November 2026

Electronic Recycling Highlights

Our staff stayed busy October 14-16 as we recycled your electronics at each of our offices to celebrate Co-op Month. Overall, we collected more than 600 TVs and monitors, filled six dumpsters with electronics, and received an incredible amount of diapers and wipes, plus over $750 in donations towards our diaper drive. Best of all, we connected with members from across our service area, heard countless “thank yous,” handed out 2027 calendars and tote bags, and even met a few furry friends. Thank you to all who attended our Electronic Recycling events!

 

Patronage Capital Retirement/Refund

Reminder: If you had service with us in 2009 and 2010, keep an eye out on your bill statement this month for your patronage capital refund!

 

 

Annual Toy Drive

Our Toys for Tots program continues to make Christmas bright for local families in need, thanks to those who support our program. Last year, over 3,200 children received donations from our program. Toy collection is in full swing and won’t last long. If you’re looking for a worthy cause that makes an impact locally, consider donating to Toys for Tots.

• We’ve partnered with over 60 business to collect new, unused, and unwrapped donations. Find a donation site near you: www.acecwi.com/annual-toy-drive.
• To make a monetary donation, please make checks payable to Toys for Tots and mail to ACEC, Attn: Marketing, PO Box 70, Friendship, WI 53934.
• Visit friendship-wi.toysfortots.org and click “Request A Toy” to learn more about the programs we work with and to apply for toys.

 

 

Let’s Talk About Data Centers

As conversations about data centers grow across Wisconsin, we continue to focus on what matters most: keeping our members’ best interests in mind. Like any large industrial customer, data centers can bring investment, tax revenue, and economic development. They can also require significant electric infrastructure and raise questions about energy use, land use, and environmental impacts. Without knowing the full scope, our members may have questions, and understandably so.

That’s why we’re committed to doing what it takes to keep your rates affordable, your electric service reliable, and provide you with clear, transparent information. We’ll outline what we’re doing to prepare for a large energy user like a data center, but more importantly, what we’re doing to protect your interests, our members.

What is a Data Center?
Data centers are not one-size-fits-all, and each data center may have a different purpose with different energy needs. Most people think of the vast centers that take up acres of land and use large amounts of water; however, a data center can be a compact container taking up a very small footprint, with a closed-loop cooling system that uses minimal to no water. More recently in the news, we hear about data centers for artificial intelligence and bitcoin, but data centers are also used to store digital hospital records, banking information, photo and video storage, streaming and gaming, and many other cloud-based uses.

Keeping Rates Affordable
Throughout the year, families move to our service area, businesses expand their operations and farms irrigate crop fields. To keep rates fair and affordable, every member is responsible for the cost of what it takes to deliver power to their home, business, or farm. We don’t believe that existing members should have to pay the way for data centers, or any other member wanting service for that matter. Our rates are designed to keep things fair, ensuring existing members aren’t paying for costs created by others.

Obligation to Serve
While we have a legal obligation to provide electric service to members within our territory, we also have a responsibility to protect our membership. Our first cooperative principle is Voluntary and Open Membership. Cooperatives are voluntary organizations open to anyone willing and able to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political, or religious discrimination. We can’t turn away anyone requesting electric service from us. That’s why policies for large energy users are in place, helping ensure that the costs associated with serving them are not passed on to the rest of the membership.

Principle Over Profit
As a member-owned cooperative, we aren’t driven by outside investors. Our member-elected board of directors live and work in our service area. They’re the ones to approve policies, procedures, rules and regulations, and other core governance documents for our cooperative. Our policies ensure that large energy users are responsible for 100% of the costs associated with engineering, metering, and infrastructure upgrades needed to connect to our system. Our goal is to set this up in a way that if they operate for six months and want to pack up their operations, it wouldn’t leave any costs stranded for the rest of our members to pay for. These policies focus on ensuring fairness and doing what is in the best interest of all members.

Size of System
There’s no doubt that data centers consume substantial amounts of electricity. To put it into perspective, if a data center is expected to use 10 megawatts (MW) of electricity, that’s equivalent to the draw of demand for roughly 2,000 homes (not their energy usage).

Environmental Concerns
As with any new load, ACEC remains a good steward of the environment. We’re part of the Karner Blue Butterfly program, ensuring we take special care to preserve their habitat. We also have pollinator gardens at our substations, and we follow permitting protocols when working through wetlands or areas of habitat for endangered species. Our sustainability focus balances our environmental responsibility and economic strength, while preserving local control and protecting the long-term interests of the members and communities we serve.

Power For All
We pride ourselves on providing safe, reliable electricity to our members. Although data centers consume a lot of electricity, that doesn’t mean we would take electricity away from our existing members to serve their load. As a distribution cooperative, we purchase electricity from Alliant Energy, which generates and transports the power through transmission lines to where it’s needed. Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) is like an air traffic controller, but for electricity. They handle how electricity travels in14 states and one province in Canada. As new energy loads are added to the MISO grid daily, they keep a close eye on where energy is needed and shift it throughout their footprint to meet demand. Electricity generated from power plants is typically distributed locally first. But should a need arise for additional electricity elsewhere, MISO coordinates the transportation of electricity.

The Bottom Line
While we have a responsibility to serve new electric loads in our service area, our commitment to providing reliable, affordable service to our existing members remains our top priority. Through honesty and integrity, we aim to be your trusted source of safe, reliable electricity, ensure fair and affordable energy costs, and continue to provide superior customer service for our members and community.

 

 

What is Step Potential?

When a downed power line touches the ground, electricity can spread out like ripples on a pond. If your feet touch two different voltage levels, electricity can move through your body. That is step potential, and it can be deadly. If you see a downed power line: Stop. Keep yourself and others at least 50 feet away. Call 911 to report it and wait for help. Never touch the line or anything it touches, including fences, vehicles, trees, equipment, or people. Shuffle to safety by keeping feet close together and on the ground.

 

 

 

 

Recipe

Pumpkin Bars
Recipe from Lori Grob of Cottage Grove, WI

INGREDIENTS:

Bars:

• 2 c flour
• 2 c sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1 c oil
• 16 oz canpumpkin
• 4 eggs

Frosting:

• 2 c powdered sugar
• 1/3 c butter, softened
• 3 oz package creamcheese, softened
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15×10 pan. In a large bowl, combine all bar ingredients, then beat at a low speed until moistened. Beat for two minutes at medium speed. Pour mixture into the greased pan.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 45 minutes or until completely cooled.
3. In small bowl, combine all frosting ingredients, then beat until smooth. Spread over cooled bars. Cut into bars and store in the refrigerator.