Every electric cooperative faces times of change. While implementing new technology or updating infrastructure often happens behind the scenes, changes that directly affect members require something more — clear, consistent communication.

That was the challenge facing Kankakee Valley REMC as it prepared to transition every residential, commercial, and industrial member to a time-of-use (TOU) rate structure. Cooperative leadership understood that success would depend not only on new metering technology and updated billing systems, but also on helping members understand why the change was occurring and how it could benefit them.

Rather than treating the transition as a single announcement, Kankakee Valley built a communication campaign that played out over several months. By introducing one concept at a time and using multiple communication channels, the cooperative planned and executed one of its largest member education initiatives in recent years.

Challenge

• Transition all residential, commercial, and industrial members to a new TOU rate structure.
• Educate members on an unfamiliar billing concept while building trust and minimizing confusion.
• Help members understand how the timing of their electricity use affects their monthly bill.
• Encourage members to adopt new energy-use habits before the rate change took effect.

Solution

• Developed a phased, year-long communication campaign that introduced one concept at a time.
• Used multiple communication channels, including Indiana Connection magazine, social media, bill inserts, email, videos, interactive displays, and online educational tools.
• Implemented the new rate gradually, giving residential members time to understand the changes and adjust their energy use before the full rate structure was implemented.
• Reinforced educational messages with practical tools and resources members could use throughout the transition.

Results

• Successfully transitioned all residential, commercial, and industrial members to TOU pricing through a comprehensive communication campaign.
• Equipped members with the knowledge and tools to better understand when and how they use electricity, helping them make informed energy decisions.
• Created a library of educational resources that remained available throughout implementation.
• Gained experience communicating complex co-op changes with a variety of member groups and identified opportunities to strengthen future communication efforts.
• Returned approximately $3 million in bill credits due to the significant savings in their wholesale power bill.
• Announced a 6% rate decrease effective in January 2026.

Building Understanding Before Making Change

Changing an electric rate is relatively straightforward. Helping thousands of members understand why that change is being made — and how it can benefit them — is much more challenging. It’s fair to say that old habits are hard to break, and new habits are hard to make.

Fortunately, when Kankakee Valley’s board approved transitioning all members to a TOU rate, their leadership also recognized that success would depend on much more than implementing new billing software. Members needed to understand where their electricity comes from, why electricity costs fluctuate throughout the day, and how their own energy habits could influence what they pay each month.

Rather than announcing the change all at once, the cooperative chose to educate first.

“Time-of-use rates are about giving our members real choices,” said Kankakee Valley REMC CEO Scott Sears. “They can use electricity whenever it works best for them, but if they shift to non-peak hours, they have the opportunity to save. Most importantly, this approach ensures everyone pays their fair share for the energy they use.”

Starting with the ‘Why’

One of the first questions the communication team asked while planning the rollout was: What if our members know nothing about wholesale power?

They didn’t assume members understood how electricity reaches their homes or why electric costs change throughout the day. Kankakee Valley began explaining the basics of their mission, where electricity comes from, and how costs are determined.

To do that, they used the local pages in the June 2024 issue of Indiana Connection magazine to explain that Kankakee Valley is a distribution cooperative that purchases wholesale power through Wabash Valley Power Alliance rather than generating electricity itself.

In the July issue, they built on that initial article by explaining how wholesale electricity prices fluctuate throughout the day based on supply and demand — similar to the way gasoline prices fluctuate with market conditions.

After they established that foundation, Kankakee Valley began introducing TOU pricing.

By educating members step by step, they believed the rate transition would feel like a logical progression rather than an unexpected change.

“We never expected our members to understand the time-of-use rate right away,” said Sears. “We started with the basics and built from there, so when we finally rolled out the rate, it just made sense. Taking the time to explain the ‘why’ before making any changes really helped people understand what we were doing, and I think it eased a lot of concerns.”

Introducing Time-of-Use

For Kankakee Valley members, TOU pricing was not entirely new. The cooperative had offered an optional TOU rate for years, although only a small percentage of members participated.

With the groundwork and some previous knowledge in place, September’s Indiana Connection leadership column reintroduced all members to TOU pricing.

The article explained that electricity costs less during off-peak hours and that members could lower their bills by shifting certain activities, such as laundry, dishwashing, or charging electric vehicles, to lower-cost times of the day. This would require a change of long-time habits for many members.

The October issue explained why the cooperative chose to adopt the new rate structure and how it would support long-term financial sustainability while continuing to provide reliable and affordable electric service. 

In December, the magazine’s leadership column highlighted the recently installed advanced metering technology that allowed the cooperative to measure not only how much electricity members used, but when they used it. That capability enabled the implementation of rates that more closely reflected wholesale power costs while giving members greater visibility into their energy use.

Instead of overwhelming members with every detail at once, each communication answered a different question, gradually building understanding over a six-month period.

