Basin Today May-June 2017

B A S I N T O D AY BASIN EL EC T RIC P OW ER COOPER AT I V E

|

M AG A ZINE

LOCAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE

CO-OPS HELP

BALANCE M AY | JUNE 2017

ENERGY USE

Phillip Seiler (left) and Justice Fulcher enjoy the toys at Energy Capital Cooperative Child Care’s open house May 15, 2017, in Hazen, ND. Basin Electric, together with seven other employers in Mercer County and support from the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives, formed Energy Capital Cooperative Child Care to address the child care deficiency in Mercer County. The center is known as New Bethel Center, named after its location, the former New Bethel Congregational Church. New Bethel Center operates as a cooperative and families whose children attend the center and businesses who support it are its members. The child care center, which officially opened May 30, is licensed for 77 full-time children ages infant to 12 years. Basin Electric/Dakota Gasification Company has 14 guaranteed spots at the facility. http://bit.ly/ECCCCOpen

CONTENTS VOLUME 20

|

NUMBER 3

ON THE COVER Knowing the components of the electric bill is important to helping keep the bill low. One of the components factors in the system peak, or the time in which the highest use of electricity happens within the membership. Understanding how that works and managing it can help reduce the amount members are billed each month. Check out the story on pg. 9 to learn more.

IN EVERY ISSUE 2 CEO and general manager column: Paul Sukut 4 In brief 14 Member focus: A modern facility made possible with co-op support 16 Feature series: A day in the life of ... Project Coordinations Rep. Kristie Ching 18 Employee highlights FEATURE STORIES 6 Basin Electric receives Extraordinary Employer Support Award 9 Power to keep the electric bill low 1 2 Survey results show improving safety culture at Basin Electric CONTRIBUTORS

Editor:

Andrea Blowers (ablowers@bepc.com)

Publications manager:

Mary Miller

Graphic designer:

Nicole Perreault

Photographers:

Chelsy Ciavarella, Jade Neumann, & Greg DeSaye

Writers:

Tracie Bettenhausen, Chris Gessele, Tammy Langerud, Angela Magstadt, & Joan Dietz

Use your smartphone barcode scanner to view stories online.

MAY - JUNE 2017 | 1

CEO A ND G E NE R A L M A N AG E R C OL UMN

PAUL SUKUT OUR VOICE IS BEING HEARD There’s nothing like a trip to the nation’s capital to humble a person. Within those historic, beautiful buildings, policies and decisions are being made that have the potential to change the course of our country.

I have traveled to Washington, D.C., throughout my life for various reasons. I especially take joy in watching the youth groups tour the nation’s capital.

Many of these kids have grown up in rural communities, and these tours are the first time they have traveled beyond their home state. Seeing their aweinspired faces brings me back to my youth, growing up in Dickey County, ND, and attending the James Valley Electric Co-op annual meetings. (The ice cream is what I mostly remember.)

Today, my daughter Lizzie is cutting her teeth in this big world as she works on Capitol Hill. She has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, with largerthan-life moments connecting it all. Her perspective has been forever changed, and her world has become much bigger. What an incredible experience.

I think it’s natural for us to sit back in our respective states and watch some of the turmoil in D.C. as we face potential regulations that pose threats for our industry. We can be frustrated. We can be irritated.

And, at times, we can feel helpless.

But the one shining light in ALL of this is that, as American citizens, we have the right to go to our nation’s capital and talk it out. Furthermore, it is the duty of our elected and appointed officials to listen.

And, that’s just what co-ops did the last week in April during the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) Legislative Rally.

Seeing the many folks from across the country fill the halls is a true reminder of our grassroots power and influence. Basin Electric’s membership, in

2 | BASIN TODAY

particular, spans nine states. We are so fortunate to have engaged and helpful representation on Capitol Hill.

That influence even led to a face-to-face meeting with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt. Joining me to discuss regulatory challenges and opportunities were representatives from Minnkota Power Cooperative, several North Dakota distribution cooperatives, and other industries.

We discussed the Clean Power Plan and the unique challenges we face in the Midwest with younger coal-based facilities with substantial remaining useful lives. We elaborated on our commitment to reducing our carbon emissions and the progress we’ve made so far. We shared our fundamental belief that states should have primacy over their carbon management program. And, we discussed the varying fuel sources within our regions and how those should be taken into account when crafting a regulation.

Administrator Pruitt was supportive and understanding of our situation and expressed his commitment to seeking viable solutions. His agency requested industry to compile a comprehensive list of regulations impacting utilities along with projected compliance costs. We worked diligently internally and with NRECA to facilitate this request and are hopeful it will bring a level of regulatory relief and certainty.

You’ve long heard me speak about our need for time and flexibility to comply with the Clean Power Plan as written. President Trump’s executive order directing EPA to review the CPP, and establishing a process to repeal or revise the rule, provides us that.

The order is the first step in a lengthy process that will require a full rulemaking, including development of a draft proposal, opportunity for public input, and response to that input.

Additionally, on April 28, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., ruled to hold the Clean Power Plan rule in abeyance, or temporary suspension, for 60 days.

The court further ordered the petitioners to file supplemental briefs addressing whether the case should be permanently abated, or instead, sent back to EPA. I want to emphasize, however, this action does not impact Basin Electric’s efforts to seek a viable path forward in a carbon-constrained future. We are actively seeking solutions that reduce our carbon footprint while keeping coal as part of our energy portfolio, preserving both the reliability and cost-competitiveness of our members’ energy supply. In addition to our wind and natural gas investments, we are actively working to advance clean coal technology. Examples include hosting the Integrated Test Center at our Dry Fork Station, Gillette, WY, and our investments in research, most recently, in the development of a high-efficiency power generation technology that generates high quality carbon dioxide (CO2) as a product stream, along with participation in the U.S. Department of Energy’s CarbonSAFE program to further the science of CO2 sequestration in geological formations.

Basin Electric was born in politics. Our story is one of growth, innovation, and strength in numbers.

We should be proud of what we’ve accomplished, but even prouder of what we WILL accomplish. Together.

Paul Sukut, CEO and general manager

MAY - JUNE 2017 | 3

IN B RIE F

Basin Electric linemen participate in live line training

Operations begin at Lindahl Wind Project near Tioga, ND

Eighteen of Basin Electric’s transmission system maintenance (TSM) line crew traveled to the Rapid City, SD, area in early May for their spring training, which focused on working on steel monopoles and steel deadend H-frame structures. This was the first time their training focused solely on these structures.

