Sunflower Electric Power
301 West 13th Street , Hays, Kansas, United States

At Sunflower Electric Power Corporation, we are proud to say we don’t focus on energy. Our focus is on our members, who deliver electricity every day to thousands of Kansans at the end of the line.  Sunflower was formed in 1957 by six distribution cooperatives serving in western Kansas. They created a company based on the cooperative business model that could provide wholesale generation and transmission services. They could have chosen other business models, but they didn’t. As distribution cooperatives, they understood the importance of the 7 cooperative principles, of being member-owned and governed…of creating a company that focuses not on profit but on the best interest of Kansans and their way of life.  Sunflower’s members include six member distribution cooperatives and one wholly owned subsidiary serving members in 58 central and western Kansas counties: Lane-Scott Electric Cooperative, Pioneer Electric Cooperative, Prairie Land Electric Cooperative, Southern Pioneer Electric Company, The Victory Electric Cooperative, Western Cooperative Electric, and Wheatland Electric Cooperative.  Sunflower’s reputation is a result of more than 60 years of strong leadership, vision and innovation. Sunflower’s democratically elected board of directors represents each member cooperative. Decisions by the Sunflower Board protect and enhance the ability to provide Sunflower’s members with reliable electricity at the lowest possible cost. It means weighing opportunity and risk, innovation and tradition.  Sunflower’s system assets—along with our organizational culture that values technical competency, respect and dignity, accountability, integrity, trustworthiness, and servant leadership—help ensure that we will continue to meet our member-owners’ energy needs now and in the future.  We at Sunflower recognize that electricity is integral to families’ personal comfort and convenience, sustainability of businesses and communities, and economic growth throughout the region. That is why we take pride in our role in delivering not just energy to our members…but energy done right.

Mission Statement

Sunflower’s primary mission is to provide an adequate, reliable, long-term power supply and transmission services to its Members at the lowest possible cost consistent with sound business and cooperative principles.  The guiding principle in the development of all policies shall be equitable treatment for all Members. Sunflower is a cooperatively member-owned corporation, and a cooperative philosophy dominates the formulation of policies. Maximum cooperation among Members and Sunflower ensures maximum benefits to all.  Sunflower works with all segments of the electric industry, investor-owned, federal, municipal, and cooperatives within the state and in surrounding states to provide bulk power supply. Sunflower enters into interconnection agreements whenever possible to make maximum use of existing facilities and resources.

Leadership and Employee Development

Technical Competency, Respect and Dignity, Accountability, Integrity, Trustworthiness and Servant Leadership are Sunflower’s core values. We believe the consistent application of these values best enable us to fulfill our mission of providing reliable, long-term wholesale services to our members and the people they serve at the of the line. Employees’ technical competency and accountability contribute to Sunflower’s ability to meet the growing needs of its members. Displaying respect, dignity, integrity, and trustworthiness creates positive interactions, both internally and externally.  The Organizational Development and Corporate Training departments oversee and implement Sunflower’s Leadership Program, which communicates and reinforces Sunflower’s culture and core values to all employees. New Sunflower employees attend leadership training within their first year of employment, and Ongoing Leadership is conducted annually for all staff.  The Organizational Development and Corporate Training departments also provide ongoing development for individual employees, offer training for supervisors and managers, and provide individual and team coaching. To ensure that training and development are successful, staff have access to various tools and resources utilizing adult learning principles. The programs include hands-on experiences and allow for individual learning styles, in addition to offering a variety of educational opportunities.  Empowering employees to assume new responsibilities is essential as Sunflower responds to industry challenges and changes, and capitalizing on all employees’ strengths and talents results in a more efficient and effective organization.