Powerline Press
NEWSLETTER
A Supplement of Oklahoma Living Published by Lake Region Electric Cooperative for its members.
December October 2022 2019
$2,817,483 IN CAPITAL CREDIT ALLOCATIONS APPROVED Where is the money?
It starts when you pay your bill
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1 Recording and reporting
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Do I ever receive this money?
1. It starts when you pay your bill LREC tracks how much electricity you use and pay for throughout the year. Each payment you make is your contribution to the day-to-day operating costs of your local electric/internet cooperative. 2. Recording and reporting Like all companies, at the end of each year, we calculate our annual margin (profit). But because we are a cooperative, we divide this margin proportionally by the amount of (kilowatt-hours purchased) electricity each member uses throughout the year and allocate margins to each member’s account. This is called Capital Credit allocation. 3. Where’s the money? The money, called Capital Credits, is invested in equipment, operations, and workforce needed to meet the current demand for electricity and internet. It is your equity in the cooperative. 315200 4. Do I ever receive this money? You do! This process is called retirement. Each year, LREC’s Board of Trustees reviews company finances. When our financial condition permits, the Board decides to retire (pay) Capital Credits to our members based on their allocated share. Notices about retirement totals and years are printed in the December newsletter. Make sure to keep us updated on addresses so we can contact you about Capital Credit retirements. To make an address change, you must call us at 918-772-2526.
ENERGY INSIGHTS A conversation with Associated Electric Cooperative’s CEO
with some of the coal and natural gas units offline for forced repairs and others undergoing planned maintenance, we had little room for error. We operated to get every megawatt we could out of our generating fleet and relied more on power purchases to supplement our own generation. We did ask our members to help us conserve electricity during the early summer and we appreciated those efforts. That type of ask is rare and we never want it to become the norm.
David Tudor, Associated Electric Cooperative CEO, the power generation cooperative for LREC, discusses opportunities, challenges, and a bright future ahead for rural electric cooperatives.
This year we’ve seen national headlines about concerns over the reliability of electricity in America. Are those concerns valid? David: Are reliability issues real? Yes. During the past 20 years in our industry, there has been a shift from reliable, dispatchable coal and nuclear generation, primarily due to environmental concerns and the push toward, renewable resources. The problem is companies across the electric utility industry are being forced to retire baseload power plants that are the foundation of reliable power supply and they are not doing so on their own timetables. The timetables are being pushed by the federal administration, primarily due to concerns around climate change. Frankly, the dates being put forth to close coal power plants are arbitrary and have no modeling analysis to support them. The decision-makers in charge of those goals are not the ones accountable for the consequences — like diminished reliability.
This past summer heat waves hit early. How did Associated keep the power flowing? David: The situation was definitely tight, but we kept the lights on. The summer heat came in earlier than normal at record highs and it persisted. Normally, in July to early August we would see our hottest temperatures. This year, that heat started in mid-June. During that early heatwave, our biggest challenges were planned and unplanned outages at some of our coal and natural gas power plants. Our generating fleet is normally robust enough to meet the energy needs of the system during summer and winter. But
Associated’s current generation portfolio is diverse: coal and natural gas plants, wind and hydropower. What future changes can we expect? David: The biggest change will be adding megawatts to our existing fleet to shore up reliability for the future. As other regions have been retiring baseload power plants, we felt there could be a scarcity of generating capacity across the entire region that potentially could impact us. We’ve been adding megawatts to our existing natural gas fleet, which is the most efficient and cost-effective way to add capacity. For example, Unionville Power Station, a liquid-fuel plant, was idle, but we are bringing its 44 megawatts back online. Improvements at our existing natural gas plants are adding incremental but valuable generating capacity. Every megawatt we add of natural gas is good for members and the environment because it is dispatchable and cleaner than coal. We are executing the early phases of a plan to add up to 900 megawatts of additional natural gas generation to our fleet. These additions are to address new load growth on our system, which was an all-time high for Associated — and the peaks this past summer. I expect that new gas generation to be available in late 2026.
Some advocate for renewable energy at the expense of fossil-fuel electricity. How do you answer people who favor that approach? David: We are looking for generation technologies that actually work and can be financed to replicate the reliability of a coal power plant. That technology doesn’t exist today, anywhere in the world. Companies are retiring coal plants, claiming they will reduce carbon significantly or be carbon-free by a certain date, but they do not have any plan to replace dispatchable megawatts with a technology that is proven.
Associated is not in the business of doing things that are unproven. We’ve proven we aren’t against renewable energy, but we do oppose bad decisions that will make our system less reliable and less affordable for members. Associated is already a leader in wind development in the Midwest with 1,240 megawatts. The most recent addition of about 470 megawatts came online in 2020. We also have modeled the possibility of adding solar to our portfolio and have been searching for viable sites on our system where we could add solar projects. The supply chain shortages and issues with production of solar panels have increased prices significantly and slowed that process down. We think the right thing to do for now is to wait until costs settle down. When it’s the right price and the right place, which means “good for members,” I think you’ll see us pursue some level of solar development.