Working on steel monopoles and steel dead-end H-frame structures differs slightly from working on wood in that there are fewer places to stand. The training was geared toward newer Basin Electric linemen who have been with the co-op for less than two years. Veteran line crew also participated. In total, they represented the following Basin Electric TSM locations: Mandan, ND; Minot, ND; Williston, ND; Groton, SD; Gillette, WY; and Stegall, NE.

Enel S.p.A. (Enel), through its subsidiary Enel Green Power North America, Inc. (EGPNA), has started operations of Lindahl Wind, which is Enel’s first project in the state of North Dakota.

Lindahl has an installed capacity of 150 megawatts, featuring 75 2-megawatt (MW) turbines.

Construction on the project began in 2016. Basin Electric will purchase the power to meet its member cooperatives’ needs. The cooperative has more than 1,400 MW of renewable capacity online.

http://bit.ly/LiveLineMay2017

Additional Bakken peaking generation goes online An additional 90 megawatts (MW) of peaking generation has started commercial operation at Basin Electric’s Lonesome Creek Station, located west of Watford City, ND. Units 4 and 5 of the natural gas-based peaking station, part of the project’s Phase III construction, officially came online May 15 to help meet members’ needs for electricity in the Williston Basin. The new turbines are adjacent to three existing turbines at the site and bring the plant’s total generation capacity to 225 MW.

4 | BASIN TODAY

http://bit.ly/LonesomePhase3

10th Circuit Court halts regional haze litigation The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10 th Circuit abated litigation regarding the Regional Haze Program and the Laramie River Station in Wyoming.

The ruling follows the April 24, 2017, settlement of a lawsuit between the Missouri Basin Power Project (MBPP) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) arising out of EPA’s rejection of the State of Wyoming’s Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) determination for Laramie River under the first round of the Regional Haze Program. Basin Electric is the operating agent for Laramie River, owned by the MBPP. The next steps will be revision of the State of Wyoming’s state implementation plan (SIP) under Section 309 of the Regional Haze Rule, and applicable state rules.

Basin Electric named to Young Professionals Top 10 Workplaces list

FIND US ON THE WEB BasinElectric.com

Bismarck-Mandan Young Professionals (YP) recently recognized Basin Electric as one of the 2017 Top 10 Workplaces. The annual award is given to local businesses committed to recruiting and retaining talented young professionals. This is the fifth time Basin Electric has been included on this list since BismarckMandan YP created the award in 2007.

DakotaGas.com Read Basin Today online @ basinelectric.com/BasinToday Read Basin Electric news online @ basinelectric.com/NewsBriefs

Basin Electric leadership undergoes strategic planning Basin Electric’s board of directors and senior staff met for strategic planning May 25-26 at National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) in Mandan, ND. The session was facilitated by Steve Kettler, senior vice president of Strategic Services for the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC).

Main session topics were mission and vision statement review, financial metrics, and potential scenarios that would affect operations at Basin Electric and its subsidiaries. Basin Electric staff will continue developing these scenarios to ensure the cooperative is able to identify and effectively respond to future threats and opportunities.

CONNECT WITH US facebook.com/basinelectric

facebook.com/basinelectric

facebook.com/basinelectric facebook.com/basinelectric facebook.com/basinelectric

twitter.com/basin_electric

twitter.com/Basin_Electric twitter.com/Basin_Electric

twitter.com/Basin_Electric twitter.com/Basin_Electric Live

Live basinelectric.wordpress.com Wire

Wire Live

Live Wire

basinelectric.wordpress.com

basinelectric.wordpress.com Wire

youtube.com/basinelectric

basinelectric.wordpress.com basinelectric.wordpress.com youtube.com/BasinElectric

basin_electric youtube.com/BasinElectric youtube.com/BasinElectric youtube.com/BasinElectric

linkedin.com/company/ basin-electric-power-cooperative MAY - JUNE 2017 | 5

BASIN ELECTRIC RECEIVES EXTRAORDINARY EMPLOYER SUPPORT AWARD

By Tracie Bettenhausen

It’s the highest award an employer can receive for its dedication to employees in the military.

Basin Electric received the distinguished U.S. Dept. of Defense award April 12, recognizing the cooperative for strong support of its military employees. Fewer than 75 organizations across the U.S. have received this recognition, and Basin Electric is the first in North Dakota.

The Extraordinary Employer Support Award from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) was presented to Basin Electric CEO and General Manager Paul Sukut and its board.

“We are thrilled to receive this outstanding award,” Sukut said. “To be among a small number of employers receiving the ESGR Extraordinary Employer Support Award is truly a humbling honor.”

ESGR’s Extraordinary Employer Support Award was created in 2012 to recognize sustained employer support of National Guard and Reserve service. Subsequent awards may be given in three-year increments from the initial award.

Kevin Iverson, employer outreach director for ESGR of North Dakota, said only prior recipients of the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom

Award – which Basin Electric received in 2012 – or the Pro Patria Award can be considered for this award. “Basin Electric demonstrates that patriotism is ingrained in its organizational culture on a level that is truly extraordinary through the way it treats its members of the National Guard and Reserves,” he said.

Basin Electric and its subsidiaries have a longstanding commitment to supporting its employees who are on active duty and also those employees who may have an immediate family member on active duty who has sustained an injury while on duty or are recovering from a serious illness.

When employees are called to active service, Basin Electric provides them with technology so they can communicate with their families and coworkers, and pays the difference between their salary at Basin Electric and their military pay. The cooperative also offers an open door for family members to raise any concerns that develop while their loved one is deployed.

In 2016, Basin Electric also began providing military time off for temporary employees serving, and added time off for military members to be part of honor guard.

Freedom Award Basin Electric received the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award in 2012 from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.

Employers receive the Freedom Award for exceptional support of Guard and Reserve employees by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. Employers are nominated by guardsmen and reservists, or family members acting on their behalf. The cooperative was nominated by Capt. Kimberly Miller, a North Dakota National Guard officer and Basin Electric senior business analyst.

Basin Electric was also a finalist for the Freedom Award in 2010 and 2011. The Freedom Award was instituted in 1996. The 2012 honorees were recognized at the 17th annual Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 20, 2012.

