Dawson Public Power

Dawson Power Mixes Water And Electricity With Interesting Results

2011-10-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

Removing irrigated acres could have a significant impact on our economy...

Two years ago, the Dawson Public Power board and management conducted a strategic planning effort to help the District identify threats and opportunities as we looked into the future. One of the threats identified was the current practice of water management entities in the state buying up water rights, thereby reducing irrigated acres for the purpose of enhancing stream flow.

‘Significant impact’

This practice is being widely used on the Republican River Basin and now more recently on the Platte River in the areas that have been identified by the Department of Natural Resources as over or fully appropriated. These parcels of land in essence become dryland and obviously produce less crop. Our first inclination was to look at impacts on the District for stranded investment -- electric lines which were built to serve irrigation load that would be no longer used. But as we examined the issue further we realized that the loss of crop production really has a huge impact on the rural agriculture economy in the areas affected. This particular water management practice has significant impact on our farmers, agri-businesses, banks, counties, schools, and small towns in our service area.

Looking at the numbers

The District wanted to examine this issue further and commissioned an Economic Impact study to be done by the Bureau of Business Research of the University of Nebraska Lincoln. We have just received the preliminary results of the study and I will share with you some of the highlights.

The study area is Lincoln, Dawson, and Buffalo counties within the District service area. Two scenarios were developed. The first was a reduction of irrigated acres of 3,500 and the second was a reduction of 18,600 acres, both feasible objectives under current water management policy in place. 2010 average yields and pricing from the 2009 Agricultural Outlook were used in the model.

The direct annual impact of a reduction of crop sales, impact on business receipts, impacts on workers and wages along with loss of tax revenues were examined.

	*Annual change in dollars per...*
Economic Measure	3,500 acres removed	18,600 acres removed
Business receipts	-$2,229,000	-$11,847,000
Labor income	-$694,000	-$3,690,000
Employment	-26	-138

So what does this all mean?

In my opinion, because of multi-state compacts and endangered species demands, water managers in the state of Nebraska are very focused on maintaining stream flows and have enacted regulations, such as irrigation reduction, to meet their objectives. In that process, sufficient economic analysis was not done to develop understanding of the consequences that this type of regulation has on the local economy. Maybe a cost benefit analysis should be required to enact such regulation in the future. At the very least both environmental and economic benefits of changing water consumption need to be considered to help identify policies which yield the highest net benefit for all Nebraska residents.

Nebraska has been blessed with world class water resources. Instead of fighting over who gets the water in the streams and rivers which are the remnants of the hydrological cycle, efforts need to be made to refocus on the complete water cycle and study the opportunities a water balance consumption model can bring. Maybe it’s time for the next evolution of water policy development in Nebraska?

Until next time…

Robert Heinz, General Manager

Water Technology At Work

2011-08-29T09:48:00.000-05:00

COURTESY OF KNOP -- www.knopnews2.com (Jacqueline Skarda)

For the full story, please go to this link: Water Technology At Work!

Nebraska Water Balance Alliance: THREE GOALS
1. Sound Groundwater Management
2. Working Rivers
3. Stable, Vibrant Nebraska Economy

The Memory Of A Paper Trail

2011-08-17T08:50:00.000-05:00

The other day a business associate from another company asked me for our rate information for irrigation. Our electric rates are public so it was easy to comply with his request – REALLY EASY. He had the data in hand within minutes of his request. Then I stopped to think about the “before computer life” I used to live.

Email has been revolutionary in the world of business communication. The use of email within a business can greatly increase productivity for employees. Although it cannot and should not replace all face-to-face communication and others forms of communication, internal email usage can cover many areas within the business.

Just a decade or so earlier, this request would have required paper, a copy machine, an envelope, ink, a stamp, and human handling by about 5 different people. Today it requires about 3 clicks of a mouse. For that one request alone, that electronic communication probably saved my company about $10-$15.

My granddaughters have never been without a computer. They have not had to rely on a public library to do a research paper and they have never had to fret about missed phone calls from friends. I don’t want to give away my age but a microwave oven was new technology when I was in my early teens.

In the future, all of our kids’ text books will be accessed through tablet devices. They will not need text book covers, a backpack, pens, pencils or erasers. Losing a text book is devastating but can you imagine how catastrophic it will be for this same teen to lose a tablet computer? That tablet device contains her text books, her homework; it contains her class notes, prior school papers, book reports, flash cards, pictures, email, her Facebook page, and her favorite games. It contains her addresses, phone numbers, doodles, diary and her calendar. Whoever found her iPad, Droid Tablet, Playbook or Nook just found her entire life. Scary thought, huh?

It is our future. People insist on finding the most convenient way possible to live their busy lives. They want an easy way to conduct transactions – whether its communication, paying a bill, accessing account information, making travel arrangements, looking up vacation spots, or shopping. It’s all there….under a keyboard, on top of a mouse, or sliding around a touchpad.

Dawson Power makes doing business with us easy and convenient. Customer-read meters are a thing of the past for most customers. Today our meters send your reading in automatically. You can receive your bill through email. With two clicks and a log-in you can pay it online. If you want to know what we’re up to on a daily basis….ask to be our friend on Facebook!

The Anatomy Of A Distribution System

2011-07-21T12:54:00.000-05:00

This is great information for everyone. American Electric Power explains the pieces of a distribution system in language we all understand.

Special thanks to American Electric Power (http://www.aep.com).

You can reach Dawson Public Power District at (308) 324-2386, http://www.dawsonpower.com; or on Facebook, keyword search dawsonpower

The Future of Power Costs in Nebraska

2011-05-31T11:46:00.000-05:00

Looking at the kilowatt hour rate by state shows that Nebraska ranks 10th lowest in the nation. The Energy Information Administration (the source most used for comparing rates in all energy sectors) cites Nebraska’s average rate is 7.21¢ per kilowatt hour. Lowest on the scale is Wyoming which charges an average of 6.08¢ per kilowatt hour. As a nation, the average kilowatt hour cost is 9.82¢. Conversely, the state with the highest cost of electricity is Hawaii which charges an average of 21.21¢ per kilowatt hour.

Like Nebraska, Wyoming’s chief source of power is obtained through coal plants. Actually, 45% of our nation derives its electricity from coal; 23% is from natural gas; 20% from nuclear; 7% from hydro plants, 4% from renewables and 1% all other.

The EPA is expected to enact several key regulations in the coming decade that will have an impact on the U.S. power sector, particularly the fleet of coal-fired power plants. Because the rules have not yet been finalized, their impacts cannot be fully analyzed. Rest assured, any ruling by EPA will impact electric rates negatively because the EPA is focusing on our nation’s largest source of power…coal.

At a recent meeting hosted by Nebraska Public Power District, the general expectation is that NPPD will raise the wholesale cost of power by 6.5% for 2012. NPPD explains (click link) why the rate increase is necessary. In addition to other factors, they are citing a 75% increase in fuel costs as being the primary driver behind the increase.

About 60% of Dawson PPDs operating costs are wholesale power purchases. That means Dawson Power customers may see a 4% (estimate) increase in their rates simply based on NPPDs increase. We are also affected by rising fuel costs so there may be an adjustment to our projection as we do a cost of service study later this year.

The POWER to Kill

2011-03-24T12:35:00.000-05:00

Part of our job at Dawson PPD is to educate people about electrical safety. Sounds simple enough, but that’s the sort of thing that nags at you late at night when you can’t sleep. It is a fine line… Do too much educating and you become the dreaded hall monitor with your pointer finger waving in the air. On the other hand, if you don’t push safety education enough, someone may lose their life.

The other day I read an article about two high school students in Illinois who lost their lives trying to save a raccoon that had crawled into a piece of irrigation pipe. They raised the pipe in hopes of freeing the rodent, but when it came into contact with a power line they were electrocuted. In that instant, life changed. Two families lost their sons. Classmates lost their friends and had to face the harsh reality that “it COULD actually happen to them.” Had the young men not heard about safety near power lines or was it a momentary lapse in judgment with a catastrophic consequence? We (the employees of Dawson PPD) don’t want a similar accident to happen here.

We love to be able to teach electrical safety to people of all ages. We’ve talked to county roads department employees and students all across ‘Dawsonland.’ Perhaps one of our favorite opportunities is the Farm Safety Day Camp in North Platte where we can teach 400 kids about electrical safety. As we explain electrical safety, we tell the kids to pass the message on to their friends and families.

Several years ago, I talked to a young man who had heard the electrical safety message at a farm safety event. His name was Patrick. While doing spring field work, Patrick got a little too close to a power line with the farm equipment he was using. He knew that he was safe in the tractor that he was driving. He stayed in the tractor until a lineman came and made sure the line was no longer energized. We know that Patrick got the message. He shared his story with others in hopes that it would keep them safe too. Although we would rather that people didn’t run into power lines or our poles, we need more people like Patrick that know what to do if it does happen.

So, please don’t “tune out” when Dawson PPD promotes electrical safety. We’ll try not to nag… but this stuff is important. It can be the difference between life and death.

Marsha Banzhaf, Public Relations Coordinator
Dawson Public Power District

WATER - A FRESH LOOK AT A TOUGH PROBLEM – THE WATER BALANCE APPROACH

2011-01-25T10:10:00.000-06:00

Ogallala Aquifer

I am not a water expert in any way. But I do know that water is extremely important to everyone in Nebraska. In the past, Nebraskans were fortunate in that we had just about all the water available that everyone needed. Well, that changed with the latest drought. Now, we have competition for limited water resources. Under the compact agreement, Nebraska must deliver sufficient water to Kansas for compliance, even in water short years. This has become an extremely volatile issue for everyone in the Republican River valley. On the Platte, the endangered species act will require an ever larger amount of water to meet compliance issues. In both cases integrated resource plans have been developed by the natural resource districts and the department of Natural Resources and if river flows are not sufficient, water limiting and irrigation shut-down is expected.

This course of action will end up having devastating results on the agricultural economy in Nebraska. In the Dawson Public Power service territory, the Platte River is considered over allocated from Elm Creek west to Southerland. If in a given irrigation season the quick response wells are shut down (those within 2 1/2 miles of the river), at today’s rates the District would lose $3.8M in revenues as a direct consequence of that action. Every rural Dawson customer and most businesses we serve in that portion of the valley will have substantial negative impacts as well. This appears to be the path we are now going down.

Recently, I had a chance to listen to a gentleman by the name of Frank Kwapnioski who is promoting a concept called the water balance approach to managing our water resources. This is not a new concept, it has been successfully used in China and elsewhere. In essence it takes all of the current data, water studies and water models currently being used and incorporates this information into a comprehensive basin wide approach to water management. It looks at all consumptive uses in the basin on all parts of the basin, not just irrigation and stream flows. This concept will look at all the water going into the basin, how that water is being used, and how much leaves the basin.

As I said at the beginning of this article, I am not a water expert, but I feel the path we are now on will lead to negative results for too many in my part of Nebraska. I believe the water balance approach to managing our water resources is fresh new look and deserves a fair hearing to determine its merits. It sure can’t hurt.

Robert Heinz, General Manager
Dawson Public Power District

Thank a Farmer!

2010-11-24T08:33:00.000-06:00

Compliments of Monsanto....we're all thankful for different things...at different times. Collectively, our farmers deserve a huge round of applause!

We're Different! We're Looking Out For You!

2010-11-01T13:38:00.000-05:00

Dawson Public Power District is different from other businesses you deal with. To tell you the truth, I like being different. And the fact that you’re reading this article shows you like that difference, too.

We’re different because we’re Looking Out for You. Now, more than ever, that’s important because we need to work together to keep your electric bills affordable.

Congress did not pass a comprehensive climate bill last year. In January the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began regulating greenhouse gasses—an action made possible by a 2007 Supreme Court decision, followed by rulings allowing the EPA to use the Clean Air Act to curb carbon emissions. Policies dealing with coal ash and even more stringent controls on other power plant emissions could also lead to higher costs. It’s hard to predict the future, but one thing seems certain: government regulations are going to increase the cost of doing business.

New regulations won’t be the only culprit. Prices for fuel, materials, and equipment will continue to rise.

We’re committed to keeping you informed about policy changes that will impact your electric bill through channels like the Rural Electric Nebraskan and the Dawson Dynamo (customer newsletter), FaceBook and this blog. We’re going to do everything we can to keep your electric bills affordable.

To accomplish that, we’re controlling costs through innovation. Our energy efficiency programs like incentives for improving energy efficiency in your home or business and online home energy audits to help you manage your energy use.

Nationally, public power districts are meeting customers’ power needs with a diverse fuel mix, including renewable energy.

While we’re affordable and innovative, above all else we’re customer focused. No matter what comes our way we’ll continue to put you, our customers, first. Dawson PPD is controlled by an elected board of directors and locally operated. As a customer, you have a voice in how your public power distric operates. You have the opportunity to vote in the general election for the board members that represent you.

Customer control means we are accountable to those we serve. Costs are rising for all of us, but when it comes to your electric bill our rates are set simply to cover the cost of doing business, not to generate profits for distant stockholders.

The bottom line? We exist only to serve you and meet your needs for safe, reliable, and affordable power.

As you can see, we’re different. We’re working together to keep your electric bills affordable. We’re controlling costs through innovation. And we’re continuing to put you, our customers, first. No matter what the future brings, one thing is certain. We’re Looking Out for You.

Gwen Kautz (assisted by Straight Talk through NRECA)

Strangulation By Regulation

2010-10-14T12:41:00.000-05:00

We usually try to write our own blog, but when I ran across this article...I had to share it (with permission from the author). It is written by someone within the agricultural community and tells us how EPA plans will negatively affect every farmer and rancher in America. Kudos Mr. Sheely!

(As written by Ted Sheely - Oct 7 2010) ... When the Environmental Protection Agency thinks about farmers, it must have in mind the lyrics from that song by Kansas: “All we are is dust in the wind.”

That’s because the EPA wants to regulate the dust that farmers produce as they run combines through their fields and drive down gravel roads.

Federal bureaucrats seem to have forgotten that food production is a challenging business--and yes, sometimes it kicks up a bit of dust.

What’s next? Regulating backyard gardeners who grow the flowers that make the pollen that causes neighbors with allergies to sneeze?

Don’t be surprised if it comes to that. As Democratic senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas said in a recent hearing, the EPA makes a habit of threatening farmers and ranchers with “burdensome, duplicative, costly, unnecessary, or, in some cases, just plain bizarre” regulations.

Farm dust is a perfect example of federal overreach. Nobody has shown that farm dust is a public-health hazard. Judges have determined that the research is “inconclusive” but they’ve stopped short of blocking the EPA’s draconian rules.

Frustration with the EPA is bipartisan. Republican congressman Frank Lucas of Oklahoma agrees with Sen. Lincoln. He called the EPA “an agency gone wild” and warned that “if the EPA is allowed to continue down this path, the only choice for many farmers and ranchers will be to stop farming altogether.”

This is a crystal-clear example of a federal government that doesn’t have its priorities straight. Unemployment is sky-high. The challenges of joblessness are especially severe in rural America. Shouldn’t our overlords in Washington strive to get people back to work? At the very least, they shouldn’t go out of their way to make life more difficult for struggling families in these hard times.

Yet that’s what the EPA seems designed to do. My own experience with the agency is a tale of chronic frustration. It can feel as if EPA has a boot planted to my throat, trying to choke the life out of me.

"Why has an American agency decided to declare regulatory war on such a large swath of American people?” asked Gerald Simonsen of the National Sorghum Producers at a forum in Washington last week.

I know exactly what he’s talking about. Friends of mine who grow corn are worried about the future of atrazine, an important crop protection tool.

I have my own hassles with the EPA. The latest involves irrigation. Here in California, water is at a premium: We just don’t have enough of it. Federal regulations are a big part of the reason why, but that’s another story. The bottom line is that we have to use water with maximum efficiency so that we can grow the food that Americans need.

I can’t afford to lose any water, so I save every last drop--even when I’m flushing the sediment from my irrigation tape. After the water cleans out my lines, it flows into a holding pond. From there, I can reuse it.

Recycling water is an example of sustainable agriculture at work. It allows me to get the most out of limited resources.

But the EPA may make me halt this practice. It’s worried that trace amounts of herbicide and pesticide possibly will show up in my holding pond.

So instead of seeing my recycled water as a source of life for a farm that grows food in a dry land, it may treat my water as a potential source of environmental contamination.

The coming micromanagement could be severe. Previous experience with the EPA teaches me that I should anticipate a worse-case scenario--and then assume that the result will be twice as bad.

I don’t want to pollute anything--and I certainly don’t want to pollute my own farmland, where I live and work. Nobody has a greater stake in my farm’s safety than I do.

I support sensible regulations. It’s the insensible ones that drive me batty. The problem is that the EPA often refuses to exercise common sense. Its one-size-fits-all approach is bad for everyone.

The only people it helps are the regulators who seem to think that their job is to produce a bumper crop in onerous new rules, without a care for whether rural America produces the food that our country needs.

