Light Reading - May 2022

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SAFETY May is electrical safety month

YOUR COOPERATIVE 2022 Annual Meeting

EFFICIENCY Start saving with smart technology!

Upgrade your thermostat for FREE!

B

eat the heat and the cold by upgrading your home’s thermostat.

Inland Power is excited to announce we are giving away smart thermostats to our members!

As we continue to move toward energy conservation and savings, this is a great way to help heat and cool your home more efficiently.

It’s super simple–Inland Power members whose homes are heated with an electric furnace (with or without a heat pump), are eligible for a FREE Nest thermostat.

Through this exclusive offer, our Smart Thermostat rebate is applied instantly so there’s no paperwork for you to fill out. Simply place your order, and our fulfillment partner will ship your thermostat to your door.

Smart thermostats save energy automatically and offer the added convenience of letting you control your heating and A/C from your phone.

The smart features even can monitor your system. You can get alerts and reminders about your heating and cooling system.

The Google Nest Thermostat is ENERGY STAR certified, meaning it efficiently controls your home’s heating and cooling system. Nest Thermostats can save an average of 10 to 12 percent on heating bills and 15 percent on cooling bills.

This offer is only available for residential customers with electric forced-air furnaces or heat pumps.

You can save while you are at home or away. It can also be programmed to turn down when you leave so you save energy.

You can control it from anywhere. Change the temperature wherever you are with your Google Home, Amazon Alexa or Apple HomKit. It’s also designed to install yourself, which usually takes 30 minutes or less.

Compatibility/Eligibility

Smart thermostats are not recommended to control variable speed heat pumps.

Before you order, please step through the Nest Compatibility Checker to ensure the Nest Thermostat will work with your heating and cooling system.

For more information on how to get your free Nest Thermostat, visit www.inland.gpfulfillment.net. You can also contact Inland Power at (509) 747-7151.

OUR

mission

IS OUR

members.

– M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N T

Hydropower makes renewables work.

W hen the sun sets and the wind fades, the river rolls on. The perpetual nature of hydropower makes it the perfect companion for the Pacific Northwest’s newest renewable energy sources, primarily wind and solar, which now total more than 8,000 megawatts.

Just like hydropower, new renewables benefit the region in many ways, from creating jobs to keeping our air clean. But unlike hydropower, these are intermittent resources – meaning they turn on and off at the whim of Mother Nature, not necessarily when people need them most.

This poses a challenge for transmission operators who must ensure the amount of power produced equals the amount being consumed, second by second. This constant balance is crucial for system reliability – that is, to keep the lights on.

To maintain this balance, operators must have access to back-up energy sources, called balancing reserves, that can ramp up or down instantaneously to offset the changing output of intermittent resources.

In many parts of the country, this back-up

is supplied by thermal generators like coal or natural gas.

But in the Pacific Northwest, transmission operators can call on our rivers.

How it works

The Columbia River acts as a giant battery for the intermittent power generated by wind and solar. On a very windy day, for example, river operators can reduce hydropower output, storing water that can be released later when the wind dies down.

Hydropower is an ideal balancing resource because of its flexibility, meaning it can respond quickly to shifts in wind and solar power output and can easily be turned on and off.

Most Northwest wind generators are located in the Columbia River Gorge, home to some of the best windsurfing in the world, as well as high-voltage transmission lines that have made it relatively easy for wind developers to reach their customers.

Because these wind farms are concentrated in a single area, they often produce power – or fail to produce power

– at the same time. This intensifies the magnitude of peaks and valleys of power generation that must be filled in, meaning operators must not only have access to flexible resources, but plenty of them.

Hydropower, the largest source of energy in the Pacific Northwest, is able to meet the lion’s share of the region’s intermittent energy balancing needs.

Opposites attract Solar power peaks during the day. Wind in the Gorge tends to peak at night.

Meanwhile the water cycle is constant, ensuring that hydropower is available day or night to provide the foundation of Pacific Northwest’s energy needs and fill in gaps left by intermittent energy sources.

Thanks to the diverse patterns of these natural fuel sources, the region’s renewable power generators can work harmoniously to deliver more clean energy, more often, to the people of the Pacific Northwest.

It’s just another reason we love our hydropower system!

HYDROPOWER | The nation’s clean energy generator Often, renewables focus on solar and wind energy. While both are renewable, they both are known as intermittent, which means that they aren’t reliable to produce energy around the clock.

Hydropower, which is also renewable and 100 percent carbon-free, is a great “backup” for wind and solar power—for example it can be ramped up to meet demand when the wind is not blowing, and dialed down at times of high winds.

