LaDel Laub - President and CEO of Dixie Escalante Electric
Dixie Escalante Electric is proud to be the primary sponsor of the Kite Festival for the 11th
consecutive year. The Kite Festival has been a great community event that has involved thousands of
participants and has benefited thousands of youth through the associated reading program. The employees
of Dixie Escalante Electric collectively donate a great deal of time to the Kite Festival and view it
as a means of giving something back to the community. We appreciate the large number of sponsors, the
many volunteers, and the steering committee for their dedicated support of the Kite Festival.
Dixie Escalante Electric is an electric cooperative providing electric Utility services to approximately
15,000 customers in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. Dixie Escalante Electric is head quartered in
Beryl, north of St. George, but also has an office in Bloomington. The mission of Dixie Escalante
Electric is to provide its members with safe, reliable, efficient and equitable energy services that
will enable its members to survive and the community to thrive in an economically volatile environment.
Dixie Escalante Electric is part of a large network of organizations that build strength and viability.
These entities include Deseret Power, the Cooperative Finance Cooperation, Utah Rural Electric
Association, and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Desert Power is owned by and
supplies wholesale power to six electric cooperatives including Dixie Escalante Electric. Deseret Power
owns the coal mine and railroad system that supplies coal to the power plant. As a result, wholesale
supply rates for Dixie Escalante Electric remain very stable. Dixie Escalante Electric has been a very
active participant and supporter in the communities that it serves. Dixie Escalante Electric contributes
several thousands of dollars in property taxes and sales taxes each year that help to sustain and build
the community and local schools. Dixie Escalante Electric also contributes energy/franchise taxes to the
cities in which it operates. Dixie Escalante Electric has supported the Washington County Economic
Development Council, Habitat for Humanity, Geothermal Heat Pumps in local schools, and an annual Youth
Leadership Training Program.
Dixie Escalante Electric operates as an electric cooperative. All co-ops are businesses with open and
voluntary membership. The owners, users, and controllers are one and the same. Co-op members are allowed
a voice through the election of members who serve on the board of directors. Margins or profits that
remain over and above the cost of actually delivering the service to Dixie Escalante Electric customers
are allocated back to the members. These allocated margins (called "patronage capital" or "capital
credits") are returned to the patrons who provided the capital when the Board of Directors determines
it is financially feasible.
Dixie Escalante has also been involved in economic development in the area for many years, including the
development of the Fort Pierce Industrial Park. Dixie Escalante partnered with the City of St. George,
the State School and Institutional Trust Lands and a private developer in the mid 1990's to turn raw
ground south of St. George into a thriving business and industrial park.
Because Dixie Escalante Electric is a cooperative it does things a little differently than other
utilities. For example, it does not generate money to keep stock holders happy; members of the co-op
just want to warm their homes and turn the lights on when it gets dark, same as you. As a result, Dixie
Escalante Electric does not inflate electrical costs. Dixie Escalante Electric co-op members get
electricity at the lowest possible rate, with the highest levels of service. In fact, Dixie Escalante
Electric has some of the lowest electric rates in the entire State and Region for that matter.