About the author: Ted Sheely raises lettuce, cotton, tomatoes, wheat, pistachios, wine grapes and garlic on a family farm in the California San Joaquin Valley. He is a board member of Truth About Trade and Technology www.truthabouttrade.org

Balancing Smart Grid Buzz with Common Sense

2010-09-29T13:11:00.000-05:00

I always get excited about the latest gadget to hit the market. It might cost a bit extra, but I simply have to have it. And sometimes it's better to wait. Jumping into new technology can be great, but sometimes it’s not.

At Dawson Public Power District we’ve read about and begun looking into the so-called “smart grid.” As with any cutting-edge concept, it seems new smart grid bells and whistles are touted daily. While we’ve been careful not to get caught up in the hype, I often have people ask me, “What’s all the buzz about?”

The North American electric grid—the largest interconnected machine on earth—operates as a humming highway moving electricity from power plants to your home. About 3,000 utilities operate 10,000 power plants nationally. All of this power—more than 1 million megawatts—flows across 300,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines. And while the way we use electricity has changed drastically over the decades, most of the highway that delivers power to our homes was built 50 years ago.

As we talk about upgrading the nation’s grid from a hands-on, mechanical system to a digital network, there’s plenty of room for improvement—and potential miscalculations. While a smart grid can help utilities control costs, it can also be abused by big power companies and others to shift market risks onto consumers—something Dawson Public Power District doesn’t want to see happen.

That’s why, with some help from Uncle Sam, not-for-profit, locally-controlled electric utilities are testing some of these technologies to see what makes sense; what actually WORKS. Thanks to partnerships between electric cooperatives, public power districts, and NRECA’s Cooperative Research Network with the federal government, more than $600 million will be invested to deploy and study how digital smart grid technologies improve service for co-op members in 25 states.

On top of this, many other rural utilities are implementing smart grid upgrades consistent with long-range business plans to boost service reliability and operating efficiency. Through all of these efforts we will identify which technologies work and weed out those that may not deliver promised benefits.

Any smart grid needs to be flexible—some components don’t make sense everywhere. Automated meters and self-healing feeders may help reduce the number and duration of outages; in-home displays could increase customer awareness of how much electricity they use; there are lots of possibilities. Rest assured that your board of directors and management team at Dawson Public Power District will employ some hometown smarts of our own in how we approach the smart grid.

Our bottom line? We want to learn how to help you make wiser energy choices to keep your electric bill affordable. There’s a big difference between being on the cutting edge or the bleeding edge of technology. Dawson Power wants neither. We want the “proven edge” of technology so our investment is a common sense approach to what our customers will actually want and use and what the District can use to improve reliability.

Gwen Kautz (with op-ed input from NRECA)

Electricity is our business...but WATER affects all of us too!

2010-08-30T09:47:00.000-05:00

I am not a water expert in any way. But I do know that water is extremely important to everyone in Nebraska. In the past, Nebraskans were fortunate in that we had just about all the water available that everyone needed. Well, that changed with the latest drought. Now, we have competition for limited water resources. Under the compact agreement, Nebraska must deliver sufficient water to Kansas for compliance, even in water short years. This has become an extremely volatile issue for everyone in the Republican River valley. On the Platte, the endangered species act will require an ever larger amount of water to meet compliance issues. In both cases integrated resource plans have been developed by the natural resource districts and the department of Natural Resources and if river flows are not sufficient, water limiting and irrigation shut-down is expected.

This course of action will end up having devastating results on the agricultural economy in Nebraska. In the Dawson Public Power service territory, the Platte River is considered over allocated from Elm Creek west to Southerland. If in a given irrigation season the quick response wells are shut down (those within 2 1/2 miles of the river), at today’s rates the District would lose $3.8M in revenues as a direct consequence of that action. Every rural Dawson customer and most businesses we serve in that portion of the valley will have substantial negative impacts as well. This appears to be the path we are now going down.

Recently, I had a chance to listen to a gentleman by the name of Frank Kwapnioski who is promoting a concept called the water balance approach to managing our water resources. This is not a new concept, it has been successfully used in China and elsewhere. In essence it takes all of the current data, water studies and water models currently being used and incorporates this information into a comprehensive basin wide approach to water management. It looks at all consumptive uses in the basin on all parts of the basin, not just irrigation and stream flows. This concept will look at all the water going into the basin, how that water is being used, and how much leaves the basin.

As I said at the beginning of this article, I am not a water expert, but I feel the path we are now on will lead to negative results for too many in my part of Nebraska. I believe the water balance approach to managing our water resources is fresh new look and deserves a fair hearing to determine its merits. It sure can’t hurt.

Watch for more information about this project!

Robert A. Heinz, General Manager

WIND POWER...what you need to know for wind development on your land.

2010-08-17T09:43:00.000-05:00

The recent passage of the wind for export legislation in Nebraska this past unicameral has sparked renewed interest by wind developers to obtain leases on the best potential sites in the state. That means that farms and ranches in good wind areas with transmission lines in the vicinity are very desirable for development.

We can anticipate quite a number of new wind developments to begin production in the next several years. We know that developers are looking at several locations in the Dawson service area. We support the development of these projects where it make economic sense but we also want you, our customers, to keep your eyes wide open if find yourself in lease negotiations. Here are a few things to consider. This is not an all inclusive list but will hopefully help you protect your property interests.

• Meet with your neighbors to help determine the interest and potential impacts

• Hire an attorney to review any lease before signing

• Determine how much and how long will your land be tied up (construction and operation)

• What impact will heavy equipment have on your property, such as large cranes

• Provisions for restoration of site after the construction phase

• Provisions for maintenance during operations

• Provisions for restoration of the site when the lease expires

• What affect will it have on future use of the property

• Can additional turbines be placed and what is the notification, process, compensation and location

• What affect will a lease have on your insurance, taxes or USDA policies, etc.

• How will you be paid, fixed payments, royalties or a combination of each

• Research the company you are dealing with, are they experienced with a good reputation

• What happens if the company goes bankrupt

These are exciting times and this type of development poses an opportunity for additional revenue for our area. It also ties up your property for 20 to 50 years so you really need to understand all of the implications of your lease. Good luck in your negotiations!

Robert A. Heinz, General Manager

Electric Distribution System Upgrades

2010-08-09T08:47:00.000-05:00

Dawson Public Power District covers a 5,000 square mile service area with 5,747 miles of line which delivers power to 22,366 accounts. This electrical plant is valued on the books of the District at $123M.

Just like any other valuable asset, this electric distribution system needs continual upgrades, repairs and improvements. This system is made up primarily of two portions. The first is the backbone high voltage sub-transmission and substation portion. Over the past 15 years, considerable amount of funds have been used to upgrade our backbone delivery system with new sub-transmission lines and new and upgraded substations. Over the next 3 years, Dawson will complete the majority of the backbone upgrades which now lie south of I80 which will improve reliability and add growth capacity for Farnam, Eustis, Elwood, Smithfield, and Johnson Lake.

The second major portion of the electrical distribution system is the distribution line circuits. Generally, three to five line circuits extend out of each of our 52 substations and deliver lower voltage power to homes, businesses, and irrigation wells. There are 4,856 miles of these distribution lines.

Dawson has been in business since 1937. Believe it or not, even after the numerous ice storms which have hit over the years, there are still original line segments with original poles and conductor in use in many parts of our electrical system.

Recently, the Board of Directors completed their strategic planning process. The Board has instructed management to develop plans to identify the distribution line segments which are in greatest need of upgrades and to begin the process of replacing them. We will examine the line condition, age, outage history and number of customers affected to determine the greatest positive impact on system reliability.

Over the next few years expect to see more local distribution lines upgraded throughout the service area. The goal is to replace 40 – 50 miles of distribution each year. Of course this is not cheap to do. We expect the annual cost to be in the $2 – 3M range. It’s a lot of money but this type of maintenance is needed and must be sustained over the years to keep the system in good shape.

Robert A. Heinz, General Manager

Johanns Trying to Stop Political Shenanigans!

2010-07-30T13:04:00.000-05:00

This came from Senator Johann's office and Dawson Power is happy to tell all of our followers (and customers) that Senator Johann's totally understands the negative impact that cap and trade legislation will have on our agricultural communities. We applaud you Senator Johanns!

Principles Not Politics on Cap-Trade

Support has faded for a Senate cap-and-trade bill that taxes greenhouse gas emissions. Headlines like "Democrats Call Off Climate Bill Effort" indicate that legislators listened to their constituents, who reject further burdensome cost increases on aspects of everyday life.

But this battle isn't over. There is talk of reviving cap-and-trade with a strategy that circumvents regular order in the Senate, as well as the will of the American people. I introduced a bill earlier this week to prevent this from ever materializing.

The reason a legislative scheme to pass cap-and-trade has come to light is because its proponents do not have the 60 votes needed in the Senate. This is a sign that the legislation is flawed. Traditionally it would've been reworked until it merits the support of 60 senators. But not anymore.

The plan now is to pass an energy bill in the Senate without a cap-and-trade regime, but add cap-and-trade later, in a House-Senate Conference bill. When that bill comes back to the Senate, in a lame-duck session, some in the majority predict that senators who are no longer facing re-election, due to retirement or a loss, are likely to flip-flop and support it. The political scheming of a lame-duck Senate would triumph over the will of the American people.

This has given cap-and-trade proponents a fresh avenue to pass it without Senate debate. As one senior Democrat said in a recent interview, the post-election environment could let some members feel "free and liberated" to vote a cap-and-trade regime into law.

The obvious question: Free and liberated from what? Should the passage of such a sweeping policy initiative depend on the moment its proponents are least accountable to those who elected them? Are we to understand that the American people are a burden, a handicap, a captor of public officials?

This shocking scheme might be easily dismissed, had it not already been widely reported. Politico wrote that the strategy now is to "conference the new Senate [Energy] bill with the already-passed House bill in a lame-duck session after the election, so House members don't have to take another tough vote ahead of midterms." Energy and Environment Daily reported, according to House majority leadership, the "conference committee may wind up merging the House cap-and-trade plan with a Senate bill that does not include it."

Even President Barack Obama and his press secretary have recently hinted as much. Less than six months after railroading the health care bill through budget reconciliation, the plan again seems to resort to any means necessary to get an equally ill-conceived bill through Congress. The American people do not want – nor deserve – more procedural shenanigans.

I introduced a bill on July 27, to prevent cap-and-trade from being inappropriately added to a bill -- unless the Senate has already debated and approved it. It does not directly address the merits or shortcomings of cap-and-trade; it essentially requires cap-and-trade to pass the Senate before being inserted in a conference report.

If cap-and-trade is added in conference and comes back to the Senate, two-thirds of the Senate would have to agree to vote on it without having debated it. If the Senate approves a cap-and-trade regime under regular order, my amendment wouldn't be triggered. The amendment is waiting for Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to allow it consideration on the Senate floor.

If we're going to pass a bill that will change our economic landscape, it should be good enough to pass on its own merits. Any major policy initiative -- like cap-and-trade -- should be debated in the Senate so the American people have an opportunity to understand its implications and voice their opinions.

This is an issue that transcends partisanship, just as it did when the Senate voted overwhelmingly last year to keep cap-and-trade from passing via budget reconciliation. My bill looks ahead to preserve the legislative process now -- so it is not hijacked later.

If, in four or five months, the Senate is "free and liberated" from public opinion to pass bills that would otherwise be rejected, as one of my colleagues suggested, what does that say about our relationship with the American people? It's no surprise Congress has such low approval ratings.

We should debate the merits of cap-and-trade. If it is going to be voted on, we should be on the record before the election, not after. The idea that we can be "free and liberated" from our constituencies should be eliminated from the Senate's conscience.

Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) serves on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.

Rural Electric Utilities Gain in Agriculture Bill

2010-07-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

Co-ops have scored important gains in funding for the Rural Utilities Service and baseload generation in a Senate agriculture appropriations bill, and NRECA CEO Glenn English is calling on co-op leaders to press hard for the Senate bill.

The bill, passed July 15 by the Senate Appropriations Committee, provides $6.5 billion for the Rural Utilities Service Electric Loan Program in fiscal 2011, thwarting the Obama administration’s attempt to slash the program by $2.5 billion.

Following the lead of its agriculture subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., the full committee also rejected the administration’s attempt to curtail RUS lending for natural gas facilities and environmental upgrades to existing power plants.

“Diminishing rural electric cooperatives’ access to Rural Utilities Service loan programs will further disadvantage rural residents by raising user rates and undermining service reliability,” the committee said in a report accompanying the legislation.

The bill heads to a conference with a House committee plan, and English said co-op leaders should solicit their elected officials’ support for the Senate version.

“We have worked hard with our supporters in Congress to ensure the RUS program retains its historic mission to serve rural America,” he said. “We are urging our members to express their support for these Senate committee provisions that will help keep electricity reliable and affordable.”

The appropriations legislation, which provides spending for a wide range of federal agriculture and nutrition programs, also re-opens RUS lending for baseload facilities for up to three demonstration projects at a cost of as much as $1.5 billion.

Source: Electric Cooperative Today (July 16, 2010)

Nebraska PPD proposes wholesale rate increase

2010-07-01T10:45:00.000-05:00

Dawson Public Power District purchases all of the power they sell to customers from Nebraska Public Power District. We want to be upfront with our customers about the projected rate increase. Mr. Asche's explanation gives all of us insight into the future of electric rates with just the current economic impacts. The 7-12% projected increase is not good news but it could be worse.

Imagine what will happen if congress decides to MANDATE renewable portfolio standards for every state? NPPD has made a commitment to add renewable power (wind) to their generation mix. They have set a goal of achieving 10 percent of our energy supply for NPPD’s native load from renewable resources by 2020. What they propose has sound merit for the State of Nebraska and we stand behind them. Our board of directors pledges to help NPPD be the best power supplier they can be.

From Ron Asche, CEO of Nebraska Public Power District:

"NPPD, like many other utilities across the country, has seen upward pressure on electric rates. Unfortunately, facility improvements and fuel costs continue to increase, while at the same time, off-systems sales margins have decreased dramatically. Preliminary estimates show a need to raise wholesale rates between 7 and 12 percent for 2011.

To be more specific, let’s break down the 2011 rate increase into its three main drivers.

1. Fuel costs—as in the past, the cost of coal, uranium, and fuel transportation costs continue to increase as world demand for these fuels rise.

2. Deferred maintenance outage - In order to minimize the rate increase in 2010, NPPD decided to move a major planned maintenance outage at Gerald Gentleman Station to 2011. Because this was deferred, NPPD will have two major plant outages in 2011, one at Gentleman Station, and one at Cooper Nuclear Station. Having two major outages in the same year will increase 2011 costs by around 30 million dollars.

The third largest factor driving the 2011 rate increase is…

3. Non-firm energy sale prices. Often times, NPPD can generate more energy than our customers need, and as a result, we can sell this excess energy to other utilities outside Nebraska, which helps offset some of NPPD’s fixed costs that otherwise have to be paid by our Nebraska customers. Recently the market price for this energy has gone down considerably. In 2008, for example, we sold energy on the market at an average of 48 dollars per megawatt-hour. In 2009, this dropped to 26 dollars per megawatt-hour. For 2010 and 2011, it looks like the market will average about 26 to 29 dollars per megawatt hour - which will mean a significant drop in expected revenue for NPPD. The decrease in wholesale energy market prices is primarily due to the recession, which has reduced the demand for energy in the region. In addition, the supply of natural gas in the United States has increased significantly, which means that many natural gas plants are able to produce energy at more competitive prices - which, in turn, drives down energy prices on the open market.

Other utilities in the region have increased wholesale rates from 21 percent to 54 percent between 2006 and 2010 (compared to NPPDs increase of 31 percent). We realize it’s little comfort to know that others are also raising rates, but thought it pertinent for you to know that other utilities are feeling the cost same pressures."

Dawson Power applaudes NPPD for everything they do to keep our rates low. We especially thank them for their integrity and willingness to be open about the future of wholesale power costs in Nebraska. We are as concerned as they are about the rising cost of electricity.

UNCLE!!!

2010-06-28T13:10:00.011-05:00

I give up. I’m a self-avowed geek but I can’t keep up anymore. Where once I was the go-to person for all things software and electronics, now days I am as confused as the person who brought me the problem.

Things are changing faster than anyone expected. Even those who are still tuned into the latest and greatest electronic technology are finding themselves overwhelmed. Buy it today, its obsolete tomorrow.

A new term, “cloud computing” is the ability to share internet resources, much like how the electric grid is connected throughout the United States. Since the interconnected grid works fairly well, cloud computing is logical. Cloud computing takes a company away from the private network set up and uses spatial global access. I know “cloud computing” is a metaphor but it’s a lot like my car. I don’t want to know how it works; I want to get in the car, turn the key, and go. But I like the idea of the Internet being “everywhere”…but the questions is “how much does that cost?”

Now we have “crowd-sourcing” which provides civic participation in GIS mapping, central databases, and software programming. I can see the benefits but Dawson Power is not interested in sharing our databases or the map of our distribution system. We believe in customer privacy. Still, this thing we call a smart grid is leaning that way so now we have to look at security options to protect customer data – and we will not proceed without security. The best thing about smart grid will be the control it gives our customers over their energy usage.

Eventually, Dawson Power will move to a smart grid and that just might require the “everywhere internet”. Some people have concerns about losing privacy about how or when they use electricity. Keep in mind that we don’t necessarily care about individual customer usage; however Dawson Power is interested in collective usage (by substation) so we can make better decisions on purchasing power or increased demand in that particular area.

