Our Office will be closed for
the Labor Day Holiday
September 6, 2010

Have a Happy and Safe Holiday

For July and August, Midwest’s Load Control Program switches to One or Two Days per Week Control.

Wells may be controlled on their assigned days as needed.

Ways to Receive Midwest's Irrigation
Load control Notification

• Call our Load Control Hotline at (308) 352-2152 to hear current load control status.

Energy Savings Tips

• Lower the window blinds or close the curtains to slow the transfer of heat and help keep rooms cooler.

Pesticide Safety Tips

Recycle Your Light Bulbs

     Bring your light bulbs into Midwest Electric’s office and we will recycle them for you.  Midwest can recycle Compact Fluorescent Lamps(CFL’s), Incandescent, Spot’s, Flood’s and High Intensity Discharge(HID) bulbs.  Bulbs need to be intact.

Watts Cooking

   Summer Strawberry Pie

Crust:
5 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/4 cup lemon nilla wafer crumbs
1/4 cup sugar

Filling:
4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 container strawberry yogurt
2 cups slice strawberries (you can use fresh berry mix as well)
1 package strawberry jello prepared in 1/2 cup boiling water

Combine crust ingredients and press into bottom of a 9-inch pie dish. Bake at 325° until slightly brown.

In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add yogurt, prepared jello and beat until blended.   Fold in strawberries.   Pour into prepared crust.   Cool.   Chill and garnish with dollops of whipped cream and sliced fresh strawberries around edge.

Serves 6-8.

Midwest Welcomes Two
New Apprentice Lineman

     Troy Keller, started as an apprentice lineman for the Paxton Outpost on May 17th.  Troy was born and raised in Keith county.  He graduated from Paxton High School in 2009.  He then attended Western Nebraska Community College and received an Associates Degree in Powerline Construction and Maintenance.  Troy loves being outdoors and enjoys hunting, fishing and mechanics.  Troy is the son Martin and Jean Keller of Paxton, Nebraska.

     Kyle Deeds, started as an apprentice lineman for the Wallace Outpost on May 17th.  Kyle was born and raised in Gering, Nebraska.  He graduated from Gering High School in May, 2009 and began college a week later.  He attended the power-line school through Western Nebraska Community College and received an associates of occupational studies.  Kyle completed his internship at the City of Gering.  In high school he played baseball and soccer and enjoys hunting.  Kyle’s parents are Randy and Tammy Deeds.  Kyle has a brother in Kearney and a sister just graduating from High School.

Midwest Electric
Scholarship Winners

     Rhiannon Peak will receive a $1,000 scholarship from Basin Electric Power Cooperative.  She is the daughter of Vance Peak and the late Kristi Peak of Paxton, NE.  Rhiannon will graduate from Paxton Consolidated Schools and plans to attend the University of Nebraska at Kearney pursuing a major in Pre-Veterinary Science or Education.

     Josh Sexson will receive a $500 scholarship from Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc.  He is the son of Sharon and Douglas Sexson of Grant, NE.  Josh will graduate from Perkins County High School and plans to attend the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and earn a Degree in Business Administration.

     Nicholas Turner will receive a $500 scholarship from Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. He is the son of Michelle and Shawn Turner of Grant, NE. Nicholas will graduate from Perkins County High School and plans to attend the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and earn a Degree in Business Administration.

We would like to congratulate these three students on their academic achievements and wish them continued success in the future.

Motor Rebate Program Still in Effect

• NEMA and Special Purpose Premium Efficiency Motor
     - $12 / hp + $2 / hp Member System payment for motors up through 200 hp.
     - $ 8 / hp + $2 / hp Member System payment for motors from 201 to 500 hp.

• Wiring Assistance
     - $1.50/hp if the motor replaces a fossil-fueled engine, or is a new installation.

NOTICE TO OUR CONSUMERS:

REMINDER:

Midwest’s policy prohibits any attachments to poles.  Do not hang signs, attach electric fences or place any other attachments to Midwest’s poles.  

FENCE THEM OUT...

 Fence out around pad mount transformers so livestock can not get to   them and cause an outage or damage.  

Electricity Supply

Will we have the power we need in the future?

The problem:
How will we supply the power we need to grow the economy while at the same time curbing emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, blamed for contributing to climate change?
In the 1960s and 1970s, the electric industry went through a period of expansion. For many years, the nation had excess base-load generation capacity. But with the economic and demographic growth of the intervening years, that excess capacity is gone. Demand for electricity is expected to increase 26 percent by 2030. At the same time, the cost of building new generation has skyrocketed while the funding to make capital investments has shrunk. These costs will be passed on to the consumer, making electric power less affordable for many Americans. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the organization charged with protecting reliability of the bulk power system, has warned that between now and 2015, some regions of the country may experience rolling black outs unless we build new generation capacity.

