86th Annual Meeting of the Members
September 23, 2025
2025 Annual Meeting: Your Questions, Our Answers
Thank you for the thoughtful questions you shared during and after the 2025 TCEC Annual Meeting. Your engagement helps us serve you better and strengthens our cooperative. Below are answers to the questions we received, organized by topic for easier reference.
Financial Health & Rates
Q: When will our rates go down from all the savings?
A: That's a fair question — and the answer is, not any time soon. Our power supply agreement is keeping wholesale costs steady, but everything else continues to rise. The savings we've made have so far protected members from increases while reducing debt. Your bill has two parts: the rate, and how much energy you use. That's why our rebate program helps members reduce their usage and put money back in their pockets.
Q: Can you pay down the loans faster?
A: We're reducing debt every month without raising your rates. We've consolidated the first three Winter Storm Uri loans to lock in a fixed interest rate and will likely restructure the remaining debt to further stabilize costs. Accelerating payoff would mean either increasing the Brazos Rider on your bill or pulling from reserves we need for storms and outages. Our approach protects your wallet while steadily improving the cooperative's financial health. Help is available through the Brazos Hardship Fund.
Q: Are we getting capital credit checks this year?
A: No, not this year. In years prior to this team, those payments were funded through short term debt. It doesn't make financial sense to take on more debt just to pay out capital credits because members pay more through increased interest expense. Our focus is on reducing debt and strengthening the cooperative's financial health to keep rates as low as possible.
Member Programs & Services
Q: Why are the rebates only for tune-ups and appliances? Why not for new HVAC units?
A: This year's rebate program is a pilot. We started with tune-ups and Energy Star appliances because they're lower-cost, high-impact improvements members can use right away. Your feedback is exactly what we need. Everything we learn this year will help shape a stronger, more robust program in 2026.
Q: Why are return envelopes no longer included with my paper bill?
A: Return envelopes are no longer included because so few payments are mailed, while half of members now use paperless billing. Providing envelopes for all bills added unnecessary cost and paper use. Payments by mail remain an option using the address printed on the statement. This change helps keep costs down while maintaining payment options.
Q: Are there any prizes at the end of this meeting?
A: No. In the past, prizes were paid for by the membership, either directly or indirectly. If the prizes were "donated" by vendors, those vendors had to mark up their prices to Tri-County Electric on the products they sold. This Tri-County Electric team follows a strict no conflicts of interest policy. We no longer solicit gifts from vendors, and this team does not ask members to subsidize prizes.
Governance & Elections
Q: Why haven't the vacant board seats been filled?
A: Our September newsletter, Current Conversations, included information about an upcoming special election. The seats for Districts 6 and 8 will be filled through a special election, where members in those districts will cast their vote. The other vacant seats will be filled during the regular election in September 2026.
Q: Do we sign up to vote like in the past?
A: The candidates in this year's director election ran unopposed, so no voting was required. Candidates in Districts 5, 7, and 9 were elected by acclamation at the Annual Meeting.
Q: May the Annual Meeting be conducted in person?
A: With 112,000 members, an in-person meeting would require a venue and expense that doesn't align with keeping costs low. The virtual format gives every member equal access to the meeting—live or on demand at their convenience—without adding costs or requiring travel.
Service & Construction
Q: Does Tri-County no longer run electric for a certain distance for FREE on a new house?
A: Tri-County Electric Cooperative members no longer subsidize the cost of new construction. This update took effect in July 2024. Previously, existing members covered an average of $10,000 per new service — adding up to about $245 million of the cooperative's debt. To support the mission of providing safe and reliable power at the lowest possible cost, construction expenses are now paid by the member requesting new electric service.
Infrastructure & Technical
Q: Where does the power come from? Are you able to get large transformers on short timescales?
A: TCEC's power is delivered through regional transmission lines and delivered by market participants in the ERCOT energy markets. Irby, our material supplier stocks transformers for us. Occasionally, larger transformers have longer lead times depending on the size, voltage, and quantity needed. Across the industry, larger transformers require significantly more time now than just a few years ago.
Q: Do you have solar or wind power companies that you recommend? Do they both feed back into the grid and get a bill account credit?
A: Tri-County Electric Cooperative does not endorse any retail solar or wind companies. However, a list of contractors that have successfully worked with us can be provided upon request. We recommend speaking to at least three contractors before choosing a company to better protect your interests.