Pioneer Announces Rebate

Greenville, AL, October 6, 2010

For Immediate Release:  Pioneer Announces Rebate

October 6, 2010, Greenville, AL-- Pioneer Electric Cooperative announced today that its members will begin receiving a rebate on their bills beginning in October. The rebate is made possible by the extreme weather that occurred during the winter and summer months in Pioneer’s service area.

“We create our budget based on normal weather patterns,” reports Pioneer Executive Vice-President/General Manager Steve Harmon. “The extremely cold winter and the abnormally long hot and dry summer resulted in more money coming in than was budgeted. The Board of Trustees has voted to refund that money to the members.” The rebate will be paid to members who received power in August through December of this year.”

According to national weather statistics, during the winter months at the beginning of 2010, the weather averaged as much as 8 degrees colder than usual throughout January, February and the beginning of March. The cold winter was followed by a hotter, drier summer than normal. “Folks used more electricity than usual, and that was reflected in their bills,” Harmon said. “As a member owned cooperative, we’re not trying to profit off the sales of electricity; essentially, we need enough money to meet our financial requirements. After that, we feel that it’s the right thing to do to give the money back to the members.”

The rebate is scheduled to last from October through February of next year. The amount of the rebate will vary based on many variables; in October, the rebate on an average bill will be close to ten dollars.

Pioneer Electric Cooperative, Inc. is a member-owned electric cooperative serving the rural parts of nine counties in south central Alabama.

###