LIGHT READING INLAND POWER AND LIGHT inlandpower.com
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Members Gather for 80th Annual Meeting Thanks to all of our members who attended Inland Power’s 80th Annual Meeting on Saturday, March 25. Inland’s CEO, Chad Jensen, provided a “State of the Cooperative” address and highlighted a celebration of our 80 year anniversary. Aside from Inland Power’s 80th anniversary, this was a historic meeting for Inland Power for another reason. Beginning with this year’s election, and as a result of bylaw changes passed at the 2016 meeting, your board candidates were elected by tallying up ballots that were collected by mail, electronically and in person at the meeting. This enabled our membership more ways to vote and allowed for increased voting participation from our membership. During his address Chad discussed that 2016 was not a year of the “status quo” but our willingness to explore opportunities and try new things is part of what makes us a great cooperative. He gave a summary on new initiatives currently happening at your cooperative: • Reliability - Inland Power hit a new system peak of 253.1 MW of usage during our record cold spells and heavy snow loading earlier in the year. During this same period of record cold and energy usage, we experienced minimal outages. We have been working hard to build more resiliency into our system. While Inland is not immune from the perils of mother nature, we are much better prepared and have taken many positive steps to minimize all power outages. • Rates - At Inland, our single largest cost of doing business is our wholesale power costs from Bonneville. Over one half of our costs go towards power supply and we continue to incur rising power costs from BPA as our wholesale power supplier. Inland and the board review rates annually and determine if adjustments are needed to cover
our costs. As a nonprofit electric utility, our goal is to set rates as close to our actual costs as possible while maintaining sufficient cash reserves for equipment maintenance, infrastructure improvements and unforeseen events. After reviewing the proposed budget and electric rates for 2017, your board determined no rate increase is necessary. • Value - Chad also highlighted that our entire region benefits from our abundance of clean, low cost hydro power. The national average price for residential service is now 12.45 cents per kWh, whereas the Washington state average is 9.58 cents per kWh. Inland remains well below both of these with an average rate of 8.5 cents per kWh if we include the service availability charge and calculate the total cost for an average monthly usage of 1,000 kWh. Inland Power is a member owned cooperative – serving our members at cost and we work very hard to control those costs. We understand electric bills have a significant impact on our member’s budgets and pocket books. Inland is indeed special - after 80 years of service, Inland’s core mission has never changed – we are committed to providing you with safe, reliable electricity at affordable rates and with great member service.
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ENERGY SAFETY Thunderstorm Safety Tips from the American Red Cross When thunderstorms are rolling your way, stay safe with these helpful tips from the American Red Cross: • Postpone outdoor activities if thunderstorms are likely to occur. If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be in danger from lightning. If thunder roars, go indoors! • If a severe thunderstorm warning is issued, take shelter in a substantial building or in a vehicle with the windows closed. Get out of mobile homes that can blow over in high winds. • Avoid electrical equipment and telephones. • Shutter windows and close outside doors securely. Keep away from windows. • Do not take a bath, shower or use plumbing. • If you are outside and cannot reach a safe building, avoid high ground; water; tall, isolated trees; and metal objects such as fences or bleachers. Picnic shelters, dugouts and sheds are NOT safe. Source: American Red Cross
WE ARE A MEMBER-OWNED ENERGY COOPERATIVE COMMITTED TO SAFE, RELIABLE SERVICE AT COMPETITIVE RATES.
MEMBERS ELECT BOARD OF TRUSTEES
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Inland Members Elect Board of Trustees One of the unique benefits of co-op membership is local control. That means you elect your board. The board are all Inland members and understand the issues that face all of us. On March 25, at Inland Power’s 80th Annual Meeting, the members voted for trustees in Districts 4, 7 and At-Large Position B. David Shill (District 4), Brian Slaybaugh (District 7) and Gerald Davis (At-Large Position B) were elected. Three trustees are elected every March on a rotating basis at our annual meeting and serve three year terms. Here is a list of your current board of trustees: • Danny Lee - District 1 • Dick Ziehnert - District 2 Treasurer • Garry Rosman - District 3 Secretary • David Shill - District 4 • Gale Rettkowski - District 5 • Jim Kroll - District 6 • Brian Slaybaugh - District 7 Vice President • Kristina Bahr At-Large Position A President • Gerald DavisAt-Large Position B
ENERGY EFFICIENCY T O D D A N D L I N D S E Y, YO U R E N E R G Y E FFI C I E N C Y TE AM
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1 Smart Hub/Bridge If you are looking to make your home smart without having to hire a company to install an interconnected system, then an internet-connected smart hub is the first thing you’ll need. A smart hub will allow you to control all your smart devices from one app by acting as a middle man that facilitates communications between all your smart home devices. 2 Smart Lighting Like most items in a smart home, smart lighting can be controlled with a few swipes of a smart phone app. But smart lighting is more than just convenient. Smart light bulbs are more energy efficient than standard incandescent bulbs. Some bulbs use GPS on your phone to determine your location, and can turn on or off depending on where you are located. Some bulbs are even voice controlled! 3 Smart Blinds Smart blinds can be useful for those who have tall, hard-to-reach windows; for those who have difficulty moving around the house; or for those who simply want
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to smarten their home. Smart blinds allow you to schedule your blinds to open and close during certain times of day – a bonus if you are trying to be energy efficient – or control them via an app. 4 Smart Locks Smart locks allow you and anyone else you wish to enter your home with ease. Some smart locks let you open your doors with your cell phone. Some let you see who is coming and going while you are out of the house. Some even allow you to assign security privileges to certain people. 5 Smart Thermostat A smart thermostat is a great way to keep your home smart and energy efficient. Many smart thermostats can learn your heating and cooling behavior and will auto-schedule based on your preferences. 6 Smart Cooking Appliances Smart cooking appliances, like smokers, allow you to cook a perfect meal away from home, without burning the house down! Wi-Fi technology makes these cooking appliances smart!
VISIT INLANDPOWER.COM FOR MORE ENERGY EFFICIENCY TIPS
SIGN UP FOR OPERATION ROUND UP® Giving help to those in need has never been easier. Just ask Inland Power to round up your electric bill to the next highest dollar each month. The few extra cents will go to Operation Round Up®. These funds are administered by an independent board of directors and are distributed throughout our community to individuals, families and nonprofit organizations in need. This program has been in place for three 10110 W HALLETT ROAD
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years and your donations have benefited various individuals and organizations throughout our service territory. Donations range from computers for schools or nonprofit programs, sending a child to camp or sponsoring a team such as the 4H Palouse Area Robotics Team to help purchase a robot trailer and mobile shop to get to competitions within the state. You can sign up for Operation Round Up® online at www.inlandpower.com, or by emailing inlandpower@inlandpower. com. Sign up today! Together, we can make a difference.
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