News

Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative (EIEC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Bradley W. Smith as the cooperative’s next President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 7, 2025.

Smith brings a wealth of experience in the electric utility industry and EIEC specifically. He is currently the Vice President of Operations and Engineering for the cooperative. After serving our country as a United States Marine, he began his EIEC career working for a subsidiary of the cooperative in 2002. He quickly transitioned to an apprentice lineman position and has risen through the ranks in the operations group since then, as a Journeyman Lineman, Line Foreman, and Operations and Safety Coordinator. He became the vice president of the department in 2017.

The Eastern Illini Board of Directors selected Smith following a thorough and thoughtful search process focused on identifying a leader who will continue to build on the cooperative’s legacy of successfully serving its members with reliable electricity and excellent service. “We are excited to welcome Bradley to his new role at EIEC,” said Board Chair Kevin Moore. “The Board is confident that he will bring the right blend of leadership, vision, and experience to guide us forward while remaining deeply committed to serving our members.”

Smith succeeds Bob Hunzinger, who is retiring after more than 11 years of dedicated service to EIEC and over 40 years in the electric utility industry. Under Hunzinger’s leadership, the cooperative made significant strides in system reliability, financial strength, and community engagement. His steady leadership and unwavering focus on members will leave a lasting legacy.

“I am honored to be named the next President and CEO at EIEC.  I’m excited to continue our strong tradition of serving our members.” said Smith. “This is a dynamic time for the electric cooperative industry, and I look forward to working with the board, employees, and members to shape a strong and sustainable future together. I’d also like to thank Bob for his great leadership, and we all wish him well in his retirement.”

The cooperative will host opportunities in the coming months for employees, members, and community partners to meet Smith and learn more about his vision for the future.

About Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative:
Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative is a member-owned business providing electric service to over 13,000 meters in ten counties throughout east central Illinois. EIEC operates and maintains more than 4,500 miles of energized lines. EIEC provides members with safe and reliable energy solutions and exceptional service. Follow us on Facebook.

Jeremiah 33:6, a not-for-profit with the mission to provide preventative maintenance health education to community members in rural east central Illinois, is the most recent recipient of the Sharing Success grant program from Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative, the local electric cooperative, and CoBank, a cooperative bank serving vital industries throughout rural America. 

Jeremiah 33:6 received $5,000 to help fund a produce pantry which offers nutritional food and education to people who can’t afford healthy food. 

“We are member driven and community focused, “said Mike Wilson, Vice President of Member and Community Relations for Eastern Illini. “When I heard about the amazing work being done by Jeremiah 33:6, it just made sense to find a way to help support them as they combat disease and illness through proactive health measures.” 

“We are grateful to Eastern Illini and CoBank for their commitment to supporting Jeremiah 33:6,” said Dr. Valerie Wright, Founder and President. “As a result of this grant money, we are able to continue promoting a holistic approach to wellness and empower individuals to take charge of their health and well-being.”

Eastern Illini’s $2,500 donation was matched by CoBank through its Sharing Success program. Sharing Success was established in 2012 to celebrate the International Year of the Cooperative. Since the program’s inception, CoBank and its customers have together provided more than $86 million in support to charitable organizations. CoBank has increased the annual matching fund to $5 million, which is beneficial to communities served by electric cooperatives across the nation.

Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative is a member-owned business providing electric service to over 13,000 meters in ten counties throughout east central Illinois. EIEC operates and maintains more than 4,500 miles of energized lines. Eastern Illini provides members with safe and reliable energy solutions and exceptional service. Follow Eastern Illini on Facebook and visit eiec.coop for more information. 

We want to thank Eastern Illini members who attended the Annual Meeting events in Tuscola, at the Ford County Fairgrounds and at the Iroquois County Fairgrounds.

It was great to be able to enjoy a sit-down fried chicken meal and talk with members, friends and neighbors. We hope everyone enjoyed the meal and music. Hats off to our employees who went above and beyond to ensure everything ran smoothly. The final Annual Meeting event at the Iroquois County Fairgrounds culminated with the Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative business meeting with began at 6:00 p.m. in the 4-H Building.

Kevin Moore, Chairman of the Eastern Illini Board of Directors, confirmed the notice and proof of mailing for the meeting. The meeting minutes and Treasurer's report were approved. Members heard an update from President/CEO, Bob Hunzinger. He provided information about the new meter installation project and the rate restructuring that was implemented earlier this year.

