From a news release
PERRYVILLE – Citizens Electric Corporation (Citizens) and Wabash Valley Power Association, Inc. (Wabash Valley) are announcing a new chapter in their collaboration.
Working together, they will advance the cooperative model through a transition of their relationship to the benefit of both cooperatives’ members.
On May 30, 2024, Citizens and Wabash Valley agreed on the key terms of Citizens’ transition from Wabash Valley membership, effective June 1, 2025, as well as Citizens’ purchase of Missouri-based transmission facilities.
Under the new agreement, Citizens will continue to purchase wholesale electricity from Wabash Valley as a customer until May 31, 2028. This change in relationship will provide Wabash Valley substantial capital for strategic expansion of its member programs and the freedom to focus on strategic load growth in its member footprints, while also granting Citizens logistical flexibility and local control to serve its members reliably and on favorable economic terms. Citizens and Wabash Valley mark this next step and 18 years of partnership while advancing toward final documentation of the arrangement.
A divergence of Citizens’ and Wabash Valley’s members’ needs have created an opportunity to reimagine their relationship.
Citizens plans to complete the purchase of the transmission assets by year-end, however, the company’s separation from Wabash Valley requires approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. FERC approval is expected in early 2025. Citizens and Wabash Valley continue to pursue the essential goal for which electric cooperatives were created: to safely deliver electricity to its members at the most affordable prices possible. In that spirit, both parties expect that this new relationship will facilitate positive changes to Wabash Valley’s generation & transmission business model, as well as provide benefits and flexibility to members of Citizens at a time when demand continues to grow rapidly.
While Citizens will no longer participate as a member of Wabash Valley after June 1, 2025, the parties will continue to engage with one another to identify synergistic opportunities to increase reliability and decrease costs for the benefit of member ratepayers.
Below are key takeaways on the importance of this work for the membership:
Q: Does this mean our rates will increase?
A: Buying back transmission assets will have favorable economic benefits to the membership, while the separation from Wabash allows for greater autonomy of Citizens Electric Corporation.
Q: What does this mean for the future of Citizens Electric?
A: The long-term goal behind transitioning from WVPA membership is to allow Citizens Electric more control over power supply and offer flexibility to meet current and future energy needs.
Q: What can we as the member expect next?
A: Citizens is dedicated to providing the best possible electric service at a competitive rate with our neighbors, not only today, but for generations to come. Citizens commits to ensuring transparency in our efforts, making sure we keep you, our members, fully informed at every significant step along the way.
Citizens was incorporated on November 17, 1947, and operates as a not-for-profit electric cooperative.
Citizens serves over 27,000 members in portions of six counties in southeastern Missouri and is the largest electric distribution cooperative by kilowatt-hour sales in the state. Please feel free to reach out to the contacts listed below with any questions or concerns.