Please select each question listed below to get the complete answers as it relates to your membership with Southwest Iowa REC.
ARTICLE III (Bylaws)
DIRECTORS
Section 1. Number and Qualifications. The business and affairs of the Cooperative shall be managed by a Board of Directors initially consisting of ten (10) individuals.
Any member of the Cooperative shall be eligible to become a director if said member has a legal capacity to enter into a binding contract and said member's election as a director would not violate any other provision of these Bylaws or the Articles of Incorporation of the Cooperative.
Section 2. Regions and Districts. There shall be two (2) numbered Geographic Regions for the Cooperative, each of which shall be divided into four (4) Districts, and election of directors shall be by such districts, with one (1) director representing each District. In addition, two (2) at-large directors will be elected, one (1) from each Region. Directors shall reside in and receive service from the Cooperative at a location within the district (or Region in the case of at-large directors) they are elected to represent. The geographic area of each Region shall initially be as set forth in the Plan of Consolidation of Southwest Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative, and revised as necessary by the Board of Directors. The district boundaries shall be described hereafter in these Bylaws of the Cooperative and shown on a map of the cooperative service area, with such description and map maintained at all offices of the Cooperative and kept available to members.
Region I shall consist of the former service territory area of Rideta Electric Cooperative, Inc. and Region II shall consist of the former service territory area of Southwest Iowa Service Cooperative, both as they existed at the time said cooperatives consolidated to form Southwest Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative. Districts 1 through 4 shall initially be located in Region I and Districts 5 through 8 shall initially be located in Region II. The Districts can be described as follows:
REGION NO. 1
District 1.
Union County: Sections 19-36 of Douglas Township, Highland Township, Union Township, Platt Township, and Grant Township.
Ringgold County: Sections 1-4, 9-12, 13-16, 21-24, 25-28, 33-36 of Lincoln Township, Jefferson Township, Washington Township, Liberty Township and Sections 25-36 of Tingley Township.
District 2.
Union County: Sand Creek Township, Jones Township, and Pleasant Township
Ringgold County: Sections 1-24 of Tingley Township, Union Township.
District 3.
Taylor County: Eastern ¾ of Section 13, Eastern ½ of Section 24, Eastern ½ of Section 25, Southern ¼ of Section 35, Section 36 except the North ½ of the Northwest ¼ of Grove Township, Section 13-36 of Platte Township, Sections 1,2, Eastern ½ of section 3, Eastern ½ of section 12, Eastern ½ of section 13, Eastern ½ of section 24, sections 25, 32-36 of Marshall Township, Grant Township, Clayton Township, and Gay Township
Ringgold County: Sections 5-8, 17-20, 29-32 of Lincoln Township, Grant Township, Benton Township, Rice Township, Poe Township, Clinton Township, Middle Fork Township, and Lotts Creek Township.
District 4.
Ringgold County: Monroe Township, Athens Township, and Riley Township.
Decatur County: Grand River Township, Decatur Township, Bloomington Township, Burrel Township, Eden Township, Woodland Township, Fayette Township, New Buda Township, Hamilton Township, and Morgan Township
REGION NO. 2
District 5.
North Border: Assigned Area of Service
South Border: Assigned Area of Service
West Border: U.S. Highway #148
East Border: Assigned Area of Service except areas specifically designated in District #3.
District 6.
North Border: U.S. Highway #34 to U.S. Highway #71, J20 to U.S. Highway #48
South Border: Assigned Area of Service
West Border: U.S. Highway #71 to J20, U.S. Highway #59
East Border: U.S. Highway #148
District 7.
North Border: Assigned Area of Service
South Border: U.S. Highway # 34
West Border: Assigned Area of Service
East Border: U.S. Highway # 148
District 8.
North Border: U.S. Highway # 34
South Border: J20, U.S. Highway 48
West Border: Assigned Area of Service
East Border: U.S. Highway # 71
Candidates for election to the Board of Directors shall be nominated by a Nominating Committee, which Committee shall be elected by the Board of Directors, not less than sixty (60) nor more than ninety (90) days before the date of a meeting of the members at which directors are to be elected. The Nominating Committee shall consist of no less than three (3) nor more than ten (10) members who shall be selected so as to give equitable representation on the Committee to the geographical areas served by the Cooperative. Said Nominating Committee members so elected shall nominate candidates for election to the Board of Directors and a list of the nominations so made shall be posted at the offices of the Cooperative no less than 45 days prior to the date of the meeting.
