4230 Hatwai Road • PO Box 997 Lewiston, ID 83501 (888) 743-1501 (888) 798-5280 (Propane) www.clearwaterpower.com ID-1

Board of Directors: Alan Lansing, Lenore, Idaho President Kenneth Weiss, Asotin, Washington Vice-President M.M. Harris, Saint Maries, Idaho Secretary-Treasurer Robert Callison, Kendrick, Idaho Assistant Secretary-Treasurer Thomas Hutchinson, Craigmont, Idaho OMINATING OMMITTEE EPORT Pamela Anderson, Potlatch, Idaho N C R Richard E. Butler, Culdesac, Idaho The Clearwater Power Company Annual Meeting will be held NOMINATING COMMITTEE Management & Staff RESULTS K. David Hagen Friday, November 6 2015 at the General Manager Red Lion Hotel in Lewiston. The Nominating Committee, Edwin Ausman In accordance with our bylaws having convened on September for the nomination and election 14th, has nominated the following Director of Purchasing and Warehousing named persons as Board of Director Lisa Hall of directors, a nominating candidates: Manager of Financial and O ce Services committee was appointed and Lorrie McCabe met in September. For more MM “Duke” Harris Director of Member Services information on the voting District 2 Douglas Pfaff process, view the co-op’s bylaws Manager of Engineering online at: Tom Hutchinson Robert Pierce www.clearwaterpower.com/ District 7 Manager of Member Services bylaws. The nominations and Scott Seegmiller voting bylaws can be found in Manager of Information Systems Article II, Section 5 and Article Cynthia Tarola III, Section 3. The bylaws can Director of Accounting also be mailed upon request. Stanley Vannoy Manager of Operations

Business Hours: Monday - Thursday 7:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Closed Fridays

This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer. If you wish to fi le a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at www.ascr.usda.gov/ complaint_fi ling_cust.html, or at any USDA offi ce, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Offi ce of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S. W, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at [email protected]

32 OctOber 2015 OR-2

171 Linden Way P.O. Box 398 Heppner, OR 97836 (541) 676-9146

www.cbec.cc [email protected]

Board of Directors President Lori Anderson, Condon Vice President John Qualls, Heppner Secretary/Treasurer Roy Carlson, Fossil Gary Wilde, Olex Dan Lindsay, Lexington Gerry Arnson, Heppner Deacon Heideman, Ione

Manager Thomas Wolff, Heppner

Columbia Basin Electric Cooperative’s main objective is to provide reliable electric service to its members at the lowest cost consistent with good business practice.

32 OCTOBER 2015 OR-3

2345 River Road The Dalles, OR 97058 Manager’s Report (541) 296-2226 FAX 298-3320 www.nwasco.com Dear Customers—Our Friends and Our Neighbors, Power supply, specifically electrical power supply, is an Board of Directors essential service and few things in our world would operate or Dan Williams, President could be sustained without it. To sustain a healthy local econ- Clay Smith, Vice President omy and a growing workforce with expanding job opportuni- Howard Gonser, Secretary ties, an adequate supply of electrical energy that is reliable and Barbara Nagle, Treasurer affordable is one important building component. Ken Leibham, Director At Northern Wasco PUD we view our future power supply Manager needs with a three-pronged approach: conservation and ener- gy efficiency; renewables; and new baseload resources with Dwight D. Langer the lowest reasonable carbon emissions footprint. Board Meetings With that three-pronged approach in mind, the PUD, with our customers’ active Usually the fourth Tuesday of the involvement, has (1) invested several millions of dollars over the years and saved lit- month at 6 p.m. at the PUD offices, erally millions of kilowatt-hours in savings of energy; (2) invested over $30 million 2345 River Rd. The public is always in the development of two successfully operating hydroelectric projects (The Dalles welcome. and McNary); and (3) are investigating future opportunities for baseload generation resources. Our Mission Because it takes several years to develop a new electric generating resource, a utility To provide reliable, competitively- must plan for these new resources in advance of need to gain the greatest economic priced energy and related services that advantage and savings. Some of our new resource investigations are done indepen- benefit our customers, in the tradition dently, while other larger resources are done in cooperation and collectively with of public power. other utilities. Our joint investigations are currently being accomplished through two regional organizations, Northwest Energy Management Services (NEMS) and the Our Core Values and Beliefs Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS). Local citizens championed and fought NEMS is an organization comprised of 21 cooperative, municipal and PUD utili- to create our People’s Utility District. ties from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada for jointly securing They believed—and we believe—in cost-effective power and energy. UAMPS is a wholesale electric joint agency providing the public’s right to own and control service to 45 members in Utah, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and its electric utility. Washington. Today, our values are a legacy from Next month we will plan to talk with you more in depth about what we have our public power heritage, as well as learned so far about the future power supply technologies our investigations have pro- guideposts for a changing future. duced. We believe in: Until next time, have a great day.  Public ownership and local control.  Integrity. Dwight Langer  Keeping power rates as low as General Manager possible.  Providing quality essential services.  Quality customer service.  Community involvement.

32 OCTOBER 2015 WA-5

P.O. Box 31 • 1009 F St. Nespelem, WA 99155 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (M-F) Phone: (509) 634-4571 Fax: (509) 634-8138 email: [email protected] website: www.nvec.org

For after-hours emergencies, call 634-4571 to page an on-duty employee.

Board of Trustees President Ralph Rise District 2, Elmer City Vice President Chuck Goldmark District 9, Okanogan Secretary/Treasurer Monte Joseph District 5, Nespelem Cindy Corpe District 1, Coulee Dam Brad Dudley District 3, Belvedere Dorothy Palmer District 4, Nespelem © Patrick Morin Jr. District 6, Nespelem Gilbert Desautel Jr. District 7, Disautel Albert Preugschat District 8, Bridgeport Board meetings are the fourth Tuesday of every month.

32 OCTOBER 2015 OR-6 President’s Report

MAILING ADDRESS Last month, CPI held its 76th annual meet- to the steady decline in average energy use ing at the new Samaritan Event Center in per member we have experienced the past five P.O. Box 1180 Lebanon. Fun was had by all, and it was great years. Philomath, OR 97370 to see so many CPI members. For those unable Second, federal and state legislation during (541) 929-3124 to attend, I want to review some of the impor- the past decade is directing more utility invest- (800) 872-9036 tant information shared at the meeting. ment in higher-cost renewable resources. In LOCAL OFFICES CPI’s revenue is down significantly this year, recent years, energy prices increasingly reflect 6990 West Hills Road thanks in large part to a relatively mild win- stranded costs from abandoning carbon-emit- Philomath, OR 97370 ter. This situation demonstrates what happens ting resources due to the high cost of emission when retail rate structures are overly depen- compliance. Portland General Electric’s deci- 1900 W Oak St. dent on energy sales to meet revenue require- sion to close the Boardman coal plant by 2020 Lebanon, OR 97355 ments. Utilities periodically conduct cost-of- is one such example that hits close to home. service studies to determine whether the rate The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s charged to each customer class covers the cost just-released Clean Power Plan will accelerate Russ Sapp to serve it. They also help determine whether this activity. CHAIRMAN the monthly fixed charge—or basic service In July, the Bonneville Power charge—recovers an appropriate amount of Administration announced an increase in Thad Springer fixed costs, such as long-term debt, labor, wholesale power rates effective October 1. It VICE CHAIRMAN insurance and taxes. amounts to an average increase of 6.1 percent Terry Plagmann Other factors also influence retail rate for CPI. The main factors for this increase are SECRETARY design: utility load growth, rate structures the end of the temporary benefits of debt refi- Kevin Christopher of neighboring utilities, regulatory over- nancing that lowered costs for the past two- ASSISTANT SECRETARY sight, competitive pressures and wholesale year BPA rate period; increased maintenance, power rate design, to name a few. For many operating and capital costs of hydro system Northwest utilities, and CPI in particular, assets; and increased fish and wildlife costs. Roman Gillen decades of steady load growth have supported We are analyzing the impact of the BPA PRESIDENT/CEO low fixed charges and modest increases in wholesale power increase to CPI and have not kilowatt-hour charges by generating additional yet decided on a change to our own retail rates. Tony Wilson revenues to sufficiently cover rising fixed and However, in light of my earlier comments TREASURER/CFO variable costs alike. That situation is chang- about retail rate design, we expect to reflect ing significantly for CPI and the entire electric most, if not all, of a corresponding increase in www.cpi.coop industry. the basic service charge. As our costs increase First, electric utility loads are largely on the in the future, we plan to modestly increase the decline due primarily to years of a struggling basic service charge over time until it more regional and national economy, but also from fairly covers our fixed costs. intense energy-efficiency efforts and competi- Once a final decision is made regarding tion from alternative generating resources such a CPI rate increase, we will provide specific as natural gas and solar. CPI members, in par- information in Ruralite on the back page, our ticular, have an impressive record of investing website and an insert in your monthly bill. in energy efficiency and rooftop solar genera- Happy Halloween tion, which is good news and to be encour- Roman Gillen aged. However, these successes also contribute President and CEO

32 OCTOBER 2015 WA-7 Benton REA Manager’s Message The Board meets the last Wednesday Dear Members: of each month at 6:00 p.m. Washington D.C. Youth Tour Trustees: President...... Michael Freepons Vice -president...... Kyle Shinn I’m excited to announce that Benton REA will be participating in the Secretary/Treasurer...... Mark Platt 2016 National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) Trustee, District #1...... Buddy Treadway Trustee, District #3...... Bob Evans Annual Youth Tour to Washington D.C. NRECA is the national service organization for more Trustee, District #5...... Tim Grow than 900 rural electric cooperatives providing Benton REA many opportunities and services Trustee, District #7...... Connie Krull Trustee, District #8...... Catherine Russell that we would be unable to provide without their help. Trustee, District#9...... Virgil Boyle In the 1960s, NRECA began to coordinate a Youth Tour in Washington, D.C. Today, more Staff: General Manager...... Clint Gerkensmeyer than 1,500 students from 44 states participate each June. Students attending have the once- Engineering Manager...... Derek Miller in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn the important roles electric cooperatives play in their Special Services Manager...... Mike Bradshaw Manager of Finance & Admin...... John Porter community, gain a personal understanding of American history and their role as a citizen by Operations Manager...... Jeff Ekrut meeting our congressional Representatives and Senators. I. T. Manager...... Jeff Bastow Member Services Manager...... Troy Berglund Attorney...... Terry Mundorf Consulting Engineer...... HDR We will be sending one student delegate to represent Benton REA at the Youth Tour to Auditor...... Blodgett, Mickelsen & Naef Washington, D.C., June 9-16, 2016. is all-expenses paid trip is a unique opportunity for a sophomore or junior high school student whose parents are Benton REA members. Please see page 25 for more information. Main Offi ce Area Member Meetings 402 7th Street P.O. Box 1150 We will be having three member meetings this month to discuss the upcoming rate change Prosser, WA 99350 being implemented in March of 2016. All meetings will begin at 6:00 p.m. and will occur on www.bentonrea.org the following days: Phone: (509) 786-2913 toll free (800) 221-6987 Fax: (509) 786-0291 White Pass Ski Area Day Lodge Oct. 8 Benton REA West Richland O ce Oct. 15 Toppenish Offi ce Benton REA Toppenish O ce Oct. 23 410 South G Street P.O. Box 744 We hope that you are able to make it to one of our meetings and look forward to seeing you. Toppenish, WA 98948

Phone: (509) 865-2600 Sincerely West Richland Offi ce 6095 W. Van Giesen West Richland, WA 99353 Clint Gerkensmeyer Phone: (509) 967-2921 General Manager ([email protected])

32 OCTOBER 2015

O c e s

Hermiston O ce 750 W. Elm Ave. 541 567-6414 OR-8 Boardman O ce 203 E. Boardman Ave. 541 481-2220 Our Mission Goes Beyond Providing Electricity Toll-Free During October, Umatilla Electric and other scholarships annually. In addition, each year, in 1-800-452-2273 co-ops across the U.S celebrate the benefits the spirit of cooperative giving, your Board of and values that cooperatives bring to their Directors sets aside a small portion of revenue To Report An Outage Members and communities. to help fund deserving community programs Call 888-465-5701 any Our bottom line is providing you with safe, and activities. time day or night reliable and affordable electricity. Returning As we celebrate National Cooperative capital credits to you is a major part of why Month, we are grateful that we can act on being a co-op member matters. behalf of UEC’s collective Membership to Directors But UEC’s mission and the mission of other improve and enrich our communities. electric cooperatives like Here’s a brief update on other topics of President it has never been limited interest this fall: Je Wenholz to only bringing you elec- • Construction on our Boardman tricity. Operations Center is progressing well. We Vice President For UEC, among other expect the building will be completed weeks Bryan Wolfe ventures, the mission has ahead of our originally anticipated date of late included bringing satel- March 2016. Secretary-Treasurer lite television, locally- • Our solar project is in the final stages of Bob MacPherson owned telephone service planning before installation begins this fall. with high speed internet Our project has received its conditional use RoseEtta Ansotegui access, and fiber-optic broadband technology permits, and our application for low-interest Lee Docken to our communities. It took years of planning (effectively 2 percent) federal clean renewable John Otis and considerable risk to bring those services energy bonds has been approved. Glenn Rohde and businesses to life. • To minimize the impact to our Members, Companies with exponentially greater UEC will implement our anticipated retail rate resources passed on offering these services to increases on Feb. 1, 2016, a month later than our communities. So why did we do it? planned. For Members who rely on electrical General Manager Generally speaking, companies that have a heating, that will keep the two highest months Steve Eldrige two-year horizon for everything they do can of energy usage, December and January, under never justify the kind of investment in rural the old rates. As noted last month, BPA has communities that it takes to build anything increased our wholesale power rates as of Oct. Mission great. But if your goal is to build a community 1, and your Board of Directors and manage- for the long haul, with people you care about, ment are analyzing the effects of this increase Umatilla Electric the payoff is huge. on our finances. At the same time, we are con- Cooperative is a member- The list goes on – UEC’s Revolving Loan tinually working to reduce costs within our owned business that sells Fund, seeded with federal grants, is helping control. A final decision on rates will be com- energy and invests in and local businesses with gap financing. Our sum- municated to you as soon as possible this fall. supports other services to mer Hydromania camps for our grade school- improve the quality of life ers celebrated its 16th year in 2015. UEC sent in our communities. a high school student to NRECA’s Washington, D.C. Youth Tour this summer, and has Sincerely, umatillaelectric.com increased the number and amount of college M. Steven Eldrige scholarships – we now offer a dozen $2,500 UEC General Manager/CEO

