Some very expensive legislation is on the table in St. Paul at the Capitol.

We already have a surplus of electricity that we must sell at a loss, yet solar advocates are pushing for legislation that would require utilities to add to that surplus by being required to purchase more solar generated electricity AND add a new tax to your electric bill to fund solar subsidies.

These proposals will significantly increase members’ electric bills.

Legislators and the governor need to know how important this is to you.

Electric rates have already skyrocketed because of mandates and the existing renewable legislation. They need to hear how even higher electric bills will affect you, personally, or your business. The proposed legislation will create a solar mandate requiring that 4% of energy sold in Minnesota will have to be generated by the sun, and the rate North Star Electric Cooperative pays to solar generators will be significantly higher…anywhere from double the price of wind generated electricity to even five times as much, based on a legislatively proposed ‘Value of Solar’ rate to be calculated by the State, not by your locally elected Board of Directors.

Currently, Minnesotans are purchasing .02% from solar, so the cross subsidizing has not had much of an impact.  The proposed legislation, increasing that by over 16,000%, WILL have a significant impact on members’ electric bills.

As a winter peaking utility, solar doesn’t help us when we need it most…during peak times…when it is dark.

Help keep the legislation reasonable. Please pick up the phone or send a personal note, and be SURE to include the governor. His staff tells him that Minnesotans want more solar.  He needs to know how you really feel.

Supportive Legislators

In addition to providing our local legislators with the above information to help them convince their counterparts in the metro areas to change the proposed laws, we must also thank our local legislators for their support.

Although our rural lawmakers are outnumbered, they work hard for you when they understand your needs.

Grassroots Support

Are you interested in receiving updates when critical legislative activity is occurring?  If yes, please email us at nsec@wiktel.com, send us a note, or call 888-634-2202 to be added to our Grassroots list.

Here’s a great video from Our Energy, Our Future!

Congratulations to Allan Baumgartner and Steve Ellis on their retirements!  Both men retired on January 4, after a combined 70 years of experience at North Star Electric.  We wish them well in the years to come!

North Star Electric Cooperative is offering a $10,000.00 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the vandalism that included the cutting down of 3 three-phase power line poles approximately 7.5 miles north of Williams, MN, and the cutting of 2 single phase poles 10 miles south and 4 miles east of Baudette, and the cutting of 1 single phase transformer pole also located 10 miles south and 4 miles east. This vandalism happened sometime between Thursday evening, September 27^th and early Friday morning, September 28^th, 2012.

This is a very costly clean-up and repair.  This is not only an act of vandalism, but a severe act of stupidity. These power lines carry voltages up to 14,400 volts of electricity that could be fatal if contacted. This not only jeopardized the person or persons that decided to do this, but it put the public at risk. The downed lines were live north of Williams and laying very close both the ground and the road. Whoever did this put our line crews into a very dangerous, yet unnecessary, situation for a period of time.

We would like your help.

Please contact the Lake of the Woods County Sheriff’s office at 634-1143 with any information that you may have.

for the North Star Annual Meeting, to be held at the Lake of the Woods School on October 5, 2012.  Registration and dinner will be from 5 to 6 pm, with the Annual Meeting beginning at 6 pm.  The Sloughgrass band will play prior to the meeting for your entertainment.  Hope to see you there!

The EPA, in a proposed New Source Performance Standard for greenhouse gases (GHG), has effectively outlawed coal as a fuel source for the next generation of power plants. The proposed standards would require new coal plants to install carbon capture and storage, a technology that is not yet commercially available and is prohibitively expensive. This would eliminate coal as a fuel source for future generation and reduce America’s fuel diversity. Tell EPA you oppose this proposed GHG standard for power plants.

Please go to https://www.ourenergy.coop/ and click on the “Take Action” button to send your message to the EPA.

Congratulations to the 2012 scholarship recipients!  Scholarships will be awarded to the following students at their high school annual program or graduation:

Garrett Larson from Littlefork/Big Falls – $1000

Douglas Potts from Lake of the Woods – $400

Elizabeth Gearhart from International Falls – $400

Cody Anderson from Littlefork/Big Falls – $400

Victoria Lien from Warroad – $100

Justin Anderson from Roseau – $100

Therese Youso from International Falls – $100

Austin Burmeister from Littlefork/Big Falls – $100

The U of M NOVA site will have it’s ribbon cutting ceremony April 27^th. Continue reading

Wayne is still taking reservations from members who would like to go on the Power Plant Tour June 25^th-27^th. Continue reading