Syncing the sound - Red River Valley Cooperative Power Association January 2021 - Red River Valley Co-op Power
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Red River Valley Cooperative Power Association
January 2021
Syncing
the
sound
page 6
The CEO’s Report 2021 Director Elections
Annual meeting goes
Red River Valley Co-op Power is an equal 2021 director elections
opportunity provider and employer.
Rich Whitcomb
mail-in and virtual Red River Valley Co-op Power members in District 1 and 3
Director Districts
CEO can now submit nominations to compete for a seat on the board District 1 Townships
Sparks (USPS 509-300) is published 4 - Nesbit 22 - Scandia
nine times a year – January, February/ of directors.
March, April, May/June, July, August/ Happy New Year! I think I can speak for most when I say that I look forward As a cooperative, Red River Valley Co-op Power is owned
5-H untsville 23 - Hubbard
& Rhinehart 24 - Shelly
September, October, November and to the hope and promise of a new year. by its members. Members elect a board of directors to represent 6 - Bygland 25 - Good Hope
December – by the Red River Valley All indicators point to a solid 2020 for your cooperative. Rates remained un- them at the cooperative. Two directors will be elected at the 7 - Fisher 26 - Lockhart
Cooperative Power Association, 109 changed (for the fourth straight year), operating margins solid, reliability strong 2021 Annual Meeting on March 18. Due to the ongoing pan- 8 - Lowell 27 - Spring Creek
2nd Ave. E, Halstad, MN 56548. Pe- 12 - Fairfax 28 - Green Meadow
riodical postage paid at Halstad, MN
and employees safe. Additionally, staff worked hard to communicate and work demic, the annual meeting will be held via the mail-in/virtual 13 - Andover 29 - Pleasant View
56548. POSTMASTER: Send address with members who were struggling due to circumstances surrounding meeting hybrid method that occurred last year. Your coopera- 14 - Roome 30 - Anthony
changes to Sparks, Red River Valley COVID-19. tive’s bylaws allow for this method. 15 - Tynsid 31 - Halstad
Cooperative Power Association, P.O. Directors whose terms expire in 2021 are: 16 - Vineland 33 - Hegne
Due to those continuing circumstances, your board of directors made the 17 - Hammond 34 - McDonaldsville
Box 358, Halstad, MN 56548-0358.
decision to hold the March 18 annual meeting in a mail-in/virtual format. Last District 1 (three-year term): Bob Kinkade 18 - Russia 35 - Lake Ida
Phone (218) 456-2139 or (800) 788-7784 year’s delayed annual meeting proved that the annual business of the cooperative District 3 (three-year term): Neil Wieser 21 - Reis
www.rrvcoop.com can still be done in a transparent manner, albeit just not in person at this time. District 2 Townships
Subscription rates: $1/year So stay tuned for details in the upcoming February/March annual report and How to run 32 - Hendrum 44 - Flowing
36 - Rockwell 45 - Morken
Rich Whitcomb, Editor subsequent mail-in packet of information about how to participate via the mail- To run for a director position, interested members in the 37 - Winchester 46 - Kragnes
Mary Merrill, Graphic Artist in portion and how to view information online and in a virtual format. above-mentioned districts (see map) must request to have the 38 - Mary 48 - Moland
January 2021 material mailed to them or arrange a time to pick up the packet 39 - Lee 49 - Spring Prairie
Volume 65, No. 1 at the office in Halstad. Per the bylaws, any 15 or more members 40 - Georgetown 49A - Cromwell
41 - Viding 50 - Riverton
Halstad, Minnesota (USPS 509-300)
who reside in District 1 or 3 may nominate an eligible member 42 - Felton 50A - Hawley
for a director position in that specific district. 43 - Hagen
Winter safety tips
OFFICERS & DIRECTORS
No member may be elected to a director position unless District 3 Townships
Roger Krostue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fisher
Chairman
nominated in this manner. No write-in ballots will be accepted. 47 - Oakport 55A - Skree
The cooperative must receive the completed petitions and forms 51 - Glyndon 56 - Barnesville
Marvis Thompson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Perley
52 - Moorhead 56A - Humboldt
Vice Chairman from the packet no later than 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 53 - Kurtz 57 - Alliance
Trevor Sorby. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glyndon The National Fire Protection Association estimates that 47,700 home fires 2021. Please see below for the section of the bylaws pertaining 54 - Elmwood 58 - Holy Cross
Secretary-Treasurer
occur each year in the U.S. due to electrical failure or malfunction. This winter, to nominations and qualifications. Please call with questions. 55 - Elkton
Bob Kinkade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ada
Sarah Tommerdahl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hendrum
safeguard your loved ones and your home with these electrical safety tips from
Neil Wieser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Moorhead the Electrical Safety Foundation International.