32 OCTOBER 2015 OR-9 105 E. 4th St. The Dalles, OR 97058 Office phone: (541) 296-2740 Manager’s Message Toll-free phone: (800) 341-8580 The Wasco Electric Cooperative the responsibilities of membership. www.wascoelectric.com nominating committee, consisting of • Democratic member control. members from each director district, met Co-ops are controlled by their members, Office Hours: September 9 to nominate candidates for who set the policies and make decisions. Monday - Thursday, election at this year’s annual meeting. Elected representatives are accountable 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. This year’s candidates for election to to the members, who have equal voting Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. three-year terms as director are: rights: one member, one vote. District 1: Bob Hammel, Member economic participation. Board of Directors • • incumbent. Three nominees declined Members contribute equitably to, and Ron Holmes ...... President Michael Collins ...... Vice President nomination. democratically control, the capital of Jim McNamee ...... Secretary • District 2: Gary Carlson and their cooperative. They allocate surpluses H . Kelly McGreer...... Treasurer Lowell Forman. Nine nominees declined to develop the co-op, and benefit in Gary Brown...... Director nomination. proportion to their transactions with Robert Durham...... Director District 3: Mike Collins, incumbent; the co-op. Robert “Bob” Hammel...... Director • Mathew Clausen...... Director and Jeff Burgener. Two nominees • Autonomy and independence. DeOra Patton...... Director declined nomination. Cooperatives are self-help organizations These candidates are up for election controlled by their members. If they Staff at the 76th Annual Meeting of Wasco enter into agreements with other Jeff Davis...... General Manager Electric Cooperative on Saturday, organizations, they do so on terms Marie Wilson. . . . Executive Admin . Assistant Shannon Bessette...... Finance Manager November 14. I invite you to attend. that ensure democratic control by their Jim Green ...... Engineering Technician If you are unable to attend, absentee members. Brewster Whitmire...... E&O Assistant ballots and the annual meeting booklet • Education, training and Traci Brock. . . . Marketing & Member Services will be mailed at the end of October. I information. Co-ops provide Laura Correia. . . . . Customer Service Rep . encourage each member to vote on the education and training for members, Jennifer Lindsey . . . . Customer Service Rep . Kelsey Lepinski . . . . Customer Service Rep . leadership of your cooperative. elected representatives, managers and Casey McCleary...... Operations Manager employees so they can contribute to Michael North...... The Dalles Foreman October is National Co-op Month the development of their co-ops. They Robert Gridley...... The Dalles Lineman As we celebrate, I want to reflect on what inform the public, particularly young Wesley Woods...... Serviceman cooperatives bring to Americans. people and opinion leaders, about the Dan Funkhouser...... Grass Valley Foreman Frank Roeder ...... Maupin Foreman More than 29,000 co-ops operate nature and benefits of cooperation. in the U.S., with about 350 million • Cooperation among cooperatives. members. More than 900 electric co-ops Cooperatives serve their members by maintain nearly half of the electric working together locally, nationally, distribution lines in the U.S. These lines regionally and internationally. cover three-quarters of the U.S. land • Concern for community. While mass and provide electricity to more than focusing on member needs, cooperatives Mission Statement 40 million Americans. work for the sustainable development of “Wasco Electric Cooperative Inc. Like all co-ops, Wasco Electric their communities. will provide its members with operates under these seven cooperative As always, if you have any questions competitively priced, reliable energy principles: regarding any aspect of your cooperative, and related services.” • Voluntary and open membership. feel free to stop by or give us a call. Co-ops are open to all who are able to use their services and willing to accept Jeff Davis, General Manager

32 OCTOBER 2015 Owned By Those We Serve OR-10 Douglas Electric Cooperative Inc., Roseburg, Oregon Phone (541) 673-6616 (800) 233-2733

Officers It’s Not Too Early To Start Preparing For Winter President . . . Terry Nelson Vice President . Robert Poage Secretary . . . Shirley Cairns Dear Member, Treasurer . . . Dick McHaffie Director . . . .Larry Shipley This time of year, electric usage is low, storms are few, the lights Director . . . .Evan Barnes are on and members are seldom thinking about their electric Director . . . .Carey Weatherly cooperative. In a couple of short months, this will change. Us- age will increase, storms are coming and we’ll be trying even Manager harder to keep the lights on. In the meantime, I have listed a Cameron Frasnelly few things you can do to prepare. (541) 430-7676 Electric Usage - Whether you heat with electricity or not, Superintendent your usage will increase. More time indoors, lighting, holiday baking and visitors Todd Sherwood will all increase your usage. Unless you have a heat pump, electric resistance heat (541) 580-7205 could increase your usage dramatically. But unless your usage is radically different than the previous year, everything is normal. Office Manager Paul Leonard Outage Preparation - While outages typically last hours rather than days, it’s still wise to be prepared. Having bottled water, candles and fresh batteries on hand is a Member Services good place to start. Our new mapping system helps us determine where the outages Todd C. Munsey are and address them more efficiently, but we still encouarge you to call us... particu- DFN larly if you have specific information with regard to poles and lines down. Todd Way Surge Protection - Protecting your voltage-sensitive equipment should be a huge priority. And I’m not talking about a $3.99 multi-plug strip, but rather one that will Mission Statement actually pay for your damaged equipment should a surge get through it. In addition The mission of Douglas Electric to the normal every-day internal surges from major appliance start-ups, storms, cars Cooperative, a member-owned and critters can also create situations totally out of our control. At that point, you are and operated cooperative, is responsible for any repairs or damage that may occur. to provide affordable, reliable electric and other compatible Last winter was fairly mild with regard to stormy weather, but we never know that services that enhance the quality this winter will bring. We can only try to prepare for it. Call us if you need help! of life for its members, using pro- gressive marketing in conjunc- tion with sound financial and Best Regards, management principles. Cameron Frasnelly General Manager

32 OCTOBER 2015 Columbia Power Co-op

OR-11

P.O. Box 97 Monument, OR 97864 (541) 934-2311 Toll free (888) 203-7638

DIRECTORS President Paul Walton Vice President Adam Temple Sec./Treasurer Tom Campbell Dan Cannon Dave Humphreys Cheryl Jenison LaReta Jones

MANAGER Troy Cox

The board of directors meets the second Monday of each month.

POWER OUTAGE NUMBERS Co-op office ...... 934-2311 Ed Andersen ...... 934-2255 Guy Andersen ...... 934-2098 Troy Cox ...... 934-2155 Josh Hamilton ...... 934-2133 Mike Osborne ...... 934-2067 Joe Ringering ...... 934-2198 Gary Warner ...... 934-2961 Brian Woodell ...... 934-2260

32 OCTOBER 2015 Central Issues Central Electric Cooperative DIRECTORS: OR-12

Chairman Tom Strand, Terrebonne Vice Chairman Dan Steelhammer, Bend Secretary/Treasurer Kip Light, Madras President’s Report Beverly Clarno, Redmond William J. Rainey, Sisters Boyd Keeton, Tumalo Making a Difference, a Penny at a Time Shirley McCullough, Prineville Kelly McFarlane, Powell Butte Members help those in need through Project Helping Hand Kenneth H. Miltenberger, Alfalfa It is hard to believe we have entered the final quarter of 2015. Attorney Robert E. Maloney Jr. There is a cold bite to the air and the holiday season is knock- Lane Powell PC, Portland ing at the door. This is the time of year when our generous local communities open their hearts even further to help those

STAFF: in need. President I am always heartened to hear from members who have con- Dave Markham tributed to or participated in our Project Helping Hand pro- gram. Through Project Helping Hand, Central Electric members Chief Financial Officer can help those less fortunate with their electric bills when they encounter financial Rawleigh White difficulties. Operations & Engineering Director How can you help? By simply rounding up your monthly bill to the next full dol- Brad Wilson lar. The extra few cents is donated to the program. It might not sound like much, but when you combine the generosity of thousands of CEC members, it has a huge effect Corporate Information Officer on the community. Lisa Cutter Lately in the headlines, we hear how Central Oregon continues to grow and thrive. Member Services Director However, many families still struggle to make ends meet. Project Helping Hand is one Jeff Beaman more tool to help these proud men and women keep the lights on for their families while they strive to move forward. Bend District Manager The stories of members helped by your donations are a testament to humanity. Karen Lewis Heartache, struggles and perseverance are some of the common themes. Above all, 24-HOUR there is the “I-won’t-give-up” attitude. PHONE NUMBERS: Time and again, CEC receives the credit for your generous donations, but the credit should be given to those members who contribute to Project Helping Hand. In the Redmond...... (541) 548-2144 past year, more than 40 members have been helped by the program. Bend...... (541) 389-1980 If you would like to make a difference, consider giving to Project Helping Hand. Madras...... (541) 475-3266 To do so, you can go to our website at www.cec.coop and click on the Project Helping Prineville...... (541) 447-5321 Sisters...... (541) 549-5698 Hand link, or call and speak with one of our customer service representatives. All gifts are tax deductible and we will provide you with a summary statement on your Mission Statement January bill. You also can confirm your donations online anytime. The aim of Central Electric Co-op is to Thank you for your continued support of your community and CEC members who make electric energy available to its members at the lowest cost consistent need the occasional helping hand. with sound economy and good management. Sincerely,

Board meets the third Thursday of each month at the CEC office, 2098 N. Highway 97, Redmond, OR. Dave Markham www.cec.coop President & CEO

32 OCTOBER 2015 OR-13 Board of Directors President Cheryl McMahan, Southern At-Large Special Message Vice President To those we are committed to—and serve electrically—every day. John G. Herzog, Brookings/Harbor Secretary/ Treasurer Georgia A. Cockerham, Brookings/Harbor The Great Oregon Shake Out Edward Dowdy, Northern At-Large This month, we celebrate our roots and our rich history. You will find an article about Jim Kolen, Gold Beach what makes us a unique business model on page 28. This is also the time of year Peter C. Radabaugh, Bandon when we remind members about the importance of being prepared for winter storms Daryl C. Robison, Port Orford/Langlois and how to stay safe around electricity. Attorney—Tyler Pepple October is also the month for Oregonians to prepare to be safe during an earth- quake or tsunami. Talking about earthquakes and tsunamis is not intended to scare Staff people. Instead, it is to remind people about the major events that could occur in the General Manager/CEO Cascadia Subduction Zone and help residents be prepared—just as we do for winter Roger Meader storms and power outages. Corporate Services/CFO Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative Inc. will participate in the Great Oregon Shake Frank Corrales Out drill Thursday, October 15, at 10:15 a.m. . Wherever employees are at that moment, they will drop, cover and hold on as if there were a major earthquake occur- Marketing and Member Services Manager ring at that very moment. If you see our employees on the ground for about 60 sec- Christine L. Stallard onds on that day, you will know why—and hopefully you will not think it strange. The Great Oregon Shake Out drill is an annual event organized and promoted Local numbers by the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, Federal Emergency Management Coquille...... (541) 396-3118 Agency and the American Red Cross to bring awareness to the importance of know- Port Orford...... (541) 332-3931 ing what to do before, during and after an earthquake. The drill also stresses the Gold Beach...... (541) 247-6638 importance of reacting quickly should an earthquake occur. The emergency manage- Brookings...... (541) 469-2103 ment agencies believe practicing often is key because you may have only seconds to react and keep you and everyone around you safe. Area office hours 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Ground shaking during an earthquake is seldom the cause of injury. Most earth- Closed Friday. quake-related injuries and deaths are caused by collapsing walls and roofs, flying glass and falling objects. It is extremely important for a person to move as little as possible After-Hours Outage Number to reach a designated place of safety because most injuries occur when people try to (866) 352-9044 move more than a short distance during the shaking. The seven steps to earthquake safety are outlined at www.earthquakecountry.info. Call Before You Dig For more information about the Great Oregon Shake Out drill, check out www. 811 shakeout.org. Anyone can register to participate—or just join CCEC employees Thursday, October 15 at 10:15 a.m. as we drop, cover and hold to promote awareness. www.ccec.coop Roger Meader General Manager and CEO

32 OCTOBER 2015 www.ccec.coop w West Oregon Electric Co-op

652 Rose Ave. P.O. Box 69 OR-14 Vernonia, OR 97064 (503) 429-3021 Toll free (800) 777-1276 www.westoregon.org

BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Robert VanNatta (Dist. 2 – Mist, Apiary, Birkenfeld) Vice President Bob Paleck (Dist. 5 – Timber, Buxton) Sec./Treasurer Larry Averitt (Dist. 7 – Manning, Hagg Lake, Yamhill County) Brian Baker (Dist. 1 – Jewell, Elsie, Hamlet) Jim Buxton (Dist. 3 – Vernonia, Keasey) Dan Murphy (Dist. 4 – Vernonia) Rosemary Lohrke (Dist. 6 – Chapman, Scappoose) Stay Clear of Danger!

GENERAL MANAGER A downed power line may not be a dead line. Bob Perry It could cause serious injury or death. Contact the Board: Assume all power lines are energized and dangerous. Lines that are de-energized [email protected] could become energized at any time. Never touch a downed power line—and never touch a person or object that is touching a power line. Follow these tips to stay safe Board meetings are the fourth around a downed power line: Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. Members are welcome. • Immediately report a downed power line to your utility company and call 911. • If you see someone who has been shocked and is in direct or indirect contact with a downed power line, do not touch the person. Efforts to pull an electric shock victim away could make you a second victim. Warn others to stay away. • If a power line falls across or near your vehicle while you are in it, stay inside until help arrives. If you must exit, jump clear so no part of your body is touching the car when you land. Keep both feet together and shuffle or hop at least 30 feet away from the vehicle. • Do not try to move tree limbs that are on or near a power line.

32 OCTOBER 2015 CA-15 Surprise Valley Electrification Another Successful Year Corp. 516 U.S. Hwy. 395 E. Alturas, CA 96101

Phone (530) 233-3511 Toll-Free: (866) 843-2667 www.surprisevalleyelectric.org

Office open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday

After hours and outages: Call office numbers above

Staff Brad Kresge, General Manager John Minto, Engineer Dennis Reed, Line Superintendent Lynn Culp, Member Service Manager SVE General Manager Brad Kresge presents Lisa Benner with the grand prize—a $500 local shop- ping spree. The board and staff thank all those who attended the 77th annual meeting. Board of Directors Photos by Jean Bilodeaux Craig Joiner, President Lookout Dennis Flynn, Vice President Valley Falls Raymond Cloud, Secretary/Treasurer New Pine Creek Wesley Cook Cedarville Scott Warner Lakeview

John Erquiaga Above left, SVE employees Melissa Stevens and Dorothy Long check in members. Above right, Lake City Board President Craig Joiner addresses guests during the meeting. Duane McGarva Likely

Board meets the fourth Thursday of the month at the SVE office.