Any twenty (20) or more members may make other nominations in writing over their signatures not less than thirty (30) days prior to the meeting at which directors are to be elected, and the Secretary shall post the same at the same place where the list of nominations by the Committee is posted; such nominations so made by such members to be subject to the same service location requirements as nominations by the Nominating Committee heretofore prescribed.
The election of the directors shall be by ballot, and each voting member shall be entitled to cast one ballot for each director to be elected from the member's Region. To the extent the same is specifically authorized by the Board of Directors, members may vote by mail-in ballot. The election of directors shall be subject to ratification by a majority of all members present at the Annual Meeting of members, and directors elected shall qualify and take office immediately following the Annual Meeting of Members.
Section 3. Election of Directors. At the Annual Meeting of Members to be held in 2006, an election will be conducted for the purpose of electing ten (10) directors, five (5) from Region I and five (5) from Region II. One (1) director will be elected from each District and the directors must reside and receive service from the Cooperative at a location within the District which they represent. In addition, two (2) at-large directors will be elected, one (1) from each Region. The at-large directors must reside and receive service from the Cooperative at a location within the Region which they represent. Directors from Districts 1, 3, 5, and 7 shall be elected to serve three (3) year terms; directors from Districts 2 and 6, and the at-large director from Region I shall be elected to serve two (2) year terms; and directors from Districts 4 and 8, and the at-large director from Region II shall be elected to serve one (1) year terms. From and after the Annual Meeting of Members to be held in 2006, the Cooperative shall be managed by a Board consisting of ten (10) directors, one (1) from each District and two (2) at-large. Beginning with the Annual Meeting of Members to be held in 2007, a number of directors equal to the number of directors whose terms expire shall be elected to a term of three (3) years, or until their successors are elected and qualified.
Subject to the provisions of Section 4 of this Article, vacancies on the Board of Directors may be filled by a majority vote of the remaining directors. The director so elected shall serve the remainder of the term. Individuals chosen to fill a vacancy in a District must reside and receive service from the Cooperative at a location within the District which they represent and individuals chosen to fill a vacancy in an at-large position must reside and receive service at a location within the Region they represent.
Section 4. Removal of Directors. Any member may bring charges against a director by filing them in writing with the Secretary of the Cooperative, together with a petition signed by twenty percent (20%) of the members, requesting the removal of the director in question. The removal shall be voted upon at the next regular meeting or special meeting of the members and, by a vote of a majority of all voting members of the Cooperative, the director may be removed and the vacancy may be filled by the members. The director against whom such charges have been brought shall be informed in writing of the charges prior to the meeting and shall have an opportunity at the meeting to be heard, in person or by counsel, and to present witnesses; and the person or persons bringing the charges against him shall have the same opportunity.
Section 5. Rules and Regulations. The Board of Directors shall have power to make and adopt such rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the Articles of Incorporation of the Cooperative or these Bylaws or the laws of the State of Iowa, as it may deem advisable for the management, administration and regulation of the business affairs of the Cooperative.
Section 6. Accounting System and Reports. The Board of Directors shall cause to be established and maintained a complete accounting system which, among other things, subject to applicable laws of the State of Iowa and the rules and regulations of any regulatory body thereof, shall conform to such accounting system as may, from time to time, be designated by the Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service. The Board of Directors shall, after the close of each fiscal year, cause to be made a full and complete audit of the accounts, books and financial condition of the Cooperative as of the end of such fiscal year. Such audit reports shall be submitted to the members at the following Annual Meeting.
Section 7. Additional Director Qualifications. In addition to the foregoing, No Member shall be eligible to become or remain a Director or to hold any position of trust in the Cooperative who:
(1) within five (5) years preceding a director candidate's nomination was or during service on the Board of Directors is finally adjudged to be guilty of a felony;
(2) within five (5) years preceding a director candidate's nomination was an employee of the Cooperative or the spouse of an employee of the Cooperative;
(3) is or becomes, or at any time during the five (5) years preceding a director candidate's nomination shall have been, employed by a labor union which represents, or has represented, or has endeavored to represent any employees of the Cooperative;
(4) is a grandparent, parent, co-habitant, child, or grandchild of an employee of the Cooperative;
(5) is a person that is a grandparent, parent, co-habitant, child, or grandchild of an incumbent director whose district seat is not up for re-election at that time;
(6) is in any way employed by or substantially financially interested in an enterprise competing with the Cooperative or any Cooperative-affiliated business;
(7) is or becomes the full-time employee or agent of, or who is or becomes the full-time employer or principal of, another director;
(8) is engaged in conduct that is a violation of law or violation of a Cooperative policy or policies, or whenever a director has materially failed to satisfy his/her duties as a director, including the duty to regularly attend meetings of the Board of Directors; or
(9) is employed by, materially affiliated with, or has a financial interest in, any individual or entity possessing a conflict of interest with the Cooperative or a Cooperative subsidiary.