I’m still giving up. Call it wisdom. I’m going from the “gotta be the first” to “prove the technology” user. I want proven technology for our customers. Bottom line: whatever Dawson Power does in the future MUST BE something our customers can and will USE.

Vampire Power Awareness

2010-06-17T11:24:00.000-05:00

Dawson Public Power District is not endorsing iGoVision's new power strip as advertised in this video. You can gain the same benefit by using a power strip with surge protection built in...and simply shut off the surge protector when what is plugged in to it is not in use.

Fire In The Wire

2010-05-20T14:52:00.001-05:00

We hope you enjoy our tribute to linemen and the work they do. We thank Warren Wilken for letting us use the song, written about his Dad's experience as a Dawson PPD lineman.

Is this cool or what?

LEASED IN SPACE - What Your Copy Machine Says About You

2010-05-12T13:20:00.000-05:00

Every once in a while, something crosses my desk that really disturbs me. The video below is an investigative reporting piece that I think is worth sharing. As for Dawson Power, we will be taking VERY pro-active measures on every single electronic machine we lease or own.

While technology has made our world easier, there is obviously a price.

PETER PAN and PERFECT POWER

2010-05-05T16:28:00.000-05:00

Too bad neither of these exist. Peter Pan was a careless, boastful boy who refused to grow up and Perfect Power refuses to cooperate with rural utilities. Both reside in Never-land.

Power surges and voltage drops occur when something boosts or impedes the electrical charge at some point in the power lines. This causes an increase or decrease in the electrical potential energy, which can increase the current flowing to your wall outlet. There is little difference between the damage caused by a power surge or a voltage drop.

The most familiar source of power surges is lightening. When lightning strikes near a power line, whether it's underground, in a building or running along lines, the electrical energy can boost electrical pressure by millions of volts. This causes an extremely large power surge that will overpower almost any surge protector. In a lightning storm, you should never rely on your surge protector to save your computer. The best protection is to unplug your computer.

The most common cause of power surges is the operation of high-power electrical devices, such as grain dryer motors, irrigation wells, air conditioners and refrigerators. Actually 80% of all power surges are created by electronic equipment inside your home (source: Alliant Energy, EPRI, APS and IEEE.) These high-powered pieces of equipment require a lot of energy to switch on and turn off components like compressors and motors. This switching creates sudden, brief demands for power, which upset the steady voltage flow in the electrical system in your home. While these surges are nowhere near the intensity of a lightning surge, they can be severe enough to damage components, immediately or gradually, and they occur regularly in most building's electrical systems.

Surges can also occur when a tree touches a power line. The wind causing lines to slap together or an object striking a power pole, even birds that land on the lines can cause power surges. Improper or faulty wiring may be another source of power surges. Whatever the cause, power surges can be costly. They can damage virtually any electrical equipment that you may use and may not do so instantly but wear electric equipment down over time.

So the question becomes – who is responsible for power surges or voltage drops? The truth is, how can a utility company stop the wind, ice and snow storms, the animals, growing trees, and even accidents in which poles are hit? How do we know what appliances or wiring you have in your home? Rural utility companies have at least one thing in common, the constant vigilance and maintenance of the distribution system. They trim trees (when customers let them), tighten up pole hardware, do routine (and required) line patrol, install monitoring equipment in problem areas, and ask customers to report problems so that maintenance can prevent the problem from getting worse. With around 3 customers per mile of line, much of Dawson Power's 5,700+ miles of service lines are exposed to weather, trees and animals.

Can you see the problem with this (fuse/arrester) combination? Imagine trying to determine if it has damage looking at it from the ground, 25 feet below? The larger crack was on the top of the combo making it nearly impossible to detect.

Reduced Rate On Mortgage Loans

2010-04-26T12:23:00.001-05:00

P.O. Box 95085, Lincoln, NE 68509-5085, Phone 402.471.2867, Fax 402.471.3064

April 26, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information Contact:

Jerry Loos 402-471-3356 Jack Osterman 402-471-2817

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Energy Office is offering 2.5% Dollar and Energy Saving Loans through eligible Nebraska lenders for the construction of single family, detached ENERGY STAR® Five Star Plus homes. ENERGY STAR qualified homes meet or exceed state’s energy code by 30% or more and are independently verified for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These homes save money on utility bills, provide comfortable living with better indoor air quality and help protect the environment.

Potential borrowers have the option to choose a conventional construction loan or self finance the construction. Long term permanent financing is also available. The Energy Office's written approval of the construction plans prior to the start of construction is required. Construction loans of up to $417,000 at 2.5% interest for 12 months are available from any participating Dollar and Energy Saving Loan lender in the state. Reduced fixed interest rate mortgage loans for up to 30 years are available through Tecumseh Federal Bank.

“Homebuyers are increasingly more interested in green building practices and energy efficiency is the place to start,” said Neil Moseman, Director of the Energy Office. “ENERGY STAR qualified homes can include a variety of tried and true energy-efficient features that contribute to improved home quality, homeowner comfort and to lower energy demand.”

ENERGY STAR 5 Star Plus homes typically feature higher levels of properly installed insulation, high-performance windows, tight construction and ducts, efficient heating and cooling equipment and Energy Star appliances, lighting and water heaters. Additional information is at http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=new_homes.nh_features.

The first step to building an ENERGY STAR 5 Plus Star Home is to have a Certified Home Energy Rater complete a rating of the construction plans provided by the designer and builder to verify the most appropriate energy saving features have been included in the home.
More information on the Nebraska Energy Efficient Housing Loans is at http://www.neo.ne.gov/loan/index.html. Names of Certified Home Energy Raters are at http://resnet.us/.

The Nebraska Energy Office was created in 1977 to promote the efficient, economic and environmentally responsible use of energy. It is an authoritative voice and comprehensive resource center for energy issues in the State of Nebraska. In addition, the Energy Office plays an important role in fostering new growth in our renewable energy industry and helping Nebraska lead the way in the new clean energy economy. For more information, please visit www.neo.ne.gov.

Walk Softly Or Carry A Big EPA Stick...???

2010-04-20T13:59:00.001-05:00

General Manager Bob Heinz writes the following:

"Recently, as I was flipping through the TV channels, I happened to stop on C-Span and caught most of a speech by Lisa Jackson, EPA Administrator. Her speech was on global warming and carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. In no uncertain terms, Ms. Jackson said that she would use the Clean Air Act to shut down every coal plant in the United States. She would regulate air, water, particulate matter, coal ash and any use every conceivable regulatory activity to stop these carbon dioxide emissions.

In this country, over 50% of the electricity generated comes from coal. (60% in Nebraska). Rather than attempt to beat the electric industry with a “Big EPA Regulation Stick” to affect the desired change, maybe real negotiations could take place to allow an orderly transition to carbon neutral generation over a longer planning horizon. This would give our smart research people a chance to develop new and more efficient carbon neutral generation, prove the merits of carbon capture and storage, construct new nuclear generation, improve battery technology and bring a multitude of new ideas to the industry. During a period of economic uncertainty, the last thing we need is inappropriate regulations which will drive up the costs to electric consumers."

Mr. Heinz' entire article can be read in the Dawson Dynamo, May edition 2010 online now.

Cartoon is courtesy of http://www.thechillingeffect.org/

FREE DINNER FOR TWO

2010-04-13T12:54:00.000-05:00

Recently many of our customers have received postcards in the mail inviting them to have a free dinner for two and listen to a presentation with claims they have the ability to help you reduce your utility bills by up to 45%.

The company making the presentation is called Utility Management Association (UMA) and the reviews on their products and customer service are mixed. Dawson Public Power District does not endorse their services or products. Please do your own research before making a commitment.

Dawson Power is in favor of finding ways to reduce your energy usage. It makes good business sense because the less energy you use, the less energy we have to purchase from NPPD. Now days, there’s plenty of information online on how to lower your electric bill, including doing an online energy audit from Dawson Power’s own website. In fact, you’ll be hearing about an upcoming contest we will be holding for customers who use our energy audit website.

We want to be fair and balanced. My research had more negatives than positives about UMA but in light of the fact that every home is different, living habits are diverse, people can expect to have different results when using one or more of these products. If the company is providing guarantees, get them in writing.

A Lineman Rodeo....

2010-04-12T12:16:00.001-05:00

Gaff - n - Go....in Virginia

Actually a couple of weeks ago, a lineman's rodeo was held in Omaha. Electric Cooperative Today produced this 3 minute video of the events held in Virginia. While these linemen competed in near-perfect conditions, the tasks are still complicated, physically demanding, and safety is always the featured event. Thank a lineman!

Lee and Ashley's Story of Survival

2010-03-29T11:41:00.000-05:00

You think it will never happen to you...what if you're wrong?

Nebraska Ranked LOW ... and it's GOOD!

2010-03-23T14:14:00.000-05:00

The EIA's State Energy Profiles provide a fascinating state-by-state accounting of how energy is produced and consumed across the nation. Taking a good look at Nebraska's energy profile, I could see why efforts were underway to curb the state's energy use. Nebraska ranks 16th in the United States in total energy consumption per capita. And since two thirds of the electricity production in the state comes from coal-fired power plants, a reduction in electricity usage would likely translate to a reduction in fossil fuel use, too. From the charts offered, Nebraska ranked 46th out of 49 states reporting for residential energy prices. Hawaii topped the charts at a whopping 26 cents per kwh (Nebraska average is 7.59 cents/kwh).

If all this energy data leaves you craving even more, you might consider viewing your state's energy office Web site. Nebraska's state energy office Web site offered not only state-specific energy related data, but also links to information on state energy incentives and tips for winter/summer energy savings.

Now, if you want to get down right personal, go to http://www.dawsonpower.com/ and choose Energy Audit from the Customer Service drop down menu. You can plug in your own home values....then see if a few tweaks (installing more CFLs, insulting and/or caulking, unplugging that 2nd fridge...) could lower your usage. You'll be reading more about Dawson Power's energy audit option in later posts.

This time of year, college basketball rankings are all the rage. But maybe we can all consider a different kind of ranking: when it comes to energy, how does YOUR state rate?

Dawson Public Power District
"today's energy; tomorrow's vision"

Food For Thought

2010-03-19T11:54:00.002-05:00

Thank a farmer!

From Dawson Power to all of our farmers and ranchers....THANK YOU!
(and special thanks to Monsanto for creating the video)

JACOB BROOKS....can we say WOW!

2010-03-05T09:50:00.000-06:00

This is Jacob Brooks of North Carolina. He was selected as the 2010 Youth Leadership Council (YLC) Spokesperson for National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Absolutely amazing speech by a young man who will one day be a leader of leaders!

Humor and wisdom.....you WILL WANT to watch it all!

On Board With Strategic Planning

2010-03-02T14:24:00.000-06:00

As I write this, the board of directors and management for Dawson Public Power District are meeting for the 2nd day in a strategic planning session. They are looking at various issues… an improved line and equipment maintenance program, rising cost of healthcare benefits, customer satisfaction, managing financial positions, communication (internal and external), as well as board governance issues.

The first big challenge is that a majority of our infrastructure is around 50 years old. The directors will be asking for an improved upgrade or rebuild program. This is causing the most concern because this will be a sizeable on-going expense that has no rate of return.

Although DPPD has used strategic planning in the past, goals were somewhat vague – such as “increase communication” or “use technology.” Now we’re using a new process to set more specific goals. No one goes unheard and the process to determine priorities allows us to reach concensus quickly. Once those points are agreed upon, the management team will put their collective heads together and develop plans to reach the goals. The goals will be short term and long term ones.

The directors are engaged in difficult decisions but knowing that full agreement behind the issue allows all of us to sail in the same ship going the same direction. After the goals are developed, we will publish them in the Dawson Dynamo.

Embrace Life - A Novel Approach to Marketing

2010-02-25T13:52:00.000-06:00

All I could think of after the video finished was "Wow." Short, to the point, and VERY accurate! Take a minute and a half, and watch this.

So, what REALLY happened in Copenhagen?

2010-02-23T09:26:00.001-06:00

The fifteenth meeting of the UN Conference of the Parties (COP 15) on climate change was incredibly chaotic and disorganized to the point of calling into question whether future climate negotiations will be held under the auspices of the UN or subject to consensus agreement from 192 nations. The Copenhagen Accord was reached in closed negotiations amongst five countries and presented on “take it or leave it” terms.

The bottom line is that the Copenhagen meeting, and the personal intervention of President Barack Obama, produced no binding agreement, no required future negotiations or deadlines for reaching a binding agreement, no enforcement mechanisms for individual country pledges of greenhouse gas (ghg) reductions or intensity improvements and no net global reductions.

(Editorial Cartoon from David Horsey)

The U.S. kept the talks alive only by making a last minute offer that they would work with other developed nations towards a goal of providing $100 billion a year by 2020 to help developing nations with adaptation and mitigation.

The office of the Prime Minister of Sweden called the Accord “a disaster.” Tim Jones, climate policy officer of the World Development Movement termed it “a shameful and monumental failure” and a deal “devoid of real content.” Friends of the Earth described it as “abject failure” while Greenpeace said that it had so many loopholes that it was a fraud and Copenhagen should be labeled a “climate crime scene” and surrounded by yellow tape. The World Wildlife Foundation said it would cost millions of lives.

In a parallel universe, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) said “it can be a catalyzing moment” while Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said it was a “breakthrough.” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) described it as “a vital first step.” The two environmental groups in U.S. Cap – NRDC and Environmental Defense – lauded the Accord as “the first steps toward true transparency and accountability in international climate agreement” and a sign that “the big countries are moving in the right direction.” In other words, those vested in getting a bill out of Congress described the Accord as an important push towards binding agreements and international verification.

Strong supporters of moving cap and trade to adoption in 2010 are seeing the glass half full; those who are more skeptical or worried about the negative economic impact or unfair competition from abroad see the glass half empty.

Information provided by
Nebraska Rural Electric Association's grassroots coordinator, James Dukesherer.

Electricity... Before & After

2010-02-16T12:43:00.003-06:00

The following article was written by Tawny Bernt of North Platte (Nebraska) for an essay contest. She will be representing Dawson Public Power District at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association's Youth Tour in Washington, D.C. this summer. Tawny represented Dawson PPD at the Nebraska Rural Electric Association's Youth Energy Camp in 2009.

My grandma JoAnn first experienced electricity as a young child while living in rural Wheeler County, near Bartlett, Nebraska where she was born. She was the sixth child in a family of nine children. She and her family lived on a cattle ranch where there was always work to be done.

Life before electricity meant having parents and older siblings fill lamps with kerosene and clean blackened lamp chimneys for lighting the house. There were never enough lamps for the bedrooms so they were dark and scary for Grandma and her younger siblings! Without yard or barn lights, kerosene lanterns lit the way for early morning and nighttime chores such as milking cows and feeding cattle, horses, pigs and chickens. My grandma’s mom, Great Grandma Mildred, had a washing machine with a gas motor on it so Grandma said there was a lot of blue smoke and noise in the house on washing day. When a cow or hog was butchered, all of the meat had to be canned or cured right away to keep it from spoiling. They ground meat with a hand crank meat grinder. My grandma’s sister lost the end of her thumb when pressing the meat into the grinder while their older brother turned the crank! Cream was separated from the milk with a hand crank separator, butter was hand-churned, and cake batter was whipped by hand. When the wind didn’t blow enough to make the windmill pump water, they had to pump it by hand. Almost everything they did or made had to be done by hand.

In 1948, when my grandma was six years old, a fifty-six foot tall wind charger was erected at their ranch providing 32 volt electricity. The house and all of the outbuildings were wired for electricity except for one chicken house. My grandma’s neighbors were very envious! The wiring they used could handle 110 volt electricity since it was rumored that the R.E.A. (Rural Electric Association) would be coming in a few years. Twenty-four large batteries were installed in the garage room in the back of their house, and when the wind didn’t blow enough to keep the batteries charged, they ran a Delco generator. Grandma said that the generator was really loud, but wonderful! The lights were so bright!

Having an electric clothes iron and toaster, and having electric motors on the washing machine, milk separator, and food mixer was very handy and saved lots of time. Kerosene lamps and lanterns only had to be used for emergencies, and the deepfreeze worked well for freezing garden vegetables and butchered meats that otherwise would have taken a long time to can. A pump jack was installed on the windmill with an electric motor, so there was no more pumping water by hand. Daily outside chores were so much easier for Grandma and all of her siblings with lighting in the buildings.

R.E.A. electricity arrived at the ranch in 1953 via large power poles. Grandma’s family could then use as much electricity as they needed without being limited by the power source. They acquired new useful equipment for the shop, such as a welder and a grindstone to sharpen mower sickles that were used for mowing 1,200 acres of grassland. An electric motor was used to power a buzz saw for sawing wood to fuel the wood burning stove and range in the house. New smaller electrical appliances were also purchased to adapt to the 120 volt electricity.

