April/May 1996
Number 147

Published by Chugach Electric Association, Anchorage.  Chugach is a not-for-profit member-owed electric cooperative and Alaska's largest electricity supplier.

The state of Chugach Electric

Some of you may be concerned about the state of the cooperative as a result of campaign rhetoric that has been in newspapers, on radio and television, and in your mailbox.

To learn of the real health of Chugach Electric, I would encourage you to read the Chugach Electric Association 1995 Annual Report which accompanied your ballot. I would like to point out some things in particular that will help you determine how your cooperative is being managed.

The first is the Corporate Mission developed by staff and the board of directors: "Chugach's mission is to maximize the value its customers receive by safely providing competitively-priced, reliable energy and services through innovation, leadership and prudent management." The mission has been the guiding star for business decisions made throughout the year by Chugach.

Read the General Manager's Report to learn of our need to be competitive and what steps we are taking in that direction. Read the President's Report to learn what we are doing to improve communication with the membership. Read the Treasurer's Report to learn of our strong bond rating and financial performance.

Another source of information for monitoring your cooperative is this newsletter, The Outlet, which accompanies your statement each month. We encourage you to read it and stay informed about issues that effect your cooperative.

From the 1995 member survey, we know that the three most important things to our customers are service, reliability and price. Meeting those expectations while maintaining the safety of our employees and financial health of Chugach Electric is management's primary concern. We are actively looking for and finding better ways of accomplishing the same levels of safety, reliability and service at a lower cost to our members.

The long-range strategic plan is an evolutionary process. The plan is reviewed annually and revised to reflect current technology and our understanding and expectations for the future. We believe that the future business climate will be much more competitive than at present. As a result, management has been involved in benchmarking the company's past performances with the best practices of other utilities and incorporating these results, along with other assessments of Chugach's procedures and practices, into a revised strategic plan. Any plan we recommend will provide for Chugach's continuing reliability, safety, and service levels and maintain our excellent financial ratings while providing the best value to our customers - that's YOU, the member - owners of Chugach.