For purposes of this Section, financially interested shall not include beneficial ownership of less than 5% of the bonds or the combined voting power of all issued and outstanding voting securities of a publicly held corporation whose stock is traded on a major stock exchange or quoted on NASDAQ.
In regard to the restrictive provisions of this Section that are based upon close relative relationships, no incumbent director shall lose eligibility to remain a director or to be re-elected a director if, during a director's incumbency, a director becomes a first kindred relative of another incumbent director or of a Cooperative employee because of a marriage or an adoption to which the director was not a party.
As stated in the Articles of Incorporation, no member shall own more than one membership and each member shall be entitled to one (1) vote and no more upon each matter submitted to a vote at a meeting of the membership. Voting by proxy and cumulative voting shall not be permitted. If two or more persons hold one membership certificate in partnership, joint tenancy, or otherwise, the vote of such membership may be cast by any one of such persons, or as otherwise directed by the Board of Directors. A member absent from any meeting may submit a mail vote on any motion, resolution, or amendment to be acted upon at such meeting, provided a mail ballot has been specifically authorized by the Board of Directors. A mail vote must be cast on a ballot containing the exact text of the proposed motion, resolution, or amendment by depositing such ballot in the United States Mail, addressed to the Secretary at the business office of the Cooperative not later than five (5) days prior to the day of the meeting at which the vote is to be taken. At all meetings of the members at which a quorum is present, all questions shall be decided by a vote of a majority of the members present in person or represented by mail vote except as otherwise provided by law, the Articles of Incorporation of the Cooperative or these Bylaws.
A Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors shall be held on a monthly basis. Notice of the date, time, and place of the Regular Meeting shall be given as directed by the Board of Directors. Normally, the board meets on the last Thursday of each month rotating between the office locations in Corning, Mount Ayr and Stanton.
Here is a brief outline of a typical board meeting agenda:
→ Call to order
- Invocation
- Approve Agenda
- Approve Previous Monthly Minutes
- Approve Cash Disbursements
- Approve Membership Refunds and Approvals
- Approve Estate Patronage Payments
- Review Line Extensions
- Monthly Reports:
- Approve Financials & Office Report
- Operations & Safety
- Member Services
- Associated Organization Reports:
- CIPCO Power Supply Report
- Other Reports –
- CEO/Mgr. Report
→Old Business:
→New Business:
- Upcoming Events & Meetings:
And any other business that may come before the Board at this time.
Board Briefs
2026
9 Board Meeting Summary September 2026
8 Board Meeting Summary August 2026
7 Board Meeting Summary July 2026
6 Board Meeting Summary June 2026
5 Board Meeting Summary May 2026
4 Board Meeting Summary April 2026
3 Board Meeting Summary March 2026
2 Board Meeting Summary February 2026
1 Board Meeting Summary January 2026.pdf
2025
12 December Board Meeting Summary.pdf
11 November Board Meeting Summary.pdf
10 October Board Meeting Summary.pdf
9 September Board Meeting Summary.pdf
8 August Board Meeting Summary.pdf
7 July Board Meeting Summary.pdf
6 June Board Meeting Summary.pdf
5 May Board Meeting Summary.pdf
4 April Board Meeting Summary.pdf
3 March Board Meeting Summary.pdf
2 February Board Meeting Summary.pdf
1 January Board Meeting Summary.pdf
There shall be two (2) numbered Geographic Regions for the Cooperative, each of which shall be divided into four (4) Districts, and election of directors shall be by such districts, with one (1) director representing each District. In addition, two (2) at-large directors will be elected, one (1) from each Region. Directors shall reside in and receive service from the Cooperative at a location within the district (or Region in the case of at-large directors) they are elected to represent. The geographic area of each Region shall initially be as set forth in the Plan of Consolidation of Southwest Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative, and revised as necessary by the Board of Directors. The district boundaries shall be described hereafter in these Bylaws of the Cooperative and shown on a map of the cooperative service area, with such description and map maintained at all offices of the Cooperative and kept available to members.