There were lots of great things about having electricity, but modernization and safety were the biggest factors for Grandma’s family. The excellent lighting made reading, sewing, and playing games in the evenings fun and safe, since using kerosene lamps and lanterns in their home and outbuildings—where there was often hay—was very dangerous. Grandma said that they did have a lamp start a fire in their cellar underneath the kitchen once. Grandma and her siblings were supposed to be sprouting potatoes, but were instead playing follow-the-leader. My great grandma had to chop a whole in the kitchen floor with an ax to put out the flames! Electricity saves time, is more efficient, and is much safer than manual labor. It changed life for my grandma at the ranch, and for everyone else who got to experience having it for the first time. Hearing what Grandma has to say about electricity and the stories she has from the ranch before electricity, make me truly appreciate having it in my home and my life.

Power Drive Program (and THANKS from Pleasanton High School)

2010-02-02T08:44:00.000-06:00

The Power Drive Program is an educational effort that challenges high school students to design and build one-person electric vehicles during the school year. In the spring, these teams of students compete with one another at organized rallies in areas such as vehicle braking, maneuverability and endurance.

Pleasanton High School students received partial funding from Dawson Public Power District to build their own electric car. They sent us a thank you "video". (see link below)

Pleasanton High Power Drive

The pictures included in this blog were taken for the North Platte team sponsored by Dawson Power.

The experience the participants gain through the program is important because they are the energy decision-makers of the future. We believe in investing in our future through the students in our service territory.

Through Power Drive, vocational and science students learn:
---practical application of math and science skills
---automotive design, engineering and construction
---industrial, electrical and mechanical skills
---electric vehicle history and current technology
---teamwork, problem solving and fun

Dawson PPD began offering the Power Drive program through NPPD in a partnership designed to encourage innovation and teamwork. Omaha Public Power District founded the Power Drive Program in 1998.

Dawson Power, NRECA and our future leaders...

2010-01-26T12:38:00.000-06:00

Each year, Dawson Public Power District sponsors several teens so they can attend Youth Energy Camp, held in Halsey (NE) in July. Teenagers from all over Nebraska attend the camp. Two of these teens are selected to serve as an ambassador for Nebraska and they head to Washington D.C. (all expenses paid) in June of the following year. In addition, Dawson Power sends one of our own teen representatives to Washington D.C. We think investing in our future leaders will pay off because these teens are educated about rural utility systems and what affects our consumers, including legislation, and safety.

If you know of a teenager (freshman through junior) who might be interested in going to camp, please let us know. This teen must reside in a home currently served by Dawson Public Power District.

Do You Have A Plan?

2010-01-14T12:57:00.002-06:00

I’m trying to write my regular blog for Dawson Power. I had two topics in mind but my focus is gone and the material unimportant in the scope of what’s happened in Haiti.

Ongoing reports from Haiti stream across my RSS feeds and prayer requests push through Facebook, Twitter and forwarded emails. Reports on the radio are spotty but enough to tell us its real bad. I kept wondering about my own family if something like this happened.

Do you have a family plan if a disaster strikes? Have you laid out instructions for where to meet, who to call, what personal effects are critical? I know this has nothing to do with electricity or customer service but I’m a family member first and an employee second.

My family is strung across the U.S. Whether it’s an earthquake, a tornado, a terrorist attack; a plan of some kind needs to be drafted so we know we are all safe --- or what action must be taken to ensure our well being as a family.

Start with simple preparation. Put together a family list of cell phone numbers and email addresses. Some disasters will mean cell phone and internet service are non-existent – so then what? Make sure you put emergency contact information that includes addresses, land line phones, work place address and phone numbers, even the local Red Cross or church. Include these for each family member. In an emergency, most of us won’t be able to instantly recall phone numbers of family members – and our own cell phone where this is stored may be missing.

If all typical communication is impossible, a local ham radio operator is an amazing resource. Do you know who that is in your area? In my case it’s the Midway Amateur Radio Club in central Nebraska or ARAN (Amateur Radio Association of Nebraska). Ham radio activity is being picked up from Haiti already.

Keep a dry (sealable) storage container with batteries, flashlights, portable radio, potable water, high protein food that can’t spoil. In that dry storage container, put your plan with all your contact information. Include any medical history with prescription requirements. Hopefully, you will NEVER need this container.

If you plan to help Haiti victims financially – make sure you do so through a reputable organization.

Don't use the disaster as the drill.

Help Keep Your Electric Rates LOW!!!

2010-01-12T08:11:00.000-06:00

It may seem boring to most people, but what Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) of North Dakota is doing is a critical move to help us keep electric rates low! Let your elected representative know you do not want EPA to regulate CO2 emissions....

http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_video.asp?news=36892

You can go to http://www.ourenergy.coop/ and contact your representative in just two clicks. Look for the link on the left side that says "Contact Elected Officials" click on that, then type in a short note that says "Don't let EPA regulate CO2!"

Don't hesitate...don't wait!

Who Gets Power First?

2010-01-07T13:25:00.000-06:00

“Dawson Power, can I help you?”
“My power’s out.”
“Do you have an account or meter number?”
“No not with me.”
“That’s ok, what’s your name and address, we’ll look it up that way.”
(Info given)

“Yes you are in the area affected by an outage that our crews are already working on.”
“Well, when will the power be back on?”

“I’m afraid we don’t know.”
“Well, can you guess?”

“No, all I can tell you is that our crews are working in that area.”
“What about my stuff in the fridge, or my pipes? What about watering my cows?”

Almost without exception, our outage calls take the same direction. There are a dozen things that affect when power will be restored. It starts with how extensive the outage is followed by weather conditions and somewhere in the middle, the linemen deal with road conditions, zero visibility, darkness, equipment failure, and access to power lines in general. It’s pretty easy to spot a line that’s down but try looking for a crack in an insulator from 30 feet below. Then add causes such as trees, animals, and accidents. Sometimes it seems it’s like finding that proverbial needle in a haystack.

Safety is our top priority during emergency service restoration situations and it should be your top priority, as well.

Dawson Public Power District has about 51 distribution substations, each serving hundreds of meters over 5,200+ miles of distribution line. When a major outage occurs, the substations are checked first. A problem here could be caused by failure in the transmission system supplying the substation. If the problem can be corrected at the substation level, power may be restored to a large number of people.

If the sub checks out ok, the linemen focus on the distribution lines coming out of the substation. Sometimes that’s where the problem is and service can be restored to a number of customers on one or more circuits.

We don’t know who exactly is out of service until you call us. We have a great mapping system but it’s not tied to our electric grid (yet). It tells us where our lines and meters are, but we need you to call us if you are out of power. We need current phone contact information too.

Outage updates can be found on our Facebook and Twitter accounts. When you request to be a friend on our Facebook account, rest assured your privacy is protected so that none of our other friends see your personal posts or pictures. We “hide” your posts and the only time you show up is when you make a comment on something we’ve posted. Share our information with your family, friends and neighbors during outages.

Call us any time.

FOR THE SAKE OF POWER

2010-01-04T16:18:00.002-06:00

Linemen are a different creature. They have this pride in their work that is not always seen in other careers. They take outages personally and do everything they can to restore service to customers, many whom they know by first name. I, for one, don’t envy their duties and truly enjoy the job I have from the warm confines of my office.

The ice storms in late 2006 and early 2007 were an eye opener for me. Not just because I’d never been directly involved in service restoration of this magnitude but because I saw a side of our employees that existed but had been hidden. It is called RESOLVE.

While I have worked in the electric industry for over 30 years, I do not know how linemen find problems in the cold and dark much less when visibility is zero, winds are high, and wind chill is -5 degrees or worse. Each time I hear a lineman on the radio telling our operations secretary that a circuit should be back on; I imagine the relief felt by our customers. As a Dawson Power customer myself, I know the feeling. Being without electricity, even for a few minutes seems almost intolerable.

Still, things happen that are not in anyone’s control. Take a look at these pictures (thank you Norris PPD) and see what linemen in the Beatrice area had to face over Christmas. Dawson Power linemen have faced the same thing. They can’t restore power if they can’t see the lines or get to them. Linemen sometime protest when they are told to stop working (because conditions have made it unsafe) but they also know that they are working with something that could kill them if they make one small mistake.

In an era when electronic communication is at an all time high, we think it’s pretty special when we receive a card in the mail that says “Thanks for getting my power back on!” A little appreciation goes a long way….and kicks RESOLVE into higher gear for next time.

These are examples of the extreme conditions linemen must work in. God bless these men (and women) who keep the lights on (or get them back on) for all of us!

Gwen Kautz

Dreaming Of A White Christmas?

2009-12-22T09:35:00.000-06:00

We all do (dream of that white Christmas) but in the case of the predicted storm headed our way, it sounds more like a nightmare. Hundreds of people in Nebraska will not be able to get to Grandma's house for Christmas.

It's time to prepare. Depending on your circumstances and the nature of the emergency, the first important decision is whether you stay where you are or find another place to stay until electric service is restored. You should understand and plan for both possibilities. Dawson Public Power District cannot predict when service will be restored. Use common sense and available information to determine if there is an immediate danger. In any emergency, local authorities may or may not immediately be able to provide information on what is happening and what you should do.

We advise customers to have plenty of food and water on hand, extra batteries, flashlights and a portable radio. Kerosene space heaters and wood/corn/pellet burning stoves are nice but you should be extra cautious when using one in your home. Proper ventilation is very important.

One of the most important things to do is to check on friends, neighbors and family members affected by an outage to ensure they are ok. Our elderly may need to be transported to a temporary shelter or home. Cordless phones depend on electricity to work so make sure you have at least one phone that operates when you are without power. Cell phones come in handy but must be used sparingly to preserve the charge unless you are able to charge them in your car.

Keep Dawson Public Power District phone numbers handy. Customers can call 1-800-752-8305 or 1-308-324-2386. Listen to your local radio station for updates or follow us on Twitter and FaceBook for posted updates.

Nebraska Farmers Using Twitter

2009-12-18T10:57:00.000-06:00

One day late...but this is way cool.......

Visit http://tinyurl.com/y8twn5q to see the rest of America's Heartland: Episode 512. The Monsanto Company - http://www.monsanto.com and the American Farm Bureau Federation - http://www.fb.org make presentation of America's Heartland possible.

Profitable Hacking

2009-12-15T08:18:00.000-06:00

I promote the use of Facebook and Twitter as a viable opportunity to communicate with our customers. It’s instant, its on-demand, and its free. However, users of social media need to be cautious about clicking on just any ole’ thing on their Facebook page.

It used to be that computer viruses attacked only your hard drive. Per the New York Times, ‘malicious programs are rampaging through Web sites like Facebook and Twitter, spreading themselves by taking over people’s accounts and sending out messages to all of their friends and followers.’

Take me, for instance; I have a couple hundred family or friends on my personal Facebook page. All of them have been given expressed permission to access my life. Who better to trust than the ones you’ve invited to be part of your network?

Often the victims lose control of their accounts after clicking on a link “posted” by a friend. In most cases, the perpetrators are hoping to profit from the referral fees they get for directing people to questionable e-commerce sites. (from the NYT)

Our email messages, traveling from computer to computer, are more likely to be stopped by antivirus or firewall software. On the Web, such measures offer little protection. It’s best if you exercise good judgment instead.

I’ve had a couple of my friends post a thing or two that raised my eyebrows. Because I know them, I could discern that this particular post was “just not them” despite the warm personal invite to follow the link. What doesn’t help is that the URL posted is a shortened link so you can’t tell where you’re going until its too late.

If you become the victim of one of these hackers, you can delete the post by going to your administrative side. Post a quick note right behind the offending post and tell your network that someone hacked your account. Change your password immediately.

FaceBook has recently updated its privacy options. Check your profile settings. Take advantage of the added security and be careful with your personal information.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager

Sensenbrenner to Tell Copenhagen: No Climate Laws Until "Scientific Fascism" Ends

2009-12-10T08:46:00.000-06:00

Wisconsin Representative Sensenbrenner (ranking Republican on the House Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming) has the courage to go to Copenhagen and tell the U.N. that despite the promises President Obama is making, the United States will not pass any climate change laws until "scientific fascism' ends.

FOXNews.com - Sensenbrenner to Tell Copenhagen: No Climate Laws Until 'Scientific Fascism' Ends

While the article itself is really good, sometimes the comments about the article provide great insight...even controversy.

Posted using ShareThis

Get Ready To Roll The Dice!

2009-12-08T15:11:00.003-06:00

It’s human nature. Until something affects you directly, you change nothing about the things you do. The problem with this approach for climate change legislation is that it will be too late to do anything about it once you figure out what a bad deal it is for your family.

We want you to know that if you don’t stop cap and trade, you WILL be affected financially. Everything that uses energy will end up costing more. Let’s face it – EVERYTHING uses energy. We can’t force you to contact your Senator but we sure wish you would.

Kiplinger reports that all told, the average cost for residential, commercial and industrial users may be 50% higher than today. In areas such as the Midwest and Southeast where coal fired power dominates, a 100% hike is likely. Motorists won’t get off easy, either. With climate change legislation, gas pump prices will be about $2 a gallon higher.

Our Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says climate change legislation would “reduce the purchasing power of the middle class and slow down the economy.” Yeah, that’s just what we need right now.

There’s been talk that doing nothing is a huge gamble. Well, I think the biggest gamble is to enact legislation based on flawed scientific data. Part of the Obama administration even admits that cap and trade will not help the economy. The left seems to be willing to gamble our future on a hypothesis that cannot be proved or recreated.

If I go to the grocery store today, and one of my favorite food products has increased in price by 50%, I don’t buy it. I find a cheaper substitute or go without. I think people are going to be hard pressed to go without electricity or gasoline. When gasoline prices were in the $4.80 range, I only drove to and from work.

Think about it...what changes will you have to make if electricity and gasoline prices doubled?

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

Is Global Warming a Snow Job?

2009-12-03T11:28:00.001-06:00

I’ve read a few of the “stolen” emails from the scientists who purportedly tried to hide the real facts on climate change. Some reports claim the emails are taken out of context. It’s pretty hard to take statements that say “delete this email so there’s no record” out of context. Hello little red flags!

What many suspected for a long time when they couldn't replicate Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) results, and could not access the IPCC-used data, seems to be true based on the “leaked emails.”

Below is an excerpt from Climate Change Facts (one of a handful of sites that actually provides pros AND cons) and it sheds light on how facts can get distorted. Bear with me, it’s worth the read.

“Few scientists are actually involved in writing the materials, perhaps a few dozen. Usually there is one real leader, a chair or co-chair and 2 or 3 [so-called] co-chairs that are present to provide balance for the developing nations. Because of skill or language barriers they may not be greatly involved. Lead authors are usually involved in just one piece of the section or chapter. These few people…prepare the first and subsequent drafts and the Executive Summary that feeds into the “Summary For Policy Makers”, long before the draft chapters have been through national reviews. Even here, the co-chairs decide which inputs are to be accepted, or make recommendations that usually are sustained, during [mandatory] sessions. Yes, thousands of scientists review the IPCC documents, but usually [they read] only those parts that impinge on their own expertise, which is usually quite narrow.“

If you’ve ever played the childhood game called “tell-a-friend” in which one kid whispers a sentence in another kid’s ear and that kid goes to the next kid, and so on --- at the end of the game, the last kid says the sentence and finds out its nothing like the first sentence. That seems to be exactly what happens in these summary reports. And that explains why we have people who are adamant they know “the truth.”

Essentially what the policy makers read becomes vague and distorted which then becomes subject to their own interpretation or perception. It’s no wonder we’re all confused.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

Public Power Districts and Cooperatives OPPOSE Senate Bill 1733...YOU SHOULD TOO!

2009-11-30T13:37:00.001-06:00

Go to www.ourenergy.coop to voice your opposition to your senators.

On the eve of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s markup of S. 1733, “Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act,” Glenn English, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, indicated in a letter to Senator Boxer that the association intends to oppose the bill unless substantial changes are made.

While praising the efforts to improve the bill by several committee members, including Senators Max Baucus (D-MT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tom Udall (D-NM), English expressed disappointment that even with the revisions, the plan is unfair to consumers and, in several respects, represents a step backward from the climate change legislation passed by the House in June.

Writing on behalf of 930 electric cooperatives and their 42 million consumer members, English reiterated concern outlined in an earlier letter to Chairman Boxer that the formula for allocating emission allowances would be unfair to rural consumers in certain regions, primarily the Midwest and Southeast.

Not only does the Senate bill retain the fundamentally flawed allocation formula included in the House version, the percent of total allowances given to the local distribution companies is reduced from 30 percent to about 25 percent. According to government projections, 80 percent of the emissions reductions called for in the climate change proposals under consideration come from the electricity sector. Even with additional allowances secured for cooperatives by Senators Baucus, Klobuchar and Udall, preliminary estimates indicate cooperatives would receive 20 million fewer allowances in just the first year of the program under S. 1733.

English pointed to the bill’s attempt to protect consumers from volatility in the carbon market with a “Market Stability Fund” as an improvement over the House version, but urged the Senate to set a “clear upper limit on the cost of emission allowances.” To protect consumers, “the legislation should include a strong cost containment mechanism that guarantees prices will not rise above a certain level, such as a safety valve or ‘hard’ price collar.”

