restart of the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant, as well as a glimpse into the future of small modular reactors (SMRs).

Trice concluded with a Q&A session with Walker, describing the reopening of Palisades as 90 percent complete, with operations set to commence later this year, well ahead of the original target of March 2027.