Over the CEO's Desk: We had a good year!  

Despite the slow economy we had a good year in 2011. Through November we sold about 4 percent more energy than we did the prior year which helped us offset much of the 32 percent wholesale rate increase from Minnkota and the 5.1 percent increase from Great River Energy. We also had a lower “coincident billing peak” with our power suppliers than we’ve had in previous years. I believe that’s because many of the weather patterns passed to our south which resulted in the big cooperatives around the metro area and in southern Minnesota bearing the brunt of the increases.

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My View from the Board Table  

Have you ever wondered why do I get my electricity from North Itasca Electric? What kind of a business model is it, and how come there are boundaries between service territories? One of the reasons these thoughts are fresh in my mind is because of a letter Mr. Ortman received a few weeks ago. It was from a young man who grew up in this area and is currently a senior at North Dakota State University majoring in business administration. He is currently taking a cooperative class and was required to select a cooperative and write a term paper on it. Because his family has many generations of roots in this area he selected North Itasca Electric for the subject of his paper.

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New Transmission Line described at Open House  

Representatives from Great River Energy joined cooperative members at an open house on Dec. 5 to explain the proposed 69 kV transmission project GRE plans on building to improve reliability for the North Itasca Electric distribution system.

The line would intersect the Minnesota Power 230 kV line that runs through Koochiching County about nine miles northeast of Effie and connect to the 69 kV line which runs west from the Bigfork Substation about a mile south of Bigfork.

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What's the best way to pay my electric bill?  

Gradually over the last few years, we have offered more and more options to our customers on the different ways to pay your monthly electric bill other than the traditional way of sending a check in the mail.

We have a large number of customers who have signed up to have their monthly bills automatically deducted from either a checking or savings account. Also, we have a large number who have their monthly bills charged automatically to a credit card. But, did you know that you can also go out to our website at www.northitascaelectric.com, log on to your account, and do a onetime payment and have it charged to either a debit or credit card?

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Tube fluorescent bulbs being discontinued in 2012 

Effective in July of 2012, the Energy Efficiency Act will be banning the use and sale of many T12 fluorescent lighting fixtures commonly used today. On the continuation page is a list of those bulbs being discontinued.

Replacement bulbs with a higher CRI (Color Rendering Index) will be available, but you may find that the cost may be higher. Alternate solutions are to install retrofit kits to convert T12 fixtures to T8s. With this retrofit, you could install low energy ballast with (4) 28 watt tubes, reducing your energy consumption to 84 watts per fixture.

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Voyageurs Classic Sled Dog Race cancelled for 2012 

Due to a lack of snow and an unfavorable forecast, officials of the 2012 Voyageurs Classic Sled Dog Race have cancelled the event for this year. The race had been scheduled for January 7-8 and will be run on January 12-13 in 2013.

“Our biggest concern is the safety of the mushers and the dogs,” said Race Director Ellen Bogardus-Szymaniak in a letter to mushers posted on the race website. “We just don’t want teams out on a potentially marginal trail the first time folks can get onto a sled.”

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January 2012 Calendar of Events 

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