What Your Co-Op Does for You
Your local not-for-profit Lorain-Medina Rural Electric Cooperative (LMRE) participates in and has many programs and offerings to benefit you, the member. After all, the cooperative is owned by its members, so we proudly serve you.
Political Action
LMRE participates in the Action Committee for Rural Electrification (ACRE), the federal PAC of the nation's electric co-ops. Through COPA (Co-op Owners for Political Action), co-ops invite their residential consumer-members to be politically engaged in ACRE and other important grassroots advocacy initiatives.
Members opt-in by providing a small donation on their electric bill to the political action committee (PAC) that supports political candidates who will speak for and protect the interests of electric co-ops and their members around the country.
Community Support
“Every decision the co-op makes is for the benefit of our members and communities where we all live, work, and play. From the Board of Trustees to every co-op employee, we are happy to be able to contribute to our communities.”
- LMRE General Manager Ed VanHoose
Matching Grants
LMRE partners with CoBank, a national cooperative bank, to provide grants to local qualifying organizations. In 2020, two local schools in need (Black River Local Schools in Medina County and Mapleton Local Schools in Ashland County) received funds through CoBank’s Sharing Success matching grant program, with the co-op providing half for each grant.
Operation Round-Up People Fund
People Fund is a program where members voluntarily round up their monthly electric bill payment to the next whole dollar. The average donation is around 50 cents a month per member. Each year, approximately six dollars from each participating member is donated to the People Fund. That pool of money is then allocated to various worthy causes throughout the service area by a separate group governed by a nine-member board of trustees appointed by the cooperative’s Board of Trustees.
Since its inception in 1999, the LMRE Operation Round-Up People Fund has awarded 651 grants for $1,694,847.98. Last year alone, 27 grants for $73,268.49 were awarded to qualifying organizations and people.
Member Programs and Support
OurSolar
Interest in renewable energy with membership continues to grow; however, installing solar panels at home is incredibly time-consuming and expensive. OurSolar is a community solar program offered by LMRE that allows its members to purchase subscriptions to panels at our solar array in Wellington. Members can subscribe to up to five panels, and the energy produced by those panels will be calculated into their monthly bill. This program allows our members to participate in solar power without having to take out a second mortgage to finance an installation at home. Currently, the OurSolar program is at max capacity. However, a waiting list is being maintained should additional panels become available.
Rebates & Energy Advisors
As a cooperative, we know that working together is the best way to help each other. Along with Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives (OEC), LMRE offers multiple rebates for everything from a new Energy Star rated refrigerator to installing new insulation and thermostats.
We also offer the services of our trained Energy Advisors. Whether you are replacing a furnace or water heater, choosing all new appliances, or building a new home, making the right choices can mean saving energy and money. As a member-owner of LMRE, you can access a library of energy-saving tips and information through our Energy Advisors. They can help you understand your usage and find ways to save money and reduce energy consumption.
When was the last time you ever heard of an organization actively trying to help its members reduce or more efficiently use the product it provides? As a not-for-profit, LMRE only charges what it needs to finance operations and its services. This is why we are proud to be your trusted source for everything electric or energy-based. Whether it's questions about solar or your usage, we are here to help our members.
Home Energy Loans
Residential members who want to update their homes can finance their purchase of home energy products with a loan from the National Cooperative Bank (NCB). We work together with NCB to expand member access to home energy products and services. These loans are available to LMRE members interested in energy storage, EV chargers, geothermal heat pump installations, generators, appliances, and energy efficiency measures. These special loans, available to cooperative members only, provide a flexible option for members to spread their investment cost over multiple years instead of making an up-front cash payment for participating and enjoy these offerings and benefits.
Co-Op Connections Card
Through Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives’ Co-op Connections® Program, LMRE helps members save more and live healthier every day. Prescription, dental, vision, hearing, lab work & imaging, and chiropractor visit discounts are just a small fraction of the savings you can recognize by signing up for this free program. Members have access to hundreds of local and national deals, including pharmacy savings, online offers, event discounts, online cash back shopping, and more.
Youth Tour
LMRE is committed to building the next generation of electric cooperative members. Therefore, every year LMRE participates in sending some of the approximately 40 students from around the state to attend Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives Youth Tour. This educational leadership experience takes high school sophomores and juniors on a fun and unique trip to Washington, D.C., where they meet 1,600 other co-op members children from around the country. While in D.C., students learn about the unique cooperative business model, visit Capitol Hill to meet with Ohio’s legislative leaders, and experience the sights, sounds, and rich history of our nation’s capital.
The Youth Tour has brought high school students to Washington, D.C., since the late 1950s. Since then, over 40,000 students from rural areas and small towns across America have participated in this unique program.
Scholarships
LMRE participates in the awarding of two scholarships to children of members.
The Children of Members Scholarship awards $10,000 in scholarships each year to four outstanding high school seniors who reside in a home served by the co-op. The young man or woman chosen as the top overall applicant is also eligible to compete for an additional scholarship, worth up to $3,800, at the statewide contest sponsored by Ohio's Electric Cooperatives.
The Cooperative Trade Scholarship is part of our ongoing support for our youth programs. LMRE offers a $500 trade scholarship to high school seniors who are pursuing further education and are enrolled at a technical or trade school following graduation
CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities) program
LMRE is currently working to bring the Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (CEO) Program to local high schools. The program offers students of all skill sets and backgrounds the opportunity to be successful in a transformational experience that inspires entrepreneurial thinking and develops tomorrow's workforce today. The program, created in 2008, has since grown to 58 programs in seven states. https://www.midlandinstitute.com/
Community Donations and Sponsorships
Every year, LMRE receives multiple donations and sponsorship requests. While not all can be supported, we are proud to be able to continue to support some and the communities we serve. Over the recent years, LMRE has sponsored and made donations to the Black River Schools, Lorain County Fair, Medina County Fair, Cub Scout Troops, Kiwanis, community fireworks, and county leadership programs. Through donations and sponsorships, LMRE can support our members and the activities they participate in and enjoy.
Electrical Safety Outreach Programs
LMRE organizes and conducts electrical safety demonstrations to local organizations and schools throughout the cooperative's service territory. The program is designed to teach youth and adults how to be safe around electricity. Utilizing our tabletop safety display, we teach what to do if faced with everyday situations involving electrical hazards. Additionally, we partner with local emergency services organizations to provide training and insight into electrical dangers and safely operating around high voltage lines.
Affordable, Reliable and Beneficial Electricity
Last but certainly not least, LMRE provides affordable, reliable, and beneficial electricity to our members. LMRE is a not-for-profit electric distribution cooperative serving the needs of about 16,000 member-consumers in Ashland, Huron, Lorain, Medina, and Wayne counties in northeast Ohio since it was founded in 1935. We maintain approximately 1,500 miles of underground and overhead lines and 15 substations.
We are one of 25 Ohio electric cooperatives that own and operate a generation and transmission cooperative called Buckeye Power, Inc. Buckeye Power owns two of the three generating units at the Cardinal Generating Station on the Ohio River near Steubenville, OH.
We are a proud Touchstone Energy Cooperative, an alliance of more than 750 electric cooperatives across the nation that commit to meeting service excellence standards. Touchstone Energy Cooperatives pledge to operate with integrity, accountability, innovation, and a spirit of community awareness.
For more information about LMRE or any of the items mentioned above, please visit our website at www.lmre.org or email us at LMRE@fesco-oh.org.