Over the CEO’s Desk: Rate adjustment approved by Board

Last month in the WATTS NEWS I talked about a rate adjustment which would be needed on January 1, 2008 in the approximate amount of $750,000 or 15%. At its board meeting on December 21, 2007 your Board of Directors elected to cut that increase from $750,000 to $625,000 or 12.3% which should be sufficient to satisfy our bankers and meet all of our obligations but there won’t be much left over to help with future cost increases.

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White Oak Classic Jan 12-13 

Last year the White Oak Classic was cancelled because of poor trail conditions.

This year there’s snow. Lots of it.

“People realize we can’t change the weather,” said Dan Bergerson, race marshal for the 130 mile dog sled race. And in a year of good snow conditions mushers have responded: 89 teams are signed up for the third running of the race, including 40 teams of ten dogs each.

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Area food shelf donations 

Most of you as members of North Itasca Electric Cooperative Inc. are aware of the compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) program that was started prior to the 2007 annual meeting last May. North Itasca Electric Cooperative Inc. has been supplying CFL light bulbs to those members donating $1.00 per bulb to the area food shelves.

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Roxanne's Sales Talk 

First off I would like to thank all of you who made it to the Christmas Open House. It was a lot of fun seeing everyone once again. You helped make the sale a success. I also want to say a big thanks to Roy Bain, who even though it was freezing out gave wagon rides above and beyond the time frame he was asked to. Everyone including myself enjoyed the sleigh ride. Thanks, we appreciate all you did!

This month I thought I would talk about some energy saving tips. The following low-cost ideas will pay you back in energy savings in less than a year.

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Open Bowling! 

Fanciful or practical, all pottery bowls are welcome for the fourth annual Edge of the Wilderness Empty Bowls project. And community members are invited to the Bigfork High School art room on Saturday, Jan. 19 to try their hand at making one.

It’s for a good cause. The bowls will be available at a soup luncheon on Thurs., March 13 for a donation of $10. The project benefits the Bigfork area food shelf.

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Co-op Shorts: Instantaneous Water Heaters & the Truth about those New Room Heaters 

Instantaneous water heaters brutal on utility grid

Instantaneous water heaters have been advertised recently telling the public how good they are.

Don’t be fooled! There are many disadvantages of these units that far outweigh their benefits.

Tankless water heaters draw energy “on demand” and do not have thermal storage. These surges of energy amount to a significantly higher peak load for utilities resulting in increased cost and, more significantly, increased waste during non-peak periods.

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