Larry Salmela joins Board from District 3 

When Larry Salmela retired after 35 1/2 years as a civil engineer with US Steel in the taconite industry, he and his wife Vicky moved just 35 miles to the west. But they ended up in an entirely different countryside.

Now their mile-long driveway ends on Rollercoaster Rd., about half way between Togo and Effie. The landscape includes oaks, Mead Lake and plenty of wildlife. It’s a wonderful place, they say.

And a welcoming place. The neighborhood has taken them under their wing since the couple moved into their home in February 2008, said Vicky.

Caption Contest 

Last month we invited readers to send in their suggestions for a caption on this picture of a wasps nest built on a member’s meter. Thanks for the many suggestions! Winner of the caption contest was John Berklich of Hibbing with his suggestion: The Meter Reader “Beeter”

Honorable mention suggestions were:

• Watch your kilowatts, wasted watts sting!...James W. Thompson, Harlan, IN
• Bee “me-deterred”...Karyn Sinkola, Deer River
• Our new tamper proof meter...Ivan Marble, Northome
• Electric Buzzer...Roger Traxler, St Charles

RoundUp® Grants Awarded 

On Wednesday, October 21, North Itasca Electric Trust Board held their regular fall grant meeting immediately following their annual organizational meeting.

At the organizational meeting, the votes were unanimous leaving the positions of President, Vice President, and secretary/treasurer unchanged. Linnette Davidson will remain President, Elizabeth Rahier will remain a Vice President, and Bonnie Korte will remain as Secretary/Treasurer.

The Trust Board meets twice a year and with each meeting the decisions become more and more difficult as the number of grant requests increases. At its fall meeting, fifty grant requests were received with the total amount requested at $22,534.22. Over the previous six months, North Itasca Electric had collected $12,028.40 in round up dollars. After a lot of discussion and difficult decisions, the Trust Board awarded grants to 48 applicants totaling $12,000.22.

Hunters' Suppers 

Saturday, November 6

Roxanne’s Sales Talk 

Do you know that when it comes to your appliances, the refrigerator uses the most electricity in your home?

Approximately one-sixth of all the electricity used in your home comes from your refrigerator. Although they have improved (refrigerators now use 20 percent less electricity than a 20-year-old model), there is still a lot of room for more improvement.

Load Management Audit Update 

If you recall reading my article in the May 2009 issue of the WATTS NEWS, I mentioned that you would be seeing me this summer in your neighborhoods checking both comverge radio receivers controlled by Great River Energy (GRE) and ripple controllers for those of you receiving power off of the Northome substation controlled by Beltrami Electric.

This article is meant to inform you why load management audits are so important to all members. North Itasca Electric does not only pay for the kWhs sold to members, but also a demand charge which can be very costly. Demand is the amount of power in kW (kilowatts) needed at a specific time. Not like kWh (kilowatt hours), which is power use over time. This demand charge from GRE is based on the amount of energy at a specific time which is called a “coincident peak.” This peak usually occurs on the hottest and the coldest days of the month around 7 p.m. The amount charged to North Itasca Electric varies throughout the year, averaging around $15.62 per kW.

How much energy does your electric space heater use?e 

Electric space heaters are usually purchased with a maximum output of 1500 watts. This is because that is all the power the electrical code allows without tripping most circuit breakers. If you are planning on using these heaters to heat your home, consider the following facts:

1. How much heat will I get from my heater:
   a. A new well insulated home requires approximately 15-20 BTUs per square foot to heat the space depending on the home’s construction. Considering that (1) watt of electricity will produce 3.4 BTUs of heat, this heater would heat a room approximately 12’ x 20’ in size.
   
2. Operating costs:
   a. A 1500 watt heater, no matter how nice it looks or how much it costs, delivers the same amount of heat. At the current winter energy rate of 8.9 cents per kWh, this heater would cost you 13 cents per hour to operate. If used continually, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week for the entire month, your cost to operate the heater would $3.12 per day or $93.60 for a 30 day month.
   b. To estimate your accrual cost, know how many hours you used the heater and multiply those hours by .13 to get your cost.

Please call or stop in to see us to learn more on what you can do to save energy and money heating your home this winter.

November 2009 Calendar of Events