United Power announces the publication of its first Social Responsibility report. The report recaps the cooperative’s accomplishments, performance, and progress in four defined areas – social, governance, safety and risk, and environmental. The inaugural report was approved by the United Power Board of Directors during the September board meeting, marking a significant milestone in the member-owned cooperative’s ongoing commitment to transparency, sustainability, and responsible management.

Each area of concentration is important to the overall operational and financial health of the cooperative, and utilities that measure performance in these areas consistently rank among the best in the country. The comprehensive report showcases United Power’s values of responsibility, integrity, and reliability, while outlining specific actions taken to support these tenets.

“We are excited to feature the many initiatives and accomplishments of the cooperative in this report,” stated Mark A. Gabriel, United Power President and CEO. “While annual reports highlight the prior year’s performance and the cooperative’s financial position, the Social Responsibility report provides our members a deeper understanding of the actions we are taking to further our mission to provide the best possible service.”

Key highlights from United Power’s inaugural Social Responsibility report include:

• Social Impact. The report highlights the cooperative’s efforts to create a positive impact within the communities it serves. This includes both cooperative- and employee-supported initiatives; the promotion of tolerance, acceptance, and inclusion in the workforce; and the careful attention to the integrity of data and information.
• Governance Excellence. The co-op’s governance structure and practices are outlined, highlighting the cooperative regulatory model, member engagement in director elections, and the cooperative’s corporate behavior and codes of conduct around financial transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct.
• Safety and Risk Management. The report outlines the many ways the cooperative is building and maintaining a resilient and safe infrastructure to protect the communities it serves. Through a comprehensive wildfire mitigation and vegetation management strategy, a strong safety culture, and broad-based approach to addressing risk, the cooperative is actively working to ensure the safe and reliable delivery of electricity.
• Environmental Responsibility. The cooperative’s innovative energy programs are highlighted, showing the depth of the co-op’s commitment to providing sustainable, flexible, and affordable power for members. Through efficiency measures and programs to make emerging technologies more readily accessible, United Power is paving the way for the evolving energy landscape.

Electric cooperatives have a long history of measuring success in these operational areas and are guided by a set of principles that emphasize social responsibility and transparency. United Power’s Our Cooperative Roadmap is the long-range action plan addressing how the co-op will tackle the challenges of the evolving utility landscape. The Social Responsibility report, which will be updated annually, will allow members to gain a greater understanding of the cooperative’s goals and accomplishments.