“Owned by those we serve”

32 OCTOBER 2015 A Touchstone Energy® Cooperative 787 Bailey Hill Road / P.O. Box 21410 Eugene, Oregon 97402 Office Phone: 541- 484-1151 Website: www.laneelectric.com

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chris Seubert, President, Central District J. Ingrid Kessler, Vice-President, Central District Hugh Buermann, Secretary, Row River District OR-16 Jack Billings, Treasurer, Central District Susan Knudsen Obermeyer, Oakridge District Kathy Keable, McKenzie District Down the line Jerry Shorey, Oakridge District Dear Member: GENERAL MANAGER A warm “thank you” to those who came out in August to the Lane Matt Michel Electric annual gatherings held this year in Dorena, Blue River, Westfir, and at our World Headquarters on Bailey Hill Road in Eugene. You bring MANAGEMENT STAFF a wonderful sense of community to those events. Your directors, the Lane Tony Toncray; Mgr. Engineering & Operations Electric staff who make it all happen, and I appreciate you. Debi Wilson; Mgr. Office & Staff Services The meeting at headquarters in Eugene included election results: Jerry Dave D’Avanzo; Mgr. Member Services Shorey is your new director from the Oakridge district—Congratulations Jerry! He replaces Jeri Nelson who after 21 years as a director chose to BOARD MEETINGS pursue life’s next challenges—Farewell Jeri! 4th Monday of each month The four bylaw amendments passed, including one that changed the timing for these meetings Lane Electric’s Office, 787 Bailey Hill Road, Eugene, OR Meetings begin at 9 a.m. to either April, May or June. That means we’re already starting to plan for next year’s annual (Unless otherwise noted on LEC web site) meeting. If you have a helpful suggestion for our meetings, please let us know. They are your opportunity to experience the co-op you support and that supports you. Additionally, a special “thank you” to two members who each won drawings for a $100 electric bill credit and immediately donated their prize to Lane Electric’s Member Assistance Program (MAP). Their generosity and example are inspiring and kind. We work hard with our members to help manage bill pressures, and we can because of such random acts of kindness as these. Our MAP Plus program is another way to help your neighbor by rounding up your monthly bill to the nearest dollar. It’s small change with a big impact. Have you committed a random act of kindness recently? Lane Electric makes it easy! In This Issue The people living where you live formed Lane Electric over 75 years ago to serve their community. We strive to honor their effort in continued service for the benefit of your Feature: Page # communities. Again, thank you for coming together to celebrate and further that legacy. C ommunity Solar Garden Update... 4 & 5 Matt Michel, General Manager 2015 District Meeting Review... 8 2015 District Meetings By The Numbers... 25 Power Lines... 28 & 29 Down the Line... 32

32 October 2015 TM

Blachly-Lane Electric Cooperative 90680 Highway 99 Eugene, OR 97402 OR-17 (541)-688-8711 (800)-446-8418 www.blachlylane.coop How We Get There Dear Members, Mission Statement: Blachly-Lane provides safe, reliable electric service Last month, I shared with you in greater detail the Blachly-Lane that is consistent with the values of its investment in a 10-year capital improvement plan. Engineering members. surveys and other data support what our boots on the ground already know: Our system is in need of critical reliability Board of Directors: upgrade measures to carry us into the future. But how do we Ernie Jacksch, Vice Chairman reasonably achieve that and keep costs low? (ph: 927-3466) District 1 In our personal finances, we work hard not to burden our [email protected] offspring with debt after we die, and even work to have some- (Low Pass, Blachly, Deadwood and thing to hand down to them. It is helpful to remember that cooperatives work under a Indian Creek areas) different set of principles. Members’ economic participation—the third cooperative principle—dictates that Curtis Short members contribute equally to the capital of the cooperative. It is fair that projects (ph: 998-2721) District 2 needed to keep the system reliable now and in the future are to be paid for by not [email protected] only today’s members, but those who will also enjoy the system down the road. (Fern Ridge and Elmira-rural areas) That is how cooperative financing is different than personal finances. By financ- ing major capital expenditures, we spread the cost of those improvements to not only Cheryl Haskell those who will benefit now, but to those who will use the system in the years to come. (ph: 998-3954) District 3 The ratio of equity to debt is one measure of the health of a cooperative. The coop- [email protected] erative business model asks today’s members—and those of tomorrow—to contribute (Junction City-rural and Hwy 99N) equally by spreading costs over time, balancing the equity-to-debt ratio. Too much equity means today’s members may be bearing more costs than is fair. Marlene Northrup, Secretary/ Sound and responsible borrowing to fund major system improvement projects puts Treasurer the third cooperative principle to work. It keeps today’s electric rates low and allows (ph: 998-1216) District 4 future members to help fund projects that are also of value to them with their patron- [email protected] age capital. Be assured that Blachly-Lane directors and staff work to keep our system (Hwy 36, Hall Road and reliable at the lowest possible cost. North Poodle Creek Road) Joe Jarvis Cliff Kelley, Chairman General Manager (ph: 935-5728) District 5 [email protected] (Warthen, Sheffler and Walton areas)

General Manager Joe Jarvis [email protected]

32 OCTOBER 2015 WA-18 Public Power Week

Board of Commissioners Each year during the first week of October, we celebrate Public Power Week. Why is public power important and how does it Ray A. Mosbrucker President affect you? Choice and input are the main answers. When we consider Randy L. Knowles Vice President electric, water and wastewater rates and make decisions— especially difficult ones—the people making those decisions live Dan G. Gunkel Secretary in your community and represent you. Public power gives you the opportunity to be involved in two main ways. The first is your choice in commissioners. Your PUD Jim Smith is governed by three commissioners, elected by you. You choose General Manager who governs the PUD. They set our policies and the direction of the utility. Your PUD Ron Ihrig employees then implement that policy. Chief Operating Officer The second opportunity for input is in face-to-face meetings. You can do this in John Janney several ways. You can attend our public commission meetings, held the second and Chief Financial/Risk Officer fourth Tuesdays of each month; you can attend your community or public service Gwyn Miller meetings when we provide updates; or you can stop in and see us. Human Resources Manager Your input is important. This fall, we will talk about financial stability and electric rates. I encourage you to participate as we discuss your PUD’s future. Electric markets Ron Schultz Chief Engineer continue to affect us negatively, and that continues to put upward pressure on our rates. That is something you should know and pay attention to. Mike DeMott We have been tight on our budgets the past five years, and this is starting to affect Customer Service Supervisor our ability to provide cost-effective service. Maintenance requirements go up when we spend less on upgrading our infrastructure, and services can suffer if staffing levels are not sufficient to get all the work done. We made these decisions during the past few www.klickitatpud.com years knowing there would be eventual effects. I think those decisions were the right decisions. What will the decisions be going forward? Goldendale Office The beauty of public power is that these issues and decisions are made locally. We 1313 S. Columbus Ave. see all of you on a regular basis, and we know our decisions affect our friends and our Goldendale, WA 98620 neighbors. That can be difficult. It would be easier if we were making decisions from (509) 773-5891 far away, but public power is about local control. It is why the citizens of Klickitat (800) 548-8357 County voted November 8, 1938, to form a public utility district. White Salmon Office In celebration of Public Power Week and our 77th year of providing Klickitat 110 NE Estes Ave. County service, we are hosting an open house in our Goldendale and White Salmon P.O. Box 187 offices Wednesday, October 7. I hope you will stop by and visit. You can pick up White Salmon, WA 98672 information on PUD programs and other information. Please bring your questions. (509) 493-2255 We would like to talk about the issues facing your PUD and the challenges facing our (800) 548-8358 industry in the coming years.

Jim Smith General Manager

32 OCTOBER 2015 The power of local service ID-19

www.nli.coop P.O. Box 269 Sagle, ID 83860 The EPA Carbon Rule For Outages: October is National Cooperative Month. NLI is (866) NO-LITES proud to be one of more than 900 electric coopera- (866) 665-4837 tives in the United States. The co-op spirit is alive

For regular business and well, and embraced by co-ops across our nation within the Sandpoint area: that work together to achieve community and eco- (208) 263-5141 nomic advancement. You likely have seen reports covering the fed- Outside Sandpoint: eral Environmental Protection Agency’s new rule (800) 326-9594 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions nationwide. Board President This new rule, commonly referred to as the Clean Power Plan, is being implemented Steve Elgar to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired electric generating units—mostly coal plants. Board Vice President The rule requires states to meet defined carbon reduction targets. This will cause Eric Anderson coal plant owners in some states to phase out coal plants and replace them with natu- Board Secretary/Treasurer ral gas-fired generation. The cost and reliability effects of this new rule will play out Judith Simonson in coming years, especially in areas heavily dependent on coal for electricity. The cost General Manager of replacing this coal-fired generation will be difficult to bear for some of our electric Annie Terracciano cooperative brothers and sisters in other parts of the country. Fortunately, we do not have the same pressures in the Northwest. Northern Lights relies on a clean, renewable hydropower system to meet most of its needs. We gen- Board of Directors by District Dist. No. 1—Eric Anderson, Priest Lake, ID erate 10 percent of our electricity at our Lake Creek Hydroelectric Dam in Troy, (208) 610-1718 Montana. The other 90 percent of our power comes from the Bonneville Power Dist. No. 2—Judith Simonson, Noxon, MT Administration—generated mostly from the 31 federal dams in the Columbia River (406) 847-2643 Basin that make up the Federal Columbia River Power System, and the Columbia Dist. No. 3—Steve Elgar, Sandpoint, ID Generating Station nuclear plant in Hanford, Washington. (208) 265-0570 Dist. No. 4—David Pemberton, Careywood, ID We are fortunate to have our hydropower system meet our energy needs now and (208) 661-5911 for many years to come. The staff and board at Northern Lights work hard to keep Dist. No. 5—Kennon McClintock, Moyie Springs, ID your bills down by operating an efficient, economical cooperative, and by pushing (208) 267-7064 BPA to keep its costs as low as possible. Dist. No. 6—G.E. Butch Hagen, Bonners Ferry, ID Happy fall! (208) 819-3191 Dist. No. 7—Jim Woodward, Sagle, ID (208) 946-7963 —Annie Terracciano General Manager

32 OCTOBER 2015 c-21 Idaho County Light & Power Annual Meeting is November 5 Dear Members, Cooperative I hope you have made plans to join us for your 77th Annual Members Meeting. As you see from the official notice on the front page of this Ruralite, our meeting is P.O. Box 300 Thursday, November 5, at the Grangeville Elk’s Lodge. Grangeville, Idaho 83530 The doors open for registration at 11 a.m. and the meeting will be called to order Phone: (208) 983-1610 at 11:55 a.m. Following an invocation and pledge to the flag a buffet dinner will be Toll free: (877) 212-0424 served by Stephanie Duclos and crew with A Taste of Art. This is Stephanie’s first time Fax: (208) 983-1432 providing the annual meeting dinner and I’m greatly looking forward to it. Email: [email protected] As usual, dinner is followed by our business meeting at which you can hear updates Website: www.iclp.coop on your cooperative, its propane subsidiary and vote on directors for districts No. 1 and No. 2. It also is the time that we give you the opportunity to ask questions of your Directors staff and board or make comments on the direction of your cooperative. President Ernie Robinson Please, take time to review the financial pages for calendar year 2014 on pages 4 White Bird and 5 of this issue. The bylaws concerning proxy voting and nominations are on page 28 with graphs of the revenues, expenses and consumers on page 29. Vice President John Solberg If all this is not incentive enough to join us on November 5, remember we will have Kamiah many prize drawings for gifts donated by our suppliers and we will have two grand prizes. The first, a propane barbecue donated by Propane Equipment & Supply and Secretary-Treasurer Cliff Tacke ICP Inc. The second is a $500 bill credit provided by your cooperative, Idaho County Greencreek Light & Power. So, please mark the date on your calendar and plan to visit with friends, neighbors Frank McIntire and fellow members and participate in the governance of your cooperative, because Kamiah that is what keeps us strong and responsive to you.

Gerald Frei Thanks for listening, Grangeville Jake Eimers, Manager

Kim Dahler Kooskia

Jim Poxleitner Cottonwood

Attorney J.A. Wright

Manager Jake Eimers

32 OCTOBER 2015 115 East Main Street WA-22 P.O. Box 46 Dayton, WA 99328 Phone: (509) 382-2578 Fax: (509) 382-2736

2929 Melrose Street Letter from Les: Walla Walla, WA 99362 October is National Cooperative Month, and for the many dif- Phone: (509) 526-4041 ferent types of co-ops in the U.S., it’s the time of year to celebrate Fax: (509) 526-3666 what membership truly means. You could be a member of a lot Toll Free: (800) 642-1231 of different places – a gym, a 4-H club, a food of the month club ColumbiaREA.coop – the list goes on and on! But what makes being a member of a co-op different? Board of Directors The simple answer to that question is that when you are a Vic Parks, President member of a co-op, you are also an owner. You own a stake Katie Wooldridge, Vice President in our business, and just like any stakeholder, there are many Les Teel CEO, Columbia REA Eric Johnson, Sec/Treasurer benefits to your membership. As a member of Columbia REA, Duane Depping, Director you have a say in the representatives who are elected to serve on the co-op’s board of Jay DeWitt, Director directors. You have an opportunity to make your voice heard every year at our Annual Tom Hildreth, Director Meeting. You get a say on policy issues your electric cooperative supports or opposes. Greg Knowles, Director Our bottom line is providing you with safe, reliable and affordable electricity. Sure, Dennis Munden, Director we have to think about expenses, overhead and other aspects of daily business, but Tim Pettyjohn, Director when we have a little left over, we send it right back to you. We return it to you in the form of a check and returning capital credits to you is a major part of why being a co-op member matters. As your local electric co-op, we get to be a part of this community. When we think Board meetings are normally the about membership, we think about all of the ways we can give back to you, our mem- fourth Tuesday of each month. The bers – and that’s what matters most to us. meeting starts at 8:30 a.m. and is Until next time, usually held in the Dayton office.

Staff Chief Executive Officer, Les Teel Executive Assistant/HR, Jennifer Aichele Manager of Marketing & Member Services, Scott Peters Manager of Engineering & Operations, Dave Reller Manager of Financial Services, Jim Cooper Manager of Communications & IT, Bob Greene Manager of Safety & Regulatory Affairs, KC Dors

32 oc tober 2015 www.columbiarea.coop 16755 Finley Butte Road P.O. Box 127 La Pine, OR 97739 OR-23 www.midstateelectric.coop [email protected] (541) 536-2126 • (800) 722-7219 Manager’s Message Departments Dear Member: The four 10-hour Customer Service ...... Option 3 Engineering ...... Option 4 day workweek Marketing ...... Option 5 In last month’s manager’s message, I told has improved Operations ...... Option 6 you the Bonneville Power Administration member service, will increase wholesale power rates by cut costs, increased After-Hours Outage and an average of 7.1 percent beginning productivity Emergencies: (541) 536-2165 October 1, 2015, and the rate increase and reduced our or (800) 752-5935 will add $725,000 to Midstate Electric carbon footprint. Cooperative’s cost of power. In the first year OFFICE HOURS Monday through Thursday Management conducted a revenue of changing the 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. requirements study to determine what office hours, 2,826 members were served Closed Fridays and holidays the rates will need to be to cover the cost during extended daily hours, we realized of power and other inflationary costs. fiscal savings of $114,600, productivity BOARD OF DIRECTORS The study determined it is necessary to increased by 5,271 hours, and our President do an overall rate adjustment of approxi- vehicles were off the road on Fridays, Vic Russell, Fall River mately 5.92 percent, effective with the reducing our carbon footprint. Vice President November 1 billing. Each member’s actu- Due to these and other efficiencies we Bud Kendall, La Pine al percentage of increase will vary from have in place, we are able to operate with Secretary/Treasurer month to month depending on kilowatt- fewer employees. Our employee count Gordon DeArmond, Crescent hour consumption. The effect on the is eight employees below that of 2008 Diana Cox, Christmas Valley average residential member, using 1,200 despite a 3 percent increase in accounts Alan Parks, Fort Rock kWhs, is an additional $6.48 per month. during that time. Robert Reed, La Pine MEC continually works to reduce I understand any rate adjustment that Ron Sommerfeldt, Gilchrist Leland Smith, Sunriver all costs within our control. We increases your bill is never welcome. Ken Wilson, Chemult have reduced operating expenses by We offer several programs to assist you implementing new ideas and technologies in keeping your electric bill as low as Board meets the fourth Monday that provide better service, increase possible. These programs include free of each month at the co-op office. efficiency and decrease costs. A few energy audits, conservation tips and examples of these are our advanced meter rebates, budget billing, prompt payment STAFF General Manager infrastructure, the PowerPay program, discount and account monitoring. Call Dave Schneider robust outage reporting systems and the (541) 536-2126 for more information. Operations/Engineering Manager change to a four 10-hour day workweek. You will receive more detailed Steve Hess AMI eliminates the monthly need for information on the new rate structure by Marketing Manager MEC employees to be on the members’ mail in mid-October. Teresa Lackey property to read meters, and saves the Information Services Manager co-op hundreds of thousands of dollars October is National Allen Simmons per year by decreasing manpower costs, Cooperative Month CFO/Accounting Manager fuel costs and maintenance costs for fleet Join in the celebration and enter to win Jami Bartunek vehicles. It also provides members with a $100 credit on your electric bill. See Attorney programs to prepay for electricity, report page 8 for details. William Sheridan Jr. outages, view outage status and monitor daily electric consumption. Dave Schneider, General Manager