6 | BASIN TODAY

To honor Basin Electric’s many active duty and veteran employees and their families, in receipt of the Extraordinary Employer Support Award, all Headquarters employees were invited to a celebration in the Headquarters cafeteria.

I’ve known for many years that Basin’s always been good to its employees. I have nothing but good things to say about how they provide for their service members that are still actively engaged in serving their communities and country. So if there’s one employer I would’ve ever left the active side of the military for, that was Basin Electric. I was lucky enough to get that opportunity, and they certainly haven’t let me down.

(From left) Kevin Iverson, North Dakota ESGR employer outreach director; Paul Sukut, Basin Electric CEO and general manager; Robert “Bob” Wefald, North Dakota ESGR state chair; and Major General Al Dohrmann, adjutant general, North Dakota National Guard.

I had been working at Basin Electric for less than six months when I found out I would be deployed (to Kosovo), so that was a little nervewracking, being the new person and asking for a year off. I cannot overstate how well I was treated throughout that process. … Getting letters in the mail, care packages from my co-workers back home, it’s really nice to see you have a community that cares about you as much as they do, a family like Basin Electric.

Nathan Johnson, senior fleet and logistics administrator (Johnson is the employee who nominated Basin Electric for the ESGR award.)

Kimberly Miller, senior business analyst

Hear from

EMPLOYEES who have served

Basin Electric truly deserves this award. When I was deployed to Iraq in 2003, I had only been working here for two years at that point. I received so many care packages, I would share with my fellow soldiers. Basin gave me a laptop, kept all my benefits, and reimbursed my salary while I was deployed. I knew when I started working here, it would be a good job, and they’ve proved that time and again.

Darrell Schulz, lead maintenance coordinator/food services

MAY - JUNE 2017 | 7

EMPLOYEES IN SERVICE Spring has been a busy time for Basin Electric and Dakota Gas employees as they extended their time and abilities in service to the communities where their families and the cooperative’s members work and live. It’s Basin Electric’s commitment that encourages service beyond providing electricity. It’s about ensuring strong, stable, and growing communities for current and future generations of co-op members and employees.

Ditch clean-up More than 50 employees from Dakota Gasification Company, Basin Electric’s Antelope Valley Station, and The Coteau Property Company’s Freedom Mine joined forces April 27 to clean up the environment and give back to the community.

The volunteers cleaned up an eight-mile stretch of ditches from the intersection of Highways 200 and 49 near Beulah, ND, to the Freedom Mine. The event is held around Earth Day each year.

Great American Bike Race

Rebuilding Together

Basin Electric sponsored two teams this year for the Sanford Health Great American Bike Race (GABR), which supports children and young adults with cerebral palsy and other related conditions permanently affecting development. The two co-op sponsored teams – Go Big or Go Home and Power Pedalers – raised about $8,000. In addition, two employees, Nathan Johnson, senior fleet and logistics administrator, and Jamie Eckroth, Dakota Gas shift supervisor, chemical production, had teams in support of their children. Johnson’s team, Isaac’s Infantry, supports his son Isaac who has cerebral palsy. Eckroth’s team, Super Aubrey, supports his daughter Aubrey who also has cerebral palsy.

This year, Eckroth’s daughter Aubrey was a 2017 GABR Star.

Basin Electric once again sponsored a house and had a team of employees participating in Bismarck-Mandan Rebuilding Together day. The team, which has been led by Chad Reisenauer, Basin Electric director of strategic planning, for several years helped rebuild an elderly woman’s deck May 12 in addition to window repairs, painting, and yard work.

Tracey Krusi (left), senior graphic designer, and Jen Holen, charitable giving administrator, carry a board used to rebuild the deck.

8 | BASIN TODAY

United Way Backpack Program Basin Electric’s Headquarters employees packed almost 900 backpacks of food for kids in the BismarckMandan, ND, area as part of Missouri Slope Areawide United Way’s Backpack Program May 18. This is the second year employees have pitched in to fill backpacks for kids who would otherwise not have access to regular, healthy meals over the weekend.

LOCAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE

POWER TO KEEP THE ELECTRIC BILL LOW

By Tammy Langerud All day every day, people flip on the lights, turn on their TVs, charge their cell phones and use electricity for various aspects of their daily lives. How does all of that activity translate into what they’re billed every month? And, what can member-consumers do to help keep the rates low?

To understand this, we’ll look at how electricity is billed from Basin Electric to its member co-ops, and how member co-ops and member-consumers can help keep rates low.

From the generation and transmission perspective to the distribution co-op perspective, it all boils down to knowing how the electricity price is calculated and when the demand component is billed.

How Basin Electric bills member co-ops Basin Electric directly bills only 18 Class A member co-ops.

STEP 1:

Basin Electric’s annual forecast process Every year, Basin Electric undergoes a forecast process to estimate the next year’s demand and energy electricity load levels, the overall cost to operate Basin Electric, and the required member revenue requirements for the upcoming year.

Basin Electric then factors in the estimated demand sales and energy sales for each of its Class A members for the upcoming year and determines: • A demand rate, set in a dollar/kilowatt month, and • An energy rate, set in mill/kilowatt hour or dollars/ MW (megawatt) hour.

STEP 2:

Determine monthly bill to Basin Electric’s Class A members Basin Electric bills each Class A member based upon two components.

1. Energy component – the hourly load being withdrawn from the electrical system 2. Demand component – the maximum individual Class A system’s coincident peak during the month, looked at in 30-minute intervals Jen Feigitsch, Basin Electric supervisor of member revenue, says Basin Electric looks at the footprint for each Class A member to determine the coincident peak for the demand component.

“Each co-op could have a different date and time coincidental in a month,” Feigitsch says. “Historically, we bill every member by their own coincidental peak.”

For example, when determining the demand portion of the monthly bill for a Class A member, Basin Electric would look at the Class A member’s footprint for the whole month and determine which 30-minute period had the highest number. That’s what would be billed for the demand component.

Feigitsch also notes that everything is adjusted to a Basin Electric point of delivery. This is the point where the delivery of energy from Basin Electric ends and the delivery point to the Class A member or distribution member begins.

MAY - JUNE 2017 | 9

STEP 3:

Class A members bill their member co-ops Basin Electric bills its Class A members based upon the rates for demand and energy set during the forecast process. From there, every co-op has their own rate setting philosophy on how they pass costs through to their member co-ops.

