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Challenge:
The Utility Pioneers at Cordova Electric Cooperative (CEC) look at challenges a bit differently.
No roads lead to the remote Alaskan electric system, perched between mountains and the sea near the Prince William Sound. When storm after storm hit the isolated community in 2006, the 2,700 member-owned cooperative opted not to look up, but to look down. All electric lines were buried in an effort to storm-harden the utility. Battery storage joined the co-op’s arsenal to fight rising fuel costs, and the co-op leadership doubled-down on building hydropower generation and installing energy-efficient street lighting for the town of Cordova.
Many Alaskan utilities rely on diesel fuel to generate power, making the cost of energy higher in Alaska. For Cordova, the cost to generate power using diesel is seven times more than the cost of hydroelectric power. Faced with rising costs, the Utility Pioneers at CEC decided not to ignore public comments, but to listen more closely.
“People want to be heard,” CEC CEO Clay Koplin told NRECA in a recent interview. “I can’t recall a single time in my career when anyone got angry or dissatisfied when I shut my mouth and listened.”
Solution:
CEC teamed up with Pioneer and its partner, Pulse Research, to conduct a survey of members in 2023. Nearly 20% of the membership responded, outpacing the national average of 5% response rate, according to Pulse Research President John Marling.
While most people completed the 68-question survey online, members could opt to schedule a phone interview to share their feedback.
“I was surprised at the magnitude of the positive feedback. We’ve had positive surveys in the past but that was five years ago,” said Clay.
Survey results — with a side of sushi — were shared at the co-op’s annual meeting, reinforcing CEC’s commitment to member engagement. The annual meeting had the highest attendance ever, in part due to the engagement with the member survey.
Setting the Stage
At least once every five years CEC surveys its members. Some of the questions in the latest survey were similar to previous surveys, to track changes over time, including rating the co-op’s quality of service, communication preferences and overall member satisfaction.
To gauge member interest in lighting upgrades, hydropower investments, building changes and more, the survey team added questions about:
- Energy generation
- Rate perceptions
- Energy access
- Member needs of the headquarters building
- Electrical and internet-connected appliances and devices in the home/business
- Energy conservation plans
- Electric vehicle interest
- Heating systems
To make sure every member’s comment could be heard, the survey included an open-ended question: “If you had a magic wand, what one change would you want to make at CEC?”
While magic wands are not a current solution offered by Pioneer, the survey answers have a lot of power.
The co-op’s board and leadership team are already using the results to help guide CEC’s investment in technologies and program incentives for electric vehicles, home heating systems and other utility and community needs.
Sharing the Survey
Between December 2022 and the end of January 2023, Pioneer provided CEC with multichannel communication assets with consistent graphics and messaging to let Cordova members know why answering the survey was important. To drive participation, one randomly-drawn member received a $500 gift card redeemable at any local Cordova business.
Leveraging their small size and community focus, CEC’s call center staff were encouraged to mention the survey to members. Other communication channels included:
Newspaper
The utility has a strong relationship with its community newspaper, The Cordova Times. Clay submitted an editorial about the survey titled, “Cordova Electric Wants to Hear from You.” After the survey closed, the paper wrote a news story about the results, “Cordova electric receives member feedback prior to annual meeting.” The utility also placed quarter-page ads in the paper.
Flyers
Full page flyers with an easy-to-scan QR code were placed in the utility office and surrounding community to drive awareness.
Social media
A series of posts were shared on the co-op’s Facebook page.
Winning Results
When the survey closed on Jan. 22, 2023, the CEC team began reviewing responses to inform their strategy and annual meeting remarks.
“Great customer service,” said one member. “I believe CEC is doing the best they can with what they have for energy in Cordova.”
“Cordova Electric is the only game in our town,” said another member. “I appreciate all the hard work that has gone into making CEC what it is today. The underground lines have managed to keep outages to a minimum. Hydro power keeps the rates affordable. Friendly, knowledgeable staff are easy to deal with.”
Survey respondents were mainly (86%) residential members, but ages varied widely.
- 28% were 65 and up
- 18.4% were 45 to 54 years old
- 19.6% were 35 to 44 years old
Satisfaction ranked high (8.6 out of a high of 10) across the board, due partly to the co-op’s staff’s professionalism and high level of service.
“[The survey tells the] critical importance of communicating with members,” Clay told The Cordova Times.
The co-op wanted to know if members support replacing the main town’s CFL outdoor lighting with LEDs. Since lighting counts for more than a quarter of electricity used each winter, the upgrade could cut the town’s lighting cost by up to 40%.
Members gave the upgrade plan a 6.9 out of 10 rating.
Hydropower rose in popularity above other generation options with a member rating of 7.8 out of 10, and almost half of members strongly agreed that CEC should invest in stored hydropower to reduce the co-op’s reliance on diesel generation.
Taking Action
To help share the story revealed by the survey, Pioneer and Pulse Research delivered a 25-page strategic research summary to the co-op, then presented high-level findings to the board.
A set of actions was suggested for CEC to take to keep the survey engagement growing:
- Share member input with the board, employees and the membership as a whole.
- Use data and member opinion when developing strategy for new projects and utility growth.
- Develop talking points on utility rates and how they compare with other utilities.
- Increase communication with members regarding programs and activities, especially as members are generally unaware of existing efficiency programs and benefits of co-op membership.
Clay said more information on daily operations and communicating to members on managing their electric use are core areas CEC can improve.