Midwest Energy President shares company vision 

Buying propane from most vendors is like buying gasoline for one’s vehicle; the purchaser is always at the mercy of whatever price is listed on the pump.

For customers of Midwest Energy Cooperative, the fee they pay at the beginning of the winter season for their gas needs is the exact same one they pay at the end. Buying the propane in bulk a year in advance of the heating season, the energy provider prides itself on its model of providing residents with a flat rate for gas services, no matter the day, week or month.

“It’s based on a promise that I hold dear as a customer of anything,” said Midwest Energy President Bob Hance. “I just feel better when I know how much something is going to be over a long period of time, not what it is today or what it’s going to be tomorrow.”

Hance spoke of the company’s principals and vision for the future of the region’s energy needs to the members of the Dowagiac Rotary Club during its meeting Tuesday. The president was joined by fellow Midwest representative Dave Allen, the vice president of regulatory compliance with the company.

Headquartered in Cassopolis, Midwest Energy was founded in the 1930s. The company was known as Fruit Belt Energy Cooperative until its merger with Southeastern Energy Cooperative in 1998, renaming itself to Midwest in the process.

Today, the company serves 35,000 customers across 12 counties in southwest Michigan, northern Indiana and Ohio. In contrast to energy companies that provide generation, transmission and distribution to customers, Midwest focuses on the last portion of that chain, purchasing shared power from Wolverine Power Cooperative, based in Cadillac, Michigan.

“At times I refer to us as like UPS,” Hance said. “We take other people’s energy and give it to you guys.

It’s through this model of wholesale purchase that allows them to supply propane at fixed prices every year. This model has proved beneficial to Midwest customers, especially during the artic freeze the region experienced last season, when prices of gas skyrocketed.

“We had to pay a little bit more for some gas we had to buy because we didn’t hedge enough for the winter,” Hance said. “But we still held our price. We just took a hit in our margins rather than take advantage of our customers.”

Over the next several years, Midwest plans on tackling another utility that many of its customers are increasingly reliant upon: high speed Internet. The company plans on installing a broadband fiber optic network to its customers, giving them affordable access to one of the most important resources of the new century.

“This is something that we plan on doing like our forefathers did when we electricity wasn’t on the rural space,” Hance said.