Lessening the load According to Becky Kern, Basin Electric director of utility planning, some Basin Electric Class A members use load management programs to help reduce their monthly bills from Basin Electric.

“Class A members can manage their individual peak through their load management programs to try to clip – or minimize – peaks so their demand charge isn’t as high,” she says.

Rushmore Electric Power Cooperative, a Basin Electric Class A member located in Rapid City, SD, started its load management program in 2011 as a joint effort of all its member co-ops.

Rushmore Electric controls the load, and its member co-ops sign up their members to participate.

“During a control event, our system is all automated, so our member co-op interaction is limited,” Kory Hammerbeck, operations manager at Rushmore Electric says.

In the program’s six years, Rushmore Electric has saved its members money. In 2016 alone, the co-op saved $1.684 million.

Using a SCADA system, Rushmore Electric monitors its

load in real time across all delivery points in its footprint. The co-op then uses historical data to determine its monthly threshold for starting load management to cut its peak.

Hammerbeck uses an ocean wave to describe that peak – the 30-minute point in time in which energy use is highest – that load management tries to curtail.

“You’ve got a low part of the wave, a high part of the wave, which is the peak, and the low part of the other side of the wave,” Hammerbeck explains.

“Ultimately what we’re trying to do is take the top part of that wave and put it in the hole on either side of that wave. Think of the curve of that wave as being timed. So, the more we cut off from the top, the more time it takes to do that.”

To reduce the peak, Rushmore Electric and its member co-ops use five forms of load management: Water heater control – Water heater control is essentially storing energy in the form of hot water, according to Hammerbeck. With 5,700 water heaters controlled

by Rushmore Electric, Hammerbeck describes water heaters as the year-round, go-to product for load management.

“Our biggest goal at Rushmore is to have the littlest impact to the end-member as we can and still curtail the loads we need to,” he says. “Due to the storage ability of the high-capacity water heaters used for water heater control, most people don’t know they’re off. That’s why water heaters are the first thing turned off and the last thing on.”

Irrigation control – Unlike water heater control, irrigation control is much more noticeable.

Load management made easy Want to promote or explain your load management program to your member-consumers?

Basin Electric’s Communications & Creative Services team, in conjunction with Rushmore Electric, recently created a video called, “Load management made easy.”

Download this 30-second video from the Basin Members site (www.basinmembers.com) to use at your next annual meeting or presentation.

10 | BASIN TODAY

Farmers and ranchers are informed when the control starts and stops because farmers have to restart their irrigation pivot if they don’t have auto restart.

Irrigation control can impact farmers in a big way, in how it can impact a farmer’s crop yields. Since irrigation occurs in summer, it has a great impact on load management, too. One irrigation pivot is worth approximately 187 water heaters in the summer, according to Cory Trapp, engineering supervisor at Rushmore Electric.

Air conditioning (summer) – Air conditioners are the last control that Rushmore Electric turns off to minimize member impact in summer. It’s also the control with the least participation for Rushmore Electric due to milder summer temperatures in the Black Hills area. When they do control air conditioners, they cycle 15 minutes on/15 minutes off.

Heat Control (winter) – Heating loads are the last control Lorem ipsum that Rushmore Electric turns off to minimize member impact in winter. Hammerbeck notes the Basin Electric heat rate can’t be applied to these load controls. So each co-op will have to determine if it’s more financially beneficial to take the heat rate or control the load.

Water Treatment and Pumping – Water systems with storage capacity are another great target for load control, Hammerbeck says. Rushmore’s single largest load is a water system with enough storage capacity to allow its pumping and treatment facility to shut down during a load control event.

In regard to all load groups, Rushmore Electric only controls enough of what it needs for that day.

“We don’t turn everybody off or everything off, every time,” Trapp says.

Energy rush hour Turning off lights when no one is in the room, or turning off the TV when no one’s watching it helps reduce the amount of energy a household uses.

The time of day energy is used also impacts the electricity bill.

Hammerbeck says certain times of the day – typically early morning and early evening – can be likened to rush hour traffic on a Los Angeles freeway.

“You hit the freeway in L.A., and it’s jammed because everyone is on the road at the same time,” says Hammerbeck. “All those cars are trying to inefficiently reach their destination.”

Like commuters adjusting their travel schedule to avoid traffic, a load management program shifts energy usage to a different time to avoid the energy peak. It doesn’t necessarily use less energy. But by avoiding the peak, Rushmore’s demand bill is lessened.

“Our long-term goal is cost savings for the whole membership,” Kory says. “It’s back to the slogan of ‘we’re all in this together.’ It’s just the co-op way.”

How member-consumers can help keep rates low 1. Contact your electric co-op. Its employees can help you by: • Conducting an energy audit of your house to help you determine how to be more efficient with your energy usage.

• Signing you up for a load management program.

2. Avoid the energy rush hour.

• Typically early morning and early evening hours are high-energy demand times. Try to decrease your energy needs during this time.

For example, use your dishwasher’s delay start feature and run your dishwasher after 9 p.m., rather than during energy rush hour time.

3. Use LED light bulbs.

4. Use an adjustable thermostat and lower the heating or increase the cooling temperature during the day when you’re not at home.

5. Use ceiling fans: • To save cooling costs in the summer, run your ceiling fan counterclockwise.

• To save heating costs in the winter, run your ceiling fan clockwise.

DELAY TIMER

MAY - JUNE 2017 | 11

SURVEY RESULTS SHOW

IMPROVING SAFETY CULTURE AT BASIN ELECTRIC

By Chris Gessele Around some business executives’ tables, it’s been a delicate dance for decades.

“Of course, safety is important ... but, we can’t sacrifice productivity and efficiency.”

The conversation is different at Basin Electric.

At the cooperative, it’s understood at all levels that if employees aren’t working safely, productivity and efficiency will eventually be compromised.

Safety is interwoven into everything employees do, from spotting tripping hazards in office hallways to wearing the I’m humbled by the survey appropriate personal protective results, I’m humbled by the parequipment when conducting turticipation, and I’m humbled by the bine maintenance. amount of work every one of the Safety has always been a employees put into making Basin part of the discussion at Basin Electric safer.

Electric, and the Our Power, My Safety (OPMS) process has rockPaul Sukut eted the co-op’s safety focus to new heights. The goal: zero incidents, every day.

