Vectren 2010 Annual Report Download - page 9

industry developments may influence our
customers. How will electric or natural
gas vehicles, additional renewables
and smart grid technology impact our
company and our customers? How will
traditional rate making need to evolve
to enable our utilities to foster customer
growth and continue to encourage
customers to save energy, while still
maintaining an attractive return for
investors? In other words, we must
ensure we are at the forefront when it
comes to being the Midwest utility of
the future. It’s our pledge to monitor,
propose and implement appropriate
plans that keep us moving forward and
ensure we’re anticipating and meeting
customers’ expectations. At the same
time, we remain committed to being
a leader in energy efficiency and
continuing to partner with customers to
use energy wisely.
Our final initiative in this area
addresses community sustainability
and implementing a long-term
strategy to revitalize communities and
neighborhoods using a broad, holistic
approach. Given the difficult economic
conditions and job losses throughout
the country, our utility service territories
have seen a rise in the number of
customers who are challenged to
pay their energy bills. With home
foreclosures, abandoned homes and
urban sprawl, we’ve seen the social and
physical deterioration of a number of
neighborhoods in some of the key cities
we serve.
Our goal is to target a handful of areas
with the most potential for success and
reach out to strategic partners such
as universities, hospitals, foundations,
businesses and neighborhood
associations to address critical factors
to achieve thriving and sustainable
communities. To jumpstart this effort, we
ended 2010 by conducting a series of
focus groups in five cities in our utility
service territories that have experienced
the most setbacks in the recession. With
local thought and opinion leaders, we
discussed various social and economic
needs, opportunities and challenges in
an effort to find common trends, chart
a path for realigning the mission of our
Foundation and develop a long-term
strategy for community engagement.
It’s our intent to serve as a catalyst
for change and redevelopment in
recognizing that thriving communities are
critical to our company’s success.
Growing Forward
As you likely noted, much of this
letter has been devoted to the future
and discussions on the strategies of
how we will grow – financially and
philosophically – to meet both customer
and shareholder expectations. I’m a
firm believer in planning, reaching
fast consensus on direction and then
executing the strategies efficiently
to reach our goals. Armed with an
experienced management team, a
dedicated workforce and a roadmap
for success, we’re confident in our
ability to deliver results and continue
our reputation as a stable, conservative
Midwest energy company.
For more than 50 consecutive years,
Vectren and its predecessors have
increased the annual dividends. And
with the December 2010 Congressional
extension of tax cuts, for which many
of Vectren’s shareholders called upon
their legislators, the current 15-percent
dividend tax rate is secure for at least
another two years.
Before I close, I would like to extend
my sincere thanks to three key company
leaders who have recently or will
soon retire. Steve Schein, our vice
president of investor relations, retired
in September 2010 after nearly 40
years with Vectren and one of our
predecessor companies. Steve was
pivotal in leading shareholder relations
for Vectren over the past decade.
ESG’s founder, Jim Adams, retired last
month after 16 years of service. Jim
was instrumental in establishing ESG
as a leading energy services provider,
growing the company from just five
employees in 1994 to more than 225
employees today. Ron Jochum, Vectren’s
long-time vice president of power
supply, will retire April 1, 2011. Ron has
been key in managing Vectren’s electric
generation fleet and spearheaded our
efforts to aggressively move forward
with emissions control investments to
ensure cleaner air for southwestern
Indiana. We will certainly miss these
three colleagues and wish them well
in retirement. Also, we will lose the
unparalleled leadership of long-time
board member Bob Koch, who will
retire from the board in May. Bob, who
has been the board’s lead director
for eight years, has provided sound
guidance and direction in shaping
Vectren’s vision and ultimately driving
our company’s success. We extend our
sincere gratitude and best wishes.
More than 10 years have passed since
the merger that formed Vectren, and
our company has the foundation and
fundamentals to maintain solid financial
performance and continue to balance
the needs of all stakeholders. We
have a sensible plan to foster growth
and anticipate, act and evolve to the
challenges and opportunities before
us. We’re poised for long-term success
and have eagerly embraced our new
direction.
Carl L. Chapman
President & CEO
Vectren Corporation
February 17, 2011
Vectren 2010
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Indiana Conservation Connection
Gas Saved* - Therms in Millions
‘07 ‘08 ‘09 ‘10
*Annual accumulation
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