From: www.cooperative.com; November 3, 2009

The Consequences of Failure

2009-11-19T11:49:00.003-06:00

From "The Economist" dated November 19, 2009...(www.economist.com)
_______________________________________________

Back in the Senate, fear that cap-and-trade will be painted as a murky, confusing job-killer and a bureaucratic hassle makes Democrats in conservative states nervous. They include Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu and both senators from North Dakota. Head counts fall far short of the 60 votes required to ensure passage.

The gamut of committees that the bill must pass in the Senate may yet save it, though probably at a hefty price. Barbara Boxer, the chairman of the environment committee, plans to submit her version of the bill later in September. Her starting point may be the bill that passed the House energy committee, a greener bill than the one that passed the full House. This was weakened by concessions to farmers and other giveaways at the last hurdle in order to secure House passage.

Then the Senate committees can set about adding pork. The Senate (with two members per state, no matter how empty) represents agriculture more heavily than the House. Paul Bledsoe of the National Commission on Energy Policy reckons that extra incentives to farmers, at first pared back from House bill levels, may be added in higher amounts later in the process to help bring Senate moderates on board. (Tom Vilsack, the agriculture secretary, has been busily promoting action on climate as a way of boosting farm incomes, since farmers can earn “offsets” from polluting industries by reducing their own greenhouse-gas emissions.) Read this article (www.kearneyhub.com) from a local newspaper about farmers and their concern about cap and trade promises. More support for nuclear power (nearly emissions-free, but controversial) could bring back a few centrist Republicans. Attention to natural gas—nearly absent from the House bill, but produced in 32 states—could help as well.

After Bill Clinton’s health-care reform fell apart it took 16 years to revisit the issue. Climate-change purists should bear in mind the consequences of failure. “If this bill goes down,” says Joe Romm, a senior fellow at the Democrat-leaning Centre for American Progress, “it will be a very long time before we come back to it. [And] I don’t see how the international process survives.”
______________________________________________
Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

HISTORY IN THE MAKING: Committee Advances Cap and Trade

2009-11-12T07:52:00.000-06:00

In December's issue of the Dawson Dynamo, General Manager Bob Heinz gives you concrete facts about the cap and trade legislation. Further, the Environment and Public Works committee advanced the cap and trade legislation in an unprecedented move. Watch this video:

Voice your opinion by going to www.ourenergy.coop and contacting your state senator TODAY!

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

SENATOR NELSON ON CAP AND TRADE

2009-11-06T14:44:00.000-06:00

CNBC interviews Senator Nelson about healthcare but before they talk about that issue, Senator Nelson talks about cap and trade.

Climate Bill Clears Senate Committee 10-1

2009-11-05T15:46:00.000-06:00

FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - 2009 NOV 05

A Senate committee cleared its version of a climate and energy bill, despite a Republican boycott of the vote and a "no" from powerful Montana Democrat Max Baucus.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's 11-1 vote to approve the climate proposal may have little long term significance in shaping the final bill. Negotiations to shape a Senate climate bill have already moved beyond the committee and its chairwoman, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D., Calif.). Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.) is working with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) and Connecticut independent Sen. Joe Lieberman to develop a compromise package that would give more benefits to the oil and nuclear-power industries.

The vote tally was initially given as 10-1. Democratic Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware showed up after the vote and said he would have voted "yes." The panel changed the tally to reflect his support.

Republican members of the committee boycotted the vote to protest a lack of a complete analysis of its potential economic impact. Republicans have called the Senate climate measure and a similar measure passed by the House of Representatives a "tax" that the country can ill-afford at a time of high unemployment and economic uncertainty.

It isn't clear how much progress Senate Democrats will make on the climate issue before a United Nations conference in Copenhagen in December, where global leaders are supposed to discuss a new international treaty on climate change.

Mr. Baucus's no vote highlighted the doubts among Democrats from states dependent on coal and manufacturing about the Boxer proposal.

The proposal approved by Environment and Public Works committee Democrats calls for a 20% cut in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020. Lawmakers from coal-dependent states say that target will hurt their economies. When the House of Representatives cleared a companion measure earlier this year, it was able to win support for reductions of only 17% by 2020.

Lawmakers from some manufacturing states have told President Barack Obama that any climate bill should allow for tariffs on goods from countries that don't adopt climate policies comparable to those of the U.S.

Farm interests are also flexing their muscles as negotiations continue, pushing for bigger financial rewards for activities that reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

Cap and Trade COMMON SENSE

2009-11-02T15:47:00.000-06:00

Public power districts and electric cooperatives are prepared to work with Congress to develop responsible climate change legislation. We would like to urge congress to:

Oppose auctioning allowances in the electricity sector
Give allowances to retail electric utilities, based upon CO2 emissions associated with the production of electricity sold by the retail utility.
Set CO2 caps consistent with the commercial availability of technology.
Do not allow Wall Street speculators to set electricity rates by treating CO2 allowance as just another money-making commodity.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

When will my power be back on?

2009-10-29T13:07:00.000-05:00

It is 1:00 a.m. and I woke up thinking about all the people who want you to tell them exactly when their electricity will be restored after an outage. We understand your need to know but

A) we usually don't have enough information to give you a definite time -- we get our info from listening to linemen talk to each other on the radio system and looking at stacks of paper that represent people who have called about outages in your area... and

B) if we ever gave you the wrong information about when power will be restored -- and it took a lot longer -- you wouldn't be very happy with your power company.

Someday we will have a "smart grid" that will tell us which people do not have electricity (even before they call) and it will probably show us exactly where all our red trucks are, but until then we make due. We don't have a map on our computer that shows exactly which lines are out and which lines are working – right now that comes from the stacks of paper. This "smart grid" thing will probably be in place within the next 4 years.

Even with the smart grid, outage restoration will require people. Someone has to drive the path of the power line and see why a breaker has turned the power off. The cause could be a tree branch that fell to the ground and is no longer a problem or it could be a car containing a mom and her kids who skidded off the road – who are safe because the breaker turned the power off. We don’t simply flip the switch without checking for the cause. It takes time to “run out the lines” and it takes time to make the repairs.

I really feel for the people affected by power outages... the elderly people who need oxygen concentrators and might get very cold, quickly... the mother at home with kids who have H1N1... the people with new babies that they just brought home from the hospital... the people who have livestock that need water. I relate. I empathize. I wish I could push a button and fix it but I can't. Fixing power lines isn't a fast thing. We put all our resources (skilled linemen and trucks) into place and work hard.

With that said, during large scale power outages, sometimes the decision is made to pull the crews back in before power is restored to everyone. This is not a decision taken lightly. Many linemen tell stories about connecting “just one more” before they turn back towards the shop. The decision to stop working is made when weather conditions are bad enough that we are losing more ground than we can possibly gain by continuing to work. Sometimes the decision is made because the outage is so large that crews will be working to restore power for several days or weeks and they need rest so they can safely continue. Remember that the linemen and the people answering the phones
may be going home to a dark, cold house without power.

Nobody likes power outages. Although a young lineman may be excited to work their first big storm job, major ice storms take their toll on utility employees. Dawson PPD is prepared to handle power outages. We have the training and equipment we need. And one of the most important tools is caring about you, our customers.

Marsha Banzhaf, Public Relations Coordinator
Dawson Public Power District

Custer Power and NPPD talk Climate Change

2009-10-26T15:41:00.000-05:00

Ron Asche is the CEO of NPPD and Rick Nelson is the general manager of Custer Public Power District. Great interview!

WINTERY WEATHER CAUSES SOME POWER OUTAGES

2009-10-22T11:41:00.000-05:00

Social Media is PERFECT for keeping customers updated about outages. Yes, we know customers without power obviously cannot get online - but their family and friends can. Plus many of the cell phones today are equipped with data plans and those phones can accept Twitter or FaceBook updates quite easily.

PRESS RELEASE - OCTOBER 22, 2009 - 11:00 A.M.
Dawson Public Power District crews are busy restoring power to customers throughout their territory. Isolated outages have affected about 500 customers between North Platte and Smithfield. In many cases the outages have been caused by trees breaking under heavy snow and ice, sending branches through power lines.

Larger-scale outages have been reported at Bullhead Point at Johnson Lake and in a rural area south of Maxwell.

Ice and tree problems have also caused lights to blink in some areas.

“If you are experiencing blinking lights, we suggest that you unplug sensitive electronics. Report any outages by calling 800-752-8305 or 308-324-2386,” instructs Marsha Banzhaf, Public Relations Coordinator.

THIS, I didn't know....

2009-10-15T09:49:00.000-05:00

Beef by-products enable us to use 99% of every beef animal, and these products are a part of our daily lives. Beef by-products include leather, candles, toothpaste, deodorants, crayons, textiles, cosmetics, rubber tires, insulin, high glass for magazines, asphalt, fertilizers, cement blocks, hydraulic brake fluid, car polishes and waxes, detergents, shaving cream, soaps, shampoo, paint, chewing gum, marshmallows, and the list goes on, and on, and on. Can you go a day without using a cattle by-product? (When is a Cow More Than a Cow?) OK, I knew we had beef by-products but I didn't know (or didn't want to know) I might be putting them in my hair or on my face.

American agriculture is sustainable for the future. In the United States, 98 percent of farms are family farms. Today’s American farmer feeds about 144 people worldwide. 2009 versus 1960: 1.8 million less farms are feeding a U.S. population that has increased 61 percent. BEEF: From Pasture To Plate. GOD BLESS our farmers and ranchers!

Other cow facts (from cattlefacts.com): More than 100 medicines, including insulin and estrogen, come from cattle. Cattle outnumber humans in 9 states: Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.

Open House Weather WOES

2009-10-13T09:18:00.001-05:00

The snow started Friday night - and continued well into the next day. Dawson Power was expecting approximately 1,500 to 2,000 guests for their open house. Sadly, we had to curtail some of the outdoor activity. More than 700 brave souls came out to see our new headquarters. Dave Landis portrayed George Norris and it was a wonderful look into the past.

Check out NTVs coverage of our open house - they did a wonderful job. The link is next to this blog in the Twitter section.

We will label the open house as very successful in spite of the weather. Plenty of food and information was available for everyone.

Dawson Public Power District
today's energy; tomorrow's vision

There goes the plannning....

2009-10-08T14:49:00.000-05:00

Months and months of planning have been put into the open house event on Saturday, October 10th. I know Marsha Banzhaf has worked on organizing and coordinating this project for well over a year. She has covered the major pieces (speakers) and the minor pieces (who will hook the straps on the bucket truck harnesses for female guests). Her logistical settings have been tested repeatedly and finally all the employee volunteers have a job to do from 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning until 4:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Lauren Daberkow and his crew have assessed and reassessed the parking situation, creating alternative plans in case things change at the last minute. Tony Hoos, Mike Zern and Connie Shively have hung pictures, cleaned, dusted, painted, mowed, trimmed, washed windows all in anticipation of a good turn out.

One highlight of the new building is all the technology built into the rooms. From smart boards that house our mapping system, to the audio visual elements in the board and meeting rooms, this place is a communication masterpiece. Imagine our surprise to find that small things don’t work the way we expected them too. Our technology coordinator, Tracy Gordon, has been spending the past three weeks tweaking things so they operate properly and it appears his tasks will be ongoing.

Our initial planning calculated that we could expect 500-700 guests on Saturday. As time has gone on…the guest list has grown to 1,500 – 2,000 people. That was before the weather report hit us last night. With temperatures in the 30’s expected, possibly accompanied by snow, our plans for the outside activities have been hampered significantly. Imagine a bucket truck ride in 30 degree weather, winds at 15 mph, and 65 feet high? No thanks. If you are inclined to brave the cold, those bucket trucks stand ready to take you high!

The employees of Dawson PPD have been part of the open house preparation from the day we moved in. There’s been something for everyone to do so that the event is successful. A special thanks to everyone who’s been helping!

We are ready to welcome our customers, our neighbors, and our professional colleagues. It seemed to us that this moment would never arrive and now it’s upon us. There have been list of lists made and while we know not everything will go according to plan, our biggest goal is to ensure our guests are comfortable, fed, and educated by the demonstrations, the presentations and the employees who help them along the tour.

JOIN US! Saturday, October 10, 2009 – 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

You have the Power!

2009-10-06T10:24:00.000-05:00

Dawson Public Power District believes our customers have the power to change the future. Please contact your elected representative today by visiting http://www.ourenergy.coop/.

YOU are invited!

2009-09-29T10:13:00.000-05:00

Please attend Dawson Public Power District's Open House on Saturday, October 10th.

We are extending an open invitation to the public to view Dawson PPDs new headquarters at 75191 Road 433, just one mile south of Lexington. The hours will be 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

A special appearance by George Norris; bucket truck rides, lunch from 11:30 to 1:00 p.m.; Louie the Lightning bug, electrical safety demonstrations, energy efficiency displays and digger truck demonstrations.

A Modern Power Grid

2009-09-23T14:50:00.000-05:00

It will take years, but consumers of electricity will need a smarter system to keep up with the demands of the future. Here's a short video that describes the modern grid. While Dawson PPD cannot verify that NETL's facts regarding cost or distribution is accurate, the overall picture is one we'd like our customers to understand.

Pick Up The Phone

2009-09-21T13:20:00.003-05:00

While many people are comfortable with using the Internet or email to contact their state senators, there are an equal number of consumers who are not. For me, electronic communication is simple and quick.

If you would prefer to call Senator Johanns or Senator Nelson and tell them what you think about climate change legislation, here is the information you need:

Senator Johanns
Omaha Office 1-402-758-8981
Kearney Office 1-308-236-7602
Lincoln Office 1-402-476-1400
Scottsbluff Office 1-308-632-6032
Washington DC 1-202-224-4224

Senator Nelson
Omaha Office 1-402-391-3411
Northeast Nebraska 1-402-209-3595
Scottsbluff Office 1-308-631-7614
Lincoln Office 1-402-441-4600
Central Nebraska 1-308-293-5818
Washington DC 1-202-224-6551

Dawson Public Power District is encouraging our senators to take a balanced approach to climate change legislation. Read my earlier blog(s) about climate change legislation and how it will impact each one of us.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

THREE DECISIONS

2009-09-09T16:26:00.002-05:00

First, decide:
1. Global warming is real
2. Global warming is not real
3. Global warming is exaggerated

Everyone has an opinion on this topic. Why are environmentalists adamant that temperatures are rising. Why are scientists stepping forward telling us that the data on global warming isn’t true? This giant tug-o-war has all of us wondering who’s right.

It might come down to who’s MORE right? To disregard the opinions and perception of others with whom you do not agree is not the answer. But if you had to weigh all the data, where do you stand?

The basic premise of cap-and-trade is that government doesn't tell polluters how to clean up their act. Instead, it simply imposes a cap on emissions. Each company starts the year with a certain number of tons allowed—a so-called right to pollute. The company decides how to use its allowance; it might restrict output, or switch to a cleaner fuel, or buy a scrubber to cut emissions. If it doesn't use up its allowance, it might then sell what it no longer needs. Then again, it might have to buy extra allowances on the open market. Each year, the cap ratchets down, and the shrinking pool of allowances gets costlier. As in a game of musical chairs, polluters must scramble to match allowances to emissions.

A majority of people will tell you they want a cleaner environment – it’s a responsible position to take for our future. But, no matter WHERE you stand on the global warming position, if a cap and trade program is passed by the Senate, it will cost every American more money. Utilities cannot put in the necessary equipment to reduce CO2 emissions, nor can they purchase market-based allowances, without passing those costs on to the customers in the form of higher electric rates.

Next decision:
1. How much MORE are you willing to pay for a cleaner environment?

The Congressional Budget Office says cap and trade will cost an average family of four $175.00 more each year in higher energy costs; about the price of a postage stamp per day. The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation paint a different picture. By 2020, The Heritage Foundation says it will cost the average family $1,870 per year and by 2035, that will increase to $6,800 annually. CBO took a one year snapshot of the costs while other organizations have calculated costs into the year 2035.

AGAIN, it might come down to who’s MORE right? If you had to weigh all the data, how much do you think it will cost?

Last decision:
1. What will you ask your state senator to do on your behalf?

Now…go to www.ourenergy.coop and tell them!

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

SCAM ALERT FOR OUR CUSTOMERS!

2009-09-08T08:45:00.001-05:00

Dawson Power has been alerted that cooperative or public power district consumers in various states are receiving phone calls from fraudsters posing to be from the power district or co-op and asking the consumer to provide credit card or other financial account information and personally identifiable information over the phone. This scam is hitting utilities across the nation. There are at least two flavors of this scam -- one is to say the consumer owes on his/her account and will have service shut-off unless payment information is provided immediately. The other appears aimed more specifically at seniors. The caller claims the consumer can receive Federal stimulus dollars to pay their utility bills or some sort of a bill credit but the consumer must first provide his/her personal information (e.g. Social Security Number and utility account number).

Dawson Power consumers should not give out credit card or social security information over the phone if they are called. Please call into our office (308) 324-2386 or 1-800-752-8305 to double check the legitimacy of the call. You can pay your account online at any time or you can call after hours and be assisted by our after-hours call provider. If you are delinquent on your account, you may receive a recorded message advising you of this status if we have current contact information on your account.

There are state level resources (typically through the state attorney general’s office) as well as the Federal Trade Commission's identity theft site: www.ftc.gov/idtheft. Additional information is available from the FTC's main site: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/data/idt.shtm.

IN THE MAIL....