Measuring success Following multiple serious safety incidents involving contractors and employees in 2012 and early 2013, Basin Electric’s leadership knew it was time to make some changes.

In early 2013, Basin Electric employees completed a safety perception survey to take the pulse of the cooperative’s safety culture, and learn how it could be improved.

Between 2013 and today, the OPMS Steering Team has used those survey results to form continuous improvement (CI) teams, comprised of employees at all levels and locations, who then led the formation

12 | BASIN TODAY

of continuous improvement initiatives to make Basin Electric safer.

CI Initiative #1, work area inspections, and CI Initiative #2, safety communications, are in full effect throughout the cooperative. CI Initiative #3, OPMS employee education, is an ongoing effort that will consist of videos and printed materials to remind employees of their role in the process and how they can become more engaged; and CI Initiative #4, safety metrics, launched in early June.

So how have those efforts affected Basin Electric’s safety culture?

In short – positively. And there are updated survey results to prove it.

Employees took another survey in March 2017 identical to the 2013 survey, and results showed

STEERING TEAM CI 1

CI 2

WORKSITE INSPECTIONS

CI 3

CI 4

OPMS EMPLOYEE EDUCATION SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS

SAFETY METRICS

employees are thinking more about safety than ever before, both at work and home.

In the latest survey, 2,077 employees from all Basin Electric facilities participated, up about 10 percent from the nearly 1,900 respondents in 2013.

Composite scores also increased, from 67.5 percent to 72.6 percent on the employee level, from 76.2 percent to 80.4 percent on the supervisor level, and from 77.2 percent to 84.5 percent on the manager level.

“I’m humbled by the survey results, I’m humbled by the participation, and I’m humbled by the amount of work every one of the employees put into making Basin Electric safer,” says Paul Sukut, Basin Electric CEO and general manager. “This isn’t going to work unless absolutely everybody gets behind it and everybody participates. I think what we’re seeing here are the results of enthusiasm, dedication, participation, and hard work.”

Indications of significant improvement were shown in the areas of inspections, supervisor training, quality of supervision, and employee training.

“We know we’ve done more and more quality inspections the last few years,” says Gordon Goetz, OPMS Steering Team lead and lead electrician at Leland Olds Station. “We know we’re having better safety meetings, we know we have communicated better, and we know everybody is thinking about safety a little bit more.”

Survey results also emerged that provide opportunities for further improvement.

Our Power, My Safety Steering Team members (from left) Dan Cieslak, Deer Creek Station; Quinn Messer, Dakota Gasification Company; team lead Gordon Goetz, Leland Olds Station; and Mark Bingham, PrairieWinds 1, listen to the safety perception results report-out April 20 at Headquarters in Bismarck, ND.

A significant amount of variability in positive perception emerged from location to location, and gaps in perception between various employee levels – manager, supervisor, and employees – indicate higher-priority areas for Basin Electric’s leadership and OPMS volunteers to address.

Using the results

100%

Employees at each 84.5% 80.4% of the cooperative’s facil72.6% 75% ities are examining their respective results and iden77.2% 76.2% tifying areas that show the 50% 67.5% greatest opportunities for improvement.

25% Facility leadership, in collaboration with the 0 OPMS Steering Team, will Employee Supervisor Manager drill down into the results 2013 2017 and develop action plans to address those areas. The action plans might include continuous improvement teams, educational opportunities, communication opportunities, and policy review, if applicable.

It’s not only weaknesses that should be addressed, however, says Kelly Cozby, OPMS Steering Team member and Basin Electric learning and development administrator.

“I think one of the main things we can take from this is that we should encourage employees who are doing things the right way,” Cozby says. “We want employees and supervisors to communicate effectively.”

Sukut shared the impact Basin Electric’s improving safety culture has personally had on him during an all-employee educational series presentation May 12.

He recounted how he recently had noticed a potential tripping hazard in his garage – and, after years of ignoring it, removed the hazard.

“I think more about safety now,” Sukut says.

“When I’m at work and when I go home, I think about doing things in a safe manner. I’ve been influenced by Our Power, My Safety.”

MAY - JUNE 2017 | 13

M E M B E R F OCUS

Dr. Mike Schmit (left) and Carl Miller, Sakakawea Medical Center surgeon and certified registered nurse anesthetist, respectively, say the new medical center has much better flow, for both staff and patients. Patients are now stationed in the same room both pre- and post-operation. Before, patients would be placed in beds separated only by a curtain. Now, there are two operating rooms: some equipment was upgraded in the move, like the sterilization equipment, and some was brought over from the previous facility.

SAKAKAWEA MEDICAL CENTER:

A MODERN FACILITY MADE POSSIBLE WITH CO-OP SUPPORT

By Tracie Bettenhausen It began as a conversation about the future of The total cost of the facility was about $30 million, and health care. the facility opened its doors in April 2017.

“We took a look at our facility infrastructure and Christie Obenauer, president of the Hazen Memodecided that maybe it’s time for us to do some renrial Hospital Association board of directors, says the ovation, addition to our current facility,” remembers new facility has transformed the way health care Darrold Bertsch, CEO of Sakakawea Medical Center is provided in the area. “The medical center is conand Coal Country Community Health Center. “But as solidating the majority of its outpatient services to the process went forward, improve access and meet future we decided it was much more health care needs,” she says. “More cost-effective for us to look at than 15,000 square feet was added, Having a modern, stateconstructing a new facility.” with a centralized registration area.” of-the-art facility is important Bertsch says a study In addition, rather than the both in our recruitment and rewas done in 2012 to deterclinic being across the street from tention activities. mine the need for an updated, the hospital, like it once was, everyChristie Obenauer expanded medical center in thing is now under the same roof. the community. The needs “When patients need lab and X-ray, assessment took input from they’re able to do it right in the same nearly 650 community memfacility now,” Bertsch says. bers and health care professionals from the region, Aside from patient care, “The ability to recruit as well as 22 community leaders. “The top priorities physicians, visiting specialists, and staff, is greatly we found were the need for more providers, more enhanced with the construction of our new facility,” mental health services, more accessible clinics with Obenauer says. “Having a modern, state-of-the-art more locations and longer hours, better access to facility is important both in our recruitment and retenspecialists, and additional equipment and technoltion activities. ogy,” Bertsch says.