32 OCTOBER 2015 ID-24 www.rrelectric.com

DIRECTORS President Larry Henson Vice President Dennis Poulsen Secretary-Treasurer Larry Monroe Ralph Scissons Stan Spencer Krinn McCoy Doug Webb Gary Jones Blaine Tanner

GENERAL MANAGER Heber Carpenter

OPERATIONS MANAGER Kim Smith

Board meets the fourth Wednesday of each month

P.O. Box 617 Malta, ID 83342

To call Raft River • Office hours (208) 645-2211 • Toll free (800) 342-7732 (After hours and outages)

Western Division (All calls for Jackpot, Jarbidge, Mountain City and Owyhee) © • Office hours (208) 645-2211 • Toll free (800) 342-7732 (After hours and outages)

32 OCTOBER 2015 WA-25 ® BIG BEND ELECTRIC Navigating the Co-op Maze COOPERATIVE, INC. Dear Members, P.O. Box 348 I’m sure most of you have been to a themed restaurant. You know the ones—bright Ritzville, WA 99169 red and brass furnishings with Hollywood posters or memorabilia all around. The hostess is always kind enough to provide the children in your party with a set of cray- Ritzville office 659-1700 ons and a placemat filled with activities (I think these sheets are really for the parent’s Toll free (866) 844-2363 sanity). After all, any child—and parent—knows it can be rather boring waiting for the food to arrive! www.bbec.org Almost without fail, there is a maze where you trace your way across the page from the start to the finish. Sometimes it is hard not to grab a crayon and take on the chal- lenge. Other times a glance over the child’s shoulder will allow you to visually make TRUSTEES your way across the maze. President Curtis Dahl There is a small lesson to be learned in such childish endeavors: Look ahead before Vice President Daniel Hille you make your next move. It saves time and avoids embarrassment. Secretary Ken Story That lesson in looking ahead can be applied at Big Bend Electric Cooperative Inc., Treasurer John Harder too. My job, and that of your board, is to look ahead to the best of our ability for pit- Robert Clinesmith falls and barriers that will impede progress to our goals. In the simplistic world of a Lyle Holt placemat, we can look over the maze and try to determine a path before putting it to Stacy Kniveton pen. In the complex and changing world of our day-to-day operations, we must get Lanny Hayes above the daily hustle and consider the big picture. It is imperative we anticipate the Dennis Swinger Sr. obstacles before they become reality. That is why the board and I meet periodically to review and update our strategic plan. It is our map through the maze of events, deadlines and dollars that affects our GENERAL MANAGER/CEO ability to serve you. Yvette Armstrong Life at Big Bend Electric would be easy if our toughest task was negotiating a placemat maze. But then the rewards would not be as great either. We will continue LEGAL COUNSEL to battle the bigger mazes by getting as much perspective as possible through careful Kenneth D. Carpenter planning, fiscal responsibility and thorough maintenance of our electrical system. It is a tough maze, but it is a challenge we embrace. ••••• Yvette Armstrong General Manager/CEO Ritzville, Lind, Washtucna area after hours, Saturday, Sunday and holiday emergency calls: 659-0487

All other areas after hours, Saturday, Sunday and holiday emergency calls: (866) 844-2363

32 OCTOBER 2015 Hood River Electric

Cooperative OR-26 Manager’s Message

Greetings!

State Rep. Mark Johnson conducted an energy forum in Hood River on September 16 with a stated goal: “to begin clearly communicating with Oregonians about how green the state already is.” P.O. Box 125 Johnson asked each participant on an invited panel— 3521 Davis Drive PacifCorp, Portland General Electric, Northwest Natural Odell, OR 97044 Gas, Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association and Energy Trust of Oregon—to focus on what already has been (541) 354-1233 accomplished under the Oregon Renewable Portfolio Standard and the public purpose www.hrec.coop charge (for Pacific Power and PGE). He asked what those accomplishments equal for carbon reduction, as well as the question of further carbon reduction. Several other legislators, including Sen. Chuck Thomsen, attended along with members of the press, energy interest groups and the public. Directors I provided remarks on behalf of Hood River Electric Cooperative and ORECA. I President Butch Gehrig was proud to inform those present that energy bought from the Bonneville Power Vice President Patrick Moore Administration and provided to co-op members by HREC and other Oregon electric Secretary Bernie Wells cooperatives is 95 percent carbon-emission free. I described the investments being Treasurer Roger Nelson made by Oregon’s consumer-owned utilities in new renewable energy resources, Gary Bloom energy efficiency, environmental mitigation and related research and development. I Opal DeBoard felt our presentation was well received. Doug Mahurin There are many initiatives being proposed on both the state and national level that John McGhee could have significant effects on the availability and cost of energy. Your board of Dick Sohler directors and I, with assistance from ORECA and other organizations, intend to stay abreast of these proposals and advocate for outcomes that have neutral or beneficial Manager impact. Stay tuned. John Gerstenberger As I write this message, our weather has begun the change toward autumn. Autumn is my favorite season! I enjoy the cool nights and often sunny, warm days, the fall colors of trees, shrubs and orchards, as well as the various local fruit varieties available at harvest time. Serving rural The days are shorter and cooler, and rain is in the forecast. All of this is likely to Hood River County result in increased energy use by HREC members in the coming weeks and months. since 1945 Now is a good time to enroll in assistance programs—as a potential recipient or as a contributor—if your personal or family situation warrants. Feel free to contact one of our customer service representatives to get information about local programs and learn how to apply for benefits or make contributions.

John Gerstenberger Manager

32 OCTOBER 2015 Harney Electric Cooperative

OR-27

277 Lottery Lane Hines, OR 97738 (541) 573-2061 [email protected]

Orovada, Nevada (775) 272-3336 [email protected]

www.harneyelectric.org

Board of Directors President John Ugalde Vice President Joe Cronin Sec./Treasurer Gary Miller Frank Albisu Rod Hoagland Alex Dufurrena Zach Sword

General Manager Randy Whitaker Operations Manager Brent Beverly Line Superintendent Jason Hill Electrical Engineer Shane Sweet Office Manager Fred Flippence Attorney Raymond S. Kindley

32 OCTOBER 2015 ID-28

P.O. Box 384 Issues Affecting Your Co-op Challis, ID 83226 Phone: (208) 879-2283 Dear Members: Fax: (208) 879-2596 From time to time, I report to the SREC membership on After-hours emergency numbers: regional issues that can affect your electric cooperative’s abil- Propane: (208) 879-2201 ity to deliver reliable and affordable electricity. The regional Electric: (208) 879-4900 landscape of issues is evolving, but the big issues are rela- tively the same. Two issues center around the Columbia River System Board of Directors President Bob Boren that SREC’s power supplier—the Bonneville Power Vice President Jeff Bitton Administration—relies on to deliver reliable and affordable Ken Dizes Sec./Treasurer Norman Wallis electricity. Michael Miller The Columbia River Treaty—a treaty between Canada and the United States to Doug Parkinson jointly control the Columbia River predominantly as it relates to power production Steve Rembelski and flood control—is set to expire in 2024. United States representatives to the treaty Earl Skeen have advised the U.S. State Department to modernize the treaty. Among the changes recommended are a recalculation of benefits paid to Canada as a result of the treaty Manager Ken Dizes and the addition of ecosystem-based considerations in the treaty. Attorney Dale Storer The State Department has not moved on the recommendation yet, but we hear that it agrees the treaty needs to be modernized and has appointed a representative to Board meets the third negotiate with Canada. Wednesday of each month We are concerned that, with the addition of ecosystem considerations, BPA may incur additional costs to address issues already being mitigated through other require- Email: [email protected] ments. The upside is that payments to Canada for power benefits spelled out in the Website: www.srec.org existing treaty could be reduced in a new treaty. Another regional issue affecting your electric cooperative is the ongoing litigation of the Federal Columbia River Power System Biological Opinion. The FCRPS oper- ates to support multiple species of listed and unlisted fish. Numerous biological opin- ions have guided these operations since the first Columbia Basin stocks were listed. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, as the regulatory agency for ocean fish, is responsible for BiOps for anadromous fish (salmon and steelhead). The most recent plaintiffs in the ongoing litigation of the BiOp would like to see more protections for the anadromous fish, which includes actions to provide addition- al spills at the dams and even dam removal. The plaintiffs contend the BiOp should consider restoring species as opposed to mitigating the effects on the species from dam and river operations. This ongoing litigation has become an industry in and of itself and does not always benefit the fish, unfortunately. Your electric cooperative supports scientifically sound actions to mitigate the effects caused by river and dam operations. About 30 percent of our wholesale power cost pays for mitigation measures to protect listed species of anadromous fish. We are con- cerned with actions proposed to remove dams as they provide clean, renewable, reli- able and affordable electricity. The FCRPS is the lifeblood of the Northwest economy.

—Ken Dizes, Manager

32 OCTOBER 2015 United Electric

Co-op Inc. ID-29 Directors President Dean Nielsen Vice President Bruce Beck Sec./Treas. Cordell Searle Brent Bowen Ronald Osterhout David Phillips George Toner John R. West

General Manager Jo Elg Engineering and Operations Trevor Parke United Electric Co-op celebrates National Cooperative Month October is National Cooperative Month. United Electric and all co-ops across the Line Superintendent U.S. are celebrating the benefits and values cooperatives bring to their members and Dan Kidd communities. While co-ops operate in many industries and sectors of the economy, seven coop- Executive Assistant erative principles set us apart from other businesses: voluntary and open membership; Penny West democratic member control; member’s economic participation; autonomy and inde- pendence; education, training and information; cooperation among cooperatives; and Manager of Finance and Admin. concern for community. Curtiss Peterson “The co-op business model is unique and rooted in our local communities,” says Jo Community Relations Manager Elg, United Electric Co-op Inc. general manager. “Co-ops help us build a more par- ticipatory, sustainable and resilient economy.” Chris Seibold United Electric is proud to be part of America’s cooperative network, which includes more than 47,000 cooperative businesses. Mailing address: Electric co-ops provide power for many Idaho residents, with 14 electric co-ops 1330 21st St. serving members across the state. Heyburn, ID 83336 United Electric is one of more than 900 electric cooperatives, public utility districts Phone: (208) 679-2222 and public power districts serving 42 million people in 47 states. Fax: (208) 679-3333 Email: [email protected] Website: www.uec.coop O ce hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

After Hours: (208) 679-4444

UNITED ELECTRIC CO-OP, INC.

32 OCTOBER 2015 Lost River Electric Cooperative Inc. ID-30 Important Information 305 Pine Street P.O. Box 420 Lost River Electric Cooperative Inc. Mackay, ID 83251-0420 76th Annual Meeting of the Members Phone: (208) 588-3311 Fax: (208) 588-3038 Wednesday, November 4, 2015 Email: o [email protected] Moore Stake Center, Moore, Idaho

Directors • Registration 7 p.m. Brad J. Gamett • Membership Meeting 8 p.m. President • Check your membership: Be sure to check your voting status before the annual meeting. You must be an active member receiving service at the time of the Susan M. Harris meeting. We will be happy to answer any of your questions in this regard. Just Vice President contact the office. • Bylaws allow only one proxy: At any meeting of the members, a member can vote Bret L. Zollinger for their membership and one proxy. If you know a member who will be unable to Secretary/Treasurer attend the annual meeting, ask them for their proxy. In this way, you will be able to vote for them and yourself. A nonmember cannot vote a member’s proxy. A Chad H. Angell husband or wife can vote their spouse’s membership without a proxy. Contact the James D. McKelvey office if you need another proxy. Randy R. Purser • Bylaws provide for absentee voting: Contact the Lost River Electric Cooperative Inc. Lynn O. Rothwell office in Mackay for information at (208) 588-3311. Wiley F. Smith • Credentials will be mailed to those who qualify. Merlin A. Waddoups • Grand Prizes: $500 electric energy credit. Important! To be eligible for a prize, the member must be present at the time of the drawing. Every member in attendance will receive a door prize. Manager/CEO • We urge you to register early so the meeting can begin promptly at 8 p.m. Again F. Richard Reynolds this year, we will have members whose last names begin with A through L register at one table and those whose names begin with M through Z at another table. The Board of Directors meets the second Friday Nominees for Lost River Electric Board of Directors of each month and 10 a.m. District 1: Merlin A. Waddoups

District 2: Lynn O. Rothwell

District 3: James D. McKelvey

32 OCTOBER 2015 AK-34 Local, Trusted, Board of Directors Paul Kildal, President Serving You! Lon Rake, Vice President Working Together Mary Odden, Secretary for our Communities Will Stark, Treasurer Michael Johnson, Director Je Saxe, Director CVEA is celebrating Co-Op Month in a BIG way Dan Stowe, Director Fred Williams, Director this October!!! Join us for all of our scheduled P.O. Box 45 events throughout the month! Glennallen, AK 99588 www.cvea.org October 1-29, 8-5 p.m. Copper Basin District Ruralite Cover Photo Contest (907) 822-3211 • Winners will receive $100 per winning photo and be announced to the (907) 822-5586 (fax) local media Mile 187 Glenn Hwy. • Submit your photos by 5 p.m., Thursday, October 29 Valdez District • Visit cvea.org for contest rules, forms, and details. (907) 835-4301 (907) 835-4328 (fax) October 12-16, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. 367 Fairbanks Dr. Joint Cooperative Food Drive After hours outage line Bring nonperishable food items to CVEA or CVTelecom during Co-op Week (866) 835-2832 (10/12-16) and be entered to win a $100 CVEA Energy Credit and a $100 CVT Service Credit. Food items will benefit local organizations. The drawing will be held Friday, October 16 at 5 p.m. Important Dates One ticket per item. Want more tickets?? Bring more food!! October Celebrate Cooperative Month With This Schedule of Events October 30, 3-5 p.m. Ruralite Cover Photo Contest: CVEA Halloween Spooktacular October 1 - October 29, 2015 Don’t forget to bring your kiddos to the CVEA office as part of the Open House and Community Foundation downtown Halloween Spooktacular! Fundraiser: 11-1 p.m., Thursday, October 1, • Enjoy a trick-or-treat parade with five candy stops at CVEA 2015, in Glennallen, and Friday, October 2, 2015, in Valdez • Get your photo at our fun, themed photo booth CVEA/CVTC Food Drive: During Co-op • Get a Spooktacular FREE gift Week, October 12-16, 2015 CVEA Board Meeting: 1 p.m., Thursday, October 15, 2015, in Glennallen Halloween Spooktacular: 3-5 p.m., Friday, October 30, 2015

November CVEA O ces Closed: Wednesday, November 11, 2015, for Veteran’s Day CVEA Board Meeting: 2 p.m. Thursday, November 19, 2015, in Valdez CVEA O ces Closed: Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27, 2015, for the Thanksgiving Holiday

