Hello Ozark Electric Neighbor!

 

For 36 years, I've been a proud and deeply committed Ozark Electric member.  More than just members, we are a community. I’ve raised my family here and built a successful career with executive roles in community banks and healthcare technology companies. I’m running because I believe our Coop has lost its way.  I am not affiliated with any organization or political group. 

​

The trust we had with OEC was broken with the poor rollout of the Demand Charge to members in April of 2024. Most of us saw nearly a 30% increase in our electric bill. Overnight we were faced with making decisions about when we could do our laundry or run our dishwashers. We had to quickly figure out which 15 minute combination of appliances would throw the demand charge outside our household budgets. 

​

In the aftermath of the Demand Charge rollout, members raised concerns.  Our concerns fell on deaf ears. Instead, we were met with the “talk track” from leadership. I was personally insulted by the strategy our OEC leadership adopted to deal with members' frustration in the wake of the demand charge. 

​

That takes us to April 2025, when our kWh rate went up 20%. Now, as members, we expect to pay more for electricity. The thing that is hard to understand is nearly a 50% increase for most members in the span of 15 months. We need better answers.

​

We owe it to our families to return Ozark Electric to the cooperative we once knew - so I'm standing up and running for the board. With your vote, and your partnership, I'll bring four decades of practical business leadership, staff oversight, and budget management experience to the job of turning things around. Thank you.

​

 - Misty Skinner 

​