Manager’s Message – October 2025
PrintCelebrating National Co-op Month
October is the month to celebrate the benefits cooperatives bring to our communities. Whether the cooperative’s focus is food, child care, insurance, electricity, or some other service, we all exist to serve a need in the communities we live in.
Cooperatives are unique as we are not-for-profit, democratically controlled, and member owned. The cooperative business model is about meeting the needs of the people, not maximizing profits.
In the United States, there are more than 900 electric co-ops that serve an estimated 42 million people. At Northern Lights, we have more than 20,000 members and more than 2,900 miles of distribution lines that serve members in Northern Idaho, Eastern Washington, and Western Montana.
NLI is overseen by a seven-member board of directors, each elected by the members of the district in which they represent. Our power comes from Bonneville Power Administration and our own dam on a tributary of the Kootenai River. NLI distributes this power to each of its members’ homes and businesses.
One way NLI serves its community is through Operation Roundup, where members can choose to round up their monthly energy bill 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 struggling members with their power bills, or Project Share, which provides home heating assistance. If you would like to participate in any of these programs, visit the Community page or call us at (208) 263-5141.
As summer has come to an end, 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.
Sincerely,
Annie Terracciano
General Manager
