Hey, guy! Watch out for guy wires!
Contents
1. Your Touchstone Energy Partner ner KE A Looking at the poles of your electric cooperative s distri bution system you may be tempted to think the guy wire doesn t look that important All it does is go from the pole to an anchor in the ground and serves as extra support It can t be nearly as important as the wires between the poles that carry electricity to your home right Not quite Guy wires should be treated with as much respect as powerlines In December of 2010 a broken guy wire caused a power outage for 8 500 members of the River Valley Electric Cooperative Branson Missouri The guy wire broke reducing tension on the power lines which knocked out a breaker which fed three substations One of the most important functions of the guy wire is to keep tension on lines and to prevent sag If the lines sag they can slap into each other in winds If you see a broken limp or sagging guy wire or hit one with your tractor or vehicle be sure to let your elec tric cooperative know Even the plastic sleeve serves an important function It makes the guy wire more visible to snowmobilers during the winter months Do guy wires serve any function in protecting the lines from lightning No but since the guy wire 1s attached to an anchor driven into the Earth it is an easy path to the ground for lightning Guy wires might not carry power but they keep power lines and poles where they belong for a reliable distribu tion system I2. 1 large onion chopped 16 oz can kidney beans not drained 16 oz can small butter beans not drained 16 oz can pork and beans 2 T white sugar 1 3 c brown sugar packed Y4 c ketchup Ys c BBQ sauce I use Cookies 2 T prepared mustard 2 T molasses 2 tsp chili powder 1 tsp salt 2 tsp pepper Put all of the ingredients in a crockpot and heat Change air filter to save money amp energy It s hot this summer That means your air conditioning system is working hard to keep you comfortable This energy saving tip can help your cooling system operate more efficiently and Change your air filter regularly It only takes a couple of min utes to change the air filter in your heating cooling system It s simple and easy As TogetherWeSave com has shown changing 12 hours of laptop Internet access na 100 hot pots of coffee 319 _ pieces of toast nicely ely browned Sources U S Department of Energy National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Connections August 2011 your filter every month can save you 82 a year A dirty air filter makes your system work harder to keep you cool which wastes energy Changing your air filter regularly helps to ensure efficient opera tion and keep your electricity bill in check What s more a dirty air filter allows dust and dirt to build up in your system Changing your air filter regularly can reduce the need for costly maintenance
3. 50 gallons To avoid seasonal high wholesale prices interruptible water heating is primarily controlled during June July August and portions of Decem ber January and February ETS water heating Electric Thermal Storage ETS water heating system uses inexpen sive off peak electricity to charge a water heater with sufficient storage capacity to supply the member s hot water needs over an extended period each day when the electric supply is interrupted during the on peak hours the following day ETS water heaters are recharged for eight hours each day generally between 11 p m and 7 a m Typically a 105 gallon storage capacity is used for ETS water heating CI amp A programs The Interruptible Commercial Industrial and Agricul tural CI amp A program allows Brown County REA GRE to reduce capacity and energy requirements during peak load conditions by interrupting all or a portion of a CI amp A member s electric load Brown County REA has Interruptible C amp I customers who agree to reduce their electrical energy load to an agreed upon Predetermined Demand Level PDL measured in kilowatts kW for up to six hours per occurrence Other CI amp A customers participate in the full interruptible with generator backup program C amp I with GenSet and agree to transfer their entire electricity load to a customer owned generator for up to 10 hours per occurrence Interruptible irrigation Interruptible irrigation is designed
4. and prevent damage to your system When winter arrives it s just as important to change your air filter regularly Your heating system needs to work as efficiently as possible to keep you warm and a clean air filter helps it do that Experts recommend turning your system off before changing the air filter Make sure that the arrow on the filter which indicates the direction of the airflow is pointing with the air flow When you ve made the change turn your system back on To save time it s a good idea to keep a couple of spare filters on hand For other tips on how to save energy visit Touchstone Energy Cooperatives energy saving website www TogetherWeSave com or call the efficiency experts at your local electric cooperative me Ae Staff notes Report card allows us to compare co op statstics Each year we receive from our lenders a statistical analysis comparing Brown County REA to many dif ferent groups of electric cooperatives Those groups include co ops our size co ops growing at the same rate as BCREA co ops with the same power supply Wade Hensel General Manager co ops in Minnesota and all the co ops in the United States These comparisons are reviewed with the Board of Directors to provide information to the board on how the cooperative is doing in terms of cost service rates and financial stability This month we are reviewing with the board a Key Ratio Trend Analysis done by Cooperative F
