Member Advisory Committee hears co-op concerns
Members are the backbone of Capital Electric Cooperative.
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Harlan Fuglesten, communications and government relations director for the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives, discussed the status of different legislative bills and the future of renewable resources. |
To keep the lines of communication open between the cooperative and its owners, Capital Electric holds a Member Advisory Committee meeting once every year. Committee members hear cooperative updates, discuss current concerns and future plans, provide feedback, eat lunch and share fellowship.
The co-op hosted a Member Advisory Committee meeting Feb. 7. More than 20 members heard updates on the Legislature, the territory dispute, generation and transmission rates, co-op work plans and more.
Lars Nygren, general manager of Capital Electric, reported that the coop and Montana-Dakota Utilities (MDU) presented their case to the N.D. Supreme Court. He said the two companies have met more than 20 times to negotiate a new service-area agreement. Nygren said they continue to make progress.
Harlan Fuglesten, communications and government relations director for the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives, provided a legislative update. He discussed the status of different bills and the future of renewable resources.
“It’s a new world, and we need to be a part of it. We need to understand it and be on the cutting edge,” he said.
“Through incentives, research and technological development, we can achieve a voluntary goal of having 10 percent of our electric generation come from renewable resources by the year 2015.”
Following a short discussion on fossil fuels, Nygren discussed past and present rates of Western Area Power Administration (Western) and Basin Electric Power Cooperative, two of the generation and transmission (G&T) companies that sell electricity to Capital Electric. Nygren speculated that Western’s rates will continue to rise because of the ongoing drought. He said he also believes Basin’s rates may also rise in order to cover the cost of future power plants and transmission lines. In an effort to absorb the hydropower rate increases, Nygren said Capital Electric has set up a reserve fund to deflect a co-op rate increase. However, he warned that if Basin Electric raises rates in the future to build necessary infrastructure, Capital Electric may ultimately have to pass on a portion of the increase to its members.
“Our members haven’t seen a general rate increase since 1985, but the honeymoon may be over,” he said.
The Member Advisory Committee was then asked to fill a position on the Operation Round Up board of directors. Curtis Anderson, longtime friend and director of the charitable trust, passed away in January. To fill the open position, the committee nominated member Phil McKenzie, who will serve a three-year term.
Following the election, the manager of engineering and operations provided work plan updates. Ron Lipp detailed two upcoming projects: one by the University of Mary, and the other by Fairview Cemetery. He then talked about converting transformers, adding a substation, reading meters automatically and replacing old lines.
Along with outdoor updates,Nygren announced the need to make some internal updates. He said the co-op is planning to add on to the current headquarters facility in Bismarck. Tentative plans include creating more equipment storage and providing more office space.
To close the meeting, Nygren informed the committee that the annual meeting will be held June 5 at the Ramkota. He thanked them taking time out of their schedules to attend the meeting and for providing a voice on behalf of the membership.