On January 13^th, about 400 of our members will be receiving a survey.  This survey is important to create good forecasting models which will be the basis for planning to meet electrical needs in the future.  We would like to encourage all members who receive the survey to fill it out, and we’d like to say a special Thank You to all who help!

In observance of New Year’s Day, our Baudette and Littlefork offices will be closed on January 1.  Both offices will resume normal working hours on Friday, January 2.  Have a safe and happy NEW YEAR!

You know it was cold, but how cold was it? This November’s billing period included 32% more heating-degree-days than average for past November billing periods. Also, this November’s bill is for the calendar month, not October 20th to November 20th. The end of November was downright bitter compared to the last 10 days of October. The milder temps we’ve had the last week should help with your December bill.

North Star Electric wishes you and yours a happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday!

As a reminder, our office will be closed Thursday and Friday this week in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. If you experience a power outage, please call 1-888-668-8243 or 634-2603 to report it.

When you drive into North Star’s Baudette parking lot you will see a new addition to the grounds. In early June, North Star installed a 4.92KW solar system so we can monitor the actual output of a solar system in our area. To monitor this output from your home in real time, go to http://egauge8199.egaug.es/. In fact, you can see what it is being produced for as little as 10 minutes or over a full year. When you are checking out the site, be sure that you have it set on the 5KW display to get the most accurate information.

You may wonder why North Star installed a solar system at their headquarters. The answer is simple: education, both for us and our membership. If you are considering installing a solar system, we want you to have the most accurate information possible, not just some information that you read off a web site or from a salesman pushing for a sale.Continue reading

Check out this video – which gives a bird’s eye view of complicated red tape and bureaucracy created by the EPA’s climate regulations for existing power plants. Visit www.Action.coop to speak out!

Through SmartHub, you have the ability to pay your bill, check your usage and more right through a web browser or mobile application. For our customers that utilize the Web version of SmartHub, it’s important that you are doing so using the latest version of your favorite web browser to ensure a safe and secure experience.

Starting in November, any of our customers that access the SmartHub tool through Microsoft’s Internet Explorer version 8 or lower will begin to lose some of the tool’s functionality. Internet Explorer 8, or IE8, is a version of the IE web browser that is more than five years old and support for this version or lower of IE is being phased out gradually.

What can you do to avoid any drop in functionality? All you have to do is upgrade to the latest version of Internet Explorer or download the latest version of Google’s Chrome web browser or Mozilla’s Firefox web browser. All of these downloads are completely free, available online and take just minutes to complete. Visit one of the links below to get started and ensure you’re able to take advantage of all that SmartHub has to offer.

For a free download of an updated web browser, visit one of the links here:

Internet Explorer (IE): http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/internet-explorer/download-ie

Mozilla Firefox: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Google Chrome: https://www.google.com/intl/en_us/chrome/browser/