5. generated numerous phone calls and questions to Brown County REA regarding our load man agement programs Here s a refresher on the workings of the programs The basics Load management or demand re sponse is a Strategy that Great River Energy GRE our wholesale power supplier uses to reduce the demand for electricity during occasional high demand periods such as hot summer days Demand response helps GRE to avoid the building of high cost peak ing plants or the purchase of high cost energy in the wholesale market Brown County REA has more than 3 300 load Receivers like this one attach to the management receivers at members side of your home and control your locations throughout the system More hal Hester ACOE eet oar for than 200 000 co op members from itioner during times of high power demand the 28 cooperatives which make up GRE participate in demand response programs through their local cooperative The cost of electricity is constantly changing The kilowatt hour delivered at dinner time is far more expensive than the one delivered at midnight Our load management programs exist to take advantage of that cost difference to keep costs lower for all our members GRE purchases all of its energy from the Midwest Independent Service Op erator MISO energy market MISO is responsible for matching the amount of electricity generated to the amount being consumed 24 hours a day seven days a week 365 days a year A
6. s air filter Plus a tube had to be run to the basement drain for the moisture dehumidification These heat pump water heaters cost about 1 500 to 2 000 plus installa tion which takes a bit longer than a standard install However federal tax credits pay up to 300 in 2011 only The trial period will conclude this fall These results will help your elec tric cooperative decide on the future path for its water heater program Connections August 2011 Introducing the HAL 9000 of floor cleaning robots Mint While the dream to put a robot butler in ev ery home that cooks mows the lawn and does laundry stalled homeowners can at least own a robot that will perform their floor cleaning The Mint Automatic Floor Cleaner from Evolu tion Robotics sweeps and mops hard floors Using dry and pre moistened cleaning cloths Mint picks up dust dirt and pet hair Its compact design gets into tight spaces under furniture and into other areas that are hard to reach with traditional mops and sweepers Guided by the NorthStar Navigation System cube Mint tracks where it cleans so it does not miss a spot The sys tem works like an indoor GPS and helps Mint keep track of where it has been and where it needs to go After Mint finishes cleaning open areas and around obstacles it per g The Mint along with its navigation system square unit will clean your hard surface floors forms a final edge cleani
7. to provide member cooperatives a way to eliminate the demand created by ir rigation systems from their billing peaks Irrigation systems may be interrupted once per day for four hours during the cooling season May through September GRE uses its best efforts to schedule irrigation control times on a consistent basis each day usually from 4 to 8 p m Brown County REA greatly appreciates all the members who participate in load management to contribute to keep ing rates lower for all If you have questions on whether or not control is taking place on any given day go to www greatriverenergy com and click on the Load Management tab on the lower right side of the page 5 O a Mother Nature sets off stormy fireworks July 1 causing outages at nearby co ops Some electric co op members were not starting up fireworks early last month but chain saws instead A July 1 storm caused damage at several electric co ops service areas knocking down buildings trees and power lines Your local electric co op had minor outages Line crews spent most of their time helping neighboring electric co ops restore power Helping others is one of the coopera tive principles stated Federated s Joe Marthaler operations manager You never know when it could be your co op We lend a hand so when Mother Nature strikes we can get the co op members back on as quickly as possible I commend our line crews for work ing over the
8. ed Luke Malmgren and Tanner Smith Connections August 2011 and phone number Thanks for sharing Chuckwagon Beans by Linda Olson St James 1 1b bacon 1 8 tsp pepper 3 lb ground beef Ya tsp salt 1 med onion chopped 1 T dry mustard 74 tsp garlic powder 1 2 c catsup 3 cans 1 lb 12 oz size Bush s Baked Beans Heat oven to 375 Fry bacon until crisp Drain Cook ground beef and onion until done Mix the ground beef with all of the ingredients except the bacon Crumble three fourths of bacon and add to mixture Bake 90 minutes Crumble and sprinkle remaining bacon on top of the beans The Value of Electricity A dollar s worth can get you 360 intense hours of gaming ise hours of watching TV 12 Call baror cligging Call 48 hours in GOP TATE vance before digging more than 12 deep 1 800 252 1166 save you money vaiimae freshly ironed shirts Eggs tra Eggs tra read all about it Share egg recipes Share with us your eggs iting recipes whether it s egg bake egg salad omelets deviled eggs or even quiche Mail to Editor Federated Rural Electric PO Box 69 Jackson MN 56143 0069 or e mail to christoffer federatedrea coop Otherwise drop it off at your local electric co op Add your name Calico Bean Bake by Julie Halvorson Madelia 1 Ib bacon cooked crisp amp cut into pieces 1 lb hamburger browned with onion amp drained