Rich Whitcomb
Chief Executive Officer Don’t overload outlets – Overloaded outlets are a major cause of residential fires. Petition for Nomination
Avoid using extension cords or multioutlet converters for appliance connections – they The following members wish to nominate [insert name]_____________________________________ , for the
Red River Valley Cooperative
should be plugged directly into a wall outlet. If you’re relying heavily on extension cords Power Association Bylaws
three-year [insert “District 1”] or for the three-year [insert “District 3”] _________________ director
position, and to place such name on the ballot for the March 18, 2021, election at the annual meeting of the
Scheduled Board Meeting Cooperative, in accordance with Article III, Section 4, of the bylaws.
in general, you may need additional outlets to address your needs. Contact a qualified
Board meetings are held in NAME ADDRESS ACCOUNT NO.
Halstad at the cooperative
electrician to inspect your home and add new outlets. 1. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________ ARTICLE III – DIRECTORS
E
2. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________
Section 4. Nominations.
Never leave space heaters unattended – If you’re using a space heater, turn if off
3. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________
office starting at 8:30 a.m. on
L
4. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________
the next-to-last Monday of before leaving the room. Make sure heaters are placed at least 3 feet away from flam-
5. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________
(a) Any fifteen (15) or more members who reside in any
P
6. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________
each month. mable items. 7. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________ one district may nominate an eligible member for a di-
rector position in that district. Such nomination shall
M
8. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________
9. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________
Inspect heating pads and electric blankets – Electric blankets that are more than 10 10. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________
be in writing and signed by said fifteen (15) members,
A
11. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________
Outages: 800-788-7784 years old create additional risks for a fire hazard. Inspect your electric blankets and heat- or more, and delivered to the Secretary at least thirty
S
12. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________
13. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________
ing pads – look for dark, charred or frayed spots, and make sure the electrical cord is not 14. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________ (30) days before the members’ meeting.
15. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________
damaged. Do not place any items on top of a heating pad or electric blanket, and never 16. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________ (b) No member may be elected to a director position un-
fold them when in use.
17. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________
On the cover: Jason Bjerke, Minnkota 18. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________ less nominated in the manner provided by this section.
senior technical maintenance technician,
19. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________
No write-in ballots shall be accepted.
se portable generators safely – Unfortunately, winter storms can sometimes cause
U 20. _________________________ ______________________________________ ________________
makes adjustments on the new (c) The members may, at any meeting at which a director
prolonged power outages, which means some consumers will use portable generators The Cooperative must receive the completed petition no later than 4:30 p.m., February 16, 2021. At the annual
115-kilovolt (kV) ripple injector that
meeting scheduled for March 18, 2021, elections will be held for a three-year term each for one director in
or directors shall be removed, as heretofore pro-
to power their homes. Never connect a standby generator into your home’s electrical
District 1 and one director in District 3.
was installed at Wilton substation near The directors whose terms expire in 2021 are as follows:
vided, elect a successor or successors thereto without
Bemidji, Minn., in November. Ripple system. For portable generators, plug appliances directly into the outlet provided on DISTRICT 1 DISTRICT 3
compliance with the provisions herein with respect to
the generator. Start the generator first, before you plug in appliances. Run it in a well-
3-year term 3-year term
injectors deliver signals that are essential Bob Kinkade Neil Wieser
nominations.
ventilated area outside your home. The carbon monoxide it generates is deadly, so keep
1. Any 15 or more members who reside in District 1 or 3 may nominate an eligible member for a director
to the cooperative’s demand response position in that district. No member may be elected to a director position unless nominated in this manner.
