Manager’s Message – October 2024
PrintCelebrating National Co-Op Month
October is the month to celebrate the benefits cooperatives bring to our communities. Whether the cooperatives’ focus is food, child care, insurance, electricity, or any other service, we all exist to serve a need in the communities we live in.
Cooperatives are not-for-profit, democratically controlled, and member-owned. The unique cooperative business model is about meeting the needs of the people, not about maximizing profits. In the United States, there are more than 900 electric co-ops serving an estimated 42 million people. At Northern Lights (NLI), we have more than 19,800 members and more than 2,900 miles of distribution lines serving members in Northern Idaho, Eastern Washington, and Western Montana.
NLI is overseen by a 7-member board of directors, each elected by the members of the district in which they represent. Our power comes from the Bonneville Power Administration and our own dam on a tributary of the Kootenai River, and NLI distributes this power to each of its members’ homes and businesses.
1-way NLI serves its community through Operation Roundup, where members can choose to round up their monthly energy bills to the nearest dollar to help families in need of assistance. Members can also choose to donate to the Helping Hand program, which is designed to help members struggling with their power bills, or Project Share, which provides home heating assistance. If you would like to participate in any of these programs, contact our office to sign up.
The leaves are changing and autumn is upon us. Before we know it, those princesses, superheroes, ghosts, and goblins will be knocking on our doors hoping for a treat!
Happy Halloween!
Sincerely,
Annie Terracciano
General Manager