Communicating Through Every Channel

While Indiana Connection served as a primary communication vehicle for the campaign, it was only one part of a much broader communication strategy.

The cooperative reinforced its message through social media, bill inserts, email campaigns, website resources, and educational videos. Each communication channel served a different purpose while highlighting the same core message: time-of-use rates can benefit everyone.

Kankakee Valley also developed a page dedicated to TOU on its website, which became the central hub for member education. The webpage included educational videos, frequently asked questions, appliance information, and an interactive bill calculator that allowed members to compare their current bill with a bill calculated with future time-of-use rates — another way to show the benefit of the change.

Rather than simply announcing the new rates, the calculator helped members fully see and understand how small changes in energy use could affect their monthly bills.

“We designed the calculator with the member in mind,” said Sears. “What we didn’t anticipate was how useful it would be for our employees, especially our customer service representatives. Early on, members would call with questions about how the new rate structure might affect their monthly bills. Our CSRs could pull up the calculator while on the phone with the member and give them a better idea of what to expect. It became more of a teaching tool that helped us have a positive conversation with the members and help them understand what they could do to ultimately save on their bill.”

Using Experience to Educate

Kankakee Valley created an interactive display for its annual meeting in September that visually demonstrated how electricity prices change throughout the day. By turning a dial, members could watch a spinning display representing periods of lower and higher energy costs — using an interactive activity to help them better understand the concept.

“The interactive display helped the employees have conversations with members about time-of-use rates at the event,” said Sears. “I feel that because we had shared so much information on the rate with the membership prior to the event, members arrived with their questions and were ready to learn more.”

The cooperative also distributed programmable timers as registration gifts and provided refrigerator magnets showing the best and worst times to use electricity.

The cooperative launched its TOU webpage the day after the annual meeting, giving members immediate access to additional resources while interest in the new program was highest.

The combination of hands-on demonstrations, take-home resources, and online tools reinforced the message that members would have greater control over their electric bills under the new rate structure.

Continuing the Conversation

Education didn’t end after the new rates were announced. Kankakee Valley viewed this campaign as an ongoing conversation — not just checking the box and moving on.

As residential members began transitioning to TOU pricing in phases throughout 2025, the communication campaign shifted from explaining the concept to helping members make practical changes to their energy use habits. A few examples include:

• Facebook posts shared energy-saving tips.
• Bill inserts encouraged members to postpone laundry, dishwashing, and other energy-intensive activities until lower-cost periods.
• Magazine advertisements reminded members when the next phase of the rate transition would occur.

Reaching Every Member

While the campaign naturally focused on residential members, the cooperative also developed communication for commercial, industrial, and agricultural accounts.

Commercial and industrial members received personal visits from cooperative employees before they transitioned to TOU pricing. Those face-to-face meetings allowed employees to explain the new rate structure, answer questions, and discuss how each business might be affected as well as benefit.

Agricultural members received letters explaining the program, followed by an email campaign featuring a video from a cooperative board director who is also a farmer and understands agricultural operations. This helped make the information more relatable.

Although some members quickly recognized opportunities to reduce costs, others, particularly those with operations that could not easily shift energy use, expressed concerns. This served as an important reminder that there is no “one-size-fits-all” communication strategy or approach. Communication needed to be tailored to the specific audience.

Lessons Learned

One lesson learned throughout the process was the importance of bringing all stakeholders to the table early in the planning process. While cooperatives routinely communicate rate adjustments, TOU pricing requires a higher level of member understanding, making communication and approach even more important.

Additionally, more town hall meetings or question-and-answer sessions may have helped members better understand not only how the rates worked, but why the cooperative chose to implement them. The cooperative would also have built out a webpage specific to agricultural and industrial members.

Kankakee Valley also realized that new members connecting service during the transition would need educational materials explaining the new rate structure from the outset, rather than learning about it midway through the communication campaign.

Looking Ahead

The transition positioned the cooperative to continue delivering value to the members it serves. Following the first year of implementation, Kankakee Valley REMC returned approximately $3 million in bill credits due to the significant savings in its wholesale power bill. Additionally, the cooperative announced a 6% rate decrease effective in January 2026.

Kankakee Valley also highlights the cooperative’s commitment to operating efficiently, aligning rates more closely with wholesale power costs, and returning that value to the members who own the cooperative. Those benefits serve as a sincere thank-you to the members who have made an effort to change their habits.

“For years, KV REMC members have asked us for ways that they could save on their electric bills,” said Sears. “The decision to fully deploy the time-of-use rate throughout the entire membership gives those who want to be more intentional about when they use electricity an opportunity to do so. We’re proud to offer programs that provide value and give members more control when looking for ways to save on their monthly electric bill.”

Timeline of Kankanee Valley Time-of-Use Rollout

Build an Understanding of Power Supply

Introduce Time-of-Use Concept

Phased Transition

Returning the Value

Communications/Marketing