“The quality of the local school systems, shopMore than 300 individual donors contributed to ping, and the availability of health care services are the $3 million capital campaign to get the project going. questions that get asked by individuals being recruited

14 | BASIN TODAY

The rehabilitation area serves physical and occupational therapy needs. This is the area sponsored specifically by Basin Electric and Dakota Gas.

to come here, regardless of the industry looking to expand or enhance its workforce,” Obenauer says.

Sakakawea Medical Center serves Mercer, Oliver, and Dunn counties, covering about 2,000 square miles and a population of about 15,000 residents.

“Wherever we live, we want to have accessibility to health care services for that time of need,” Bertsch says. “Rural people shouldn’t have to compromise the accessibility and availability of health care services. By constructing this facility, we can provide better health care today, and also for future generations to come.”

Located on the edge of oil activity, the area experienced the quick growth that went along with the Bakken boom. “Even though that dropped for a year or so, we know it will likely be on its way back,” Bertsch says. “We serve both the temporary and transient, as well as the permanent workers brought here by oil jobs and all of the local energy industry.”

The energy industry is a major employer in the region. Basin Electric’s Antelope Valley Station and Leland Olds Station, and Dakota Gasification Company’s Great Plains Synfuels Plant, in addition to The Coteau Properties Company’s Freedom Mine account for about 1,200 of the cooperative’s 2,300 employees.

That concentration of Basin Electric’s workforce meant the cooperative had an interest in stepping up to help. Jen Holen, Basin Electric charitable giving administrator, says the Charitable Giving Committee pledged $250,000 over five years with support from Roughrider Electric Cooperative, a Basin Electric Class C member headquartered in Hazen.

“Access to modern, convenient health care is important to our members for many reasons. Without these facilities, some people might be traveling

an hour or more to get to a doctor or piece of technology needed to treat them properly,” says Don Franklund, Innovative Energy Alliance co-general manager and CEO. “The primary mission of electric cooperatives is to serve their members, and so we were happy to put our support behind this project.” Roughrider Electric Cooperative is one of four electric cooperatives that make up the Innovative Energy Alliance.

Bertsch says the commitment from the cooperatives was important to the medical center, because it was an indication of community support. “Cooperatives are so community-driven, member-driven,” Bertsch says. “Having the support of organizations such as Basin Electric is extremely important because it shows commitment to the members of the cooperative, that they care about those members in the rural areas. From a health care perspective, they’ll be well taken care of in our facilities.”

Darrold Bertsch, CEO of Sakakawea Medical Center and Coal Country Community Health Center, and Myria Perry, secretary/treasurer of the Hazen Memorial Hospital Association board of directors and Dakota Gas process engineering technology advisor, stand in the lobby, which connects the new clinic and hospital.

MAY - JUNE 2017 | 15

F E AT URE SE RIES

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF …

PROJECT COORDINATIONS REP.

KRISTIE CHING

By Angela Magstadt

Kristie Ching’s energy and enthusiasm are contagious, and her smile could light up a room. She grew up in rural South Dakota and graduated with a class of 16. Even today she chooses to live in a small town known as Bruce, SD, and commute the 27 miles to Deer Creek Station, where she has worked for six years. All these attributes make her the perfect fit for her current position – one she’s only held for six months, and one that is largely uncharted territory.

Kristie Ching is a project coordinations representative, tasked with rolling out Basin Electric’s Empower Youth Program, a youth leadership program originally developed and exclusively run by Basin Electric Class C member Sioux Valley Energy.

Last year, Carrie Law, Sioux Valley’s director of communication and government relations, contacted Basin Electric, wondering if the co-op would be interested in expanding the program and offering it as a regional program to its members.

She felt this would be a way to bring the many benefits of a youth leadership program to a large number of member cooperatives, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to offer one.

Ching, who was an administrative assistant at Deer Creek at the time, jumped at the opportunity to apply for the position that would ultimately develop Basin Electric’s Empower Youth program. “It was a great fit for me, because it takes everything I loved about my previous jobs and rolls it together into one,” she says.

Prior to Basin Electric, Ching worked for 15 years as a trainer and program director for the developmentally disabled, then as the business manager at an area school district. Those jobs, together with being the mom of two teenage sons, gives her great insight into the minds of children and young adults. It also allows her to stay at Deer Creek Station, which she says she absolutely loves. “It is small, tight knit, and honestly like another family to me.”

While Ching admits that the thought of starting the program was a little scary at first, she is embracing the challenge.

“It’s exciting,” she says. “It allows me to think outside the box, and be able to work in the training field again. I didn’t realize

16 | BASIN TODAY

how much I missed it until now.” She also says every local co-ops. “This will be a big part of the program, job she’s ever had, even in high school, has had a leadbecause it is something that the younger generation ership component and she is looking forward to sharing doesn’t know much about,” Ching says. “The cooperawhat she has learned and passing it on to students as tive story is an important one to tell, and we don’t want they think about their futures. it to get lost when we lose the people who formed the original electric co-ops.”

Since she started this position she has been researching other organizations’ youth leadership proChing is still working on the program specifics, grams – listening to speakers, researching content and but plans to begin traveling to annual member meetcurriculum, visiting with other co-ops that do similar ings this summer and fall to educate member co-ops programs, and attending seminars and conferences. “I about the program and give them information to pass want to get all the information and ideas I can so we on to area youth interested in participating. Applicacan shape our program into something unique, sometions will be due in January 2018 and the first session thing that will expand Sioux Valley Energy’s original will be held that spring. youth leadership initiative across broad regional areas,” “We are very excited about the opportunity to she says. bring Empower Youth to our She has also talked to colmembers,” says Curt PearThis job has been a great oplege advisors to find out if there son, Basin Electric’s director portunity for me, and the program are skills incoming freshman of media and community relawill be equally as great for the kids were missing that Empower tions. “I know it’s going to be who participate in it.

