Letter to our Members 

Over the past year I’ve heard quite a lot about the “Power Cost Adjustment (PCA)” our customers see on their bill each month. It’s normally not a big amount and it can be either a charge or a credit which we pass along to you when our power supplier has unanticipated costs or savings. In 2009 the PCA saved co-op members money by lowering the cost per kWh. I know most folks don’t notice when the PCA reduces their bill but it sticks out like a red flag when it increases the bill. At any rate, it’s worked to your (and our) advantage in 2009.

Webcast: How much energy do I use? ...And how can I use less? 

Join North Itasca Electric Cooperative for an informative Minnesota Brighter Ideas webcast that will help you identify areas in your home where you are wasting energy. Learn how you can use less energy and make your home more healthy and efficient.

Minnesotans continue to use more electricity to enrich their lives -- whether it’s to power new electronics in homes to the kids leaving the lights on. The 30 minute webcast will give you a chance to learn where you may be wasting energy while showing some tips to reduce your electricity usage. Energy experts from North Itasca Electric’s wholesale power provider Great River Energy will also answer your questions via the webcast’s chat function.

The webcast will take place at 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at http://MNBrighterIdeas.Webex.com. (Please note there is NOT a www in the address).

Additional information on how you can save energy today can be found at www.MNBrighterIdeas.com.

Joel Maggert joins Board 

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” said Joel Maggert.

He was speaking of the many varied life experiences he has had, including running a dairy farm, logging, running a saw mill, being a Koochiching County Commissioner and traveling through 36 states. Currently he and son-in-law Brian are raising Red Angus cattle and he is helping his wife Irene with a new newspaper, “The Northome Area News.”

One of his most rewarding jobs has been driving a school bus, he said. He has been a driver since 1970 and now is driving his third generation of kids in the Northome School District.

Energy Star® Home Rebate awarded 

Mark and Renae Rasmusson built a beautiful new 3,242 sq. ft. home on Bowstring Lake using energy technologies that reduce their energy consumption. The Rasmussons had their home inspected and received a 5 Star Home Energy Rating certificate which qualifies them to receive a $950 rebate. North Itasca Electric along with Great River Energy offered this rebate to the Rasmussons in December 2009.

White Oak Classic race weekend Jan. 8  

If you love the thrill of a race start, with engines revving and anticipation in the air – if you like dogs, and their ability to run – if you enjoy history, the outdoors, wilderness trails and pancakes...you will want to be in Deer River on Friday morning, Jan. 8. That’s the day that over 600 dogs and their teams will enter the chute for the start of the annual White Oak Classic.

It’s a 130 mile course with four races through the remote wooded snowmobile trails of northern Minnesota, passing through or ending at Gosh Dam Place on Highway 46 north of Deer River, Squaw Lake, Northome, Effie, Bigfork and Marcell.

“CFL for Food” 2009 donations  

It’s that time again when North Itasca Electric distributes checks to the food shelves serving customers in its service territory. If you have read the last two issues of the WATTS NEWS, you’ve seen how this program has brought attention to other cooperatives looking for program ideas for their organizations. Cash donations in 2009 have exceeded all previous years, totaling $2,277 which will be divided between Bigfork, Deer River and Northome Food Shelves. Each food shelf has received a check for $759.

January 2010 Calendar of Events