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