9. eowners hardly notice their service is being interrupted However during the recent events of extreme heat dew points and humidity some members reported that their air conditioners were having trouble maintaining a comfort able temperature during the cycling periods Even some air conditioners not on load management programs struggled to keep up during the extremes If you have a central air conditioner or heat pump that is more than three years old and has not had a tune up in the last two years you may want to have it checked over to see that all parts of the system are operating properly Submit proof of the tune up to BCREA and receive a 25 credit on your electric bill Interruptible water heating Interruptible water heaters are interrupted for up to eight hours on days of high electrical demand high wholesale energy prices and or system emergencies An interruptible water heating system has sufficient storage capacity to sup ply the user s hot water needs over the peak period when the electric supply is interrupted Once the signal is sent to the load control receiver power can be shut off to the water heater for up to eight hours during a control event all months of the year when needed If a member uses the tank s capacity of hot water while under load control it will not begin heating again until Connections August 2011 after the control time has ended The minimum storage capacity to qualify for load management is
10. f one gets damaged call your co op it needs to be repaired It s hard to predict the future but one thing seems certain new government regulations will increase the cost of electricity We want to work with you to keep your electric bills We re controlling costs through and no matter what the future holds we ll continue to put you our members We re looking out for you our member owners Brown County Inside this issue A Rural Electrical Pa Association Load management makes a difference Page 4 C ti ops amp b i onnecting our co ops amp members Load management options Page 5 to a progressive future Connections This publication focuses on CAP s members programs and events As this is the official member publication member s story ideas letters to the editor and comments are welcomed Andrea Christoffer CCC Editor 56143 0069 Connections USPS 010 456 is published monthly by Federated Rural Electric 77100 US Hwy 71 Jackson MN 56143 Subscriptions Members 5 a year Nonmembers 10 a year Periodicals postage paid at Jackson MN and additional mailing offices POSTMASTER Send address changes to Connections PO Box 69 Jackson MN Owned by those it serves Printed by Livewire Printing Jackson on recycled paper with soy ink W Caren The next generation of hot water heater Heat pump water heaters undergo local testing The majority of co op members are familiar wi
11. he discussion with area legislators recently hosted at BCREA e Reviewed staff and director meeting reports plus individual director reports The next meeting will be on August 18 2011 at the BENCO office in Mankato Connections August 2011
12. holiday weekend and sacrificing their own plans said Mike Heidemann Brown County REA line superintendent Line crews rise up to the challenge of seeing how many members can be restored as quickly as possible added Mark Anderson South Central opera tions manager Federated linemen Mort VanDeVere George Madden and Joe Marthaler as sisted at Lyon Lincoln Electric Co op based in Tyler putting in 47 hours each over three days This co op had all members without power due to an EF 2 tornado and the loss of transmission line poles Crews helped restore power to about 1 500 co op members The co operative s headquarters building even experienced significant storm damage OLN Renville Sibley Co op Power Association in Danube had 1 538 members without power with the longest outage just shy of five days Brown County Rural Electri cal Association crews helped July 1 4 working 288 hours as a group BCREA line crews involved Dylan Maas Larry Soukup Tom Hillesheim Adam Fischer Brandon Havemeier Mike Suess and Pat Harkin Not pictured Joe Soukup and Steve Walter South Central Electric s line crews assisted Redwood Electric Cooperative July 1 4 Redwood had about 900 members out of power July 1 All but a handful were restored by 7 p m July 4 Linemen that lent a helping hand Nick Willardson John Husby Matt Winkelman Greg Giese Mark Meier Troy Determan Adam Johnson and Keith Scheidt Not pictur