I honestly feel Youth could help develop. Three a valuable opportunity and like the sky’s the limit. things that kept coming up in that is largely because of all these meetings were decision of Kristie’s hard work. She Kristie Ching making, solution finding, and has taken the idea and run coping skills. “We are going to with it, taking a great proweave these things into our curgram and striving to make it riculum to help give these kids these essential skills even better. She has also worked hard to figure out the they may not be getting through their general school logistics of making it a regional program, rather than a curriculum.” local one. Some participants will likely have to travel, Empower Youth will be offered to high school stueven hundreds of miles to participate, but knowing Krisdents in four regions: eastern South Dakota, western tie and how hard she has worked on it, it will be well South Dakota, North Dakota, and Basin Electric Class A worth their while. They’ll gain knowledge and experimember Tri-State G&T Cooperative’s service area. In ence they wouldn’t get anywhere else.” addition to leadership, the program will educate parChing is passionate about the program and all it ticipants about cooperatives, including how they are can do for those who choose to take part in it. “This job different from other businesses, some of the unique has been a great opportunity for me, and the program issues they face, the cooperative business model and will be equally as great for the kids who participate in it. principles, and how they can get involved with their I honestly feel like the sky’s the limit.”

MAY - JUNE 2017 | 17

E M P L OY E E HIG HL IG H T S

MODEL RAILROAD HOBBY

IS JUST THE TICKET FOR

TSM EMPLOYEE

It’s not every day a person’s job and hobby that the railroad needs to exist to service it.” intersect.

Looking at his model railroad, one will notice a But, that’s the case for Micheal Farley, training few iconic landmarks representing North Dakota’s coordinator at Transmission System Maintenance energy industry. Along one line, Farley has included (TSM) in Mandan. Before he started working at TSM the Beulah, ND, TSM shop. in 2013, he’d already had a good understanding of “It’s always fun to incorporate things that are Basin Electric’s facilities, thanks to his hobby of model somehow connected to you,” Farley says, who plans railroading. to also include transmission For the past five years, lines, a substation, and a Farley has been working on power plant on his model. his third permanent model With more than three train layout, which will decades of railroad modresemble the 1970s branch eling under his belt, Farley line in North Dakota that credits his dad for getting went north out of Mandan, him hooked on the hobby. “It to Stanton, then through Complete with a bucket truck, Farley incorporated the was a way for us to spend Zap, Golden Valley, and Beulah TSM shop, circa the 1970s, into his model of the time together as father and Burlington Northern Yellowstone Division railroad line.

Killdeer. son, and we still spend time “I chose this part of the together working on each country because it was close to where I lived so I could other’s model railroads,” he says. go do the research if I wanted. It also offered a nice So, how will Farley know when he’s done with mix of some back country branch line. Then from Beuhis model railroad of the Burlington Northern Yellowlah on east it was busy with coal traffic to the power stone Division? plants,” Farley says.

“When you’re too old to work on it,” he says Working for Basin Electric, Farley has learned with a laugh. many new things about coal-generated electricity, Follow the progress of Farley’s model railroad on which goes hand-in-hand with railroading. “It’s neat his Facebook page, Burlington Northern Yellowstone to know more about the energy industry, and knowing Division Model Railroad.

18 | BASIN TODAY

New employees Alan Mehrer began working at the Great Plains Synfuels Plant May 1 as an inspection field technician. The Bismarck, ND, native had been a field inspector at ETI Ewer Testing & Inspection in Bismarck.

Ben Hood, utility operator, started working at Dry Fork Station April 24.

The Dayton, WY, native previously worked as an auxiliary operator for PacifiCorp Energy’s Dave Johnston Plant near Glenrock, WY.

Service awards

Dennis Aberle

Tony Sadowsky

Jackie Thompson

Jerome Bauer

James Aipperspach

control room operator

shift supervisor

field technician

telecommunications superintendent

field technician

35 years

Antelope Valley Station

35 years

Antelope Valley Station

35 years

Dakota Gasification Company

35 years

30 years

Dakota Gasification Company

Transmission System Maintenance - Mandan

Delphine Alm 35 years

manager, settlements and member revenue Headquarters

Phillip Vigil

Tim Walker

Myron Steckler

Danny Delger

control room operator

control room operator

project manager/ construction director

field technician

30 years

Laramie River Station

30 years

Laramie River Station

25 years

20 years

Dakota Gasification Company

Headquarters

Retirees

Editor’s note: Expanded retirement stories were written only for those who returned their questionnaire to Basin Today staff.

Deb Haga, director of labor relations and benefits, retired March 3, after 34 years of service.

Haga is an original employee of what is now the Great Plains Synfuels Plant. She started with the previous owners of the plant in 1983 and became an employee of Dakota Gas in 1989 when the plant was acquired

by Basin Electric.

In 2009, she became the Human Resources (HR) supervisor, followed by manager of Human Resources.

In 2012, she transferred from Dakota Gas to Basin Electric Headquarters to become the director of Human Resources. At the time of her retirement, she was the director of labor relations and benefits.

Diane Paul, senior vice president of Human Resources (HR), said Deb’s willingness to help had an impact on Basin Electric and Dakota Gas. “Her guidance and encouragement touched many employees.

I know retirement was the right thing for Deb and her family at this time, but I miss her calm and professional presence in HR. I was fortunate to have her on staff and blessed with her friendship.”

Hard working, compassionate, and professional is how Dave Sauer, senior vice president and Chief Operating Officer of Dakota Gas describes Haga. “I’ll miss her positive attitude toward what good employees we have at Basin Electric and Dakota Gas, and how she valued them,” he said.

MAY - JUNE 2017 | 19

E M P L OY E E HIG HL IG H T S

Retirees Gene Freidt, maintenance field technician, retired from the Great Plains Synfuels Plant March 3 after nearly 34 years of service. He began working at the Synfuels Plant June 27, 1983.

Gene worked in the Rectisol and sulfur recovery areas for 10 years, the boiler house for seven years, and the main pump shop for the last 17 years.

“I worked with a great bunch of guys over the years and I will miss them,” Freidt said.

“There are a lot of good memories from all the years, but the ones that really stick out in my mind are the first few years as the plant was starting up,” Freidt said. “We were young crews back then and we had some fun and crazy times. There was a lot of joking around and fun, but when it came time to get serious, everyone buckled down and got the job done.”

Pump Shop Supervisor Scott Johnson said, “Gene was a very capable employee willing to do any job assigned to him, and always taking the extra step to make sure it was done thoroughly. He was a model employee, very dependable, and one we counted on in a crunch.”

Johnson and Freidt began working at the Synfuels Plant the same day in 1983. “We worked together for 34 years,” Johnson said. “We had many good times and some not-so-good times together, but at the end of the day, we always remained very close friends. Gene will be greatly missed by myself, as well as all of his co-workers.”