Looking into the future, are there any cutting-edge generation technologies you’re excited about? David: Excited is a relative term — many ideas sound great in the concept stage. Are they reliable? Are they affordable? Earlier this year, we signed an agreement with a company developing small modular nuclear reactors. Three large developers are working to put this technology online. Our agreement with one of these developers is basically to observe the process as this technology develops and is put into production. The earliest one of these units could be online is 2028 and the regulatory process around any sort of nuclear project can be a wildcard. Technologies like this aren’t near-term solutions, but we’re staying involved to see how it develops.
ELECTRICAL SAFETY Outside Your Home POWER LINES Do not plant trees within 25 ft of power lines.
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If you think a tree is too close to a power line, call LREC or submit a ticket on our website.
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Always keep yourself and equipment at least 10 ft away from power lines.
EXTENSION CORDS 1
Extension cords should only be a temporary solution.
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Never use an indoor extension cord for outside. Check for cords labeled ‘outdoor use only.’
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Never extend an extension cord with another cord to add length.
OUTDOOR OUTLETS
As a three-tiered cooperative system, which is not common in the industry, talk about how that system works. Pros and cons? David: I don’t believe there are any cons. Associated’s three-tiered system works very well, because it is structured to enable each tier to focus on their core competencies and do what they do best. For example, distribution cooperatives are really good at serving residential and commercial member-owners. They don’t have to worry about the transmission because the transmission cooperatives — which own Associated — are really good at operating their transmission systems. And Associated doesn’t have to worry about the quality or challenges with respect to transmission — our six transmission cooperatives take care of that. Our role is to generate electricity, which is Associated’s core competency and what we focus on to provide value to the system.
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Use GFCI outlets; they turn off power if there is a short.
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Install weatherproof boxes or covers on outdoor outlets.
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Opt to have additional outlets added instead of using more extension cords.
GENERATORS 1 Make sure your generator is properly grounded. 2 Never plug generators directly into a house outlet without a transfer switch. LREC offers a Generlink transfer switch. More information at www.lrecok.coop/generlink
3 Position generators away from windows, doors, and vents.
October is National Co-op Month Electric Co-ops power more than
20 Million
1 in 3 Americans is a co-op member.
homes, businesses, schools, and farms in 48 U.S. States.
There are more than
64,000 co-ops in the U.S.
Types of co-ops include electric, telecommunications, agriculture, hardware stores, healthcare, housing, credit unions, groceries, and more.
Electric co-ops were founded in the 1930s to meet the energy needs of rural communities, places the big investor-owned utilities refused to build power lines to and provide service.
Wagoner
Cherokee
businesses, farms, 25,753 homes, and ranches are powered by LREC, the majority in Cherokee, and Wagoner counties, with some in Muskogee, Rogers, Mayes, Adair, and Sequoyah counties.
LREC was founded in 1949 when members of East Central, located in Okmulgee decided to divide its territory into two separate cooperatives to be able to provide better service to its members.
Every co-op is led by the people for the people. LREC is governed by seven community-elected Board of Directors.
6.3 Million homes across the nation now have high-speed fiber internet thanks to electric co-ops re-lighting their communities.
of fiber 2,390 Miles have been built by LRTC, providing more than
17,088 local homes and businesses access to Gigabit internet speeds.
Source: Cooperative.com
Your Board of Trustees
Scott Manes.......................................President Lynn Lamons..............................Vice-President Randall Shankle ..... ............Secretary -Treasurer Jack Teague..............Asst. Secretary-Treasurer James Walls ........................................ Trustee Gary Cooper ..........................................Trustee Dianna Mayfield.....................................Trustee
Staff
John Lee....................................................CEO Ben McCollum ....................Director of Finance Logan Pleasant...............Director of Operations Jarrod Welch.....................Director of Fiber & IT Glen Clark ........................Director of Marketing Larry Mattes............................Communications Tina Glory-Jordan ............................Attorney
Office Hours Monday-Friday
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Telephone 800-364-LREC or 918-772-2526 Website: www.lrecok.coop www.lakeregionfiber.com Locations Hulbert, Wagoner & Tahlequah, OK. Main Office Address P.O. Box 127 Hulbert, OK 74441
Hidden Account Number Look for your account number hidden in this issue of the Powerline Press. If you find your number, Lake Region Electric will credit your next bill. To claim your credit, notify LREC’s Hulbert office by phone during the month of publication. The amount increases by $10 with each issue your prize goes unclaimed to a maximum of $50. Cooperative bylaws are available upon request at Lake Region Electric Cooperative’s office in Hulbert.
A Subsidiary of: Lake Region Electric Cooperative, Inc.