In the event of joint membership, only the signature of one joint member shall be acceptable. continued on page 5
program. Story pages 6-7. it away from your garage, doors, windows and vents.
2 January 2021 SPARKS SPARKS January 2021 3
Red River Valley Cooperative Power Association Bylaws continued from page 3
(d) If a member is absent from any meeting, the member may ual who is, either by blood, law, or marriage, including half,
vote by mail for the election of directors as provided in these step, foster, and adoptive relations, a spouse, child, grand-
Bylaws, or as may be permitted by law. child, parent, grandparent, or sibling, or principally resides
Failure to comply with any of the provisions of this section shall in the same residence;
not affect in any manner whatsoever validity of any election of (f) be only one (1), and not more than one (1), member of a
directors. joint membership, provided, however, that none shall be
eligible to become or remain a director or to hold a position
Section 2. Qualifications. of trust in the Cooperative unless all shall meet the qualifi-
cations herein set forth;
Persons eligible to become or remain a director of the Coopera-
tive shall: (g) if a member of the Cooperative is not a natural person, i.e.
a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or
(a) be a member in good standing receiving electric service; similar, then the member may appoint or elect one (1) duly
(b) have voting rights within the district from which the direc- authorized natural person, residing within the external
Winter energy-saving tips
tor is to be elected; boundaries of the district from which (s)he is nominated, to
be eligible for election as a director to the Board of Direc-
(c) not be employed by, materially affiliated with, or have a
tors;
material financial interest in, any individual or entity which
either is: (h) never have been convicted of a felony;
K
eep the cold out and the warm in consult a professional if the job is Put a timer on your block engine (1) directly or substantially competing with the Coopera- (i) agree, upon election, to regularly attend all Board, regular
this winter with the following en- complicated or the home is tightened heater – If you have cars, trucks or tive; or and special members’ meetings; and
ergy and money-saving tips from so much that mechanical ventilation tractors plugged in, a timer can help (j) not become physically or mentally unable with reasonable
(2) selling goods and services in substantial quantity to the
Red River Valley Co-op Power. may be needed. There are professional you save energy. Cooperative; or accommodation to perform substantially all of the duties
Seal air leaks – Air leaks are among services that offer a complete energy Change lights to LED – Save up to of Director, and the condition that creates such inability is
(3) possessing a substantial conflict of interest with the reasonably expected to last six (6) months or more.
the greatest source of energy loss in audit with blower door and thermal 80% on lighting by going to LED over Cooperative;
a home. According to the Depart- camera imaging for a fee. incandescent. Just look on the box to Exception. In regard to the restrictive provisions of this section
ment of Energy, caulking, sealing and Furnace filter – Replace your For purposes of this section, the terms “material” or “sub- that are based upon close relative relationships, no incumbent
ensure the lumen output is equal to
stantially” shall be interpreted as constituting a minimum director shall lose eligibility to remain a director or to be re-
weatherstripping where appropriate furnace filter as necessary or recom- the ones you are replacing. of 5% of a member’s total hours of employment, sales or
can save 10-20% on heating and mended. There’s a reason this is one Many more tips are available at elected a director if, during a director’s incumbency, a director
income on an annual basis; becomes a first kindred relative of another incumbent director
cooling. of the most common tips mentioned. www.energy.gov.
(d) not be an employee or not have been an employee of the or of a Cooperative employee because of a marriage or an adop-
Look for air leaks in walls, ceil- A dirty filter causes a furnace to work Cooperative within the last three (3) years; tion to which the director was not a part.
ings, windows, doors, lighting and harder.
(e) not be a close relative of an employee, or of a director, unless Nothing contained in this section shall, or be construed to, af-
plumbing fixtures, switches and
the close relative is a candidate for the director’s seat, where fect in any manner whatsoever the validity of any action taken
electrical outlets. One way to check
for this is to hold a lit incense stick on Estimating energy usage and cost as found in these Bylaws “close relative” means any individ- at any meeting of the Board of Directors.
a windy day next the items mentioned When it comes to energy use, every home is unique. Home
above and other places where air may construction, the number of appliances, how they are used and
Sign up for
the length of time they are used all factor into your monthly
leak. If the smoke stream travels hori-
zontally, you have located an air leak. electric statement. If you want to get a better handle on where Manage your account with the
your energy dollars are going, use the following information to
After finding the leaks, consider
the following:
begin estimating how much electricity your appliances use.
