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Thursday, July 16th 2026
More Than a Customer: What It Means to Be a Member of Lake Region
At Lake Region Electric Cooperative, we don't have customers, we have members. That distinction is more than just a title. It reflects the cooperative difference and the unique way electric cooperatives operate.
Unlike investor-owned utilities, electric cooperatives are not-for-profit organizations owned by the people they serve. When you receive electric service from Lake Region Electric Cooperative, you become a member-owner of the cooperative. That means the cooperative exists to serve your best interests, not to generate profits for outside shareholders.
Membership gives you a voice in how your cooperative operates. Members elect the board of trustees, who are fellow members from our local communities. Those trustees provide oversight and help ensure the cooperative remains focused on providing safe, reliable, and affordable electric service.
Being a member also means sharing in the success of the cooperative. When financial conditions allow, margins are returned to members as capital credits rather than distributed to investors. It's one more example of how the cooperative business model puts people before profits.
At Lake Region Electric Cooperative, membership is about more than receiving electricity. It's about being part of a community that works together to strengthen the places we live, work, and raise our families. Through local leadership, community investment, and a commitment to our Cooperative Principles, we're able to serve our members while making a positive impact across our service area.
Your membership matters because your voice matters. Every member has the opportunity to participate, vote, and help guide the future of the cooperative.
That's the cooperative difference, and it's what makes membership so important.
