2024 Audit Report
2024 Financial Report
2024 Operation Round Up Grants
2025 Co-op Scholarship Winners
2025 Annual Meeting Program
2025 Polk-Burnett At-A-Glance
2025 Annual Meeting & Member Appreciation Day Prize Winners
Electric co-op members gather for 87th Annual Meeting
Employees and directors of Polk-Burnett Electric Cooperative welcomed 700 members and guests to their Centuria office Friday, June 6, for Member Appreciation Day and the 87th Annual Meeting of the cooperative.
The day began at 11 a.m. with fun for all ages, including inflatables, lineworker selfies, pulled pork sandwiches catered by Hog Wild and root beer floats served by co-op employees. All members received a 5-gallon pail and were entered into an appreciation drawing for 10 $50 electric bill credits. Children received $5 DQ cards, co-op coloring books and mini hard hats.
“We thank all who attended. We enjoy meeting our members and talking with you about co-op performance, especially reliability and our member and community focus,” said General Manager Steve Stroshane.
87th Annual Meeting
Polk-Burnett Board President Ed Gullickson called the Annual Meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. with a salute to Veterans and board introductions. The one-hour meeting included reports on co-op financials, reliability, member satisfaction, community involvement and 2025 board election results. The meeting concluded with a member Q&A forum.
All members who stayed for the meeting received flowering plants from Endeavors Greenhouse and were entered into an additional drawing for 10 $50 electric bill credits.
Cooperative performance
General Manager Steve Stroshane reported on cooperative performance from the past year and recognized co-op employees as, “the best local people to provide members with reliable electricity and extraordinary service.”
Polk-Burnett has 50 electric employees who deliver power to more than 22,000 electric services. Lineworkers maintain 3,500 miles of power line, including 2,000 miles underground cable and 1,500 miles of overhead wire.
In 2024, co-op members experienced an average of 50 minutes without power, when major events are factored out. When storms and major events are included, members experienced an average of an hour-and-a-half without power. Stroshane said that 42% of outage hours were caused by trees on power lines. “That’s why our work to clear trees from the right-of-way is so important,” he said. “We can’t prevent every threat, but our proactive right-of-way program improves safety and reduces outages for members.”
“When I started at Polk-Burnett in 1996, members experienced an average of four hours without power,” said Stroshane. “We know your number one expectation is reliable power. Our investment in the electric system is strategically planned to keep your lights on.”
The co-op invested $5.9 million in 2024 and another $6.1 in 2025 to upgrade the electric system and reduce the number and length of outages for members. Stroshane used animated slides to highlight how new technology enables the co-op to re-route power from one substation to another and restore power more quickly. “We are already using this switching technology in Webster and it’s coming to Balsam Lake, St. Croix Falls and Hertel areas in 2026,” he said.
Stroshane also introduced the new Cedar Lake Substation, a $2 million investment by Dairyland Power Cooperative, to meet the growing need for energy in our Somerset and Star Prairie areas. “It’s the first new substation to serve Polk-Burnett members since 2001,” he said. “Construction has started and it’s expected to be operational later this year.”
At the conclusion of his report, Stroshane reported that Polk-Burnett members gave the co-op a score of 87 out of 100 on the 2024 American Customer Satisfaction Index. For comparison, he noted that investor-owned utilities earned an ACSI score of 74 and municipals a 75. “We are proud of the level of service and satisfaction we provide,” he said. (Read Feb. 2025 General Manager Blog, "Member report that satisfaction is stronger than ever.")
In response to member feedback, the co-op provides text and emails to notify members when service technicians are on the way and when electric devices are controlled through the co-op’s load management program. If your lights go out, Stroshane said the co-op keeps members informed through outage text alerts, as well as a live outage map on the website.
Financial report
Heather Gerber, Polk-Burnett’s finance and accounting manager, reported that the co-op had $112 million in electric assets in 2024, with electric operating revenue of $36 million and electric operating margins of $2 million. The co-op installed 273 new service connections and sold 237 million kWhs of electricity in 2024.
“Polk-Burnett does not own power plants; 56% of our revenue, more than $20 million, goes to purchase power from Dairyland Power Cooperative,” explained Gerber. “The balance is what we have to work with to build and maintain local power lines and keep your lights on.”
Gerber said that inflation has increased the cost of materials, especially trucks, transformers and wire, as well as contracted services. She reported that the price for utility construction materials has risen 51% since 2020. Because of this, the cooperative will implement a 3% electric rate increase beginning in July; large commercial members will see an average increase of 4.7%.