32 OCTOBER 2015 OR-35

1115 Pacific Ave. • P.O. Box 433 Tillamook, OR 97141 Dear Customers: Phone: (503) 842-2535 Toll free: (800) 422-2535 Tillamook PUD is celebrating Public Power Week October 5-9, www.tpud.org along with more than 2,000 other community-owned, not-for- profit electric utilities that collectively provide electricity to 48 Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. million Americans. Public Power Week celebrates the reliable, safe and affordable For EMERGENCY service after electricity Tillamook PUD provides to the community. We take business hours, call (800) 842-2122. pride in serving our friends and neighbors. Tillamook PUD has been a part of this community for 69 years, and we remain Board of Directors committed to helping support the economic stability and superior quality of life here Ken Phillips, President for all of our customer-owners. Harry Hewitt, Vice President Here are some of the advantages you have as a public power customer: Barbara Trout, Treasurer • Not-for-profit. Tillamook PUD is owned by you, our customer-owners. We have Doug Olson, Secretary no distant shareholders who are concerned only about the bottom line. Ed Jenkins, Director • Lower rates. Our rates are cost-based. No profit margins are built into our rates. General Manager Thus, they are generally lower than private power companies. Raymon Sieler • High reliability/efficient service. Local crews provide quick response during out- ages and emergencies. Board meetings are in the PUD office • Focus on community. As your neighbors and friends, we are invested in bringing at 6 p.m. the first Tuesday after the you the best possible service. 11th of the month. • Local control. Tillamook PUD is governed by a board of directors elected by you. Mission Statement You have a say in how your organization runs. Tillamook People’s Utility District • Local management. This adds to community leadership, innovation and is dedicated to delivering the best value of development. electric services, while continuing our • Local employees. Eighty people from our communities work at Tillamook PUD. commitment to the customer-owners and • Commitment to energy efficiency. Public power has a strong track record of communities we serve. robust energy-efficiency programs. Tillamook PUD has been helping customers save energy since the late 1970s. Creed Please join us in celebrating Public Power Week. Stop by the office October 5 – 9 We shall work together to: XX Provide exceptional customer service; for refreshments in the lobby. We will hold a canned food drive that week to help anticipate and strive to exceed our stock our local food pantry. If you would like to help, drop off your donation of customers’ needs. canned food items and enjoy a cookie and some cider. XX Provide high-quality and cost-effective services to our customers. Sincerely, XX Ensure a safe electrical system and working environment for our customers and employees. Raymon D. Sieler XX Operate a financially stable business. General Manager XX Encourage cooperation and open Public Power Week is an annual national event coordinated by the American Public Power Association communication among the customers, in Washington, D.C. The association represents not-for-profit, community-owned electric utilities that board of directors, management and power homes, businesses and streets in nearly 2,000 towns and cities. With no divided loyalties, these employees of Tillamook PUD. utilities are focused on a single mission: providing reliable electricity at a reasonable price, while pro- XX Support all the communities we serve. tecting the environment. Find out more at www.PublicPower.org. XX Be environmentally responsible.

32 OCTOBER 2015 AK-36

P. O. Box 449 Barrow, AK 99723 Phone: 852-6166 Fax: 852-6372 www.bueci.org

Board of Directors President Price E. Brower

Vice President Roy Nageak Sr.

Secretary/Treasurer Don Nungasak

Doreen A. Ahgeak Herman Ahsoak Frederick F. Brower Lewis F. Brower Ellen Leavitt Richard Ungarook Sr.

General Manager Ben L. Frantz

©

32 OCTOBER 2015 AK-37

Owned By Those We Serve BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2016 Rate Case Underway Bill Nordmark, Chairman (District 7) Tom DeLong, Vice-Chairman (District 2) In the coming months, GVEA will be preparing a compre- John Sloan, Secretary (District 6) hensive rate case to submit to the Regulatory Commission Rick Schikora, Treasurer (District 3) of Alaska (RCA). It’s anticipated that the rate case will Chris Bunch (District 5) be filed in the second quarter of 2016. The preparations Aren Gunderson (District 1) leading up to filing a rate case will be time consuming. Gary Newman (District 4) Numerous meetings and workshops will be held that will involve GVEA’s Board of Directors and management team MAIN OFFICE and various industry experts. The last time GVEA filed a rate case with the RCA was 758 Illinois Street in 2008, and much has changed since then. At that time, PO Box 71249 the average residential account consumed approximately 750 kWh per month. Due Fairbanks, AK 99707-1249 to prudent energy usage, the average residential bill is now approximately 600 kWh per month. That reduction in energy usage will be taken into consideration when Regular Business Phone preparing the rate case. (907) 452-1151 GVEA operates on a “cost-causer, cost-payer” philosophy (which is also part of Fax (907) 458-6365 Alaska Law). This means the rates should accurately reflect the cost of providing Member Services service to each rate category (i.e. residential, commercial and industrial). Another reason to conduct the rate study now is the Healy Unit 2 Power Plant, DISTRICT OFFICES which is a new addition to GVEA’s power generation system. This is a large asset Delta Junction that also needs to be taken into consideration when the rate case is prepared. 1681 Richardson Hwy. GVEA is required by its lenders to maintain certain levels of operating mar- PO Box 909 gins. Margins are a measure of our financial health. Should GVEA need to bor- Delta Junction, AK 99737 row money, bankers will examine the Co-op’s level of margins. If our margins are (907) 895-4500 adequate, loans can be secured with lower interest rates. Fax (907) 895-5472 The rate case study will help to determine: • Fixed costs for items such as customer service, billing, office space, depre- Nenana ciation and interest expense. Mile 303.5 Parks Hwy. • An appropriate level of revenue to cover costs – GVEA is a not-for-profit PO Box 00130 cooperative business. Nenana, AK 99760 • Fairness between rate categories, based on the percentage each category (907) 832-5481 uses. Fax (907) 458-6387 The RCA’s process will include a timeframe for member comments. As the rate study progresses, more specific details will be shared with you. Toll-Free Number 1-800-770-GVEA (4832) Cory Borgeson President & CEO www.gvea.com

32 OCTOBER 2015 Golden Valley Electric Association S-SI MA ER U R L A P

R

U P R O PSREC - A L O E C LECTRIC

BOARD OF DIRECTORS: CA-39 President Dave Roberti, Sierra Valley [email protected] Vice President Fred Nelson, Clio [email protected] Manager’s Message Secretary/Treasurer David Hansen, Doyle Dear Members: business. We thank them all for their hard [email protected] The 2015 PSREC Annual Member Meeting work and commitment to PSREC. Dan Kenney, Sloat was a great event. Thanks to everyone who After the annual meeting, the directors [email protected] joined us for the day. elected board officers: Dave Roberti as presi- Ole Olsen, Graeagle We hosted a community expo, where local dent, Fred Nelson as vice president and David [email protected] businesses and organizations showcased what Hansen as secretary/treasurer. Tom Hammond, Herlong our area has to offer and how community Please let me know if you have any ques- [email protected] members can get involved. During the expo, tions. You can contact me at (800) 555-2207 Plumas-Sierra Telecommunications highlighted extension 6076, or email me at

Manager what broadband can do for you and your busi- [email protected]. Robert (Bob) Marshall [email protected] ness. If you were unable to attend the meeting, you can get information on our broadband ser- Sincerely, vices by visiting www.pst.coop. Eastern Plumas Health Care held another excellent health fair. We would like to thank Bob Marshall them for participating in our annual meeting General Manager AS-SIE M RR and offering free and significantly discounted LU A P services to members. The Loyalton Future Farmers of America

T served an excellent lunch of beef burgers, hot PST S E L N E dogs and veggie burgers. The Calpine Elks C IO O AT called several games of bingo, and members MMUNIC took home great prizes, including the grand Our subsidiary, prize of a $500 bill credit courtesy of Utah Plumas-Sierra Telecommunications Associated Municipal Power Systems. offers a variety of high-quality Subhash Palaru of the Western Area Power Internet solutions. Administration and Randy Howard of the For more information, Northern California Power Agency provided please visit updates on the electric industry during the www.pst.coop or call (800) 221-3474 business meeting. We shared updates from our subsidiary, and discussed plans for the future of the cooperative and the fiber system. For information about any of Members elected board directors Dan our products, please call Kenney to District 1, Fred Nelson to District (800) 555-2207 or visit our website at www.psrec.coop 3 and Dave Roberti to District 4. Cooperative directors play a very important role in your cooperative. They attend classes and work hard to understand the complexities of the electri- cal utility industry and the telecommunications

32 OCTOBER 2015 P.O. Box 151000 1600 Great Basin Blvd. NV-40 Ely, NV 89315

(775) 289.8981 (800) 97-POWER Don’t be Fooled, Rates Will Rise [email protected] With the Clean Power Plan Emergency Contacts Mt. Wheeler Power has been fortunate of members (customers) to share the to maintain our rates for more than 20 effects with the larger, more densely pop- Ely Office years. Through our membership and ulated utilities have. Our small and large (775) 289-8981 involvement in Deseret Power—our businesses, agriculture and residences power supplier—we have worked to will be affected. Eureka Office manage our resources—coal and hydro— Mt. Wheeler Power continues to sup- (775) 237-5693 to provide a stable and economically via- port the development of renewable ble product to you, our members. resources. However, we know renew- Outside Ely / Eureka Area With the announced Clean Power able resources will not support our load (800) 97-POWER Plan, our rates and the economic viability requirements alone. We need a 24-hours- that you have grown accustomed to is in a-day resource, not five hours. We need Board of Directors jeopardy. Unlike more densely populated technology that allows us to grow and areas, our ability to transfer our heating develop our communities and businesses, District 1 – Ron Miller resource is extremely limited. Natural not hinder them with additional costs District 2 – Bob Swetich gas availability, a primary resource for and expenses they cannot control. District 3 – Jerry Morrill heating homes, does not appear to be an In a recent New York Times article, District 4 – Don Phillips option. The closest pipeline is along the Keith Goldberg said, “Many coal-fired District 5 – Rick Hendrix I-80 corridor or to the east in Millard plants built by cooperatives were built in District 6 – Jerald Anderson County, Utah. Our sparse population light of the now-repealed Power Plant District 7 – Sandra Green does not attract that type of investment. and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978, District 8 – Wilma Sanford Our board of directors and employees which in the wake of global oil and gas District 9 – Frank Leon continue to work hard to provide a safe, shortages, mandated that any new base- reliable and the most affordable product load power plant had to be able to burn Proudly serving more than 10,000 available. However, if the current federal coal as an alternative.” residents and businesses throughout administration and the Environmental This statement shows that the lifestyle Nevada and Utah. Protection Agency continue to reduce of rural America does not matter, regula- our resource pool to either natural gas tory mandates expect or do not consider or renewable resources such as wind what past decisions were made and what Winter hours are November through April; Summer hours are May through October. and solar—which are great intermit- effects those decisions have on our lives. tent resources, not base load—we will It does. Summer hours: Ely office will be open from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday. be forced to increase our cost to pay We want our members to be aware Eureka office is 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. the required price of the higher cost and informed about the decisions made Monday-Thursday. resource. We also will be obligated with in Washington, D.C., and the effects it debt that we contracted for with our coal has on us here in the Mt. Wheeler Power “Powering Your Future” resource, with no revenue from that unit service territory. to pay for it. Rural areas are especially affected sim- Kevin Robison ply because we do not have the number Assistant General Manager

32 OCTOBER 2015 Wells Rural Electric Company

Board of Directors NV-41

F. Scott Egbert President CEO Message What many saw as a year, that’s a number were proud to report. Gerald Anderson a novelty or a luxury Of course, we’re working hard to reduce Vice President twenty years ago is even those brief interruptions, increase our now widely viewed as service reliability, and control costs through Mary Wright a necessity. Cell phones innovation, efficiency and technology. Secretary/Treasurer and personal digital devices have become Technology has been a great tool for Jonathan Dahl completely intertwined helping your electric cooperative control Kirk Dahl in our lives. Everyone, it costs but the increasing use of technology Orlin Kidner seems, is connected on also creates additional demand for electricity. Fred Montes de Oca the go—whether they’re just making phone Nearly a third of all U.S. households have Lois Nannini calls, text messaging, checking e-mail, surfing four electronic devices, such as cell phones, Jim Whited the web or taking photographs. Technology plugged in and charging, according to the Bruce Widmer has become so affordable and available Residential Energy Consumption Survey by Howard Wright that one researcher estimates that more the U.S. Energy Information Administration. photographs are taken in a two minute period In the past 30 years, the amount of residential Director Emeritus today than were taken in the 100 years of the electricity used by appliances and electronics Ninteenth Century. Such communication has increased from 17 percent to 31 percent. D. Vernon Dalton freedom is a luxury we pay for, generally More homes than ever use major appliances without grumbling. and central air conditioning. Receivers, recorders, computers, re-chargable devices and Carlin office: So why is it that when it comes to multiple televisions have become ubiquitous. 1322 Chestnut Street electricity—a necessity in our modern world— P.O. Box 727 some of us complain when the electric bill Clearly, our appetite for electricity shows Carlin, Nevada 89822 comes every month? We expect electricity to no signs of slowing down. So the next time (775) 754-6362 be there at the flip of the switch, and if it’s not, you flip a switch, use your toaster, run your we get frustrated. washing machine, or make a call, remember Wendover office: the value electricity holds. And know that 1706 West Butte Street I’m not much different—I expect the lights your employees and Board of Directors at P.O. Box 3699 to come on every time, too. And as the CEO Wells Rural Electric Company are looking West Wendover, of Wells Rural Electric Company (WREC), I out for you by working together to keep Nevada 89883 believe I have a special responsibility to make electricity safe, reliable and cost-based through (775) 664-2204 sure your electric service is safe, reliable, and innovation, and putting you, our owners, first. cost-based. But I also believe that electricity Wells office: remains a great value, even after the rate Clay R. Fitch 1451 Humboldt Avenue increase that becomes effective this month. Chief Executive Officer P.O. Box 365 October is Cooperative Month Wells, Nevada 89835 When you consider how reliable electricity Please visit your local offices during owner (775) 752-3328 is, the value goes up even more. On average, appreciation weeks throughout October. WREC owners were without power for Wendover: October 5 through 9 website: less than ten minutes during all of 2014. Wells: October 14 through 20 www.wrec.coop Considering that there are 525,600 minutes in Carlin: October 23 through 29

