Empire Electric continues growth with new power plants

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Empire District Electric Company has two power plants under construction to help meet its goal of providing high-quality electric service to customers.|ret||ret||tab|

Construction has started on two power plants in LaRussell at an estimated total cost of $55 million for both facilities. Completion of the first plant will be in the spring of 2003 and the second one is scheduled to be up and running by the spring of 2004. LaRussell is located northeast of Sarcoxie.|ret||ret||tab|

"The company owns an existing site at that location and these units fit well on that site," said Myron McKinney, president and chief executive officer of Empire. Empire also owns Ozark Beach Dam on the Lake of the Ozarks. The dam, better known as Powersite Dam, is a hydroelectric facility. |ret||ret||tab|

Empire District Electric Company was founded in 1909 in Joplin to provide electrical service in and around the Joplin area, McKinney said.|ret||ret||tab|

Over the years the company has expanded to serve 121 incorporated communities and adjacent rural areas in southwest Missouri, northeastern Okla-homa, northwest Arkansas and southeast Kansas, McKinney said. The company serves approximately 150,000 customers over a 10,000 square mile area.|ret||ret||tab|

"We've been serving this area for a long time and we are genuinely interested in seeing the area grow and prosper," McKinney said.|ret||ret||tab|

While its headquarters are in Joplin, the utility company also has offices in Branson, Bolivar and Neosho and operation centers in Branson, Ozark, Bolivar, Aurora, Webb City, LaRussell, and in Baxter and Riverton, Kan.|ret||ret||tab|

Empire District Electric has 650 em-ployees at the various locations, with about 250 employees located at Joplin. Accounting and record keeping are done at the Joplin offices, although the company has a call center at Ozark and Joplin to provide customer information. Mc-Kinney said more people prefer to call than come in to the offices for service and billing information. Customers can also access information about their accounts on the Web site at www.empire district.com.|ret||ret||tab|

Technology has helped the utility company grow and serve its customer base. In the near future, the Web site will offer online payment service, McKinney said.|ret||ret||tab|

In the last five years capital expenditures have ranged from $53 million to $130 million, with an average of $74.8 million per year, McKinney said.|ret||ret||tab|

"In the last five years the growth rate has been about 2 percent per year, which is a very healthy growth in the electric industry," McKinney said.|ret||ret||tab|

The early growth of the company be-gan with a consolidation of small power companies in the Joplin area and later branched out east in Missouri. |ret||ret||tab|

It then went on to include the areas of service in the surrounding states, Mc-Kinney stated.|ret||ret||tab|

By 1946 the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange as it continued to grow and expand its regions of operation.|ret||ret||tab|

A native of Bolivar, McKinney went to junior college in Joplin, then on to Southwest Missouri State University where he earned a degree in business administration in 1967. He went to work for Empire District Electric upon graduation as an electric heating consultant and worked up through the ranks in the marketing and customer service end of the business. |ret||ret||tab|

He became an officer in the business in 1981 and president of the corporation in 1997.|ret||ret||tab|

"I've seen a lot of changes over the years," he said. "One change I haven't seen is that customers (still) expect good service and we work hard to give them good service."|ret||ret||tab|

According to McKinney stocks in the company have bounced around some, but basically have stayed stable in the last few years. The company is traded as EDE.|ret||ret||tab|

He estimated the company assets at over $1 billion. Annual revenues last year were listed at $264 million. The territory Empire serves is certified by the Public Service Commission.|ret||ret||tab|

"We can ask to expand if the need arises," McKinney said. "We decide as we go when further expansion is needed."[[In-content Ad]]