Gerber provided a refresher about co-op rates, noting the difference between the kWh energy charge and the daily availability charge, which covers the cost of wires, poles, transformers and other materials to build and maintain the electric grid and ensure power is available at member locations when they want it. Gerber explained that the daily availability charge is higher in rural areas because there are fewer members to share these costs. Polk-Burnett has an average of just six members per mile of line.
Gerber reminded members about co-op programs to help with electric bills, including SmartHub to track energy use, EnergySense rebates, prepay and budget billing. “Your electric bill is affected by the rate, but also by the energy you use. Please give us a call if we can help you find ways to save energy and money,” she said.
In 2024, Polk-Burnett provided more than $200,000 in rebates to help co-op members improve energy efficiency. The upgrades saved 435,000 kWh of electricity.
Gullickson added that Polk-Burnett returned $1.65 million in Capital Credits to members in fall 2024. “One of the greatest advantages of co-op membership is Capital Credits,” he said. “As a co-op, any money we collect above and beyond expenses is returned to members.”
Co-op commitment to community
Gullickson also provided the co-op’s commitment to community report, stating, “We work to improve our local quality of life not only with reliable power, but also with support for our local community.”
In 2024, Polk-Burnett’s Operation Round Up donated $70,694 to 70 local nonprofits. Since the program begin in 1998, more than $1 million has been awarded through Operation Round Up thanks to the generosity of members who round up their electric bill, said Gullickson.
Polk-Burnett’s scholarship program also made a significant impact. The board approved $151,500 in scholarships to 101 children of co-op members in the Class of 2025. “Our largest class ever,” said Gullickson. He assured those in attendance that scholarships do not affect electricity rates; instead, they are funded with unclaimed Capital Credits that otherwise would be forfeited to the state, and by the generosity of members who donate Capital Credits.
Local solar energy improves reliability and offsets power costs
Co-op leaders also shared an update on local solar projects. Polk-Burnett helped develop the first utility-scale solar in Polk County. SunTuria Solar opened in Centuria in 2017. In partnership with OneEnergy Renewables, Georgetown Solar was energized in 2023, and two additional projects are underway, one in Polk County near the Luck Substation and one in Burnett County near the Hertel Substation. All are small 10- to 13-acre footprints, with restored native habitat.
“Generating some of our own power locally improves reliability, offsets power costs and helps meet high summer demand,” said Gerber. “In addition, these projects were coordinated with others across Wisconsin to get a better price and return on investment for our members.”
Director election returns three incumbents to board
Members re-elected directors in co-op districts 4, 5 and 6. John Behling of Weld Riley law firm and system counsel for Polk-Burnett, reported the results of the 2025 board election.
In District 4, incumbent director Joe Metro of Balsam Lake received 230 votes and won the seat over Adam Majeske of Balsam Lake who received 122 votes. John Ukura of Luck ran unopposed in District 5 and received 238 votes. Wilfred Owens of Frederic ran unopposed in District 6 and received 277 votes.
Voter participation was 15%, with 680 paper ballots and 202 online ballots received.
Directors are elected for three-year terms. The election was conducted by an independent election contractor, with all members in districts 4, 5 and 6 receiving a ballot and voting instructions earlier this spring.
Above L-R: Polk-Burnett Board Director Wilfred Owens, Wisconsin Assembly Representative Duke Tucker, Polk-Burnett Board Director John Ukura, Polk-Burnett General Manager Steve Stroshane, Polk-Burnett Board Director Joe Metro.
Polk-Burnett’s Annual Meeting concluded with a member Q&A forum. Stroshane, Gullickson and Gerber responded to questions from members about underground versus overhead power lines, nuclear power and underground utility locating.
Member Appreciation Drawing, $50 Electric Bill Credit
- Lawrence Schmidt, Stillwater
- Donald Weisbrod, Lindstrom
- Francis Klatt, Emerald
- Donald Hendrickson, Balsam Lake
- Roger Shaide, Luck
- Edward Freitag, Comstock
- Roger Buske, Amery
- Richard Anderson, Frederic
- Eugene Hallberg, Milltown
- Lowell Paulson, St. Croix Falls
Annual Meeting Drawing, $50 Electric Bill Credit
- JoAnn Sellent, Cumberland
- Bruce Caudy, Clear Lake
- Jim Sherbert, Inver Grove Hights
- Jane & Doug Green, Balsam Lake
- Darrell Sandeen, Siren
- Doug Fall, Star Prairie
- Wayne Gustafson, Frederic
- Regis Hammer, Turtle Lake
- Mark Wettig, Star Prairie
- Richard & Caran Baillargeon, Somerset
Congratulations and thank you to all who attended! See you next year!
Polk-Burnett is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative that provides reliable electricity with efficiency and extraordinary service to more than 22,000 homes, farms and businesses.
