Because of deregulation in other utility industries, you probably have a general understanding of what deregulation means. But you may not know exactly how this legislation will affect you and your future choice of an electric supplier.

Looking Before We Leap
Because Pioneer is a not-for-profit, member-controlled business, it is not regulated by the Public Utilities Commission (PUCO). So, whereas investor-owned utilities must join in deregulation from day one, we can choose to participate (opt in), not participate (opt out), or participate at a later time, based on the needs and desires of our members.

Since, by law, a cooperative's decision to opt in cannot be revoked, our Board of Trustees has chosen to opt out of deregulation for the time being.

What We Don't Know Can't Help You
Pioneer believes in the concept of competition and customer choice represented by deregulation. After all, giving consumers not served by investor-owned utilities a quality choice for electric power led to the formation of our cooperative back in 1935.

What we don't believe in is rushing into deregulation without fully investigating the potential impact-good and bad-that it may have on Pioneer and member-owners like you. For instance:

These and many other difficult issues should be better understood before a decision for deregulation can be responsibly made.

If It's Not Broken, Don't Fix It
We believe the decision to "wait, watch and learn" is in the best interest of all members. Given that Pioneer already provides electricity at a cost near what it takes to generate it-a cost lower than neighboring investor-owned utilities-why risk this advantage by jumping into deregulation before the dust settles?

Our goal is not to prevent the choice that our members deserve, but to offer it in the same responsible, customer-focused manner our members have come to expect from us.