Summary of January’s board meeting

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Posted on Apr 10 2025 in Decatur County REMC

The regular meeting of the Decatur County REMC Board of Directors was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Chairman Steve AmRhein. Steve Nobbe recorded the minutes. All board members were present, along with CEO Brett Abplanalp and employee Matt Raver.

Approval of agenda
Suzanne Parmer moved to approve the agenda. Brian Scheidler seconded the motion, and the motion was approved unanimously.

Safety minute and cool moment
Abplanalp presented the safety moment, discussing the cooperative’s 2025 safety improvement plan. He also recognized the fiber team and the event launching PowerStream fiber. 

Approval of previous meeting minutes
Jason Barnhorst moved to approve the minutes of the Dec. 18, 2024, board meeting. Carl Riedeman seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

Hoosier Energy annual visit
Donna Walker, CEO of Hoosier Energy, and Rob Horton visited the board to discuss national industry trends, the NERC reliability report, recent large load announcements, and the current and future generation portfolio.

CEO update
Abplanalp provided a draft of the 2025 strategic projects and his high-level strategy for the current and coming years. He also shared company metrics, including:

  • December’s median temperature was 9.7% above the five-year average
  • Wholesale purchased energy decreased by 1.5%, and demand was down 1% compared to the five-year average
  • Year-to-date energy sales were 1.47% above budget
  • No major storms occurred in December.

Financial update
Raver presented the year-end financial update, noting the following:

  • The net utility plant went up by $145,442 from the previous month
  • Year-to-date revenues are above budget by $483,461
  • Power costs have increased, but gross margin exceeds budget by $128,765 YTD
  • Controllable expenses ended under budget by $451,154
  • The cash flow statement reported an ending cash balance of $427,109.

Old business

Electric service to former Decatur County landfill site
The board discussed but did not make any decisions for now. 

Nominating committee candidates
Dale Wernke presented Joseph Diekhoff and Chase Schneider to run for the District 6 election. Scheidler moved to approve the slate of nominating committee candidates. Parmer seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

New Business

Hoosier Energy Director
Scheidler nominated Barnhorst as the Hoosier Energy Director. The nominations were closed, and Barnhorst was elected.

Hoosier Energy annual meeting voting delegate
Barnhorst nominated Wernke as the Hoosier Energy annual meeting voting delegate. Nominations were closed, and Wernke was elected.

Affiliated organizations
Barnhorst provided a brief update on Hoosier Energy. Scheidler provided an update on Hometown.

Adjournment
Riedeman moved to adjourn the meeting. Scheidler seconded the motion, which was passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 7:49 p.m.