2009-09-03T15:08:00.004-05:00

Did you know Nebraska ranks 5th lowest in the United States regarding electric rates? This is credible information from the Energy Information Administration based on 2007 rate data.

Our customers may receive a letter in the mail from our general manager, Robert Heinz, asking them to contact Senator Johanns and Senator Nelson about climate change legislation. If you are concerned with what is being proposed, we urge you to sign these cards and put them in your mailbox right away. Dawson PPD is interested in providing you with reliable, safe and AFFORDABLE electricity. Won't you please help us keep Nebraska's rates low?

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

1943 - 2009

2009-09-01T11:23:00.003-05:00

As Dawson PPD employees begin final preparations to move to the new headquarters building, I thought I’d share a few observations. These are the things we found that rest between the dashes of 1943-2009.

Its absolute mind boggling at how much stuff can be accumulated or stored since 1943.

1. We have discovered archival documents that weave a wonderful history of Dawson PPD and will be preserved for another 100 years.

2. There are vintage versions of cameras, projectors, cassette recorders and even a labeling system that were found in storage. Some of these gadgets I don’t even recognize much less know if they “work.”

3. Formal tea sets, kitchen gadgets and decorations from when Dawson PPD strongly promoted that modern kitchen.

4. Stacks of photo albums and scrap books that I could easily get lost in and spend hours perusing.

5. Files and files of records dating back to 1943, including formal letters and cost estimates to extend services.

6. Boxes of engineering documents for system design.

7. Vintage meters and tools that are sought as collector items but will remain in our care for a future donation to the Dawson County Museum.

8. And, of course we have found the occasional “Oh, that’s where I put that” stuff.

I have to admit I’ve been fighting the urge to keep everything. To protect our customers, we have shredded over 200 boxes of files that contained customer information. For the past 3 years, Dawson PPD has been working diligently to digitize customer records so we have a file system that is easily accessed.

My grandmother used to say “the devils’ in the details” and until now, I didn’t know what that meant. It’s the small things that we are tending to now – organization, orchestration, decisions, training, and adapting to the changes we will face in a new facility. I have to give significant credit to the project manager, Scott Fagot, and our “technology guru” Tracy Gordon for their hard work to get us to where we are.

All the while we are packing; we are doing business as usual. Our planned move should not impact customer service. We will close our doors here for the last time on Friday, September 11th and open the doors to our new facility on Monday, September 14th.

We hope you will visit us on Saturday, October 10th at the open house!

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

Appliance Rebates For Nebraskans

2009-08-27T16:09:00.001-05:00

The Nebraska Energy Office today confirmed the state will be providing appliance and residential heating and cooling equipment rebates funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the state will receive $1.71 million for rebates and to operate the program, and was awarded $171,100 to the Nebraska Energy Office yesterday.

The state is expected to submit its plan for types of appliances, the amount of the rebate by appliance and how the program will operate to the U.S. Department of Energy on or before the October 15, 2009 deadline. Under the program, only ten types of appliances and heating and cooling equipment are eligible for rebates: boilers, central air conditioners, clothes washers, dishwashers, freezers, furnaces (oil and gas), heat pumps (air source and geothermal), refrigerators, room air conditioners and water heaters. States have the option of selecting some or all of the eligible appliances and equipment. All appliances and equipment must meet or exceed Energy Star standards.

Purchases of Energy Star qualified appliances and equipment prior to the start of the program in Nebraska will not eligible for rebates.

The Energy Office is consulting with electric and natural gas utilities and appliance retailers in designing the state’s program. Once the U.S. Department of Energy receives the state’s application in October, federal energy staff will review, request modifications and approve the application. How long that review might take is unknown at this time, but approval will not be prior to October 15, 2009. When the state’s application is approved, the Energy Office hopes to have a rebate program operational within 30 days.

Questions about these loans can be directed to Jerry Loos at jerry.loos@nebraska.gov or 402-471-3356.

DPPD...NPPD....It's all the same, right?

2009-08-25T15:31:00.005-05:00

There are MANY people, including my own family, who don’t understand the difference between Dawson Public Power District (DPPD) and Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD). We work closely with NPPD on many projects with the most recent one being a joint application for stimulus grant money for smart grid services.

Dawson Public Power District serves 23,283 electric meters and maintains 5,720 miles of power lines in south central Nebraska, along the Platte River Valley. Dawson PPD was organized on February 26, 1937.

With nearly 80 employees (in 1943, we had 15), Dawson is one of the largest rural systems in the state of Nebraska. We are members of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) and the Nebraska Rural Electric Association (NREA). The District is guided by an elected eleven-person board of directors representing the people we serve. By the way, Dawson PPD is a not-for-profit organization.

Dawson's service territory includes all of the rural areas in Dawson and Buffalo Counties, approximately two-thirds of Gosper County, a third of Lincoln County and parts of Custer, Sherman and Frontier Counties. The district also serves several villages: Hershey, Maxwell, Brady, Farnam, Eustis, Elwood, Eddyville, Smithfield, Overton, Sumner, Miller, Riverdale, Amherst, Odessa, and Pleasanton.

Dawson Public Power District (DPPD) purchases electricity from Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) and then sells it to you. More than 70 percent of NPPD’s revenues are derived through wholesale power supply agreements like the one they have with us.

So if you hear a “PPD” in the news, check that first letter to see if its “D”PPD or “N”PPD – even “C”PPD (Custer Public Power District). Back in the good old days, many of the rural electric companies were simply called “the REA”. We love those acronyms…until they confuse people.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

A career as a lineman

2009-08-20T11:46:00.004-05:00

Since my blog on Tuesday was about the respect our linemen deserve, I thought I'd show you a video clip of linemen being trained in central Ohio at MTC. I picked this video because it was shot this month. Dawson Public Power District would encourage our young men and women graduating from high school to consider going to lineman school.

In Nebraska, anyone interested in utility line training can look into the courses offered at Western Nebraska Community College (http://www.wncc.net/); and Northeast Community College (http://www.northeastcollege.com/).

Dawson Public Power District offers scholarships. Applications must be received no later than March 2010 (plenty of time to think about it!).

It's a great and very rewarding career. Just ask any of our linemen....

R-E-S-P-E-C-T....and linemen....

2009-08-17T15:28:00.011-05:00

In most utility companies the great division is called “inside” versus “outside” workers. The truth is it takes all of us to make a great company.

I’ve worked in the utility industry since I was…ok, let’s just say it’s been a career that has spanned more than 30 years. Not in the same place, mind you – but always in electricity. What I know ABOUT electricity can fit on the end of my pinky. And by opposite comparison, linemen are men (or women) of few words so the ins and outs of my job could fit in the palm of their hand.

I can honestly tell you that I prefer my “inside” job over what the lineman must face outside. It’s not just battling the weather elements, but it’s also about the significant danger that those of us flipping switches in our homes probably take for granted. The first time I put on high voltage gloves and stuck my hand inside a padmount transformer, the panic that rose (in addition to the hair on the back of my neck) was nothing short of terror. My only task was to tighten a bolt but I couldn’t. It was a lesson about electricity – but it was a bigger lesson about respect.

Earlier in my career, I got to teach first aid to linemen…and as part of that, pole top rescue. In order to teach it, I had to “DO IT.” Picture a 125+ pound (we don’t need to be exact, do we?) female climbing 18-20 feet on a pole (climbing up isn’t too bad), wrapping the hand line around the 160 pound dummy, two half hitches (was supposed to be 3) remove the slack, firm grip on the fall line -- but forgot what my instructor said about wrapping the line up and around the cross arm twice (then wrap it over itself at least twice) to offset the weight of the dummy against my (lighter) weight before I cut the belt. I just threw it over the cross arm and tied it around the dummy, pretty happy with myself about those half hitches. There were 7 linemen watching me from the ground. One bucket truck poised with a lineman ready to stop a catastrophe. He wasn’t quite quick enough. The proud moment of cutting the belt came and went so quickly that I wasn’t even cognizant of flying up and hitting my knees on the cross arm braces, then the cross arm (which by the way, kept me from flying completely over the top of the pole). Later I found out the belt would have stopped me too but my thighs took a beating. The victim fell to the ground with enough force that the thud should have been heard for miles…except for my screaming.

My pride was thoroughly shattered and the howls of laughter from the linemen below only served to humiliate me further. Nicely enough, the lineman in the bucket truck quit laughing long enough to rescue me from my perched position on the cross arms. Once on the ground, I asked to do it again. Going up was a bit slower, the steps to complete the pole top rescue even slower (but this time right), and I was able to lower the victim to the ground. Linemen make pole top rescue AND climbing down a pole look easy but rest assured it is not. The next day I thought I’d been hit by a truck.

My respect for linemen is HUGE.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

Smart Grid vs. Smart Home: What's In It For Me?

2009-08-13T13:49:00.004-05:00

Not only do I work for Dawson PPD, I am also a Dawson PPD electric customer. I am able to think like a customer when I make some decisions. If you read yesterday’s blog you know I struggled with how a smart grid would benefit our customers.

Dawson PPD will start implementing a smart grid build in 2010 for our entire system that will take approximately 3 years to complete. We have applied for a stimulus grant that could pay for up to 50% of the project cost.

After our substations are upgraded, we will pilot 1,000 homes with smart grid services that will mean our customers can monitor and control their usage by changing some of the ways (or times) in which they complete tasks that require electricity.

Here’s my catch on watching my electric usage. I don’t want to be running to a monitor every 15 minutes to see if I’m using too much or using on a high peak time. If I have to do that, I won’t change a thing and will pay that higher rate. I want something (a device or notice) that will automatically change my usage pattern without impacting me significantly. My personal perspective will probably shape our business application.

There’s a big difference between Smart GRID and Smart HOME. Smart Grid is about the efficient control and transference of electricity along transmission or distribution utilities while the Smart Home is about managing your internal energy sources. GE has put together a simple video about the smart grid system and why it’s important to our future.

I already have a programmable thermostat (Smart HOME) which automatically adjusts to the times I set for when we’re home or not home. What more could I want…or need? Well, it has rained a lot and while I have an automated sprinkler system, it sure would be nice to turn it off (from ANYWHERE) when it starts raining without reprogramming it. Could my fridge keep track of what’s inside, including expiration dates and pre-order my regular groceries for pick up at my local store? The savings alone by not deviating from my confounded grocery list could be HUGE. These are smart home features, some of which are available now.

Now look at Smart GRID: Time of use (TOU) rates will be part of our rate structure in the near future. NPPD will begin a time of use rate pilot program in Chadron September 1st. In other words, if you choose to use electricity during peak times, your electricity will be measured and billed at a higher rate. This might mean I will put off running the dishwasher until after 9:00 p.m. or that I will have my heat pump and my hot water heater “controlled” by cycling them off for a few minutes every hour. Those two changes at home would probably save me lots of money.

That’s our future, my friend.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

Dawson PPD Consumers & Smart Grid

2009-08-10T14:17:00.006-05:00

For the past few months, Dawson Public Power District has been working with Nebraska Public Power District and 14 other utility systems in Nebraska to put together a joint grant application for stimulus funds designed to assist us (financially) in building a regional smart grid structure. The entire process has been an impressive endeavor in teamwork.

I’ll be honest… I struggled with the additional costs a smart grid system will impose on our consumers. However, as I’m working through the definition and expectation of smart grid services, I’m beginning to realize the benefits far outweigh the costs.

Reason #1 Whether we (as a utility or a consumer) approve of the smart grid concept or not, it is the way all utilities will be operating in the very near future. Under President Obama’s vision for our energy system, it will be imperative that a smart grid be in place that will allow each consumer to have better control and understanding of their electricity use.

Reason #2 If a cap and trade system is passed by the Senate, even with significant modifications, consumers will need to be able to control usage in order to reduce their electricity costs. Consumers will not be interested in controlling their usage unless it is a simple, easy to understand process.

Reason #3 System reliability will improved based on our ability to detect problem areas before they become outage areas.

Reason #4 Line loss can decrease significantly. Line loss is the amount of electricity “lost” through the system based on resistance on the line (or other line interferences). Interference can be detected through a smart grid system. Reduction of line loss can save thousands of dollars each month.

Reason #5 The bigger picture means our generator (NPPD) can more effectively monitor statewide loads. It allows them to better manage their generating options.

Reason #6 A smart grid system will modernize our electric grid to improve economic and national security. (DOE-GRID 2030)

The request for stimulus funding was $63 million dollars total. Of that, about $9 million was for Dawson PPD. The Department of Energy (DOE) could fund up to 50% of our total request. For those utilities who know that smart grid services will be required in the near future, this is our way of possibly saving 50% of the cost by having the funds granted by DOE. Funding announcements will be made in mid to late October.

Thursday’s blog (What’s In It For Me) will tell our customers how a smart grid could directly affect them.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

Responsible climate change legislation.....

2009-08-04T15:37:00.002-05:00

U.S. Action Alone Will Not Impact World CO2 Levels

2009-07-27T14:29:00.019-05:00

When questioned by Senator Inhofe (R-Okla) during a meeting of the Environmental and Public Works Committee....Energy Secretary Chu and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson had their own comments about climate change. Administrator Jackson testifies that "U.S. action alone will not impact world CO2 levels."

China passed the U.S. in 2006 to become the largest CO2 emitter, and India will soon overtake Russia to become the third largest emitter. China is now responsible for 21% of the world’s emissions according to Climate Research News in October 2008. The United States runs a very tight 2nd to China.

On July 8, 2009, the G8 agreed to try to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius and cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent, but it failed to persuade China and India to join a bid to halve world emissions. (Reuters; July 8, 2009)

Even if a worldwide agreement made sense, an agreement without China, India and other developing countries can be counterproductive. It could actually mean more, not less, carbon-dioxide emissions. With massive increases in energy costs for the United States, Europe and Japan, energy-intensive manufacturing will move to countries without limits. (Washington Times; July 10 2009)

Read Senator Inhofe's white paper entitled "Global Warming 'Concensus' in FreeFall".

Analysis of Cap and Trade by NRECA

2009-07-23T10:12:00.000-05:00

WARNING! WARNING!

2009-07-21T14:45:00.003-05:00

Imagine my surprise one evening, while surfing away, a program suddenly announced that I had 61 Trojans and they were causing great damage to my computer. Did I want to fix them now? Well, duh. (You thought I was going to talk about cap and trade, didn’t you?) There were two buttons to choose: “Remove Virus” or “Cancel.” The notification looked like the one I typically get from my virus protection software. In the background an active scan was being conducted and the problems inside my computer were doubling indicated by red numbers. Instinctively I moved my mouse to “Remove Virus”. I hesitated only long enough to ask myself “Why didn’t my virus program advise me when the first Trojan hit instead of waiting till I had 61?”

I consider myself to be a very savvy computer user. In fact, co-workers and friends often consult me on computer stuff or I’m asked to “fix” a computer problem. I’m online frequently whether at work or at home. Most computer users do not do the suggested maintenance on their computers; but I do. Not backing up computer files or keeping definition files updated for virus protection is a very common problem. Something wasn’t right here.

I chose “Cancel” instead and decided to run a manual scan of my computer. Instead of shutting down, the program popped up with another dialogue box that said “Are you sure? You will be putting your computer at serious risk by not removing viruses NOW.” This wasn’t my program’s typical response.

A deeper look at the screen showed the URL from some website I’d never heard of yet it strongly resembled my virus protection program. Had I not hesitated, I may have opened up my computer to a REAL problem. Whether this was a virus in disguise, or a software company using horrible measures to sell their product, something was not right. I tried to use the X in the upper left hand corner and the program wouldn’t close down. Every time I clicked “Cancel” it had another doom-and-gloom forecast for my files.

I can see how easy it would be to react to this type of announcement. No one wants a virus invasion so the most natural thing would be to select “Remove Virus.” I almost did, my husband would have, and so might you. If you know you have updated virus protection, don’t REACT….just close down the program and do a manual scan. If the program refuses to close, dump your temporary internet files, and then shut your computer completely down. You can boot it back up and should be free and clear of the invading malware. Don't be fooled!

Happy Computing!

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

A Cap-And-Trade Con?

2009-07-15T10:34:00.004-05:00

Well, I was going to write about cap and trade again...but I think Bill O'Reilly really brings the definition down to a level we all can understand.... (please excuse the GOP advertisement at the end of the broadcast...I couldn't remove it....)

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

PEE POWER! (Are you kidding?)

2009-07-09T12:51:00.001-05:00

Yellow is the new green, apparently. I found this farfetched but researching it was ‘ap-pee-ling’. The University of Ohio has been working on alternative energy options and has identified urine as a good source for hydrogen molecules.

Using a nickel-based electrode, the scientists can create large amounts of cheap hydrogen from urine that could be burned or used in fuel cells. “One cow can provide enough energy to supply hot water for 19 houses,” said Geradine Botte, a professor at Ohio University developing the technology. “Soldiers in the field could carry their own fuel.”

By attaching hydrogen to another element, nitrogen, Botte and her colleagues realized that they can store hydrogen without the exotic environmental conditions, and then release it with less electricity, 0.037 Volts instead of the 1.23 Volts needed for water.

Botte's current prototype measures 3x3x1 inch and can produce up to 500 milliwatts of power. However, Botte and her colleagues are actively trying to commercialize several larger versions of the technology.

