IMEA Newsletters

IMEA Newsletters

Leona’s Letter: Your IMEA: Seven Decades of Service to Public Power in Indiana

The Indiana Municipal Electric Association (IMEA) is pleased to recognize this special milestone anniversary of our 70th year in operation. We were created just one year after the American Public Power Association was formed and are among 53 statewide trade associations serving their respective public power communities across the country today.

Our association was created by and for members of Indiana’s public power communities and led by Worth Yoder of Tipton, in 1941, our founding year. Over the years, we have weathered the ups and downs of economic, regulatory and social change, yet continue to grow in scope and size by working together toward a common goal.

Today, Indiana’s municipals serve close to 500,000 Hoosier households and in terms of total kWh sales (retail + wholesale), Indiana ranks as number 33 out of the 50 states.

We have had 64 individuals, representing 27 communities from throughout Indiana serve as association presidents over the past 70 years. We have had countless numbers of other volunteers who have brought their time, talent and treasure to the organization through their service on committees, special interest groups and as members of the IMEA Board of Directors.

Our members enjoy untold and ongoing benefits through their affiliation with the IMEA. We helped create the Indiana Municipal Power Agency in 1983, the joint action agency that provides wholesale power to some 53 communities in Indiana and Ohio. Today we are 65 members’ strong and work behalf of Indiana’s 72 public power communities as a strong, viable and unified voice for public power in Indiana.

One of the organization’s primary functions is to facilitate the exchange of ideas, information, and best practices among member systems. In its role, the IMEA strives to provide exceptional leadership in the advancement and protection of municipally owned electric utilities in Indiana and to promote the value and benefits of public power. IMEA works to protect the right of citizens to keep control of these vital utility services close to home. We also promote a better understanding of how the benefits of municipal utilities extend beyond the communities in which they operate.

Investment in the IMEA has proved to be one in which the return is far greater than the cost of the annual membership. As Tim Montague, former Electric Superintendent for Bremen Electric Department, stated, “the savings we have received through our affiliation with the IMEA have well exceeded the cost of our annual membership.” Not only have members literally saved hundreds and thousands of dollars through their affiliation, the IMEA continues to serve as a forum for electric utilities to pool resources for effective representation and continuing education, both of which are vital for survival in an increasingly competitive industry.

Among the many benefits of membership are member education and information services, educational conferences, state-wide mutual aid, Safety & Training programs and DOL-approved journeyman Apprenticeship Program, rate services and intervention, and regulatory and legislative assistance.

It is our pleasure to continue to serve and support Indiana’s 72 public power communities.

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