88 Years of Butler Electric
PROUDLY SERVING OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1938.
Butler Electric is not just your utility. It is your cooperative, owned and governed by the members it serves, built on a promise made in 1938 that has never wavered.
MEMBER-OWNED • FOUNDED 1938 • SOUTH-CENTRAL KANSAS
HOW WE ARE GOVERNED
The people setting policy are your neighbors.
Butler Electric is governed by a seven-member board of trustees elected by and from the membership. The board sets direction and policy. Management handles day-to-day operations. That separation means the people making the big decision are community members, not corporate executives in a distant city.
Every March at the annual meeting, members vote to elect trustees to open seats. One member, one vote, regardless of how much electricity you use or how long you have been a member. Watch your monthly billing statement and the Kansas Country Living magazine for annual meeting details each year.
WHO WE SERVE
Everyone in our territory.
As a rural electric cooperative, Butler Electric is chartered to serve its entire service territory. That means any means any member or customer within our boundaries who requests electric service is entitled to receive it, whether they are a family farm, a small business, or a large commercial operation.
This is not a policy we chose recently. It is a founding obligation of the cooperative model, and one that we are proud to uphold.
OUR OBLIGATION TO SERVE
A requirement, and a responsibility we are proud to carry.
As a rural electric cooperative chartered by the state of Kansas, Butler Electric is required by law to provide electric service to any member or customer within our service territory who requests it.
This is not a policy we chose recently. It is a foundational obligation of the cooperative model, written into the charter of every rural electric cooperative in the United States. It exists because cooperatives were created to serve communities that were otherwise underserved, and the requirement to serve the entire territory is what ensures that mission stays intact.
As Butler County continues to grow and evolve, new customers and new types of operations will locate within our territory. When they do and when they request service, Butler Electric has an obligation to serve them, just as we have served every customer who came before them. We take that obligation seriously. We have for 88 years.
DID YOU KNOW
Our obligation to serve you is written into Kansas state law.
Butler Electric's commitment to serving every member and customer in our territory is not just cooperative tradition. It is a legal requirement under the Kansas Electric Service Territory Act.
"Any home or business located within the certified service territory of an electric cooperative is entitled to electric service. Electric cooperatives have a legal and ethical obligation to provide service to any member or customer within their certified territory."
One territory, one provider
Kansas law designates a single electric supplier for each service territory. That supplier must serve everyone within it.
All customers, no exceptions
Residential, agricultural, commercial, and industrial customers are all entitled to service within Butler Electric's certified territory.
True since the beginning
This obligation has been part of the cooperative model since electric cooperatives were formed in Kansas. It is not new. It is foundational.
Butler Electric has honored this obligation for 88 years, serving every member and customer who has requested service within our territory. That commitment does not waver as our community grows and changes. If you are here and you need power, we are required to serve you, and we are proud to do it.
THE 7 COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLES
Guiding the cooperative movement.
These principles shape how Butler Electric makes decisions every day.
1. Open & Voluntary Membership
Membership in a cooperative is open to all people who can reasonably use its services and stand willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, regardless of race, religion, gender, or economic circumstances.
2. Democratic Member Control
Membership in a cooperative is open to all people who can reasonably use its services and stand willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, regardless of race, religion, gender, or economic circumstances.
3. Members' Economic Participation
Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative. At least part of that capital remains the common property of the cooperative. Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing the cooperative; setting up reserves; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative; and supporting other activities approved by the membership.
4. Autonomy & Independence
Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control as well as their unique identity.
5. Education, Training, & Information
Education and training for members, elected representatives (directors/trustees), CEOs, and employees help them effectively contribute to the development of their cooperatives. Communications about the nature and benefits of cooperatives, particularly with the general public and opinion leaders, help boost cooperative understanding.
6. Cooperation Among Cooperatives
By working together through local, national, regional and international structures, cooperatives improve services, bolster local economies, and deal more effectively with social and community needs.
7. Concern for Community
Cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies supported by the membership.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Common member questions.
What does it mean that I am a member-owner?
As a member of Butler Electric, you are a partial owner of the cooperative. You have the right to attend the annual meeting each year, vote in board of trustee elections, and receive captial credits when the cooperative operates with margins.
How is Butler Electric different from a regular utility?
Investor-owned utilities return profits to shareholders. Butler Electric returns margins to members as capital credits. Our board is elected by members, not appointed by a cooperation. Every decision we make is guided by the needs of this community, not a quarterly earnings report.
Who does Butler Electric Serve?
Butler Electric is required to provide electric service to any member or customer within our service territory who requests it. This includes residential, agricultural, commercial, and large industrial customers. Our charter obligates us to serve our entire territory without exception.
What are capital credits?
When Butler Electric operates with margins, those margins are allocated back to members propotionally based on how much electricity they purchased that year. These allocations are called capital credits, and they are retired and paid out to members over time. It is one of the most tangible benefits of cooperative membership.
How do I vote in board elections?
Butler Electric holds it's annual meeting each March, where members elect trustees to the board of directors. All members in good standing are eligible to vote. The annual meeting date is announced at the beginning of each calendar year in the Kansas Country Living magazine, on you bill statement, and on social media.
Can I run for the board of trustees?
Yes. Any member in good standing who meets the eligibility requirements may run for a trustee seat in the district they reside in. Keep an eye out each fall as Butler announces board seats up for election and how to apply for the election process.