For livestock farmers who are required by law to pool their animals' waste, large scale prototypes could turn that urine into power within six months.

Now, lest you think this type of power is way off into the future, think again. Batteries using this technology are on the shelves in AA and AAA sizes in Japan. It can be recharged with a variety of liquids including urine and other precious bodily fluids, is supposed to last 10 years, and pumps out 500 milliamp-hours (mAh), which is equivalent to zinc-carbon batteries but a third of what an alkaline does.

I sure hope a user of this battery recharges them in the privacy of their bathroom.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

Sources: Treehugger.com and MSNBC’s Technology news.

Electric Linemen Make A Difference

2009-07-07T08:02:00.002-05:00

In this short film, we hear directly from the linemen that have traveled near and far to rebuild electric lines and lives with the NRECA International Foundation. In their own words, we hear what it has meant to them personally to have been able to bring back lights and hope to thousands of people living in rural, developing countries.

These are heroes we seldom hear or read about.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

Big Brother and Electricity

2009-07-02T10:26:00.004-05:00

After HR2454 passed the House floor, I was watching various interviews about the intent of the bill as well as the ramifications of passing this legislation.

I was very surprised to hear a couple of reporters talk about the implementation of smart grid services as a way to monitor and control individual customer usage. The comments indicated electric utilities would become “big brother” and if you used too much electricity, we would contact you and caution you about your energy usage (turning us into the electricity police).

I’ve been in the utility industry for over 30 years. There will never be a time that I can foresee in which we will tell a customer that we’re intently watching them. Granted, we spend a lot of effort asking customers to improve energy efficiency, but those instructions are designed to help them save money on their bill.

I don’t know of any other industry in which the product provider actually wants the customer to BUY LESS. There’s a method to our madness. We only have to pay for the power we buy from the wholesaler based on how much electricity our collective customer base needs. Think of it as demand on inventory and our shelves are purposely kept empty. The infrastructure we have in place (poles, lines and meters), allows instant transport. Our linemen fix the shelves or build new shelves and that accounts for a significant part of our operational expense. Again, the only time you pay operational expenses is when you use electricity.

Let’s go back to that ‘big brother’ theory. Honestly, I can hardly track my own electric usage much less use my 8 hour work day to track yours. There isn’t anyone in our office who is remotely interested in how much electricity you (individual residential) use or don’t use. The only exception is irrigation customers and those customers choose whether or not they want to be controlled based on financial incentives.

The whole idea of monitoring usage is for YOU to control what you use. All we want to do is provide affordable electricity in the safest manner possible.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

Here's Your Crystal Ball

2009-06-30T14:38:00.003-05:00

Microsoft jumped in to the Smart Grid field this week with its announcement of Microsoft Hohm (a combination of the word “Home” and “Ohm”), a service for analyzing home energy use and offering suggestions to increase efficiency and conservation.

The service starts with local and national averages, but customizes its suggestions based on information input by the user. Hohm uses analytics provided by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the US DOE to suggest areas where the user might be able to reduce energy use. In the future, MS plans to have Hohm incorporate data from advanced meters. Hohm is also touted as helping utilities measure and meet their regulatory requirements for conservation and energy efficiency, and eventually to help reduce power consumption during peak hours.

Currently, the service is in beta form, but will launch with four utility partners on the West Coast.

MS and Google’s entries into the residential energy management sector are beginning to reveal the potential that access to energy consumption information has for the future. This goes beyond simply selling ad space when you log in to view your home energy use.

Imagine that these companies could not only show you your electricity use, but also your gas use and car use (through tools like MS Sync). They could then begin to construct a semi-complete carbon footprint for you. Paired with carbon offset projects that companies like Google are pursuing, they could begin mounting a vertically integrated operation for measuring and mitigating your carbon impact. This might be a good fit with the cap and trade system that is currently being discussed by the Congress.

Source: SmartGridNews.com - June 29, 2009

And I quote....(on climate change debate)

2009-06-26T14:15:00.005-05:00

With great interest…and amusement, I was able to watch part of the three hour debate on the House floor regarding the Climate Change and Energy Policy Act of 2009 (HR 2454). After listening to pros and cons from congress people all over the United States, how on earth can people possibly discern which direction is best? I work in the utility industry and I pay attention to this stuff because it will affect our customers.

I decided the best way to share pros and cons would be to pass on some of the comments I heard from congressional leaders during the general debate. To the best of my ability I wrote down some of their comments verbatim but obviously could not include their entire dialogue.

**********
R-California Dana Rohrbacher
“Wake up America! This bill will cause great damage to the American people in the name of phony science.”

D-North Carolina G.K. Butterfield
“Save the planet. You can call this a carbon tax all you want, but you are wrong. This is historic legislation that needs to move forward. Built into this bill is a 15% safety net for the poorest in America. It will cost the American tax payer 48 cents per day.”

R-Tennessee Marsha Blackburn
“This is not an energy bill, it is a tax bill. Tennessee will lose 33,000 jobs in 2012 alone. The impacts of this bill will shut down small businesses and residential customers will pay $3,100 in new taxes every year.”

D-Massachusetts Richard Neal
“This bill will make America less dependent on foreign oil. It’s a difficult decision but it makes those tough choices for our children.”

R-Nebraska Lee Terry
“Omaha Public Power District did some calculations for me and they tell me that it will cost OPPD customers $74 million by 2012 and by 2030, the cost will be $414 million.”

D-Maryland John Sarbanes
“The United States is a sleeping giant; this bill will create a new framework so ordinary citizens can jump into opportunities.”

R-Oklahoma Tom Cole
“This is a flawed cap and tax legislation. It will add $3,000 to consumers' energy costs. Residents in rural areas will be disproportionately affected.”

D-California Jerry McNerney
“I’ve seen firsthand new development in technology. Long term prosperity is at hand. It is long past the time for us to pass this legislation to give us a more efficient grid.”

R-Alabama Spencer Bachus
“This will create a multi-trillion dollar derivatives market based on carbon offsets. And it gives us permission to discharge CO2. If you think the sub-prime lending market was hard to believe, wait till you see this.”

D-Ohio Betty Sutton
“This bill is not perfect but no bill is. The status quo is not acceptable. This is a jobs bill. We need to keep acting till we get it right.”

R-Iowa Tom Latham
“We have the most onerous regulations in the world. See this present (bright yellow box with a blue ribbon) says ‘To China From U.S. Congress’. [opens box and pulls out a hard hat that has stamped on it ‘American jobs’] Seventeen thousand jobs will be lost in Iowa by 2012. This bill destroys hope.

D-Iowa Bruce Braley
“This is a defining moment in our country’s history. How will we look into our children’s eyes and answer ‘Where were you when we needed climate change legislation?’ This will not cost us jobs, it will create jobs in green energy.
**********

The Republican congressman from Texas who led the opposition said “David Sokol, the CEO of Mid-American Energy who provides energy to the mid west, says this bill will raise utility rates across the nation and it will cost his residential consumers $110.00 per month.”

Even though I attempted to give readers both sides through the words of congressional leaders, I believe this legislation will cause grave hardship for every American.

Each side gives their own facts and as I listened, I wondered where they got their information. The common thread in support of this legislation was that it would reduce our dependence on foreign oil, which has affected me indirectly most of my life. I’ve done my own research and I oppose this bill. There was a common thread against this legislation – the loss of jobs and the overall cost to the American family. That, my friend, affects me directly.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

What's a smart grid?

2009-06-22T21:40:00.002-05:00

The term is shorthand for a set of automation and telecommunications technologies and processes that, when properly integrated and supported, will enable utilities to communicate with other utilities, with their customers and with the devices that deliver electricity. The smart grid will include new technologies in the bulk power system, the electric distribution system, at the customer meter and in the customer’s home or business. Vast amounts of data will be communicated instantly and without human intervention. The data exchanged along the smart grid will include power usage, price and conditions of the various system components.

The benefits of a smart grid include:
• The ability to increase energy efficiency at the consumer level and on the electric transmission and distribution systems.
• The ability to reduce power consumption during peak hours and shape the load.
• Provide more information for consumers about power prices.
• Facilitate interconnection of small generation resources, including renewable resources such as wind and solar.
• Reduce the frequency and impact of power outages.

It’s important to realize that not all of the technologies needed for a true smart grid exist yet and that developing the smart grid is a gradual process. Appliance manufacturers are beginning to place chips in home appliances so the appliances receive signals from the utility through the advanced meters. To move toward a smart grid, public power districts and cooperatives are installing advanced meters that allow two-way remote communications. Rural utilities are also investigating and installing smart devices in distribution substations and along transmission lines.

Source: National Rural Electric Cooperative Association; Our Energy Our Future

Tornados Last Night....Video is amazing!

2009-06-18T12:07:00.008-05:00

Storm chasers Matt Chatelain, Curtis McDonald, Daniel Betten and Brandon Lawson documented multiple tornados from close range during the June 17, 2009 tornado event in southwest Nebraska! Included are tornadoes west of Grand Island, NE (near the end) and the damaging Aurora, NE tornado.

I was going to write about more political things, especially since Nancy Pelosi is pushing hard to have the climate change policy heard on June 19th. That's tomorrow. However, in light of the severe weather last night, the safety issue seemd more pressing to me.

If a tornado has reached the ground, you can probably count on the fact that there will be downed power lines. We're asking everyone to not assume the line is dead...it probably isn't. Don't go near them. Call us (or the local utility affected by the downed lines).

This video is awesome....and I have no idea if it made the main stream media here in Nebraska.

Cut Your Electric Bill in HALF! Really! Really?

2009-06-16T09:32:00.003-05:00

Lean times understandably motivate people to explore money-saving options. At what cost, however, might that pursuit of savings come?

Customers wanting to lower their electric bills most likely already know the sage advice about insulating their homes, investing in Energy Star appliances, and unplugging devices they are not using. But isn’t there a quicker, easier way? What about investing in one of those “magic boxes or cylinders” that promises to slice home electricity costs by up to 50%? Here’s a heads up. If a product sounds too good to be true on the energy-savings front, it probably is.

Numerous products fall into the deceptive and ineffective category. One to achieve significant notoriety is the Xpower Energy Saver. Forum Trading Inc. was collaborating with several other companies to sell a $200 cylinder they claimed consumers could plug into the wall to trim electricity consumption by 25%, and extend the life of household appliances.

Engineers at the University of Texas at Austin concluded that the Xpower could produce no more than a 0.06% reduction in electric use in an average house. Laboratory tests revealed that the product is an ordinary capacitor. Capacitors are usually employed in electronic circuits to store energy or differentiate between high- and low-frequency signals.

Saving energy is not as simple as plugging a device into an outlet or a meter. Utilities invest millions of dollars every year into researching the latest energy efficient and renewable energy options on the market. Dawson Public Power District offers energy audits, weatherization tips, rebates and other assistance to customers seeking answers about energy efficiency.

In today’s economic climate, marketers have found a niche offering a range of products that they promise will deliver quick and easy energy savings. The soundest advice to follow in this climate is: BUYER BEWARE. Instead of wasting money on schemes that fall short, Dawson PPD customers looking for answers are encouraged to call us so we can help you find ways to cut your energy usage.

Source: Cooperative Research Network; Elizabeth McGowan, Energetics Inc.

Top Lobbyist

2009-06-11T08:20:00.001-05:00

There’s strength in numbers. That’s the conclusion of The Hill newspaper, which recently cited NRECA CEO Glenn English as one of the top lobbyists among Washington, D.C. associations. “English runs a group with broad grassroots power,” The Hill said in its May 21 edition, which pointed out that the chief executives of trade associations have to strike a balance among hundreds of members and then effectively convey that on Capitol Hill.

“Complicating the effort for trade group CEOs, however, is that not all of their members see eye to eye on things,” the paper said. “One has to constantly preach the benefits of sticking together to companies that may be competitors on another playing field.” English knows his way around the legislative process as a former 10-term congressman from Oklahoma.

He said the grassroots strength of NRECA is what truly makes it stand out. “Electric co-ops represent the interests of 42 million people in 47 states. There are very few groups that have such a broad base. “In this case, I am the representative of the recognition earned by the NRECA staff, statewide managers and the membership at large,” English said. “When we work together for a common purpose, elected officials must take our members into account.” A few other former congressmen also made the list, including Dave McCurdy of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Dan Glickman of the Motion Picture Association of America.

– Steven Johnson, Electric Coop Today, June 5, 2009

Are we talking to the Cheshire Cat?

2009-06-09T08:13:00.003-05:00

When Alice in Wonderland came to a fork in the road, she asked the Cheshire Cat which way she should go. His answer: “That depends on where you want to go.” And with that, the cat disappears and leaves only the grin. I think it looks a lot like Henry Waxman’s grin as HR2454 heads to Congress.

Some proposals (American Clean Energy & Security Act 2009) will freely allocate allowances to electric utilities which may affect electricity prices. Waxman-Markey allocates allowances to local distribution companies, which are subject to cost-of-service regulation even in regions with restructured wholesale electricity markets. So, electricity prices would likely be affected by these allocations [Robert Stavins, The Energy Collective]. The Waxman-Markey legislation seeks to address this problem by specifying that the economic value of the allowances given to electricity and natural gas local distribution companies should be passed on to consumers through lump-sum rebates, not through a reduction in electricity rates, thereby compensating consumers for increases in electricity prices, but without reducing incentives for energy conservation.

The electricity sector will receive 35% of the allowances, representing 90% of current utility emissions. Local electric distribution companies, whose rates are regulated by the states, will receive 30% of the allowances, which they must use to protect consumers from electricity price increases.

The whole point of cap and trade legislation is to raise the price of energy derived from fossil fuels, in order to wean consumers from their (alleged) addiction to cheap gas and electricity. Don’t take our word for it; the Institute for Energy Research article can quote from the president himself to make the point: (Barack Obama January 2008). Click here to watch video. The summary for the allowance allocation goes to GREAT LENGTHS (even titling it CONSUMER PROTECTION) to explain how it will protect consumers against the economic harm created by the Waxman-Markey bill. “GRIN” No cat. J They admit this bill will raise electric rates (and the costs in other energy sectors).

According to Glenn English, CEO of National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, “The renewable energy provisions have been improved significantly in the bill as have the efficiency provisions. Including temporary free allowances in the bill is a step in the right direction to protecting electric cooperative consumers from unnecessarily increasing electricity bills, but the formula for allocation of allowances among industry segments needs to be equitable. The Committee adopted the formula developed by big investor owned power companies but that formula does not treat electric co-op consumers fairly. And, while the emission caps in the bill have been lowered somewhat, we agree with many members of the committee who believe they are still overly aggressive in the early years of the program and will need to be adjusted.”

On April 24, 2008, OMB Director Peter Orszag stated in testimony (to the Senate Committee on Finance) that regardless of whether the government auctioned off allowances or gave them away, electricity rates will still increase significantly based on any cap and trade system.

While improvement has been made in the bill, we urge you to contact your legislator so that HR2454 isn’t a slam-dunk. Insist that your representative take a hard stand on the formula for allowance allocation. Listen to your local utility’s concerns. This isn’t about us; we have to pass the costs on to consumers. This is about you and which fork in the road you want to take.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

Electronic Communication….not much good without electricity

2009-06-04T08:04:00.001-05:00

Years ago, when I first started at Dawson Power, it was difficult to communicate quickly with multiple media outlets and customers to provide them with timely information. Our regular monthly newsletter is still written 6 weeks in advance of publication. We rarely used television to convey a message because our service territory spread(s) across 5,000 square miles and local stations were pricey and not available on satellite until recently. Our primary media source was KRVN 880 AM because they had a strong presence in our entire service territory (discovered by surveying our customers). Farmers and ranchers in this area depend heavily on KRVN to keep them "informed".

There's a standard joke in the electric industry about using electronic means to communicate with our customers. Why bother; they don't have electricity so they can't watch television or go online. Waiting for the weekly paper to tell them what happened isn't an option. The radio is a wonderful media tool but you have to be tuned in at just the right time. We are faced with a challenge and today people demand more from us.

Here's my take, while you might not have electricity (at that moment); someone you know does or you might access web or messages through your cell phone. Or you can call us. Someone answers our phone 24 hours a day seven days a week. When the power comes back on, you can go to our FaceBook page or Twitter and find out what happened.

So why do we Twitter, Blog and use FaceBook as a connectivity piece to our customers? These types of communication pieces give you instant information WHEN YOU WANT IT. When you choose to follow us on Twitter, you will see that we don't throw out 140 characters every 10-15 minutes simply because we can. No, we use Twitter every day but sparingly so it contains information we think is important to you. Blogs, like this one, give our customers an opportunity to talk back. FaceBook "friends" can have more details about the power district and the type of work we do, how we do it and what's going on that could affect your rates. FaceBook lets us use pictures, stories, videos and updates with a few quick clicks of a mouse.