32 OCTOBER 2015 NV-42 Letter From the CEO VEA Invests in New Projects and Technologies

Throughout the past 50 years, Valley Electric Association, Inc. (VEA) has maintained a commitment to innovation, pursuing unique, forward-thinking projects and technologies that serve to benefit resi- dents of southwestern Nevada. These efforts continue to have a significant impact on our communities, offering improved service while supporting rate stability. Several examples of our cooperative’s dedication to new technologies include VEA’s advanced dispatch system and remote meter reading capabilities, both of which serve Assist our community for as valuable assets to our member-owners. In addition, VEA has pursued a number of innovative endeavors in recent years, including our decision to join the California less than $1 a month. Independent System Operator Corporation balancing authority and our work to Visit www.vea.coop secure valuable contracts with Creech Air Force Base and the Nevada National to learn more. Security Site. The new revenue generated from these efforts has served to promote rate stability for VEA members, averting rate increases of approximately 35 percent 800 E. Highway 372 during the past five years. P.O. Box 237 VEA looks forward to continuing this tradition of innovation through the intro- Pahrump, NV 89041 duction of our optical fiber broadband communications service and our large-scale, 15-megawatt community solar energy generation project. With construction begin- Board of Directors ning this year, VEA’s community solar project is expected to begin producing renew- able energy for our communities in July of 2016. As a result of this project, members District 1 District 2 across VEA’s service area will have the opportunity to participate in a new community Peter Gazsy Shiela Rau solar program at no additional cost. Most importantly, the output of the project will be available for all VEA members at a lower price than their current electric rates. The District 3 District 4 program will serve as an alternative to rooftop photovoltaic systems, providing low- Rick Johnson John Maurer cost renewable energy while helping VEA members avoid many of the upfront and ongoing expenses typically associated with rooftop systems. In addition, we are preparing to introduce our optical fiber broadband communi- District 5 District 6 Kenneth Derschon David Dawson cations service, which will create a wide range of new opportunities for community members in VEA’s service territory. The first phase of VEA’s optical fiber broadband initiative will include Fish Lake Valley and a significant portion of Pahrump. This new service is expected to promote future rate stability by generating a significant amount Office Phone 800-742-3330 (within Nevada) of additional revenue for our cooperative. or 775-727-5312, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. VEA’s optical fiber broadband service will also provide community members with Monday-Friday, except holidays improved opportunities to utilize advanced smart appliances, thermostats and renew- able energy technologies that rely on broadband to offer new levels of connectivity After Hours & Emergency and control. We are here 24 hours a day, Looking toward the future, VEA will continue to provide its member-owners with seven days a week for your exciting projects, technologies and opportunities that are not available in many other emergency needs. areas of the country. 775-727-5312 Until next month, Website: www.vea.coop Thomas H. Husted, Chief Executive Officer

32 OCTOBER 2015 WA-43 Power Rate Update Kittitas County Dear Members, Kittitas PUD commissioners approved a 3.1 percent rate increase to retail rates dur- Public Utility ing their regularly scheduled meeting September 29, 2015. For a typical resident, the increase is about $4 per month. District No. 1 The PUD buys its power from Bonneville Power Administration. In August 2015, BPA announced the adoption of a wholesale power rate increase of 7.1 percent and a 1400 Vantage Highway transmission rate increase of 4.4 percent for years 2016­­-2017. While the increase var- Ellensburg, WA 98926 ies throughout the region, the overall impact to the district is expected to be a 5.86 (509) 933-7200 percent increase to the wholesale power the district buys as of October 1, 2015. (24-hour phone service) The district increase is effective November 1 for all rate classes except the irriga- tion class, and is made up of two parts. The first 2.5 percent of the increase is applied Office hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. to energy use and covers the BPA rate increase. The remaining 0.6 percent raises the Monday through Friday fixed portion of the PUD bill by $1 per month, and will be used for maintenance expenses and new capital projects to improve system reliability. The district is a publicly owned, nonprofit entity committed to providing you safe, Commissioners reliable, cost-based electric service to meet the needs of our community. Please con- Roger C. Sparks tact our office if you have any questions. Paul Rogers Shan Rowbotham Matt Boast General Manager General Manager Matt Boast

Assistant General Manager Brian Vosburgh

Please visit our website to view all approved board minutes: www.kittitaspud.com

The Board of Commissioners meets the last Tuesday of each month in Building B.

32 OCTOBER 2015 OR-48

District Offices 4005 23rd Street Manager’s Message P.O. Box 226 Most people in the U.S. receive their elec- once refused to go. Baker City, OR 97814 tricity from one of three types of utili- Electric co-ops rank 523-3616 ties: investor-owned (IOUs); municipal- highest in member 567 West Pierce owned; or an electric cooperative, which satisfaction among Burns, OR 97720 is owned and controlled by the people the three types of 573-2666 who use it. utilities. We believe In the investor-owned model, the this is because we 400 Patterson Bridge Road corporation is owned by stockholders serve member- P.O. Box 575 John Day, OR 97845 whose sole motive is to make a profit, and owners, not 575-0161 who may or may not be utility customers. customers. OTEC is IOUs tend to be large corporations such committed to providing electric energy 2408 Cove Ave. as PacifiCorp, Portland General Electric needs to you, our member. We are rooted P.O. Box 790 or Idaho Power. They serve large cities, right here in Eastern Oregon and serve La Grande, OR 97850 suburban areas and some rural areas, too. Baker, Grant, Harney and Union counties. 963-3155 IOUs often have few employees in the Throughout the years, we have www.otecc.com communities where they operate and provided additional benefits and services don’t have the local connection allow- because it is important to us that our [email protected] ing them to recognize when their com- communities thrive and prosper. Report Outages at munities may need additional assistance. This is why on September 9, to assist (866) 430-4265 Consumer surveys confirm IOUs have our members recovering from the effects the lowest customer satisfaction ratings. of the 2015 wildfires, your OTEC Board About 72 percent of the U.S. population is of Directors unanimously voted and Officers/Directors: served by investor-owned utilities. passed an amendment to Tariff No. 1, President George Galloway, Municipal electric systems are govern- Rule E, Section C, allowing that all 43 Union County ment-owned. They can serve large cities, homes and 50 structures destroyed in Vice President George “Austin” such as Ashland or Eugene; or smaller the Cornet-Windy Ridge and Canyon Bingaman, Union County areas, such as Bandon, Hermiston or Creek Complex wildfires be exempt Sec./Treas. Charlene Chase, Milton-Freewater. In municipal systems, from any rates and fees related to the Baker County the city runs the utility with little to no re-establishment of electrical services. David Baum, Union County meaningful oversight from the citizens. This historical waiver of tariff rules is Robert Cargill, Harney County About 16 percent of the market is served retroactive to the start date of the wild- Charles Hofmann, Baker County by municipal utilities. fires and valid for a 24-month period, Greg Howard, Union County Rural electric cooperatives serve the beginning August 12, 2015. Gary Miller, Grant County smallest number of consumers, about 12 That is the cooperative difference. Wayne Overton, Baker County percent of the market, which equals 42 We have the strength of our shared million people. There are more than 900 membership and can lend a hand when it Werner Buehler, General Manager electric co-ops in 47 states. is needed most. We are here to serve you. Ron Williams, Attorney While co-ops serve the fewest number of people, our electric lines cover more Regards, than 75 percent of the U.S. landmass. This is because we provide power to the rural communities where others Werner Buehler, General Manager

32 OCTOBER 2015 Member-owned since 1921 WA-49 Ohop Manager’s Message Mutual Dear Members:

Light Co. We already have had our first windstorm, which caused widespread dam- age to our distribution system. The north end of our system was hit the 34014 Mountain Highway E. hardest. Most of the damage was caused by falling trees and branches. Eatonville, WA 98328 Big trees either snapped off at the top or were uprooted. We lost four power poles, multiple transformers and lines, and needed the assistance of Phone: (253) 847-4363 Parkland Light Co. to restore power as quickly as possible. Night troubles: (253) 847-4363 A big “thank you” to all our members who allowed us to cut or trim trees endangering the power lines to avoid or shorten these power outages. Email: o [email protected] If you travel Mountain Highway, you probably have experienced con- www.ohop.coop struction delays. The state’s Department of Transportation is stabilizing the bank in the Ohop Valley. This work also created work for us because we Board of Directors had to remove and relocate a pole on top of the ridge. We will have to set a President Mel Cox new, higher pole on the highway close to the guard rail as soon as WSDOT Vice President Frank Ho man completes its work. Sec./Treasurer Louie Mettler We also will upgrade and string heavier conductor. This is the final Director Jerry Walter phase of our big construction project—finishing the intertie between the Mashel and Ohop substations. General Manager I apologize for any inconvenience this causes you. We appreciate your Isabella Deditch understanding and patience during this construction project. When completed, the intertie will not only give us the ability to iso- late areas affected by a power outage, but the ability to also transfer cus- tomers between substations when we have to take one substation out for maintenance. The ability to transfer load from one substation to another proved invaluable recently when the Bonneville Power Administration performed routine maintenance on the Lynch Creek Substation. We were able to switch our customers to the Mashel Substation, thereby avoiding a 12-hour power outage for BPA maintenance. That is what we at Ohop are trying to accomplish. It is our misison to provide more system reliability and have fewer and shorter power outages for our members—whenever and however possible.

Isabella Deditch General Manager

32 OCTOBER 2015 WA-50 45710 SE North Bend Way P.O. Box 1426 North Bend, WA 98045-1426 Celebrating National Cooperative Month Telephone: (425) 888-0623 October is National Cooperative Month. Tanner Electric Cooperative and co-ops Toll-free: (800) 472-0208 across the U.S. are celebrating the benefits and values cooperatives bring to their www.tannerelectric.coop members and communities. While co-ops operate in many industries and sectors, seven cooperative principles General Manager set us apart from other businesses: voluntary and open membership; democratic member control; members’ economic participation; autonomy and independence; Steve Walter education, training and information; cooperation among cooperatives; and concern for community. Chief Financial O cer Today, people prefer options and alternatives to big box businesses. The co-op Rob Carr business model is unique and rooted in our local communities. Co-ops help us build a more participatory, sustainable and resilient economy.” Operations Manager TEC is proud to be part of America’s cooperative network, which includes more than 47,000 cooperative businesses. James Anderson TEC is one of more than 900 electric cooperatives, public utility districts and public power districts serving 42 million people in 47 states. Board of Directors President Ed Stephenson Young Entrepreneurs Embrace Cooperative Model Vice President Julie Fromm According to a recent study, “Freelancing in America, A National Survey of the New Treasurer Susan Serrette-Egan Workforce,” some 53 million Americans earn all or part of their income working for Secretary Mike Hodge themselves. At the same time, a growing number of entrepreneurs of all ages—partic- Roger Guay ularly young people—are turning to cooperatives as the business model of choice. Jeff Gillette A great challenge that many people face when starting a co-op is where to find credible information about the business model since it is rarely taught in schools. Kendel Lyman Many young members of electric co-ops get their first taste of creating a coopera- Paul Bay tive from the Youth Tour program. Tanner Electric Cooperative annually sends one Mark Dilger high school student on a weeklong trip to Washington, D.C. As part of their educa- tion, the high school students often establish soda pop or candy co-ops during the week. The profits, or margins, then are distributed back to the members in proportion to their use. It is a simple but effective way of demonstrating how co-ops operate. An electric utility owned Across the globe, people are coming together and turning to co-ops as the solution. by those we serve in: Cooperation works. For an application or more information on the Youth Tour scholarship visit, www. North Bend tannerelectric.coop/content/youth-tour-june-10-17-2016 Ames Lake Youth Tour applications must be received in the Tanner North Bend office by Anderson Island Sunday, November 1 for the next trip, June 10 through 17, 2016.

Tanner Electric Cooperative is an equal opportunity provider and employer

32 OCTOBER 2015 495 E. Columbia River Highway PO BOX 216 OR-60 Clatskanie, Oregon 97016 (503) 728-2163 Office With Public Power Week October 5th through the 9th, we would like to remind our www.clatskaniepud.com customers about the importance of public power, and why we should protect it. In the Northwest, consumer-owned power energizes the most remote rural areas and lights Office Hours: 8 am to 5 pm the largest urban centers. It powers large industrial operations, small residential dwell- Monday through Friday ings, and everything in between. The public invests its trust in consumer-owned utili- ties and they in turn take on an obligation to help advance the values in their com- Please call to report outages munity, such as are energy efficiency, stewardship of the environment, and community (503) 728-2163 service. A spirit of community service is fundamental to public power’s nonprofit, local- control philosophy. Nearly all regional public utilities offer a range of programs such Automated Payment Center as helping low income customers to pay their bills and weatherize their homes. Public 1-855-430-0765 power plays a major role in the Northwest’s decades-long reputation as a national leader in the area of conservation. Publicly owned utilities offer aggressive conservation pro- Board of Directors Don Hooper, President grams and they continue to explore new technologies and build new paths to deliver Bob Wiggins, Vice President cost-effective and innovative energy efficiency measures and services. Merle Gillespie, Secretary Consumer-owned utilities are committed to developing clean and renewable resourc- Stephen D. Petersen, Treasurer es to augment the hydroelectric backbone of the region’s electricity system. They have Linda A. Hooper, Director invested in wind energy and hydro power upgrades, and some have been active in emerging technologies like solar and tidal power. Public power also makes an enor- General Manager mous investment annually in protecting the region’s fish and wildlife resources. The Marc Farmer Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), which supplies wholesale power to most pub- CPUD $10 Bill Credit Drawing lics, spends hundreds of millions of public power customers’ dollars every year on its Account #00162120-05 fish and wildlife program. If this is your account number, As entities owned by the citizens and providing benefit to the public, consumer- please call the office to claim your owned utilities have a legal first right to federal power. They are afforded this priority prize. Congratulations! access to federal power generation and transmission through a legal principle called “public preference.” Most public power utilities in the Northwest buy much or all of their power from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), whose key mission is to Community Calendar deliver the clean, renewable hydropower that is generated at federal dams to the region’s nonprofit, consumer-owned electric utilities. Congress granted preference to ensure October 5 - 9: Public Power Week that the benefits of federal power were passed through to the public at the lowest pos- Safety Trailer Demonstrations, Coffee & sible cost, something only consumer-owned utilities could assure in rural areas. And, Cookies in the lobby, and a drawing for preference was a means of preventing the monopolization of federal power by private prizes! See pages 28 & 29 for details. interests. October 7: Rainier & Clatskanie Public preference is emphasized in the 1937 Bonneville Project Act, which autho- Chambers of Commerce Business rized completion of Bonneville Dam, creation of BPA, and the construction of federal Mixer 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. - CPUD power lines to transmit the power as widely as practicable. The Bonneville Project Act Community Room specifically declares that preference be provided to publicly owned systems to ensure October 12 - 15: Clatskanie PUD staff that hydropower projects are operated for the benefit of the general public, particularly training - Please see information on residential and rural customers. These principles are just as relevant today, and the pref- special office hours page 25. erence rights have been affirmed in subsequent laws impacting the Northwest power October 21: Clatskanie PUD Board system, such as the Regional Power Act passed in 1980 (“Pacific Northwest Electric Meeting Workshop at 5:30 p.m., followed Power Planning and Conservation Act”). The Board and Staff at Clatskanie People’s by regular board meeting at 7 p.m. Utility District have and continue to be diligent in our preservation and protection of October 23: Men of Worth, Clatskanie the public preference power in the Northwest. Arts Commission, 7:30 p.m. Birkenfeld Theatre, Clatskanie Cultural Center Marc Farmer, General Manager

