Rock Energy Cooperative2815 Kennedy Road , Janesville, Wisconsin, United States

Magazines offer timely tips, energy information Depending on where you receive Rock Energy service, you will receive either Wisconsin Energy Cooperative News or Illinois Country Living magazine at no charge. These magazines are produced in cooperation with other cooperatives in both states, allowing us to bring you timely tips for conserving energy along with more in-depth reporting on the energy issues youve told us are important to you. The content is uniquely tailored to provide you with accurate data on whats happening in your state and with Rock Energy Cooperative. The magazines are also used as a vehicle for important cooperative communications, such as annual meeting information.       

History        

Thirteen Rock County farmers made history 80 years ago when they laid the groundwork for rural residents to get electricity and improve the quality of their lives. The history of Rock County Electric Cooperative Association, now Rock Energy Cooperative, is filled with milestones, significant happenings, and thousands of smaller achievements that have taken place since 1936.

What Makes Our Cooperatives Different

Touchstone Energy co-ops are democratically controlled by the members they serve and are committed to providing reliable electricity at the lowest price possible. In short, co-ops look out for the members they serve.  Touchstone Energy co-ops provide high standards of service according to their four core values: integrity, accountability, innovation, and commitment to community.  Touchstone Energy co-ops rank well ahead of their industry counterparts when it comes to customer satisfaction. Recent data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), one the nations most recognized measures of customer satisfaction, gives Touchstone Energy cooperatives an average score of 83 out of a possible 100, outclassing utility industry satisfaction score of 77.

These principles govern Rock Energy Rock Energy Cooperative was formed more than 80 years ago to provide reliable electric power to rural locations not serviced by other utility companies. Our service territory has expanded greatly over the years, and we now also distribute natural gas. But providing reliable energy service at a competitive price is still our primary mission. Also unchanged is the way we approach and fulfill that mission.  Your cooperative is one of more than 750,000 co-ops in the world. They were formed for many different reasons, but all cooperatives abide by the following set of priniciples adopted by the International Cooperative Alliance. 

• Cooperatives are voluntary organizations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination.
• Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions. The elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary cooperatives, members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote) and cooperatives at other levels are organized in a democratic manner.
• Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the cooperative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing the cooperative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative; and supporting other activities approved by the membership.
• Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their cooperative autonomy.
• Cooperatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives. They inform the general public, particularly young people and opinion leaders, about the nature and benefits of cooperation.
• Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures.
• While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies accepted by their members.

Pick up the phone before the shovel

An underground utility line is damaged every six minutes because someone decided to start a digging project before they called 811.  Call 811 logo Our land is made up of a complex underground infrastructure of pipelines, wires, and cables.Dig-ins can cause injuries, disrupt service to an entire neighborhood, and result in fines and repair costs. So before you reach for the shovel, remember to call 811, the national call-before-you-dig number to ensure that buried utility lines are marked.  A call to 811 must be placed before every digging project, from simple landscaping projects like planting trees or shrubs, to building a deck or installing a rural mailbox.

Why keep power lines in harms way?

Storms always renew the debate about overhead vs. underground distribution of electricity and has many people asking a simple question: Why keep power lines in harms way?  Electricity can be delivered two ways: through overhead or underground power lines. Underground lines may seem advantageous during storms because the lines are not exposed to extreme weather, but the technology doesnt always make sense for co-ops focused on reliability and affordability.  In Rock Energy Cooperatives service area, building three-phase distribution underground lines would cost three to seven times more than overhead lines. Transmission lines could cost as much as 10 times more.  Most underground lines are found in subdivisions where developers request and pay for the option for aesthetic reasons or to comply with local statutes. A high concentration of homes in these areas helps spread out the expense.  But the bulk of Rock Energys power is delivered via overhead lines in rural areas. About 70 percent of the co-ops 1,265 miles of distribution line are overhead, which helps keep electricity both reliable and affordable for members. The co-op works year-round to minimize and prevent outages caused by trees toppling power lines during storms, said Denny Schultz, director of utility operations at Rock Energy.  "Overhead lines are inspected regularly, and our tree crews work hard to clear branches away from power lines so they hopefully wont cause problems during a storm," Schultz said. "We cant control the weather, but we do everything we can to minimize the damage it causes to our lines."  Faults in underground power lines are not easy to track down and fix. A North Carolina reliability study, which measured both the frequency and duration of power outages, found that underground systems have 50 percent fewer outages than overhead systems, but the average duration of an underground outage was 58 percent longer.  "If a tree falls on an overhead line, you can normally drive down the line, see the problem, and get to work restoring power," Schultz said. "The same holds true for repairing broken insulators and crossarms. If you see it, you can fix it. But underground lines are tough to troubleshoot. You cant find the problem with your eyes. You have to search harder for it, using expensive equipment to track it down based on where the power flow stops. Then a line crew has to dig a hole to reach the spot before repairs can be made."  Long-term reliability is also an issue. As underground lines get older, they become less reliable and are more difficult and costly to repair. A Maryland utility found that customers served by 40-year-old overhead lines had better reliability than those served by 20-year-old underground lines.  Schultz agreed, saying that some of the co-ops overhead lines that were installed 40 and 50 years ago are still providing reliable service to members.