At Prairie Land, we know our members rely on electricity every day — for homes, farms, businesses, schools and communities across our service territory. When you flip a switch, you expect and need the power to be there. We understand that expectation, and we also understand that every dollar on your electric bill matters. Meeting that expectation requires member-focused values built on financial stewardship and prudent decision-making.
Over the past several months, we have shared what it means to be reliable today and resilient tomorrow. That commitment is built on disciplined planning, ongoing maintenance, workforce training, and strategic system investments. In 2025, Prairie Land achieved 99.9% reliability, an outcome that reflects the work of our employees and the local investments made on behalf of our member-owners.
Reliability does not happen by accident. It requires preparation before storms arrive, maintenance before equipment fails, and long-term planning before growth reaches our doorstep. It also requires accountability — making careful decisions about where, when and how member dollars are invested.
Balancing Service Needs With Member Impact
As a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative, Prairie Land is accountable to the people we serve. We are locally owned and guided by a member-elected board of trustees. Additionally, many of our employees live in the same communities where they work. That local connection matters because our decisions affect our neighbors and our communities.
In last month’s issue, our generation and transmission provider, Sunflower Electric Power Corporation, shared more detail about the pass-through wholesale power portion of the bill. This article focuses on the remaining portion that recovers the costs of the distribution system Prairie Land operates — the local network of substations, lines, transformers, protective equipment, meters, service drops, etc., that ultimately delivers electricity to your homes, farms and businesses.
Even in maintaining Prairie Land's local distribution system, most costs are external and are therefore outside our full control. Materials, labor, supply chain conditions, equipment availability, and state and local taxes and fees assessed on the cooperative all affect what it takes to maintain and improve the system. Our responsibility is to control what we can: plan carefully, prioritize wisely, and invest member dollars where they provide the greatest long-term value.
Spending Money Where It Matters Most
We know electric bills matter to household budgets, farm operations and local businesses. That is why financial stewardship is not just a phrase — it is a responsibility. The lowest upfront cost is not always the most responsible choice if it leads to more repairs, shorter service life, or weaker performance during storms. Our goal is to weigh cost, safety, reliability and long-term value before decisions are made.
One example is Prairie Land’s planned move from wood to fiberglass crossarms, which are the horizontal supports mounted on utility poles that hold power lines in place. Fiberglass may cost slightly more upfront, but it can reduce installation needs, last longer and provide added strength in severe weather. Additionally, it results in a smaller annual cost because the longer service life reduces annual depreciation expense. That kind of decision reflects the balance we are working to achieve: being cost-conscious today while investing in tomorrow.
The same principle applies to substation modernization. As we begin to update aging infrastructure, we are also looking for smarter ways to engineer and configure the system. In several instances, our engineering and operations teams have determined that upgrading every substation is not necessary. Instead, upgrading a strategically selected substation can provide sufficient capacity to serve load from neighboring substations, while existing facilities remain in service to provide redundancy (i.e., backup if needed). This approach reduces costs while maintaining system reliability and resiliency.
In addition, we plan to upgrade other field equipment such as insulators, cutouts and switches — transitioning from traditional glass-based components to polymer-based materials in certain applications. These upgrades can improve durability, reduce maintenance needs, and enhance performance in harsh weather conditions, supporting both reliability and resiliency over time.
These decisions require careful review because the outcome must serve members today and protect value for the years ahead.
Preparing for Growth Without Shifting Unnecessary Costs
Demand for electricity is increasing across the nation, and we are seeing the same in Kansas. New and expanding businesses, larger loads, and changing energy needs require us to plan for future capacity while continuing to serve all members across our system.
When new large-load projects require electric infrastructure, they must pay for the facilities needed to serve them. This helps protect current member-owners from paying costs tied to the new development, while also allowing communities to benefit from potential growth and economic opportunities.
Ready for the Unexpected
Storms, extreme weather and equipment failures remind us why preparation matters. Following the March 2025 blizzard that affected parts of our service territory, our crews worked under difficult conditions to restore service, replacing approximately 190 poles and responding to nearly $1 million in system damage. Events like this are costly, but they also show why continued investment in a stronger, more resilient system is necessary.
This is also why we invested in system monitoring and control tools such as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), which we previously shared with members through our annual report and earlier communications. SCADA provides real-time visibility into the electric system, helping us identify outages faster, locate issues more precisely, and restore service more efficiently.
When available, we also actively pursue and use grant opportunities and other funding sources — including programs such as Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance — to help offset eligible restoration and repair costs.
Whether we are improving outage response, replacing aging equipment, or planning for future demand, our commitment is to keep service reliable while being conscientious about the costs required to do that work.
A Commitment to Long-Term Value
Prairie Land Electric Cooperative’s responsibility is to meet today’s needs and prepare for tomorrow’s challenges without losing sight of the impact on our member-owners. We do not take that responsibility lightly.
As costs rise and the electric grid becomes more complex, the cooperative must continue planning carefully so the system can meet today’s needs and tomorrow’s challenges. We know those decisions affect member-owners, and they deserve thoughtful explanation. Our commitment is to approach each decision with discipline, transparency and respect for the members who depend on — and pay for — the system we maintain together.
That is the cooperative difference. Prairie Land is not driven by profit. We are driven by our responsibility to serve member-owners, strengthen our communities, and make thoughtful investments that keep power reliable today and resilient for the future.