Olney Co-ops Report on Finances at Annual Meeting
More than 200 residents and cooperative members gathered at the Olney High School Auditorium on Saturday, Oct. 10, as Brazos Communications and Fort Belknap Electric Cooperative reported contrasting financial results and outlined efforts to improve service while controlling costs.
The back-to-back annual meetings tracked Brazos’ report of positive margins and continued fiber expansion, and Fort Belknap’s explanation of a negative margin in 2025 and the electric rate restructuring implemented this spring.
Brazos CEO Kyle Hinson reported that the cooperative remains financially sound, with positive operating and net margins, substantial equity and manageable debt. The cooperative also returned capital credits to members during the year.
To illustrate the growing demand for broadband, Mr. Hinson told members that Brazos customers downloaded 5,801 terabytes of data during a recent 30-day period — the equivalent of streaming 1.93 million hour-long television programs, watching 828,000 NFL games or downloading 1.1 billion digital novels.
Brazos’ plans center on completing its fiber network. It added 41 miles in 2025, passing 336 new locations. Its network exceeds 900 miles and is approximately 96 percent built out to existing locations.
Mr. Hinson reported 5,618 members and 31 employees. Prices had remained unchanged for two years, while customers received higher speeds in early 2026.
Fort Belknap CEO Kendall Montgomery reported a negative operating margin in 2025 as rising wholesale electricity prices and the increasing cost of equipment, materials, and services strained its finances.
“The main reasons for our negative margin include our desire to provide service at the lowest possible cost and the increase in cost in electrical goods, supplies, and services,” Mr. Montgomery said.
Mr. Montgomery said Fort Belknap had not conducted a comprehensive rate study or implemented a general rate increase since 2018, despite substantial inflation in the cost of operating an electric distribution system.
The cooperative hired Oklahoma City-based consulting firm C.H. Guernsey & Co. to conduct a cost-of-service study, which resulted in a new rate structure implemented in May. The revised rates are intended to distribute costs more fairly among customer classes and improve the cooperative’s financial position.
Wholesale electricity purchases account for approximately two-thirds of Fort Belknap’s operating expenses, making the cost of purchased power a major factor in members’ electric bills.
To control those costs, Fort Belknap entered into a new wholesale power agreement with CPS Energy of San Antonio that took effect March 1. Mr. Montgomery said the contract offered the most favorable terms among competing proposals.
The cooperative is also evaluating membership in Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, an Amarillo- based generation and transmission cooperative, as a potential long-term source of lower-cost electricity.
Fort Belknap officials said the cooperative is working to reduce expenses through purchasing partnerships with other cooperatives and investments in technology, including cellular-based electric meters that improve accuracy and help employees respond to outages.
Mr. Montgomery acknowledged that unusually heavy electricity usage during August and September had contributed to higher bills for members.
Fort Belknap serves 3,660 members through 6,238 meters, with 22 employees and almost 2,000 miles of electric line.
“We were formed to serve you,” Mr. Montgomery said. “You own us.”