SmartHub new SmartHub mobile app!
• Weatherstrip doors and windows. Step 1– Since the wattage of an appliance or electrical equipment determines the
• Caulk and seal air leaks where electrical usage per hour, the first step is to determine the wattage. The wattage of @ rrvcoop.com • New look. New experience. Same
plumbing, ducting or electrical wir- an appliance is found on the serial plate. It is possible that electrical equipment SmartHub.
may be expressed in volts and amperes rather than watts. If so, multiply volts and
ing comes through walls. • View daily and monthly energy use.
• Install foam gaskets behind outlet amperes together to determine the wattage.
Example: 120 volts x 12.1 amps = 1,452 watts • View and pay your bills online.
and switch plates on exterior walls.
• Use foam sealant on larger gaps • Go paperless and receive an email
Step 2 – Use the formula to estimate usage and cost. The formula is (watts x hours
around window trims, baseboards of operation)/1,000 watts = kilowatt-hours. To find the cost, multiply the kWh by notice when your bill is ready to
and other places. the rate. Keep in mind that you are billed in kWh. 1,000 watts equals 1 kilowatt. view.
• Check to ensure the fireplace Example: A light uses 100 watts and is left on 15 hours. How many kWh are
damper is closed and fits properly
• Compare energy use to changes in
used and what does it cost you?
when not in use. temperature.
kWh use = (100 watts x 15 hrs)/1,000 watts = 1.5 kWh
Item to note: When adding Your cost = 1.5 kWh x $.121 = $.1815
insulation or air sealing, be sure to For assistance, call us during regular business hours at 218-456-2139 or send an email to info@rrvcoop.com.
4 January 2021 SPARKS SPARKS January 2021 5
Syncing the sound
Minnkota, your cooperative’s wholesale
power supplier, works to enhance and improve
demand response system
T
here are soundwaves hid- “This is our first time really look-
den beneath the gentle hum ing at the entire system, not just
of Minnkota’s power delivery making fixes at one or two sites,” said
system that engineers and technicians Kasey Borboa, electrical engineer-
work tirelessly to perfect. They turn ing supervisor. “If you can imagine
dials, tweak settings and monitor sig- throwing 17 soundwaves all together
nals pulsing through the cooperative’s and trying to line them up at different
ripple injectors in hopes of finding a distances, that is exactly what we’re
perfect harmony. doing.”
There was a lot of buzz in 2020 Ripple injectors send tens of thou-
around Minnkota’s ripple injection sands of electronic signals throughout
Surrounded by the northern Minnesota woods, Jason Bjerke, Minnkota senior technical maintenance technician, adjusts ripple injection equipment at the Wilton substation.
system – the unique set of equipment the entire transmission system and
that drives the demand response/off- into the distribution system. Receivers
peak program that Red River Valley plugged into standard electrical cur- time to ensure the signal reaches excess power, which saves money for moved to different substations. ness of Minnkota’s system provides a
Co-op Power is a part of. Two ripple rent at homes and businesses can read across the entire 35,000-square-mile the membership. In fact, Red River “Now we know what the signal learning experience for him as well.
injectors were replaced with new the signals, and when the appropriate system served by Minnkota and the Valley Co-op Power has demonstrated is doing at the end of the line and “I’m impressed with the size of
equipment, custom communication message is sent, the receivers inter- membership. The process of tuning the ability to shed 13 megawatts or what the members are likely seeing,” this system,” Rickenbacher said. “In
technologies were deployed and a rupt the electric power flowing to an and syncing the injectors is a combi- more for a period of at least four Borboa said. Europe, you have a city that has its
full-system sync was performed for electric heating system, water heater nation of art and science. hours. This also helps avoid building Minnkota technicians have own ripple control system. The radius
the first time in nearly 50 years of or other controllable load. When “Tuning an injector is like tighten- new power plants. installed ripple monitors at 50 sub- is about 10 miles at most. This system
operation. This work will inform a control is no longer needed, a signal ing the strings of a musical instru- While many utilities use radio or station sites with plans to deploy the is much different and the injection
thorough review and modeling effort is sent to turn the electric system back ment to make sure it vibrates at a Wi-Fi to send their demand response devices at nearly all 255 substations. level is much higher, but that makes it
on all 17 ripple injectors that stretches on. certain frequency,” said Nick Geller- signals, Minnkota has committed to Having consistent data will help en- more interesting to work on.”
