Meet Isaac Dorscher, KEC’s Senior Accountant.
Isaac has been with the cooperative for two years. In his role, he keeps the cooperative’s financial records accurate, balances bank accounts and helps management with monthly reporting, budgets, annual audit and FEMA audits.
Tell us about your educational and work experiences prior to KEC?
I was born and raised in Coeur d’Alene and went to Lake City High School. I earned my associate’s degree at North Idaho College, and then my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting at the University of Idaho.
Before KEC, I worked in the accounting department at a local bank, maintaining fixed assets, performing reconciliations, and preparing annual property taxes. When the bank sold, I moved to Empire Airlines in Hayden, where I spent six years in their accounting department.
What made you want to work at KEC?
I actually heard about the KEC position through my mother-in-law. Her mother, Louise Armitage, worked in KEC’s accounting department for 20 years starting in the late 1970s. She’s since passed away but loved KEC. When my mother-in-law saw the job posting, she told me about it, I applied and the rest is history.
What does a day look like for you as a senior accountant?
It varies depending on where we are in the month, quarter, or year. Generally, I review final transactions, approve invoices, analyze expenses and ensure everything is recorded accurately on a daily basis.
I also take on various projects to promote efficiency. For example, I recently streamlined bank reconciliation and our inactive account/deposit refund check processes.
Tell us about some of the projects you are working on.
I have been able to collaborate with other departments on several major federal and state grants. This includes FEMA federal grant funding for disaster recovery following the December 2025 and March 2026 storms, as well as the Spirit Lake East mitigation project where we moved 26 miles of overhead lines underground. I was responsible for compiling comprehensive project costs, such as labor and materials, for FEMA reimbursement. By securing 90% funding for mitigation projects and 75% for disaster recovery, these grants enabled KEC to improve system reliability and wildfire mitigation for our members at a fraction of the total cost.
On the state level, I worked on the Wildfire Resiliency Investment Program (WRIP) grant through the Idaho Governor’s Office of Energy and Mineral Resources. We were awarded a $350,000 grant to harden our infrastructure against wildfires, with KEC responsible for 25% of the costs. Additionally, we are utilizing the Idaho Energy Resilience Grant Program (ERGP) to help fund an additional tree clearing crew to solely focus on dead or dying trees threatening our system. Ultimately, the work we do today will help harden our system for years to come.
What is the biggest challenge in your job?
Ensuring all information is accurate while keeping up with deadlines. In accounting, there are always deadlines (monthly, quarterly and annually) along with tax deadlines and filings. We also go through regular audits, including specific audits with FEMA related to our grants. It’s challenging, but rewarding!
What is the best part of your job?
I feel like I am a part of something good here. It feels great to have the freedom to innovate, improve processes and drive efficiency, which ultimately provides benefits to our members and the community. Accounting happens behind the scenes, but it allows leadership to make informed decisions for the future. I’m very happy to be at KEC.
What is your favorite thing about our community?
I love the abundance of activities we have here and the beautiful landscape. I enjoy taking my daughters to the parks and checking out all the free, fun community events. There are a lot of good adventures to have with young kids in this area.