13. inance Corporation They have assembled 145 ratios for review The report shows that BCREA has an aggressive program of retiring or paying back capital credits to our members while still maintaining quite low rates BCREA retires nearly twice as much in capital credits each year compared to the equity than do most cooperatives nationally Your cooperative s rates are among the lowest in the state nation or in any of the other comparison groups Where Brown County REA really shines is in service to our members For the last five years your cooperative has had either the very best outage record in the state or right next to the best Even with the very challeng ing and difficult weather we had in 2010 the overall outage record was among the best in the state and the very best among all the cooperatives with the same power supply BCREA has a great crew dedicated to serv ing you and that shows each year as we review these ratios It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors to provide the direction necessary for your cooperative and this is one of the tools your Board uses to help make these decisions Shield your property Protect your home from burglary floods fires and more Heartland Security systems automatically notify the authorities in the event of emergencies They can even monitor livestock facilities Call 1 888 264 6380 eye Brown County Rural Electrical pa Association Brown County Rural Elec
14. ng along walls and furniture and then returns to where it started Smart sensors help Mint avoid area rugs and raised carpet transitions detect areas that are too low to enter and even avoid falling down stairs What do you have to do Simply attach your cleaning cloth of choice In sweep mode Mint uses a dry sweeping cloth to pick up dust bunnies pet hair and grit from your floor In mop mode Mint cleans with a pre moistened clean ing cloth and a special back and forth mopping motion to pick up deeper dirt and grime Mint works with commonly available disposable cleaning cloths or with re usable mi crofiber cloths These microfiber cloths can be re washed and re used hundreds of times Mint can map and clean up to 1 000 square feet either in a large open space or by discovering adjacent rooms In mop mode the cleaning area is restricted to 250 square feet to optimize cleaning while the cleaning cloth is wet Mint s dual modes let you maintain all your hard surface floors with one device Since Mint is not a vacuum no bins require emptying or filters need replacement Mint includes two C batteries two dry sweeping microfiber cloths one wet mopping microfiber cloth power adapter quick start guide and user manual The floor cleaning robot is backed by a one year warranty Mint sells for approximately 200 and is available from online retailers like Amazon com er yourself when it comes to power tool safety Power up on power tool
15. nit uses roughly half the electricity of a conventional electric water heater We are about halfway through the test year and are impressed with the results so far Belanger stated We are seeing significant energy savings and it is more than we anticapated Locally Federated employee and member Andrea Christoffer and her Round Lake family are testing the heat pump water heater I am quite impressed with the water heater sav ings We had a 100 gallon Vaughn water heater from the co op Our heat pump water heater is located in the back corner of our basement which is open to the fam ily room Christoffer stated In that corner of the basement the temperature is definitely about 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the basement In the summertime it s the coolest area in the whole house plus it dehumidifies too The heat pump water heater sounds like a dehumidifier running due to the compressor After our morning show ers the heat pump will run most of the morning to re heat that water using the indoor air in heat pump mode During the coldest days of winter we pushed one button to switch it off the heat pump mode and to electric ele ment mode added Dean Christoffer It also has a hybrid mode where both the heat pump and elements are used I was a little concerned about the maintenance of the unit with more moving parts Dean stated Periodi cally you have to blow off the unit
16. s consumers use more electricity MISO must increase the number of generators needed to supply that energy As more generators are brought online the price of electricity increases Load management programs allow us to influence the amount of load consumed during peak times Hrown County ILA will be closed tor Labor Day September 5 OGOOQ0OO0OOQ0GOQO AT f 060000006000 C pews will be on call in case of outages Connections August 2011 A load of load management programs If you don t participate in any load management program you have a variety to choose from Check out the different options and see if one might work for you Cycled air conditioning Cycled air conditioning 1s avail able to members who have central air conditioning units and or hard wired room air conditioners which are connected to a load control radio receiver provided by the cooperative The receiver cycles the cooling system on and off to minimize extreme peaks in electricity demand that are caused when every air conditioner operates at the same time When air conditioning is being controlled a unit will be cycled off for approximately 15 of every 30 minutes Only the compressor is turned off during the cycle period the fan continues to run Under the program rules cooling systems can be controlled up to six hours per day for no more than 200 hours per cool ing season Typically when air conditioners are being controlled hom
