CIPCO Responds to COVID-19
 

Message from the CEO

New challenges bring out our best. In Iowa, confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to grow, including news of community spread. New health guidelines and social distancing proclamations and recommendations are communicated daily. Despite this, be assured CIPCO continues to serve members. Keeping the lights on and meeting the power needs of all citizens is a solemn responsibility. We are ready to stand with our electric cooperative membership to meet this responsibility, even in the most adverse times.

Today’s challenges require we find new ways to protect the health and safety of our employees, their families and communities. Our essential staff members - linemen, power plant workers, substation crews, and dispatch staff, have new operating procedures in place to limit risk and ensure critical functions are intact. Staff in Creston and Wilton are ready to ensure reliability. Work on our Summit Lake project continues. We test staff readiness on a regular basis as part of our emergency response plan, so we are confident our teams can continue these operations while our administrative staff works remotely.

Our administrative employees are well-equipped to work away from their offices, conduct meetings via video and audio conference calls, forward their office phones to their mobile phones, and respond to member requests. Our departmental teams plan to meet regularly by conference call to monitor work and continue progress toward our goals.

During this unprecedented time, we will continue seamlessly executing on our mission to provide our members with safe, reliable, and cost-effective wholesale power and services despite the challenges we currently face. As a cooperative, Concern for Community is in our culture. Our community focus compels us to join other Iowans to slow the spread of COVID-19. Together we will get through this, emerging as an organization and an industry bound even more tightly to each other and to the cooperative principles.

Bill Cherrier
CIPCO Executive Vice President and CEO