SDMEA Hometown Power

CHRIS HILL

DIRECTOR OF MUNICIPAL ELECTRIC SERVICES

Winter is upon us. We have been having decent weather, but we all know that the cold weather is on its way. Winter means a few things for me. It means legislative session is nearing, and that my nights and weekends will be fi lled with basketball games and wrestling tournaments.

Last year during legislative session the SDMEA hosted our first legislative lunch at the Capitol in the House and Senate lobbies. Unfortunately, it was poor planning on my part as it was Ash Wednesday, and we were unlucky enough to host during winter storm Uri.

The winter storm hit hard, and our members went to work. Of our 35 municipal electric utilities in South Dakota, only 2 of them lost power, and only for a total of 30 minutes. Great planning and a variety of generation facilities continue to provide high reliability and managed to keep costs down in our municipalities. Heartland Consumers Power District and Missouri River Energy Services have done a great job of diversifying their generation to enhance our reliability.

This year, as noted in previous articles, the legislative lunch is scheduled for Jan. 26 and we would love to have a representative from our municipal electric communities there to represent your city or town, and the SDMEA. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I will get you more information regarding the legislative lunch.

Without sounding too redundant, I also want to discuss the upcoming SDMEA Conference. This year we will be asking any representative from your staff, council, or board to attend. We want as much attendance as possible so we can grow as an association through the networking opportunities given at the conference.

The dates for the 2022 SDMEA Conference and Technology Expo are April 5 and 6 in Watertown. Our conference this year will have presenters that pertain to all aspects of municipal electric utilities. In the past we have had presenters with topics such as South Dakota Retirement Systems, Personal Protective Equipment, Drones, Homeland Security and Electric Vehicles.

This year we are reaching out to potential speakers to discuss topics including: The Effects of EV Chargers on distribution systems, SDRS, Business Effects of Infl ation, Solar Installation and Safety Procedures, Large Demand Customers-Data Centers and Bitcoin, Law Enforcement, Supply Chain Issues, and Code Updates. Those who attend will also hear an update from Heartland Consumers Power District, Missouri River Energy Services, and the South Dakota Municipal Electric Association.

The conference is an opportunity to visit with other municipal electric communities and to make connections to help each other with our plans going forward. The conference is two-days, one-night, so it does go quickly but there is plenty of time to meet with other SDMEA members and get insight into their daily operations.

Day One consists of four presentations with a vendor exhibit to follow. Following the vendor show there is a prime rib dinner and social hour. Day Two we have a breakfast, followed by more presentations and a lunch before we depart. This year we are hoping to do a tour of the Terex plant as well. Look for emails in the near future to sign up for the SDMEA Conference!

Finally, the Comparison of Operations Survey will be sent out soon. I know that this is a busy time of year and the survey may seem a bit overwhelming, however, this survey is very important to our association and its members throughout the year. We use this information for setting rates, looking at energy effi ciency programs, and fi nding out how we can better serve our citizens. Look for the survey email and please don’t not hesitate to ask if you have any questions. This is the most important survey of the year for our association and helps us to recognize what makes your HOMETOWN great! ■

2022 SDMEA CONFERENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EXPO Watertown, SD | April 5 & 6