Region I shall consist of the former service territory area of Rideta Electric Cooperative, Inc. and Region II shall consist of the former service territory area of Southwest Iowa Service Cooperative, both as they existed at the time said cooperatives consolidated to form Southwest Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative. Districts 1 through 4 shall initially be located in Region I and Districts 5 through 8 shall initially be located in Region II. The Districts can be described as follows:
REGION NO. 1
District 1.
Union County: Sections 19-36 of Douglas Township, Highland Township, Union Township, Platt Township, and Grant Township.
Ringgold County: Sections 1-4, 9-12, 13-16, 21-24, 25-28, 33-36 of Lincoln Township, Jefferson Township, Washington Township, Liberty Township and Sections 25-36 of Tingley Township.
District 2.
Union County: Sand Creek Township, Jones Township, and Pleasant Township
Ringgold County: Sections 1-24 of Tingley Township, Union Township.
District 3.
Taylor County: Eastern ¾ of Section 13, Eastern ½ of Section 24, Eastern ½ of Section 25, Southern ¼ of Section 35, Section 36 except the North ½ of the Northwest ¼ of Grove Township, Section 13-36 of Platte Township, Sections 1,2, Eastern ½ of section 3, Eastern ½ of section 12, Eastern ½ of section 13, Eastern ½ of section 24, sections 25, 32-36 of Marshall Township, Grant Township, Clayton Township, and Gay Township
Ringgold County: Sections 5-8, 17-20, 29-32 of Lincoln Township, Grant Township, Benton Township, Rice Township, Poe Township, Clinton Township, Middle Fork Township, and Lotts Creek Township.
District 4.
Ringgold County: Monroe Township, Athens Township, and Riley Township.
Decatur County: Grand River Township, Decatur Township, Bloomington Township, Burrel Township, Eden Township, Woodland Township, Fayette Township, New Buda Township, Hamilton Township, and Morgan Township
REGION NO. 2
District 5.
North Border: Assigned Area of Service
South Border: Assigned Area of Service
West Border: U.S. Highway #148
East Border: Assigned Area of Service except areas specifically designated in District #3.
District 6.
North Border: U.S. Highway #34 to U.S. Highway #71, J20 to U.S. Highway #48
South Border: Assigned Area of Service
West Border: U.S. Highway #71 to J20, U.S. Highway #59
East Border: U.S. Highway #148
District 7.
North Border: Assigned Area of Service
South Border: U.S. Highway # 34
West Border: Assigned Area of Service
East Border: U.S. Highway # 148
District 8.
North Border: U.S. Highway # 34
South Border: J20, U.S. Highway 48
West Border: Assigned Area of Service
East Border: U.S. Highway # 71
Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives is a national network of electric cooperatives across 46 states that provides resources and leverages partnerships to help member cooperatives and their employees better engage and serve their members. By working together, Touchstone Energy cooperatives stand as a source of power and information to their 32 million member-owners every day.
Electric cooperatives were originally established to provide electricity to rural America. Now co-op territories have expanded into suburban and some urban areas of the country, which makes electric co-ops the largest electric utility network in the nation. Despite this growth, your local Touchstone Energy cooperative is owned and operated by the members it serves, giving everyone in your community a democratic voice in how the co-op is run.
Community-friendly values mixed with the cooperative business model are what make electric co-ops strong. As a not-for-profit entity, members know they can trust their electric co-op, because it was created to deliver on the promise of providing safe, reliable and affordable electricity to member-owners – not to generate money for shareholders.
What Makes Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Different
Touchstone Energy is the national brand identity for the extensive electric cooperative network. All members exemplify high standards of service because they uphold the four core values of integrity, accountability, innovation and commitment to community. Touchstone Energy co-ops simply put members first and always have a local, member-driven, community focused vision.
Across the country, local Touchstone Energy co-ops work to improve members’ quality of life by taking a leadership role in community and economic development projects, forging strong partnerships with business members, as well as generously donating time, energy and resources to their local communities. The Touchstone Energy logo means the cooperative understands the power of human connections and is the power of a national network, working in your neighborhood.
Touchstone Energy Cooperatives are:
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Part of the largest electric utility network in the nation
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Total more than 700 local systems in 46 states
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Serve more than 30.5 million distribution cooperative member-owners
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Serve nearly 40 generation and transmission cooperatives
Southwest Iowa REC has a proven track record of supporting economic development, while simultaneously delivering power that is affordable, safe, reliable and environmentally responsible. Through our programs and services, we help new businesses to locate in our service territory and assist existing businesses, including agricultural operations, to expand their operations.