Facts on electricity supply:
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects electricity needs will grow nationally 1.0 percent a year from 2006 through 2020, for a 12 percent increase requiring 112,000 megawatts (MW) of new generating capacity.
· EIA estimates demand will grow 26 percent by 2030, requiring a total of 258,000 new megawatts unless extraordinary efficiency measures are adopted. This magnitude of increase is roughly analogous to adding four more Californias.
· According to the LTRA, nearly 25,000 MW of coal generation is still slated for construction in the next ten years; however, the recent trend of cancellation and deferral of coal-fired plants casts doubt on many of these projects.

Midwest Electric Cooperative Corporation

Notice to Customers
Regarding the Rate Dispute
Between Midwest and Tri-State

            As you may know, Midwest has joined with four other nebraska power systems to form the Nebraska Power Supply Issues Group (NPSIG).  As part of this effort, Midwest has been engaged in numerous discussions with Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. (Tri-State) regarding a dispute over the rates that Tri-State charges to its Nebraska-based members.

By way of background, Tri-State is the contract power supplier to Midwest and 43 other systems in Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico.  For its Nebraska systems, Tri-State obtains power from two sources, Basin Electric Cooperative and the Western Area Power Administration.   Today, Midwest and other Nebraska members are required to pay wholesale rates to Tri-State that are nearly twice Tri-State’s actual cost to acquire power from these two sources.   Midwest therefore believes that Tri-State’s rate structure:

• Impedes economic development and job growth in Western Nebraska;
• Is not cost-based and is discriminatory; and
• Benefits Tri-State’s members in other states, at the expense of the Nebraska systems, including Midwest.

On behalf of their customers, Midwest and the other NPSIG members continue to work toward finding a fair and equitable solution to this problem.  Midwest and the other NPSIG members have requested that Tri-State either (1) develop a cost-based wholesale power rate for the Nebraska systems, including Midwest, or (2) permit Midwest and the other NPSIG members to withdraw from Tri-State in order to find another wholesale service provider.

If you have any questions regarding the contents of this Notice, please contact us.

2009 NOTICE OF CAPITAL CREDITS DUE

MIDWEST ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE CORPORATION
PO BOX 970, GRANT, NE 69140       
(308) 352-4356 or 800-451-3691

Look Up for Power Lines and Stay Safe

Recent studies have found that people’s brains likely ignore power lines because they have seen them so often  they don’t even notice them any more.  Nonetheless these natural inclinations can lead to tragic results. 

Estimating Appliance & Home
Electronic Energy Use

If you are trying to decide whether to invest in more energy-efficient appliance or you would like to determine your electricity loads, you may want to estimate appliance energy consumption. You can use this formula to estimate an appliance's energy use:

Wattage x Hours used per day x Days used per year divided by 1000 = Kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption per year

For example:
Personal computer (120 Watts) and monitor (150 Watts): (120 Watts + 150 Watts) x 4 hours per day x 365 days per year divided by 1000 = 394 kWh/year

Then, calculate the annual cost to run an appliance by multiplying the kWh per year by Midwest's rate per kWh consumed.

You can usually find the wattage of most appliances stamped on the bottom or back of the appliance, or on its nameplate. The wattage listed is the maximum power drawn by the appliance. Since many appliances have a range of setting (hair dryers), the actual amount of power consumed depends on the setting used at any one time.

Examples of the range of nameplate wattages for various household appliances:

Clothes washer = 350-500 Watts
Clothes dryer = 1800-5000 Watts
Dishwasher = 1200-2400 Watts
(heat drying further increases energy use)
Water heater (40 gallon) = 4500-5500 Watts

Source: U.S. Department of Energy -                      
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

REBATES AVAILIABLE

Midwest is still offering Energy Efficiency Credits for the installation of new Heat Pumps, Water Heaters and Electrical Motors.  New Energy Star air conditioner 3 ton and greater.  Energy Star refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers and clothes washers.  Call Midwest Electric for more information at 308-352-4356 or 1-800-451-3691.

Big or Small, Every Digging Job Requires a Call

A new, federally-mandated national “Call Before You Dig” number, 811 was created to help protect you from unintentionally hitting underground utility lines while you are doing any kind of digging projects, from planting a tree to installing a fence. If you hit an underground utility line while digging, you can harm yourself or those around you, disrupt service to an entire neighborhood and you could be responsible for fines and repair costs. It’s a free service that could save your life and those around you. Always call before you dig.