Lower Valley Energy Inc

“The organization operates as a cooperative. All of its customers are members of the cooperative and receive patronage capital allocations.”

“Every member of the board is elected by the membership of the cooperative, which as stated above, constitutes the cooperatives customer base.”

“The board cannot sell a major portion of the assets of the cooperative without approval of 2/3 of the membership.”

“The completed Form 990 is made available for board members to review in an online portal. Board members may contact management with any review comments they have prior to filing the 990.”

“The policy is reviewed annually with officers, directors and key employees. They are required to disclose potential conflicts of interest annually and excuse themselves from discussions and decisions where the potential for a conflict arises. They are also required to disclose new conflicts that arise during the year.”

“The organization uses the NRECA Wage Study to establish compensation ranges for all employees.”

“The cooperative periodically seeks the input of an independent consultant in setting wages and salaries of all employees; but this is not done every year. An independent consultant was not hired in 2020 to review the President/CEO compensation. Each year the cooperative does rely on compensation data gathered by the NRECA in setting wages and salary levels of all employees. The results are presented to the board for review and approval. The study and action are documented.”

“Bylaws are available on the Cooperatives website. New members are directed to the website at the time they sign up for service. They can also be requested by phone, email, or in the office. Financial statements are mailed annually to all members. They can also be requested by phone, email, or in the office. The conflict of interest policy (along with all policies) is available upon request as well.”

“Discounts on early retirements of patronage capital were $844,820.”

“Lines 9 and 23 - IN 2013, the cooperative borrowed $153,210,462 to prepay a portion of its power bill to the Bonneville Power Administration. By prepaying, the cooperative will receive a discount on its future power bills. This transaction resulted in a significant increase in the balance of prepaid expenses and long-term debt. The overall transaction will benefit the members through lower power costs.”

“The cooperative is a 50% owner of Swift Creek Hydro Electric Company, LLC (EIN 61-1686955). Swift Creek Hydro Electric provided the cooperative with a K-1 for its share of operating losses. However, the cooperative has already included its share of Swift Creeks revenue and expenses in its operating numbers reported in this return, rather than reporting just a total net from the K-1.”