This month's message from CEO/General Manager Michael Cremer in Your Co-op Connection in Rural Missouri. 

March 2026
A balancing act

            Have you ever put off fixing something because you didn’t want to spend the money, and later you ended up paying more to fix it? Sometimes the delay leads to more problems that require a bigger fix and more money. I’ve done it, and it’s frustrating because the whole point is to save money.
     Here at Crawford, we are constantly looking for ways to save money, but we also must look at the bigger picture and decide what’s the best course of action. Sometimes it’s better to spend a little money to make things safer, more reliable, or easier to fix later.
     Our vegetation management program is a great example. We need to keep rights-of-way clear to protect our system and to make repairs easier and safer. We hire contractors through a competitive bid process and manage the process closely to get the best deal. This keeps costs down and prevents even larger expenses later. We do similar things for pole and equipment inspections and replacements.
     The same is true for our fleet. We buy used vehicles when it makes sense, and we perform preventative maintenance to keep our equipment and vehicles running. 
     We also use digital tools and install protective devices to reduce the number of outages our members experience and to improve restoration times. These investments improve our reliability and recovery time after storms and help our crews use their time in the field more effectively. We work hard to control these costs throughout the year to protect our system and keep your power affordable. It’s a constant balance to maintain our system but also maintain affordability.
     One thing we can’t change is the cost of power. We don’t generate power. We buy the power that we supply to you, and it is our biggest expense. It accounts for more than 50 percent of our total budget. Our generation partners also do everything they can to keep costs down.
     Our pledge to you is to continue providing reliable power at the lowest possible cost without compromising reliability and safety. That’s an important balance for all of us, and it’s the best way forward.