To ensure all electrical needs are adequately met, we plan for system reliability and safety. Electrical systems must be installed according to applicable codes and maintained and operated in compliance with established standards. Southwest Iowa REC and CIPCO, our generation and transmission cooperative, have robust plans for the construction, operation, inspection and maintenance of our systems. The state of Iowa provides regulatory oversight of all electric utilities’ written inspection and maintenance plans. While the regulation for safety and reliability resides at the state level, your locally elected cooperative board members are typically responsible for the economic regulation, including policies for line or system upgrades.
When line or system upgrades are necessary to serve load growth, some costs are assigned to specific groups based on the configuration of our electric delivery system. This can vary for residential, commercial and industrial member-owners. For example, power line upgrades may be necessary to effectively meet the demands of load growth in a commercial or industrial setting. In those instances, when a concentrated area such as an industrial park is being served, it is generally easier for Southwest Iowa REC to plan for load growth and the subsequent costs of upgrades, which may in turn be shared among that specific customer group. When initially designing the electric delivery system to serve a large load center, we have an enhanced ability to anticipate and plan for load growth, which can help to minimize the cost impact of future upgrades.
In our more rural, agricultural settings, member-owners are more geographically spread out or closer to the “end of the physical power line” configuration. When we have a farther distance to build or upgrade lines, the more cost-intensive the project is for Southwest Iowa REC. In these cases, oftentimes only one or just a handful of people will benefit from system upgrades. Therefore, it may not be appropriate to charge all member-owners for these costs. For example, if a member-owner builds a home into a very remote area of the woods, should that person pay for the cost to get the line into the woods or should that cost be borne by all member-owners? Electric utilities review who benefits from the extensions or upgrades, and then the costs are generally assigned to those that benefit.
If you are considering a significant change to your electrical needs, or if you are planning to add a distributed generation system on your property, contact Southwest Iowa REC at the outset of your planning process. By being able to plan for your service needs, we can continue to provide you with safe, reliable and affordable electric service.
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Beyond the basic costs of building and maintaining infrastructure, many factors are currently placing additional cost pressures on providing electric service, including:
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Understanding the Cost Allocation Process
Iowa’s electric cooperatives serve fewer than three consumers per mile of electric line (Southwest Iowa REC serves 2.3), compared to investor-owned utilities and government-owned municipal utilities that serve up to 60 consumers per mile of line. Because electric cooperative consumers are spread out geographically, cooperatives must be diligent in controlling costs and methodical in setting rates.
Regularly, a cost-of-service study is conducted to determine the cost of providing electric service to all of our member-owners. Once we analyze the costs to serve all members on a cooperative-wide basis, we study what it costs to serve certain groups of members. These groups are determined based on electric usage characteristics, and customers with similar electric usage characteristics are grouped together, such as all single-phase residential members may be grouped together.
As part of the study, we determine if we can directly assign some costs to an individual member or group of members, such as:
- Assigning to one member-owner. If a customer builds a home way back into the woods, he or she is responsible for the line extension costs above the average or normal amount built into the electric rates.
- Assigning to a specific group of member-owners. If a city ordinance requires that electric facilities must be buried underground, then those member-owners in that city are directly allocated the costs.
- Assigning common costs. This necessary multistep approach allocates common costs to those who benefit, recognizing that it is not always a black and white situation.
After the costs are allocated to the various groups, then the rates are designed to recover the costs to serve the groups.
For residential member-owners, traditional rate design includes a fixed monthly charge and a price per kWh for electricity used. This approach has been widely used by the U.S. electric industry for decades, and it works very well when all customers are served from central station generation, such as a coal-fueled or hydro-powered facility.
Industry rate setting experts apply several key principles in the process, including:
- Providing rate stability.
- Ensuring that rates charged by an electric utility for providing electric service to each class of electric consumers are designed, to the maximum extent practicable, to reasonably reflect the costs of providing electric service to the class.
- Designing rates to reasonably approximate a pricing methodology for any individual utility that would reflect the price system that would exist in a competitive market environment.
- Creating an ease of understanding about the rates for customers.
- Developing an ease of administration of the rates.
Rate setting is a detailed process that your board of directors takes seriously. As the electric industry changes to include more on-site generation at homes and businesses, the rate setting process will be examined to ensure that those who directly benefit from service are paying an appropriate share of the costs.