News Archive

Twelve 2021 IEC Memorial Scholarships available Illinois electric cooperatives will award 12 scholarships in 2021 to financially assist deserving students in the electric cooperative family. The 12 scholarships, $2,000 each, will be awarded through the Thomas H. Moore Illinois Electric Cooperatives (IEC) Memorial Scholarship Program. Six scholarships will be awarded to high school seniors who are the sons or daughters of an Illinois electric co-op member. A seventh scholarship, the Earl W. Struck Memorial Scholarship, will be awarded to a student who is the son or daughter of an Illinois electric cooperative employee or director. Four additional scholarships are reserved for students enrolling full time at a two-year Illinois community college who are the sons or daughters of Illinois electric cooperative members, employees or directors. The 12th scholarship, the LaVern and Nola McEntire Lineworker’s Scholarship, will help pay for costs to attend lineworker school conducted by the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives in conjunction with Lincoln Land Community College, Springfield, Ill. Sons and daughters of co-op members, relatives of co-op employees or directors, and individuals who have served or are serving in the armed forces or National Guard are all eligible for this scholarship. “We hope to assist electric cooperative youth while honoring past rural electric leaders with these scholarships,” says President/CEO Robert Hunzinger. “Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative and the other Illinois electric cooperatives are always seeking ways to make a difference in our communities. One of the best ways we can do that is by helping our youth and investing in them through programs like this one.” Deadline to apply is Dec. 31, 2020. The lineworker scholarship deadline is April 30, 2021. For more information regarding the scholarships, contact Gayle Ford. Information has also been shared with area high school guidance counselors and is available online.

The 2020 Annual Meeting of Members for Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative was held on Saturday, August 8 in Gibson City at the Harvest Moon Drive In. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 event didn't feature the same activities that we normally have. Members that attended received a $15 bill credit, and the drive in format allowed members to attend safely from the comfort of their vehicle.  Members passed a bylaw amendment, and incumbent directors Tom Schlatter (Chatsworth), Kevin Moore (Hoopeston), and Lauri Quick (Tolono) were all reelected to the Board of Directors. Visit the 2020 Annual Meeting page for more information.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), has launched a new initiative to help Illinois families access and afford home energy assistance and other essential services during COVID-19. Building on the State’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program, the State’s Fiscal Year 2021 (FY 21) budget authorizes an expansion of the LIHEAP and CSBG programs for eligible Illinoisans seeking emergency assistance to cover costs of utility bills, rent, temporary shelter, food, and other household necessities.  Effective immediately, the Help Illinois Families initiative is implementing an online pre-application form to make it easier and faster for individuals and families to start the application process remotely and to determine eligibility for LIHEAP and/or CSBG services. Increased eligibility thresholds for FY21 aims to assist additional households needing support due to challenges exacerbated by COVID-19.  This initiative remains available for all qualifying low-income households, regardless of how they may be affected COVID-19. Eligible families may qualify for hundreds of dollars of support; all applications will be reviewed on a first come, first served basis. For more information, and to see if you qualify, please visit helpillinoisfamilies.com.

Monday, July 6 Here at Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative, our priority is - and will continue to be - providing reliable electricity to our member-consumers, while maintaining a safe environment for our employees, our members, and the public. We recognize this is an uncertain time for many of our members, especially those that are facing a financial strain due to the ongoing and necessary mitigation efforts. Here are some of the things we're doing to assist and protect our members and employees: We suspended disconnections for nonpayment and the charging of late fees through June 26. Based on state guidelines, we will offer members several options to get their balances caught up. We expect to begin disconnections again in early August. If you have a past-due balance, please call our member group at 800-824-5102 to discuss your options. We've postponed our annual meeting, originally scheduled for June 18. It will now be held on Saturday, August 8. More information can be found here. We will continue to work individually with members that are facing a hardship in paying their electric bill to develop payment arrangements. Our lobby reopened on Monday, June 29. We encourage all visitors to wear a mask and maintain proper social distancing. Members may pay their electric bill online via SmartHub, use our on-site dropbox, or pay by phone at 800-824-5102. We encourage all members to utilize our online account portal, SmartHub, where they can view and pay their bill, report outages, and communicate with us. Members can also contact us at 800-824-5102 at any time, but especially if they are struggling paying their electric bill. The state of Illinois also has increased LIHEAP funding options. Please visit www.helpillinoisfamilies.com for more information. One thing that will not change is our commitment to responding to power outages and restoring electric service in a timely fashion.    Bob Hunzinger President/CEO