17. safety tips e Never carry a tool by the cord e Never yank the cord to disconnect it from the receptacle e Keep cords away from heat oil and sharp edges including the cutting surface of a power saw or drill e Disconnect tools when not in use before servicing and when changing accessories such as blades bits etc e Avoid accidental starting Do not hold fingers on the switch button while carrying a plugged in tool e Use gloves and appropriate safety footwear when using electric tools e Store electric tools in a dry place when not in use e Do not use electric tools in damp or wet locations un less they are approved for that purpose Connections August 2011 e Ensure that cords from electric tools do not present a tripping hazard e Remove all damaged portable electric tools from use and tag them Do Not Use e Use double insulated tools Double insulated tools help protect against electrical shock An electrical shock in a tool can occur for example from worn wiring that lets bare wire touch the frame of an appliance Double insulated tools have an outer casing of plastic or some other nonconductive material and are the only tools with two wire plugs sold today that are approved by the Underwriters Laboratories UL e Keep work areas well lit when operating electric tools e If you use extension cords make sure the cords are well maintained and in good working order Courtesy of safeelectrici
18. th the co op s water heater program Howev er a new option is being tested by 15 Minnesota electric co ops Last fall Great River Energy GRE initiated a test of three brands of heat pump water heaters stated Vicki Belanger GRE test program coordina tor We sought co op employees with four members in the household so we would have a standard comparison Three different brands were selected for the test Each household had to have a meter installed on the existing co op water heater to see how much electricity it used and then meter the electricity used on the heat pump water heater as well Water heating can account for up to 25 percent of the energy consumed in a home according to the U S Depart ment of Energy Heat pump water heaters look similar to standard tank water heaters the main difference is where the heat comes from and how much energy is used Inside a heat pump water heater a refrigerant passes through an evapora tor where it absorbs heat from the air The heated refrigerant then moves a compressor that raises its temperature before it is used to heat the water in the tank In other words the heat pump water heater uses electricity to move heat from one place to another rather than Cap off your savings with a heat pump water heater Heat pump waters heat ers are currently being tested by co op members Are they the future Read to find out generate heat As a result the u
19. trical Assn 24386 State Hwy 4 PO Box 529 Sleepy Eye MN 56085 E mail address bcrea browncountyrea coop Website www browncountyrea coop Office hours 8 a m to 4 30 p m Monday Friday Wade Hensel General Manager Board of Directors Thomas Hayes President 228 8954 James Mickelson Vice President 794 6298 James D Hanson Sec Treasurer 877 3631 Christ Christensen 249 3460 Robert Berg Jr 359 2158 Brad Sprenger 877 2633 Allen Hanson 4389 6987 Reuben Kokesch 359 2112 Elmer Guggisberg 354 8320 The Board of Directors meets the last Thursday of each month Board meeting highlights The Brown County REA Board of Direc tors held its monthly board meeting July 29 at the Brown County REA office in Sleepy Eye Discussion and or action were taken on the following agenda items e Reviewed and approved the June 2011 board meeting minutes new member ap plications member cancellations disburse ments and payments to estates e Reviewed and approved June 2011 pay roll and May 2011 financial statements e Heard reports on the underground and overhead construction progress and early July storm assistance to Renville Sibley Electric Cooperative See Page 6 e Discussed Great River Energy s contribu tions to flood relief in Minot North Dakota e Reviewed and discussed the Key Ratio Trend Analysis prepared by Cooperative Finance Corporation e Reported on the MREA District 5 meet ing and t
20. ty org Brown County Briefs Grab the phone before you grab gt the shovel One call gets your utility lines marked W and protects you from injury and ex pense Always call before you dig 1 800 252 1166 or 811 It s smart it s safe and it s the law Round up meeting The Brown County REA Round Up Trust Board will meet Tues day August 16 at 7 p m Member Advisory Council The next meeting of the Brown County REA Member Advisory Council will be Monday Septem ber 19 at 7 30 p m Radio receiver upgrade Work is in progress to upgrade Brown County REA s load man agement radio receivers the gray box that controls your water heater air conditioner heat pump generator etc during peak us age to a version which will be compatible with a new frequency The process will take place by township until the entire service area is upgraded between now and January 1 2013 An automated message will be delivered to your phone to alert you when work is taking place in your area The contractor will need access to your electric panel to change and re connect the receiver If you have a radio receiver that is no longer in use or if you have removed a receiver while re siding or other work on your home and it has not been reconnected please contact us Thank you 5 Gye Load control takes a load off the distribution system and your bills The recent waves of extreme heat and humidity have
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