32 OCTOBER 2015 AK-64

P.O. Box 44 Kotzebue, AK 99752 Pinch Me, I think President (907) 442-3491 (Fax) (907) 442-2482 Obama is in Kotzebue Board of Directors It all started back in early July when a number of area officials were asked to President attend a meeting at the Northwest Arctic Craig McConnell Borough. There was something about a White House team coming to Kotzebue Vice President to evaluate the possibility of President Alfred Nanouk Barack Obama coming to Kotzebue. Secretary Did I hear that right? The president Charlie Gregg possibly coming to Kotzebue, Alaska? Well that’s about as far-fetched an idea Treasurer as I’ve ever heard, but what the heck, let’s Allen Jessup Sr. go over and see what’s going on. Wally Carter Sr. Well, I got to the meeting and Air Force One arrives in Kotzebue, marking a historic visit by Dominic Ivanoff expected an “I jokes,” the local terminol- President Barack Obama on September 2. ogy for “I just put one over on you.” But Harold Lambert instead, the meeting started with the John Rae Sr. announcement that a large group of members of an advance White House team was coming to town by mid-July. Herman Reich Sr. Most of us were thinking, “Well, OK, this is interesting, but it seems highly unlikely that the president of the United States of America would be coming to the small town of Kotzebue, General Manager/CEO Alaska.” Brad Reeve Nonetheless, we all surged into action to accommodate the White House advance team. When the team members arrived July 16, they were interested in every aspect of the commu- Kotzebue Electric nity: the number of available rooms, how many rental vehicles are available, meeting spaces, how Association Inc., a locally big the gyms are. They broke up into teams to see the hospital, review landing capacity at the owned utility dedicated airport, and visit Kivalina and the effects of climate change. They all went to the wind site. After to cooperative principles, their departure, all of the organizations involved committed to doing their best to uncover any will make electric energy, and every available resource in the community. and other value-added For more than a month, everyone involved proceeded as if the president’s visit was a done utility services and deal. At the same time, we were holding our collective breath until an actual announcement was products available to its made. On August 24 an official announcement came from the White House saying this was the members’ at the lowest first time a president will visit above the Arctic Circle. The biggest event to ever hit Kotzebue was cost consistent with on. sound economic and The community came together for this historic visit, and we all have a lot of which to be management practices, proud. which improves utility See page 4-5 for more on the services and the quality Brad Reeve President’s historic visit to Kotzebue of life in our service area. General Manager and CEO

32 OCTOBER 2015 Board of Directors AK-105 Chairman Robert L. Beans Sr., Mountain Village There is a Cooperative Difference Vice Chairman Charlie Curtis, Kiana While all electric utilities offer the same product, where it comes

Secretary from makes a difference Phyllis Clough, Old Harbor By Adam Schwartz Treasurer Helena R. Jones, Ambler In the U.S., most people receive their electricity from one of three types of util- Directors Peter Demoski, Nulato ities: investor-owned, municipal-owned Fred Sagoonick, Shaktoolik or through their electric cooperative, Walter G. Sampson, Noorvik which is owned and controlled by the people who use it. [email protected] In the investor-owned model, the cor- poration is owned by stockholders who AVEC’s board of directors, from left, Charlie Alasuk Curtis, Walter Communities Served may not be customers of the utility. IOUs Sampson, Peter Demoski, Helena Jones, Fred Sagoonick, Phyllis Alakanuk Mt. Village Clough and Robert Beans. Ambler New Stuyahok tend to be large corporations, such as Andreafsky Nightmute Anvik Noatak Entergy or Con Edison. IOUs typically serve large cities, suburban areas and some rural areas. Bethel Noorvik Bethel Utilities used to be a privately owned utility before the community became a member of Brevig Mission Nulato Chevak Nunapitchuk AVEC. Eek Old Harbor Ekwok Pilot Station In most cases, IOUs have few employees in the communities where they operate. This, com- Elim Pitkas Point bined with the fact they have outside investors whose sole motive is to make a profit on their Emmonak Quinhagak Gambell Russian Mission investment, generally tends to lead to less personalized service. Consumer surveys confirm IOUs Goodnews Bay St. Mary’s have the lowest customer satisfaction ratings. About 72 percent of the U.S. population is served Grayling St. Michael Holy Cross Savoonga by investor-owned utilities. Hooper Bay Scammon Bay Huslia Selawik Municipal electric systems are government owned. They serve large cities, such as Seattle, or Kaltag Shageluk smaller areas, such as Anchorage. In municipal systems, the city runs the utility with little to no Kasigluk Shaktoolik Kiana Shishmaref meaningful oversight from the citizens. About 16 percent of the U.S. market is served by munici- Kivalina Shungnak pal utilities. Kobuk Stebbins Kotlik Teller Rural electric cooperatives serve the smallest number of consumers—about 12 percent of the Koyuk Togiak Lower Kalskag Toksook Bay market—which equals 42 million people. There are more than 900 electric co-ops in 47 states. Marshall Tununak While co-ops serve the fewest number of people, their electric lines cover more than 75 percent Mekoryuk Upper Kalskag Minto Wales of the U.S. landmass. This is because co-ops provide power where others once refused to go because of the low population density. Electric co-ops rank highest in member satisfaction among the three types of utilities. This is because co-ops serve member-owners, not customers. Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, Inc. As the electric utility business continues to evolve, AVEC is committed to being there for you, 4831 Eagle Street the member, to provide for your electric energy needs. Unlike large IOUs, AVEC is rooted here in Anchorage, AK 99503 the 56 communities it serves spread throughout Alaska. Through the years, AVEC has given back (907) 561-1818 to members by returning capital credits and donating to community events. (800) 478-1818 There is a cooperative difference. You own your co-op, and it is here to serve you. Adam Schwartz is the founder of The Cooperative Way, a consulting firm that helps co-ops succeed. He is an author, speaker and member-owner of the CDS Consulting Co-op. /AlaskaVillage

32 OCTOBER 2015 CA-106 65 S. Roop St. Susanville, CA 96130 Phone (530) 257-4174 Fax (530) 257-2558 www.lmud.org

Board of Directors Abigayle Dunn—6th grade, Johnstonville President Richard Vial Elementary Vice President Fred Nagel Treasurer Jay Dow Jr. H.W. “Bud” Bowden October Student Art Safety Poster Jess Urionaguena We will run a winning poster every month on the back page for the next year. Staff General Manager William H. “Bill” Stewart, CPA

Assistant General Manager Doug Smith

Electric Operations Manager Cort Cortez

Business Office Manager Keri Richards

Energy Services Manager Theresa Phillips IT Operations Technician Nick Dominguez

Executive Assistant Karen Rollings

In case of an outage: If your electricity is off for more than a few minutes, call 257-4174. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. After-hours and weekend calls are answered by a local service and immediately forwarded to standby personnel. The board meets at 5:30 p.m. the fourth Tuesday of each month.

32 OCTOBER 2015 OR-400

698 12th St. SE Suite 210 Case in Point Salem, OR 97301 We were driving through Eastern scorched to the (503) 585-9988 Oregon, and the fire was all around us. ground. OTEC www.oreca.org Smoke filled the air, and it looked like took every officials could close Interstate 84 because precaution— OFFICERS the fire was getting too close to the road. even importing Dave Markham, President We weren’t in any danger, really, except mammoth Christopher Seubert, perhaps of postponing our vacation by a generators from Vice President day. But the people we encountered along Seattle—but Robert MacPherson, the way were understandably troubled. there is only Secretary/Treasurer The cashier at Oregon Trail Museum so much you Alicia Bonesteele, Exec. Committee At-Large in Baker City was worried because her can do when Bob Durham, firefighter husband was battling the you are up against the largest wildfire Exec. Committee At-Large Canyon Creek Complex fire. The kid in the nation. As OTEC’s Manager of Roman Gillen, who filled our gas tank was worried his Communications and Government Immediate Past President family’s log cabin was in the path of a Affairs Lara Petitclerc-Stokes said, “We runaway blaze. We wished them well and are in it for the long haul.” EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR headed out of town, but it was hard to And they were. On August 27 at Ted Case shake the raw emotion of people with so 8:15 p.m.—after almost two weeks of much at stake. battling and rebuilding what had been LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATIVE Wildfires are a way of life in the West, taken from OTEC members living Rachel Kloor but this year was particularly grim. along the Canyon Creek wildfire path— Lives and property can be vanquished electrical power was fully restored. OREGON ELECTRIC CO-OPS in an instant, often the consequence of a “You could hear people hooting Blachly-Lane Electric Co-op Central Electric Co-op random, shifting wind. and hollering in the hills,” said Ned Clearwater Power Company Electricity is another casualty of Ratterman, OTEC’s director of Columbia Basin Electric Co-op wildfires. I followed—via social media— engineering and operations. “People were Columbia Power Co-op the valiant efforts of Oregon Trail shouting, ‘Thank you’ into the night.” Columbia Rural Electric Co-op Electric Co-op to restore service to They were thanking the dedicated Consumers Power Inc. members along the path of the Canyon journeyman linemen working 18-hour Coos-Curry Electric Co-op Creek Complex fire. shifts to get the lights back on. Douglas Electric Co-op OTEC General Manager Werner The Oregon Rural Electric Harney Electric Co-op Buehler knows in this day and age that Cooperative Association applauds the Hood River Electric Co-op communicating with his membership firefighters who held the line against the Lane Electric Co-op is only slightly less important than Canyon Creek Complex fire, and the Midstate Electric Co-op Oregon Trail Electric delivering affordable, reliable electricity. linemen who worked nonstop to restore Consumers Co-op During the fire, OTEC’s Facebook page power. We also applaud those working Salem Electric provided constant updates on OTEC’s behind the scenes to tell their remarkable Surprise Valley Electrification efforts to restore power. story. Umatilla Electric Co-op The news was sometimes bleak. Umpqua Indian Utility Homes were lost, whole communities Ted Case Wasco Electric Co-op were at risk, and poles and wires Executive Director West Oregon Electric Co-op

32 OCTOBER 2015 Escambia River

Manager’s Message

Members acknowledge that $3.96, plus actual postage, is the cost to publish 12 issues a year of Florida Currents (USPS- Celebrating National Co-op Month 8300). Published by Ruralite Services Inc., 5605 NE Elam Young Pkwy., Hillsboro, OR 97124—a not-for-profit Every October, cooperatives are rec- public power districts that serve Oregon cooperative corporation—the ognized for the qualities that make 42 million people in 47 states and magazine serves the communications needs of consumer-owned electric our business model unique, such as employ more than 850,000 people. utilities in Florida. Preferred Periodicals postage paid at Hillsboro, OR 97123 local democratic control, support- Cooperatives play a vital role in and at additional mailing offices. ing and improving the quality of life the economic development and sta- Postmaster: Please send address of the communities we serve and bility of the communities we serve, corrections to 5605 NE Elam Young advancing the economic develop- helping people improve their lives Pkwy., Hillsboro, OR 97124. ment of our area. through an increase in jobs and HOW TO CONTACT FLORIDA CURRENTS Cooperatives are unique because access to goods and services that Have a problem receiving your edition of Florida Currents? Utility we are not-for-profit, democratically otherwise would be more expen- members should contact the local controlled, member-owned enter- Clay R. Campbell sive, lower in quality or simply utility office listed on the back cover. Nonmembers should contact Ruralite prises. Members of co-ops through- unavailable. Services, 5605 NE Elam Young Pkwy., Hillsboro, OR 97124; (503) 718-3717; out the country pool their assets to meet the Cooperatives are extraordinary business email [email protected]. needs of their communities in the form of enterprises. We have an obligation to provide Subscription services: Nonmember food, financial services, purchasing power or reliable, affordable and safe electricity, but we subscriptions $12 (U.S.) per year; $25 manpower—whatever the case may be. take that a step further. We also have a respon- (foreign) per year. Prepayment required. Allow 4 to 8 weeks for first We all remember major hurricanes in our sibility to support our members, enrich schools issue. Be sure to identify which local edition you want to receive. Order community and the devastation that resulted. and enhance our communities. online at www.floridacurrents.com. Many of you also remember the droves of Electric cooperatives were formed because Extra copies: $2 each, pre-payment co-op crews that came to Escambia River 75-plus years ago rural communities did not required. Supply is limited. Identify edition, month and year. Contact Electric Cooperative’s assistance to repair our have electricity. Young folks were leaving farms Ruralite Services. broken system in record time. and small communities to find a brighter Reprint permission: Direct all requests The co-op spirit is alive and well, and future in urban areas. to Ruralite Services. embraced by co-ops across our nation that Rural America was left in the dark. But

MANUSCRIPTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS work together to achieve community and eco- instead of waiting for someone to fix our prob- Please do not send unsolicited nomic advancement and well-being. lem, we turned to each other. We built our materials. If interested in writing for Florida Currents, query first. Include a EREC is proud to be one of more than 900 own utility, and we powered our future. self-addressed stamped envelope for electric cooperatives, public utility districts and That’s what we celebrate each October. n writer’s guidelines. Address requests and queries to Ruralite Services.

DISPLAY ADVERTISING INQUIRIES Contact Jessah Willis October 2015 National Country Market Vol. 4, No. 12 611 S. Congress Ave. Suite 504 Austin, TX 98704 Inside (800) 626-1181 or (512) 441-5200 www.nationalcountrymarket.com Downsizing in a

PRINTED IN FLORIDA Trend Offset Printing Services Big Way 12 10301 Busch Drive North Jacksonville, FL 32218 Homeowners opt for alternative and smaller domiciles. © 2015 Ruralite Services Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in Also In This Issue part without written permission is prohibited. Side Roads 10 Festival Roundup 22 In the Kitchen 16 Outdoor Pursuits 24 Great Picture Hunt 18 Parting Shot 30

Your utility pages: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 25, 26, 28, 29, 32

OCTOBER 2015 3 Oct-2015-final_Layout 1 9/14/15 11:39 AM Page 2 FKEC NEWS OCTOBER 2015 WWW.FKEC.COM

FLORIDA KEYS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION, INC. Member Owned Since 1940 FKEC Implements BOARD OF DIRECTORS Revenue Neutral James J. Boilini District 1, Key Largo • President Rate Adjustment Gretchen Holland District 1, Key Largo • Vice President FKEC will be implementing a revenue Michael H. Puto neutral rate restructure starting with our District 4, Marathon • Secretary November 2015 billing cycle. As a revenue neutral restructure, this change is not Frank N. Hawkins, Jr. District 2, Tavernier • Treasurer designed to increase revenue to the Co-op. The change is designed to more accurately David C. Ritz recover cost and ensure competitive District 1, Key Largo pricing. customers will continue to pay the Craig Belcher This rate restructure is the result of a Purchased Power Charge, which is a direct District 2, Tavernier cost of service study which indicated that pass-through charge from Florida Power & George D. Hertel FKEC was collecting a sufficient amount of Light for all kWh used. District 3, Islamorada revenue, but that the revenue stream was Most FKEC residential consumers use Cale Smith not in alignment with our costs. To remedy between 300 kWh and 3,000 kWh of District 3, Islamorada this, we have restructured the rates to electricity per month. These users will see a collect more revenue from the Daily System decrease over current rates as a result of the Karl M. Wagner District 4, Marathon Access Fee, a fixed revenue stream, and less restructure. Accounts that consume greater from the per kWh Energy Charge, a than 3,000 kWh of electricity will experience variable revenue stream. a slight increase after the restructure, and CONTACT US: As part of the rate change, FKEC also extremely low energy consuming customers (305) 852-2431 • (800) 858-8845 wanted to provide an incentive for the could see a monthly increase in their bill of Pay by Phone 1-855-385-9912 majority of its members to conserve power a few dollars per month if they are using www.FKEC.com and be rewarded by saving money. The under 100 kWh monthly. Mailing Address incentive is for usage at or below 1,000 Just as we are constantly performing P.O. Box 377, Tavernier, FL 33070 kWh per month, for which there will now maintenance and upgrades to maintain a be no Energy Charge. This means members strong electrical system, we are also MEMBERS SHOULD using 1,000 kWh or less could save up to continuously evaluating our rate structure KNOW: $18 per month depending on their and making changes when necessary. Stop Energy Vampires electricity usage. These changes ensure fairness between rate by unplugging devices, The Energy Charge will be charged classes, promote efficient use of energy and using smart strips and each month on all usage in excess of 1,000 maintain rates that are competitive with curbing idle time. kWh at 3.3 cents per kWh for residential our neighbors. Unless otherwise noted, “FKEC NEWS” customers and 2.3 cents for general service For more details regarding the rate writing, design & photography by: Nikki Dunn Cullen • [email protected] customers. Note, the block usage rate only restructuring, call member service at Edited by: Rebecca Callahan Newman applies to the FKEC Energy Charge. All 305-852-2431 or visit www.FKEC.com.