Gene said he has a “honey-do” list to keep him busy for a while. He and his wife, Deborah, also plan to fish, camp, and travel to see their grandkids.

Dave Griffin, senior chemist, retired from the Synfuels Plant March 7 after nearly 34 years of service. He began working at the plant Aug. 15, 1983, as a field technician in the chemistry lab.

“Starting up a new and complex energy plant was extremely challenging, but we accepted the challenge with a pioneering spirit that helped make us what we are today,” he said. “The diversification into the various byproducts presented us with a new set of challenges along the way.”

Griffin noted success is rarely a solo act. “I am thankful to the people in the chem lab, operations, engineering, etc., for all the successes I experienced. I am 20 | BASIN TODAY

deeply grateful to Brian Striefel and Bob Fugate as chem lab superintendents. They had confidence in me and saw more potential than I saw in myself. They allowed me to have a lifetime of fulfillment.”

Amy Garman, chem lab superintendent, said, “Dave was very passionate about the lab and the work the lab does for Dakota Gas. He took great pride in everything he touched and helped make our lab what it is today.”

She said she will personally miss him for his golf skills, adding to the chem lab team for various tournaments throughout the years.

Griffin also was instrumental in forming the Synfuels Plant’s Rec Club in the early 1990s. “I want to especially thank the past and present Rec Club board of directors and officers,” he said. “A few of us got together to start the Rec Club for Synfuels Plant employees as a way to offer new social activities for employees to participate in or attend. We did not have a blue print, but we did have a vision.”

This year is a big year for Griffin. In addition to retirement, he is getting married. Griffin and his soon-to-be wife plan to fish, golf, and travel. He’ll also intermittently teach a class at Bismarck (ND) State College.

Kim Kimura, warehouse supervisor at Laramie River Station, retired April 17, after 36 years of service. Kimura started working at Laramie River in 1981 as a warehouseperson, and was promoted to warehouse supervisor in 2009.

Before working at Laramie River (LRS), Kimura served in the U.S. Air Force as a munitions storage and loading specialist.

Rodney Horsley, maintenance superintendent, describes Kimura as a laid-back supervisor who took excellent care of the folks that worked for him and was invaluable to the station.

“He took his work in stride and accomplished his tasks even after a yearlong span of relocating all of LRS warehouse into two new warehouses,” Horsley says. “Kim worked through many diversities with the move coordinating with Headquarters engineering, contract movers, and auditing. This was no easy task to accomplish for anyone.”

“Kim will be missed by all of the LRS family,” Horsley says. “We wish him a wonderful retirement with many happy memories.”

We will remember Members of Basin Electric’s flight department Scott Bekken, pilot III, took his final describe Scott as friendly, kind, humble, and a person flight to heaven on April 17 at the Uniwith a big heart and infectious smile. versity of Minnesota Medical Center Mark Burke, Basin Electric chief pilot, says Scott in Minneapolis, MN, after a yearlong was a person who was always concerned about others. battle with leukemia. Scott had been “When Scott found out my dad was ill, he would employed for Basin Electric as a pilot check with me now and then to see how my dad was since the fall of 2014. and how the family was doing. And, when he found out Services were held April 22 at First Lutheran I wanted to teach my wife to fly, he offered to let us use Church, New Rockford, ND. Scott Bekken was born on Oct. 20, 1970, in his Cessna 150,” Burke says. “Scott was a team player Duluth, MN, to Jim and Sandy (Erban) Bekken. and competent pilot. His experience was an asset to our Scott moved with his family to Grand Forks in 1971, flight department.” and to New Rockford in 1977. He graduated from Basin Electric Pilot Craig Goeden worked and flew New Rockford High School with Scott before both were hired in 1989 and attended Valley at the co-op. “Scott battled canScott battled cancer with the City State University, where cer with the same passion and same passion and fire as everything he graduated with Bachelor’s fire as everything else in his life else in his life and somehow maindegrees in computer science and somehow maintained his and biology. positive attitude throughout. tained his positive attitude throughFollowing graduation He continued to tell jokes and out. He continued to tell jokes and Scott lived in Alaska, where make people smile all the way make people smile all the way to he worked as a professional to the very end. He was a menthe very end. fishing guide from 1994 to tor, coworker, and friend, and I Craig Goeden 1996. From 1996 to 2003, he wouldn’t be where I am today was a foreman with Schoenwithout him,” Goeden says. rock and Sons Construction, “Scott was an incredibly building more than 50 beautiful churches across kind and friendly guy. He enjoyed getting friends together North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconand would always invite you to join,” says Joshua Ritter, sin, and Iowa. pilot. “He had such a friendly, positive attitude, and was Watching his Uncle Steve fly in and out of famalways available to lend an ear.” ily gatherings sparked his lifelong interest in flying.

Scott is survived by the love of his life, Stacy Rohrich, After receiving his private pilot’s license in April Bismarck; her three children, Kennedy, Parker, and Pres1995, Scott earned his commercial pilot’s license and ton; his mother, Sandy Bekken, New Rockford, and her began flying commercially in March 2003, for PACC special friend, Gerald Kary, Dickinson; his siblings, Aaron Air in Oshkosh, WI. In 2008, he moved to Bismarck (Kit) Bekken, Snoqualmie, WA, and Stephanie (Brady) and became a pilot and director of flight operations Lyson, Dickinson; his five nephews, London and Ari Bekken, and Paxton, Jimmy, and Driggs Lyson; and his for Executive Air Taxi Corp. He joined Basin Electric beloved Schnauzer, Mya. as a pilot in October 2014.

He was preceded in death by his father, James BekScott was the master of cleaning fish and enterken; maternal grandparents, Ed and Helen Erban; and taining. He would guide friends and family to where the paternal grandparents, Ralph and Liz Bekken. fish were biting and follow up with his famous fish fry.

MAY - JUNE 2017 | 21

1717 EAST INTERSTATE AVENUE BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA 58503-0564 701-223-0441

PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID BISMARCK, ND PERMIT 224

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

Be the light.

No matter the time of day, we work to ensure our members have reliable, affordable power. We bring light to the dark. It’s the assurance that when you make a promise, you can keep it.

Your energy starts here.

basinelectric.com/bethelight