We are a company moving forward to serve you. Today's energy, tomorrow's vision.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

The Flatulence Tax

2009-06-02T08:14:00.005-05:00

One third of the world's human-made green house gas emissions come from food and agriculture.*

Determining the precise level of emissions from food and agriculture is tough, but by one count as much as 31% of GHG emissions can be attributed to food and agriculture, including emissions from land-use changes such as deforestation to make way for pasture-raising livestock or growing feed for livestock or biofuels. Note that this estimate does not include emissions from food transportation, waste, or manufacturing.*

Argentina is studying climate change. They have outfitted dairy cattle (Reuters: http://tinyurl.com/l8wqef ) to be measured for methane output…primarily as it relates to burping (which, according to them is more potent than cow flatulence). Having been around cattle, I beg to differ but then again, I'm not a scientist.

So, in addition to installing compact fluorescent bulbs, reducing the miles you drive, and planting a dozen trees, you must now consider the food you eat as part of the solution to reducing green house gas. Take-A-Bite (http://www.takeabite.cc/) indicates that choosing organic food and fresh produce will help save our planet. According to them, our mothers had profound insight when they told us to clean our plate because it will keep scraps from ending up in a landfill (thus producing methane gas).

What does this have to do with Nebraska and agriculture? Well, if electric-generating plants need to purchase carbon offsets so might ranchers and dairy operators who maintain large cattle herds (and who gets to define "large"). Isn't it difficult enough to raise cattle and make a living? Imagine an estimate of "flatulence by cow", multiplied by your herd, and then assigned an offset requirement? Farmers and ranchers will be competing with huge cattle companies to purchase/bid on these offsets. One more hoop to jump through, one more dollar out of your pocket, and one more line on your operating expense report. How much is "Beano" by the pallet, anyway?

I was going to ponder this more but instead I think I'll find out how they tie those plastic tanks on the cows.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

*Source: Data from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Third Assessment Report.

GROW A NEW CROP: Carbon offsets

2009-05-28T10:55:00.004-05:00

Over half of the land resources in America belong to farmers and ranchers. Dawson Power believes they can be involved in the development of climate change solutions. While most of us have focused on renewable energy or improved energy efficiency as a way to reduce CO2, there are many other options that can affect our agriculture community.

To stay in business, farmers and ranchers need to make a profit…but they also want to be good stewards of their farmland. In our view, the local farmers/ranchers do a very good job at watching/upholding proper land use practices. But, if farmers are compensated for the environmental benefits they produce, such as cleaner water and (natural) carbon sequestration, they're more encouraged to get involved in climate change solutions.

SO…how can farmers/ranchers make money using carbon sequestration? The technology to do injected carbon sequestration has not even been developed but a natural version is an option. Farmers and ranchers can look at being paid for carbon reduction by looking into Chicago Climate Exchange’s offset program. CCX has many project options including methane, agricultural soil carbon, rangeland carbon soil management, and energy efficiency and fuel switching as means to pay farmers for carbon offsets.

CCX general rules/questions for carbon offsets can be found by clicking on this link. Specifics including Agricultural Potential (Question 3), How to Enroll (Question 8) and Current Market Value (Question 24) can be researched thoroughly at http://www.chicagoclimateexchange.com/. Don’t be discouraged by the complexity of a carbon offset program. The CCX is a viable organization and members can have their questions answered quickly by checking the website.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager

Talking WIND with Custer Power & NPPD

2009-05-21T10:23:00.002-05:00

Instead of reading a blog today....listen! Public Power is your power!

Renewable energy is over 100 years old.

2009-05-19T09:02:00.003-05:00

Electricity has been generated by hydro, wind, biomass, and other renewable resources in the United States for more than a century. Today, 11 percent of the power electric cooperatives and public power districts provide comes from renewables, compared to 9 percent for other types of utilities. However, in light of how our legislative body wants to push additional renewable options, there's much at stake.

Public Power Districts and electric cooperatives are asking elected officials to address climate change issues in an affordable and environmentally responsible fashion. We're ready to provide insight into how various policy proposals like Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) and Renewable Electricity Standards (RES) will impact consumers, and we'll urge lawmakers to reach the right answers.

In unity with 42 million other rural utility consumers around the country, ask your U.S. representative and senators to work with your public power district or electric cooperative to keep electric bills affordable. Get involved in this effort by participating in the Our Energy, Our Future™ grassroots campaign at www.ourenergy.coop.

Source: www.cooperative.com – Straight Talk

I’ll take electricity please, with my tax.

2009-05-14T08:53:00.001-05:00

Climate change legislation is now being considered in Washington D. C. which has far reaching affordability Implications for every tax payer and electric rate payer. It's called Cap & Trade. The concept is being pushed by the Obama Administration and is now being debated in the House of Representatives.

Each of you needs to know the potential effect this legislation will have on your pocket book. It has the potential to double or triple electric rates in the future.

Here is how it works. The government, probably EPA, monitors the emissions of all greenhouse gasses, to include co2. The legislation will set targets or caps to meet in the future. Example: as now proposed, greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced to 1990 levels by 2020 for electric generators like NPPD. This means that current emissions of 10.6 million Tons of Co2 need to be reduced by about 40% over the next 12 years. The cap then falls each year so the utility must make new investments to be in compliance. Now this is no easy task as replacement generation will need to be found or built, transmission constructed, with an expected increase in rates to support this effort. In reality, realistic emissions caps can be met and greenhouse gasses reduced with higher electric costs but not excessive costs as I will next describe.

The next part is where electric industry big heartburn comes in. It's the trade part of the equation. As now proposed, the legislation requires that a 100% auction to be held for emissions allowances. This would mean that NPPD would have to go to the auction and purchase allowances for the full 10.6 million Tons of Co2, not just the part which exceeds the cap. In addition this auction would be the start of a new trading market and it would be managed by Wall Street. This allows commissions to be added to the cost and it allows speculators such as hedge funds to buy sell and trade allowances. Estimates from sources in the Obama administration indicate that revenues from such an auction could generate $640Billion to over a Trillion dollars. You guessed it; the rate payers will pay the bill as the cost for allowances will be passed along in higher electric rates.

So now that your electric company is a tax collector for the federal government, it would be nice to know how the money is proposed to being spent. A small portion will be used to fund research and development of alternate technologies for renewable generation and improved generation capabilities, and a portion will be used to help compensate the poorer people in the country cope with higher electric rates with a form of energy welfare. But the biggest share of the money is proposed to go to the federal treasury to be used for government programs unrelated to energy. This is nothing but a huge scheme to transfer wealth from each of us and send it to Wall Street and the government under the guise of Climate Change. The part that you need to know it, it doesn't have to be this way.

Green house gas emitters can meet reasonable caps without this type of auction. As a tax payer and rate payer, this proposed legislation should make you upset. I ask you to become active in the defeat of this cap and trade proposal. It's just bad public policy and will cause unnecessary hardship on every electric customer in the nation. Fair and balanced legislation needs to be crafted for our energy future, which meets the needs of a shift to non-carbon generation in the most affordable manner.

Robert Heinz, General Manager
Dawson Public Power District

Introducing: The Energy Welfare Department

2009-05-11T10:18:00.001-05:00

What happens if our government makes a mistake about adopting certain elements of an energy policy that have a huge (negative) impact on consumers? Nothing. We will whine and complain – but the resiliency of the American people eventually surfaces and we adapt to the change. Soon, we are desensitized to the negativity of the situation and ready ourselves for the next change. I think it's safe to say that there is none in government positions who purposely set out to create havoc/hardships on their constituents. But, by the same token, why do they believe they are experts about energy and the environment?

Our government leaders have heard from hundreds of utilities; municipal systems, investor owned utilities, and rural electric systems alike….and all testimony pointed in the same direction – that a cap and trade system could be devastating to the electric industry and to the customers they serve. If the idea is to curb CO2 emissions, then a cap program might work. Utilities, as a whole, understand their role in reducing emissions that harm our environment. Still, the higher costs of new and upgraded generation, including transmission lines, will have to be passed on to the consumer…eventually. No company stays in business without passing operating costs on to the consumer.

It's the "trade" part of the program that has utilities screaming foul. Our governing body sees the "trade" portion as a way to raise money (from the American people) so there is some type of revenue stream other than our income, personal, sales and property tax system. They take the dollars from auctioning off the permits allocated by the federal government; those permits will be traded on Wall Street and then our government will use the funds to "give back" to the American people through other government programs. By the way, the Senate Finance Committee had a recent hearing about cap and trade….confirmation of what is written above: http://tinyurl.com/qr9ubp

When the government tells us they will be giving back the money collected through an energy tax, don't expect it to be direct cash to you. Instead, it will likely go to fund President Obama's proposed health care overhaul or our other economic problems.

Look for the creation of a new governmental agency called "The Energy Welfare Department." Roy Innis, National Chairman for the Congress of Racial Equality says that's where we are headed. Further, he says "Whatever the precise numbers may be in your state, there is no question but that higher energy prices discriminate against poor families and Americans of color." (Source: May 7, 2009; An Open Letter To Congress.) Higher energy costs drives up every American's direct costs and increases the price of every item we use in our homes.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

Where is the cheapest kilowatt hour?

2009-05-07T11:19:00.002-05:00

The cheapest kilowatt hour is the one NOT produced. Energy efficiency is the best "green" option available. The best thing about energy efficiency….everyone can participate with only a few changes in basic living habits.

Customers who purchase and install specific products, such as energy-efficient windows, insulation, doors, roofs, and heating and cooling equipment in existing homes can receive a tax credit for 30% of the cost, up to $1,500, for improvements "placed in service" starting January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2010. See EnergyStar.gov for a complete summary of energy efficiency tax credits available to consumers. A tax credit is generally more valuable than an equivalent tax deduction because a tax credit reduces tax dollar-for-dollar, while a deduction only removes a percentage of the tax that is owed.

Energy-efficient improvements not only make your home more comfortable, they can yield long-term financial rewards. Reduced utility bills more than make up for the higher price of energy-efficient appliances and improvements over their lifetimes.

Many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched off. These "phantom" loads occur in most appliances that use electricity, such as VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances. These phantom loads can be avoided by unplugging the appliance or using a power strip and using the switch on the power strip to cut all power to the appliance. Whenever you replace an appliance or electronic device, look for the Energy Star rating.

To start your pursuit of energy efficiency, please visit Dawson Power's website and go to the online energy audit page to see where you can save energy.

How We Use Energy in Our Homes
Heating accounts for the biggest chunk of a typical utility bill. Source: 2007 Buildings Energy Data Book, Table 4.2.1., 2005 energy cost data.

If you build it, they will come....but who will pay?

2009-05-05T08:29:00.003-05:00

In April, Ron Asche, Nebraska Public Power District’s CEO, addressed the Loup Power District Board of Directors and said transmission planning is a real and challenging concern. He said he believes if national renewable goals are to be met; a national energy transmission plan will have to be designed and implemented. “Finally, how is this going to be financed, and who will be ultimately responsible for the debt incurred in the development of this system,” Asche asked. “Will Nebraska ratepayers be asked to guarantee the debt, or will capital be available to private developers? (Columbus Telegram; Columbus, NE, April 23, 2009)

Transmission proponents are focusing on wind, though, because (currently) environmentally friendly projects sit better with the public. Nobody would say, ‘We want to build a transmission line for coal.” It's much better to talk about it being for wind. Supporters of wind power said the need for transmission capacity is real. How do we deal with the growing LOCAL opposition to building transmission lines?

In early March, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) introduced a bill that would give the federal government authority to grant permits for new electric transmission lines, trumping states’ jurisdiction on the matter. The stimulus package allotted $11 billion dollars for transmission builds but regional grid operators say that at least $80 billion in new transmission infrastructure spending would be needed to get 20 percent of the eastern U.S.’s electricity from wind by 2024. (source: http://www.jcspstudy.org/)

Since electricity cannot be stored in large quantity, the transmission system must work 24 hours a day in tandem with the generation system to meet the needs of the growing demand for electricity. As with other components of utility infrastructure, siting and building transmission lines are very difficult.

Adding large transmission lines also requires state regulatory approval, which involves significant permitting, research and modeling data, environmental information, cost comparisons, analyses of various options, discussions of scenarios and criteria used in evaluation, and other information.

Everybody wants electricity, but nobody wants the transmission line in their back yard. Listen to NPRs “Building Power Lines Creates A Web Of Problems.”

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

What Nebraska is doing with wind

2009-04-30T09:51:00.002-05:00

Dawson Public Power District buys their power from Nebraska Public Power District and then sells it to you. As a distribution entity in Nebraska, Dawson PPD appreciates NPPDs diligence at their strategic plan for putting wind into the overall power mix. NPPD has a balanced goal that their generation mix will produce 10% of the energy needed in Nebraska from new renewable resources by 2020. This type of balanced adoption ensures that base load generation is never left out of the picture. We didn't know until recently but approximately 70% of Nebraskans view wind as the cheapest form of energy. Wind is a "free" resource but it is not dispatch-able (we can't command or control its input/output nor can we store it).

Technically wind is NOT free because the wind generator has to be sited, transported, constructed, and tied into the transmission system – and then maintained. The cost of the commercial wind turbines vary from $1 to $2 million per MW of nameplate capacity installed. The same turbines 2 MW in size cost roughly $2.8 million installed capacity. These turbines undergo significant economies scale. Smaller farm or residential scale turbines cost less but they are more expensive when per kilowatt of energy producing capacity is applied on the rates.

Taking wind down a notch…
A typical 10 kilowatt HOME wind turbine system will cost $25,000 - $35,000 to install which may or may not include interconnection costs. Depending on the turbine's location and wind availability it may produce around 10,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year. Such a turbine has a blade diameter of about 20-25 feet and needs to sit on a tower about 100 feet tall. Homes sitting on a one-acre parcel could probably accommodate such a turbine, depending on local zoning restrictions.

National Public Radio Energy Education

2009-04-28T14:48:00.004-05:00

National Public Radio (NPR) this week is running a 10-part series on energy, the utility industry and smart grid. “In its most basic form, the smart grid adds a computer cable to the electrical wire,” described an NPR announcer, noting the two-way communications capability to deploy data points all along the system and lets computers “manage the grid much faster and more efficiently than humans could.” Segments on the “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered” radio programs plus published on the NPR website -- examine the costs, politics and other challenges of upgrading the country's power infrastructure including green generation, utility-scale energy storage and the grid.

Dawson Public Power District may or may not agree with the series points, but we think its important to provide the educational opportunity.

SOURCE: Smart Grid Today (http://www.smartgridtoday.com/)

2009-04-23T08:36:00.003-05:00

Interestingly enough, both sides of the cap and trade proposal spout out facts that support their position. One would expect nothing less. So, who are we to believe? I admit I’m conservative, a lot more on the right than the left but I’m also cautious about believing EVERYTHING I read or hear regardless of the side.

Look at global warming. Here’s the only position to take on behalf of my utility: It doesn’t matter what we think, it matters what our customers think. According to a recent Nebraska survey, 30% of Nebraska electric customers think climate change is a very serious issue and 36% think it’s somewhat serious. Sixty-six percent should make utilities sit up and take note.

This is a large issue – and when large issues hit Washington D.C. – we get to see grandstanding. The question one has to ask, regardless of being on the right or the left – who BEST benefits from the cap and trade proposal?

Here’s where the $buck$ starts rolling….polluters (generating stations or other large industries) will be asked to pay fees to purchase permits which allow them to release a set amount of CO2 into the air. The idea is to get those polluters to change work processes to lessen CO2 emissions.

Those permits will be allocated by the federal government; then they will be traded on Wall Street. So our government gets a lot of money (in which they will likely reallocate these funds to other programs), traders and brokers will get millions, and our customers get to foot the bill by paying higher electric bills based on utilities needing to pass on those costs.

Senator Waxman (D-Calif) introduced a 648-page discussion draft on climate change legislation March 31. Surprise, surprise....while it applies to all emissions, regulation begins with utility compliance.

I am particularly fond of those people who believe that reducing CO2 emissions in the United States will have a profound impact on the entire world. It won’t. All it will mean is our customers get to pay higher electric rates without benefit of “SAVING THE PLANET.”

Oh sure, we get to claim “We’ve done our part.” Throw up your hands, walk away, and smell the coffee…it probably came from India and they have decided NOT to change anything per an April 13th article titled “India Rejects Calls for Emission Cuts.” in the Washington Post; N.p. All we will do is accelerate America’s economic decline because companies will relocate to China or India.

For the record, I’m inclined to believe that Nebraska’s legislative leaders do understand our position.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager

Our History and Our Future - Act Now!

2009-04-21T11:24:00.005-05:00

When rural electric utilities began to spread across America 75 years ago, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made the point that electricity in this country was no longer a luxury. It had become, as it is today, a necessity.

In these difficult economic times, a lot of Americans are struggling to make ends meets. As not-for-profit, consumer-owned and controlled rural electric utilities, we want to make certain that each and every citizen in this country can continue to receive affordable electric power. We want to make certain we don’t step back from the commitment that FDR made.

Congress is currently working to address issues related to climate change and debating federal mandates regarding renewable energy development and energy efficiency. Even if Congress doesn’t act, the U.S. Supreme Court has given the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a green light to put new rules curbing emissions of carbon dioxide from power plants in place. As a result of these efforts, there’s little doubt electric bills are going to rise.

The only question is whether higher electric bills will be kept affordable. Please contact your legislative leaders today by joining Our Energy Our Future campaign.

SOURCE: Our Energy Our Future excerpt from their website.