from the Canadian border to south of All injectors need to work together man, Minnkota’s lead engineer on the ripple injection system because sure the system is performing reliably. – Reprinted from Minnkota Messenger
Fargo/Moorhead. and fire at approximately the same the project. “Syncing all the injec- the infrastructure is in place and
tors together is like coordinating an it has proven to be highly reliable Legacy system
orchestra and making sure that your through harsh winters. Historically, Over the last five years, Minnkota
violins, drums and other instruments the challenge has been that the system has replaced 10 of the 17 injectors
are all playing at the same time.” was only designed to provide one-way with new equipment. Plans are to
communication. have all injectors replaced by the end
Two-way communication Borboa said that countless ven- of 2024.
Minnkota became a pioneer of dors were asked to develop a device With little access to experts in the
demand response in the early 1970s that would provide additional data United States, Minnkota purchased
when the ripple injection system was and two-way communication. There the injectors from a Swiss company
built. Since then, the program has be- were few takers, however, so Borboa and works with Solutec’s Patrick
come one of the most successful and decided to ask Gellerman if he could Rickenbacher. Even in a pandemic,
unique in the country with more than design a solution. Rickenbacher’s critical infrastructure
55,000 consumers participating, in- Information gathered from the worker designation allowed him to
cluding about 1,800 Red River Valley ripple monitors is being used to de- travel from Switzerland to the United
Co-op Power member-accounts. By velop a model that will help identify States and, after following proper
reducing the demand for electricity signal issues and determine the effects quarantine and self-monitoring re-
during peak usage times, Minnkota of a transmission line failure or ripple quirements, help with a new injector
and Red River Valley Co-op Power injector malfunction. It will also de- installation this fall. Gellerman (left) and Kasey Borboa inspect the inner
(Left to right) Joe Hensel, Patrick Rickenbacher, Nick Gellerman, Jared Thompson and Jason Bjerke work together workings of the ripple monitor device that Minnkota
to tune the new ripple injection system at the Wilton substation from the adjacent control house. are able to avoid purchasing costly termine if ripple injectors need to be Rickenbacher said the unique- custom developed and builds in-house.
6 January 2021 SPARKS SPARKS January 2021 7
Save money and energy in 2021
with energy efficiency rebates!
Sample 2021 Electric Rebates for Members
Equipment Specifications Rebate
Air-source heat pump >16 SEER $500/ton*
Ground-source heat
Energy Star-rated $500/ton*
pump
Min. 80-gallon capacity.
$300-$650
Electric water heater Must be on load
per unit
management program.
Energy efficiency rebates Off-peak electric heat Must be resistance
for members remain in effect (plenum, baseboard,
hanging heater, etc.)
electric on off-peak
program.
$25/kW*
for 2021. Please see the chart
Electric boiler, brick Must be on off-peak
for a sample of incentives. storage, slab storage program.
$45/kW*
All incentives, criteria and
Electric vehicle (EV) 240V-rated Level 2 $50/kW/limit $500
guidelines for resident and business charger charger on load control per account
members can be found at
www.rrvcoop.com LED business lighting
(retrofit only)
40 watts (high-bay and
800-788-7784 (retrofit only) wall pack applications)
$6 per fixture
All criteria are listed LED tube lighting
4-ft. linear lengths $2 per tube
on the rebate form. (retrofit only)
Every install must be new equipment and provide proof of purchase unless site verification is approved.
*These amounts include a rebate from Minnkota Power Cooperative, which has a capped rebate, so call for details.You can also read