4 OCTOBER 2015

Offices FL-153 Open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday 26733 U.S. Hwy. 27 East/P.O. Box 519 Moore Haven, FL 33471 CEO’s Message (863) 946-6200 Fax: (863) 946-2150 Improving Our System to 214 SR 70 West Lake Placid, FL 33852 (863) 531-5000 Deliver Even Better Service 808 N. Parrott Ave. Okeechobee, FL 34972 During the course of the past two years, we have dedicated (863) 467-5111 an extraordinary amount of time to outage management. Every morning, we dig into the details behind any outage that Power Interruption Number occurred the previous day. Weekly, we gather our team together Moore Haven...... (863) 946-6200 to review our findings and set a course of action to mitigate Phones are answered 24 hours a day, seven what we can. So far, this process has led to an improved trans- days a week, including weekends and holidays. former installation process that includes animal guards. We Please have your location or account number have witnessed a notable decline in animal-caused outages and handy when you call. will continue this system improvement plan. Jeff Brewington Board of Trustees Another program we are evaluating closely is our lightning John “Jack” Coxe, President, District 8 arrestor plan. This year in particular has been one of the worst Lake Josephine, (863) 655-3056 on record for us with lightning strikes. The engineering depart- James “Jim” Aul, Vice President, District 7 ment is reviewing the types of arrestors we install, the installa- Lorida, (863) 441-0441 tion methodology and placement methodology. We will imple- Russell Henderson, Sec./Treas., District 3 ment new strategies in the coming year. Ortona and Palmdale, (863) 946-0865 Donnie Lundy, Trustee, District 1 With 196 outages during the past 12 months caused by trees, Moore Haven, (863) 946-0402 we have taken a hard look at our right-of-way program. This Barney Goodman, Trustee, District 2 year we brought in two firms to work different areas of our ter- Hendry County, (561) 414-8737 ritory and evaluated their effectiveness. We also established a Shannon Hall, Trustee, District 4 right-of-way manager position dedicated to monitoring their Lakeport and Brighton, (863) 946-3242 Ladd Bass, Trustee, District 5 work. From this process, we have established a partnership with Venus and Hicoria, (863) 441-2227 The Davey Tree Expert Company. With Davey’s expertise, we Lee Henderson, Trustee, District 6 expect to have our right-of-way program in top shape in three Highlands Park, (863) 633-9281 to four years, eliminating as many tree-related outages as pos- Angela Hodges, Trustee, District 9 sible. Davey will have to set up several new crews to complete Okeechobee, (863) 801-3140 this program. They prefer to hire from the territory they work. The next meeting of the Board will be at 9 a.m. Look on page 7 for employment information with Davey. October 22 at the Moore Haven headquarters In addition to these programs, we are modernizing our sys- office. Any changes to this schedule will be tems operation center. It is our 24-7 communications gallery. posted in the lobby of all three district offices. We are evaluating programs that track crew locations, link AMI Executive Staff metering information for predictive analysis and tie all this CEO Jeff Brewington together on a single visual platform that will allow our system CFO Jennifer Manning operators to manage outages more efficiently. CTO Jesse Wallace Our mission is exceptional service, and we are dedicated to Dir. of Business Development Paul McGehee continuous improvement to achieve that mission. Dir. of Employee Services Yvonne Bradley Dir. of Engineering Travis Turner Dir. of Member Services Margaret Ellerbee Dir. of Operations Tracy Vaughn

32 OCTOBER 2015 Gulf Coast

NERC and the EPA’s Clean Power Plan In June 2014, the Environmental comprehensive reliability assessments Protection Agency issued its proposed Commentary to identify change in power flows and Clean Power Plan under Section By Gary Smith essential reliability services. While 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. It would President and CEO EPA provides flexibility for meeting have limited carbon dioxide emissions compliance requirements within the from existing stationary electric utility proposed time frame, there appears to generation plants by 30 percent from be less flexibility in providing reliability 2005 emission levels by 2030 and would assurance beyond the compliance period.” have required substantial limits of NERC provides a number of detailed carbon dioxide emissions from electric recommendations that include further generation plants as early as 2020. reserve levels. NERC is not particularly assessment of reliability implications of On August 3, the EPA issued its final interested in cost or generation type. the proposed rule based on independent rule, which is expected to be published NERC’s only objective is to establish and evaluations to stakeholders; coordinated in the Federal Register in late October regulate reliability and security criteria for regional and multi-regional planning; and then become a regulation. Under electric utilities and the electric grid. and assessments to identify areas of the final rule, the EPA delayed the In its comments, NERC says that concern. It also asks the EPA to consider initial implementation of carbon dioxide according to the EPA’s Regulatory a more timely approach that addresses reductions until 2022, but increase Impact Assessment, “generation capacity bulk power system reliability concerns the amount of total carbon dioxide would be reduced between 108,000 and infrastructure deployment. reductions to 32 percent from 2005 megawatts and 134,000 MWs by 2020. NERC routinely analyzes reliability emission levels by 2030. The number of estimated retirements of the bulk power system, including The EPA received millions of identified in the EPA’s proposed rule load requirements, available generation comments on the proposed Clean Power may be conservative if the EPA’s and adequacy of the bulk transmission Plan. PowerSouth and, I assume, all assumptions prove to be unachievable. system. Its comments simply ask the electric utilities filed comments. I sus- Developing suitable replacement capacity EPA to apply those same standards of pect almost all electric utility comments represents a significant reliability reliability measures to implications of the warned of implementation difficulties, challenge, given the constrained time Clean Power Plan. NERC imposes those cost increases, potential reliability issues period for implementation.” same standards on all electric utilities and unachievable time constraints as a NERC notes the EPA’s power plant today. Those standards have produced a result of the rule. Millions of environ- heat rate efficiency improvements will reliable electric grid for the country. mentalists commented that the rule was be difficult to meet since most utilities “There is no way the EPA is going to not tight enough and should impose already have maximized plant operations finalize this rule without being assured even deeper cuts in carbon dioxide emis- and have achieved best practices; greater that the system will be reliable and cost- sions at a much quicker rate. reliance on renewable generation effective,” said EPA Administrator Gina Of the millions of comments filed, will require additional bulk power McCarthy. “We are working with utilities one set the EPA should have viewed as transmission facilities to be developed to on what needs to be tweaked.” critical were those filed by the North access areas with higher-grade wind and However, EPA passed its final rule that American Electric Reliability Corp. solar resources; and increased natural extended the initial implementation only While comments of the electric gas utilization will require challenging two years, but increased carbon dioxide utilities and the environmentalists are pipeline expansion to maintain a reliable reduction levels by an additional 9 per- biased because of their vested interests in source of fuel, especially during the peak cent without implementing a single rec- the issues, NERC is not. winter heating period. ommendation made by NERC to mea- NERC is an electric utility industry “Essential reliability services may be sure reliability implications of the rule. organization that has no affiliation with strained by the proposed Clean Power In announcing the rule, the White any utility other than to regulate and pro- Plan,” NERC says. “The anticipated House stated the Clean Power Plan will vide oversight of the bulk power grid’s changes in the resource mix and the establish our president’s legacy. What that reliability, security and national generation new dispatching protocols will require legacy will be remains to be seen. n

26 OCTOBER 2015 FL-154

Offices GCEC President’s Message 722 West Highway 22 P. O. Box 220 Wewahitchka, FL 32465 (850) 639-2216 or (800) 333-9392 October is National

9434 Highway 77 P. O. Box 8370 Cooperative Month Southport, FL 32409 (850) 265-3631 or (800) 568-3667 Gulf Coast Electric Cooperative invites you to celebrate coop- eratives in Florida—and across America—during National 6243 East Highway 98 Cooperative Month. Panama City, FL 32404 Every October, cooperatives are recognized for the qualities Phone: (850) 481-1188 that make the business model unique. Seven cooperative prin- ciples set us apart from other businesses: voluntary and open www.gcec.com membership; democratic member control; member’s economic participation; autonomy and independence; education, training and information; cooperation among cooperatives; and con- CEO/General Manager cern for community. Michael E. White Cooperative membership is unique. Electric cooperatives are Waylon Graham committed to providing members with safe, reliable and afford- Trustees able electricity, but there is more to it than that. Co-ops exist President Waylon Graham to serve their members, but they also play a major role in their Vice President Jimmy Black local communities. We are local, and that means we care about Secretary Eddie Jones our community. That is why we participate in programs such as Treasurer Rupert Brown Project Helping Hand, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Doug Birmingham Association’s Washington Youth Tour and offer safety demon- Robert Byrd Gary Cox strations, just to name a few. Kinneth Daniels We are proud to be part of America’s cooperative network, Betty Moore which includes more than 47,000 businesses. GCEC is one of more than 900 electric cooperatives, public utility districts and Trustees normally meet the third Tuesday public power districts serving 42 million people in 47 states. of each month at 12:30 p.m. CST. The Electric co-ops provide power for many Floridians, with 16 board meets at the Wewahitchka office in distribution electric co-ops serving more than 1 million mem- even-numbered months (February, April, bers. Other co-op businesses thrive in our state, too, with Florida’s June, August, October and December) and co-op economy employing tens of thousands of residents. the Southport office in odd-numbered In the 1930s, rural America needed electricity just as much months (January, March, May, July, as anyone else. It was a major challenge that big utilities were September and November). not interested in tackling, so the men and women of rural America banded together and made it happen. The mission of GCEC: Fulfilling the That is why we celebrate cooperatives each October. We cele- changing needs of our membership brate the power of working together for the common good and and communities by providing cost improving the quality of life for our friends and neighbors. effective, reliable and safe utility In addition to utilities, Florida residents are served coopera- services through a dedicated and tively by credit unions, food co-ops, agricultural co-ops and more. responsive workforce. To learn more about GCEC, visit www.gcec.com.

32 OCTOBER 2015 TO REPORT POWER OUTAGE CALL: 1-877-282-3656

CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS 210 Metheny Road SmartHub: Take Control of Your Wauchula, Florida 33873 Hours 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., M-F Telephone: 1-800-282-3824 Electric Account FAX: 866-201-1814 SmartHub is PRECO’s new innovative tool for account MANATEE SERVICE CENTER management, but what can it do for you? SmartHub 14505 Arbor Green Trail can help you take control of your electricity and your Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202 electric account like never before. Hours 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., M-F Telephone: 1-800-282-3824 SmartHub has features that make managing your account as Fax: 941-752-4928 easy as possible. Whether through the Web, or your smartphone INDIAN LAKE ESTATES or tablet, you’ll be able to pay your bill, view your electricity use, 17363 County Road 630 contact customer service and much more. Randy Shaw Lake Wales, Florida 33898 Log in, view your billing history and make a payment with General Manager & CEO PEACE RIVER ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE For your convenience, a payment drop just a couple of clicks…or taps, if you’re using the app. Review your box is located at the front gate. Payments actual electricity use and see how your use is trending over time, will be posted on the next business day. which will allow you to take steps to reduce your consumption and lower your bill. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Making payments through SmartHub is fast and easy. The first time you make a payment John Martin through the Web or on your Mobile Device, you can securely store your payment PRESIDENT information for future transactions. The next time you need to pay your bill, it Hollis Albritton will only take a few clicks. VICE PRESIDENT You can also manage your account notifications. Through SmartHub on Sam Rawls SECRETARY/TREASURER the Web, select how you want to be notified about your bill, including email and Maurice Henderson text messaging. To help you keep your electric bill as low as possible, you can set ASST. SECRETARY/TREASURER electric use thresholds so that you’ll know when you’re using more than you’d like. Ellen Bachman Reporting a power outage is a snap from the SmartHub mobile app. DIRECTOR There’s no need to call the office, just let us know with a few taps. You can also Leonard Crawley DIRECTOR contact PRECO with a question or a service request. SmartHub’s Contact Us Willie Dawes feature makes it easy. DIRECTOR Want to get the latest PRECO news and information? Stay connected Chris Portale DIRECTOR with us through the SmartHub news feed. You’ll get the latest news, updates and Bruce Vickers more from PRECO, all without leaving the app or the web page. DIRECTOR “Go green” and reduce the amount of paper in your mailbox by signing BOARD MEETING up for Paperless Billing. You’ll receive a notice by email or text when your bill is ready for ATTENDANCE viewing on SmartHub. Any PRECO member may attend Beginning October 5th, access SmartHub by visiting www.preco.coop or by downloading a Board Meeting. Due to building the app on your mobile device through the Apple App Store (iPhone or iPad) or Google Play security requirements and for us to facilitate attendance, members (Android phone or tablet). wishing to attend a Board Meeting REMEMBER THESE TWO IMPORTANT THINGS ABOUT SMARTHUB: should contact the Cooperative in a timely manner for logistical 1. In order to take advantage of all the features of SmartHub, first you must register on information regarding the meeting. the Web or through the App.

UPCOMING BOARD 2. SmartHub will not be available for download, registration and use until October 5th. MEETING DATES October 20, 2015 November 17, 2015 December 15, 2015

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15-0117_PREC_OCT__FINAL.indd 14 9/11/15 11:32 AM Inside KIUC From the Chairman

Our progress at KIUC toward That’s expensive. Right now, we’re achieving our ambitious renewable backing up solar with oil. But we want energy goals just keeps building, but the to reduce our use of some of our older risks we face are also growing. oil-fired power plants because they’re As we’ve mentioned before in more expensive to operate. We’re Currents, we expect to reach our goal of investigating several ways to do that. 50 percent renewable energy by 2023 One is through efficiency so we can with years to spare, and we’ve started reduce our overall power demand. planning how to reach the state’s We’ve been giving away thousands of goal of 100 percent renewable energy energy-efficient light bulbs and offering generation by 2045. rebates on the purchase of more efficient The state set another goal, of appliances. The effect has been dramatic. reaching 1990 levels of greenhouse gas In the last 10 years, the average emissions by 2020. Thanks to more household on Kaua‘i has reduced its efficient generation, the Green Energy monthly electric use from 520 kilowatt- Team biomass plant, and the dramatic hours a month to about 450 today. investments in solar power by our Another way is to shift some electric cooperative and our community, we demand into the daytime hours. We and financial analysis of a pumped expect to reach that level early as well— recently asked the Public Utilities storage project on the west side, using about 2018. Commission to approve a test program solar power to pump water uphill during That’s the good news. The bad news to offer discounted rates to a limited the day and running it back down is that all this utility innovation isn’t group of participants to encourage them through a turbine to make electricity at without challenges. to use more electricity when our cheaper night. Many renewables—and our exposure solar power is abundant. While we’re proud to hit more is primarily to solar power—are Still another way is to store solar renewable energy milestones this year, intermittent. At night and when it’s power so we can deliver it at night. we know there are still many challenges cloudy, solar isn’t producing any power Batteries are one solution. We’re that lie ahead. at all. hopeful that their price and technology That means we maintain two will continue improving. With aloha, generation systems—one for when the As we’ve talked about previously, Jan TenBruggencate sun’s shining, another for when it’s not. we’re moving ahead with engineering

Elected directors and KIUC staff at the annual meeting. Photo by Shelley Paik

September 2015 5

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