We are happy that the Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services acquisition of Alliant Energy’s electrical portion is nearing a closing date. Freeborn-Mower executives are hopeful of this final transaction in the next few months.

Although differences in service and cost will not be noticeable in our home or business, we will definitely enjoy the customer service and see the difference Freeborn-Mower Cooperative will make in our communities.

So often these days, larger companies buy smaller companies and slowly-but-surely the customer service has gone away. This is a situation that is moving in an opposite direction, and this direction is positive for the people of Albert Lea and Austin.

Because Freeborn-Mower is a cooperative it invests back into its members (us) and the community (us again). A cooperative is an association of people who cooperate for their mutual social, economic and cultural benefit. Cooperatives are owned and managed by the people who use their services.

What this means for us as individuals and as a community is that money goes back into member pockets, Freeborn-Mower Cooperative programs donate to area nonprofits and charities, and through grants secured by Freeborn-Mower Cooperative local businesses are able to get competitive loans to help them grow and develop our economy.

Guidelines and applications for donations can be found on the Freeborn-Mower Cooperative website. You can qualify for a donation for your school prom, a booster club or even an area rural fire department within Freeborn or Mower counties.

Because we as members will be owners, we will naturally have more incentive to be good stewards of the environment and conscious of our usage. Freeborn-Mower Cooperative has the technology to help us. As members we will be able to monitor our daily energy usage through a Smart Hub program. You will see the usage for your bill and determine if you have been more efficient on certain days. If you are interested in conserving energy, this will be a useful tool to help you gauge how you use your energy. Freeborn-Mower Cooperative also has the technology to be able to see outages in the area and much more. Visit http://www.fmcs.coop to start getting acquainted with the services you will be able to enjoy.

We have heard that many folks are getting confused about their energy bill already. The gas portion of Alliant Energy has been taken over by Minnesota Energy Resources. Please make sure you continue to pay your Alliant Energy bill and your Minnesota Energy bill. Before, Alliant covered both gas and electricity, but moving forward you will always get two separate bills. Freeborn-Mower Cooperative will soon take over the electricity portion. Moving forward you will always have two separate bills.