From Todd’s conservation desk

Make your home smarter and your wallet happier!

I

t’s a close call which I love more– my $20 coffee maker or the $17 heating pad that preheats the foot area of my bed.

These items are your basic, runof-the-mill gadgets that I have incorporated into my smart home lifestyle. To do this, I use smart plugs that make my “dumb” appliances “smart.” To date, I have 12 WiFi-controlled devices–11 plugs plus my thermostat.

Technology is rewriting our homes and smart home devices are cropping up in every room these days. Whether you need light bulbs, speakers, a TV or even a fridge, smart devices help us maintain comfort while improving energy efficiency and potentially lowering our electric bills. These devices can cost a pretty penny or two, plus many of our appliances and gadgets in our homes aren’t “smart” yet?

That’s where smart plugs come in.

These nifty gadgets connect your regular lamp, fan, coffee maker, kitchen appliance or nearly anything else to your smart home for automation and voice control. There are models for every voice assistant and some even work with all three–

Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit. It’s a quick and affordable way to get more out of your smart home platform.

Smart plugs are one of the most underrated smart home products out there. While they may not be the flashiest, they can automate “dumb products” in your home with ease and bring them into your smart home ecosystem in a jiffy.

This also allows things like basic fans and coffee makers, which are far less expensive than the high-end programmable types, to be integrated seamlessly.

Smart plugs can help you centralize your control and carry it with you on your phone app, while letting you keep your basic, more affordable devices.

That’s as smart as it gets!

Electrical Safety Month Every day we rely on electricity to power our lives. With electrical equipment working around us all the time we can sometimes forget the hazards that are present. May is National Electrical Safety Month and a great time to remind ourselves how to stay safe around electric appliances, equipment and power lines.

Here are a few tips to remember.

Indoors: • Check cords for fraying or cracking, and replace any that are damaged.

• Don’t run cords under carpets or rugs, and don’t tack or nail cords to walls or floors.

• Don’t overload electric outlets.

• Keep electric appliances and tools away from water. Never reach for or unplug an appliance that has fallen into water; instead, shut off power at the breaker first.

Outdoors: • Never touch downed power lines! Stay 50 ft. away and call 911 or Inland Power at 877-668-8243 to report.

• Watch for overhead lines any time you use a ladder, work on roofs, trees, or carry long items.

• Keep kites, model airplanes, drones, and other flying objects away from power lines.

We hope this helps you know what to do in order to keep you and your loved ones safe when it comes to electricity and electrical equipment.

the

POWER of your

CO-OP 2022 ANNUAL MEETING

getin touch

10110 W Hallett Rd. Spokane, WA 99224 MAIN OFFICE

(509) 747-7151 TOLL FREE

(800) 747-7151 BILLING QUESTIONS

(509) 789-4277 PAYMENT SERVICES

(855) 386-9903 ENERGY CONSERVATION AND REBATES

(509) 789-1801 EMAIL

inlandpower@inlandpower.com SOCIAL

@inlandpower @inlandpowerlight

Inland Power

2022 Inland Power annual meeting highlights A

nother Inland Power annual meeting is in the books. This year’s event was once again held virtually and members heard from Inland’s board president, Randy Suess who highlighted some of Inland’s successes such as our member survey results and the financial support dispersed across our communities through the Inland Power Community Foundation. He also discussed some of our struggles like regulatory burdens and the threat to hydropower, specifically the continued attacks on the lower Snake River dams. Randy also introduced our new CEO Jasen Bronec.

During Jasen’s inaugural address to the Inland Power membership, he talked about his vision for the future, which included improving system reliability and sustainability as well as providing a more personalized member engagement experience.

Inland’s board treasurer, Kristina Bahr gave the financial update from 2021. Her highlights included another year of no rate increases, continued strong financial health

and investments being made throughout our electric system.

The evening concluded with the results of our board of trustee election. Inland’s thirdparty attorney, Patrick McNulty provided the report from the nominating committee, which was made up of volunteer Inland Power members. McNulty introduced district four candidates – Kristina Bahr and Mary Sullivan and district six candidates – Jim Kroll and Judith Personett. Kristina Bahr was re-elected to represent district four and Jim Kroll was re-elected to represent district six.

Inland Power board members each serve a three-year term before running for reelection should they choose.

After receiving 5,781 mail-in ballots and 3,776 electronic ballots, a quorum was established in accordance with Inland Power bylaws.

To view this year’s annual meeting video, visit inlandpower.com, under the annual meeting tab and click the video link.