Guy Hall, attorney for Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative, determined that quorum had been achieved. He announced that three members of the Board of Directors ran uncontested and were reelected for three year terms.

District 3: Steve Meenen, Melvin

District 4: Bruce Ristow, Cissna Park

District 6: Bradley J. Ludwig, Fithian

Since there was no unfinished business or new business, Chairman Moore thanked members for attending and adjourned the meeting. The EIEC Board held a reorganization meeting following the annual meeting and elected officers.

Chairman: Kevin Moore

Vice Chairman: Bruce Ristow

Secretary/Treasurer: Steve Meenen

Asst. Secretary/Treasurer: Chad Larimore

In 2022, EIEC began an extensive cost of service and rate study. That study showed us that while the cooperative was doing okay financially, we weren't quite collecting enough to properly maintain our distribution system. It further showed that a 2.5 percent rate increase was necessary to maintain system reliability and help cover the rising costs we've all seen in recent years. As we continued analysis, we determined that many of our fixed costs were being collected through kWh sales. If we have a milder summer or winter, our kWh sales could drop and could lead to reliability issues with our service. After all options were considered, the EIEC Board of Directors decided that our rate structure needed to be adjusted to ensure these fixed costs are met.

Our new rate structure consists of 3 major changes. First, there will be an increase in the base charge of most rates. Second, we will be adding a demand component to our bill. Demand refers to the maximum amount of power (measured in kilowatts or kW) that is being consumed at a specific time. It is related to, but different than, kWh, which is the amount of power used over a period of time. EIEC will be measuring each member's demand every 15 minutes and the highest demand value of each month will be factor used to charge you for your demand each month. Lastly, since we are making demand its own charge, we will be lowering our kWh charge. We anticipate most members that are on our general single phase service (80% of our members) will see a 2-3% increase on their bill. These changes will be effective on your April bill for your March usage.

If you would like more information on our new rate restructuring or how to manage your demand, please visit the links below.

https://www.eiec.org/2024-rate-restructuring 

https://www.eiec.org/demand-information

If you have questions about the new rate structure or would like to know how it will impact you, please call us at 800-824-5102 or email us at info@eiec.coop

Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative will be changing the rate structure for members of the cooperative in March of 2024. We want to invite members to an informational meeting that provides background details, explains the new rates, and answers questions. Please join us for any one of these six meetings being held throughout our service territory. 

Eastern Illini has begun replacing meters throughout our service territory. The installation of new meters began in Iroquois County and will continue until all meters have been replaced. The goal is to have all the new meters in place by the end of 2023.

Members will be notified in advance that the new meters are being replaced. A meter installation technician will knock on the door of members’ homes to inform residence the new meter is being installed. Members don’t need to be home for the installation. If members aren’t home, a hang tag will be left on the door. Members need not do anything in advance of the new meter installation. After the installation, members may need to reset the clock on their microwave if it is blinking. Most meters are located outdoors, so the technician will remove the old meter and install the new meter in a matter of less than 30 minutes.

According to Brad Smith, Vice President of Operations and Engineering, the new meters are part of Eastern Illini’s on-going commitment to responsiveness and reliability. These meters are an investment in our distribution system and future automation. Paul Crutcher, Eastern Illini Engineer and project manager for the new meter installation project, shared that automation and other distribution system intelligence has the ability to integrate with other sensors, such as fault indicators. By incorporating this additional information, Eastern Illini will have enhanced troubleshooting capabilities during outages and the end result is faster restoration times.

Mark Slagel, Strawn, has been elected to the Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative Board of Directors. Slagel was elected by co-op members at the Annual Meeting events in June. He will be the Directorate District 2, a seat previously held by Tom Schlatter, Chatsworth, since 2006. Slagel is President of Slagel Manufacturing and farms with his brothers. Slagel has served on the Strawn Fire Department, Prairie Central School Board and is a member of the Fairbury First Baptist Church and Prairie Central Athletic Boosters. Slagel and his wife, Suzanne, have four children.

Lauri Quick, Tolono, was re-elected to the Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative Board of Directors at the EIEC Annual Meeting events in June. She has served on the board of directors since 2018. Quick is the representative for Directorate District 9. She earned her Board Leadership Certification from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in 2022. Quick is also the EIEC alternate director for the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives. Quick is a member of the First Christian Church of Champaign, and is involved in Effingham Performance Center and Cunningham Children’s Home. She and her husband, David, reside in rural Tolono.