January - McCone Electric Co-op

Your Touchstone Energy® Cooperative
Insider’s View of McCone Electric
Happy New Year. McCone Electric’s staff is looking forward to serving
you in the New Year.
Plans are underway to improve how you do business with McCone Electric
in 2016.
One improvement is understanding your energy usage. Outside airtemperature impacts energy usage. Early in 2016, we will add the average
monthly temperature to the usage graph. This compares the average temperature to past billing periods. You can use Degree Days to see the connection to energy usage.
What are Degree Days?
Degree Days (DD) are a calculation using outside air-temperature data. DD
help determine the effect of outside air-temperature on a buildings energy
usage and crop growth. There are Heating Degree Days (HDD), Cooling
Degree Days (CDD) and Growing Degree Days (GDD). We will skip over
General Manager GDD. HDD season runs from July 1 to the following June 30 each year.
CDD season runs from January 1 to December 31 each year. The National
Michael Hoy
Weather Service (NWS) base temperature for DD is 65⁰F. Below 65⁰F
you start to Heat your building. Above 65⁰F you start to Cool your building (we use 75⁰F for cooling).
Actual heating and cooling temperature will vary with your personal choice.
To find DD, take the day’s high plus the day’s low, divide by 2, then compare to 65.
Example: February 14 high temperature = 25⁰F, low temperature -5⁰F.
25 + (-5) = 30, 30/2 = 15, 65 – 15 = 50 HDD.
August 17 high temperature = 102⁰F, low temperature = 78⁰F.
102 + 78 = 180, 180/2 = 90, 90 – 65 = 25 CDD.
Typical yearly DD for Circle are HDD = 7,951 and CDD = 572. To find the DD for your site visit the
NWS website at: http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=ggw for coverage from Glasgow and
http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=byz for coverage from Billings. First, click on the location you wish to use. Next, click on “Daily/monthly normal” and change the variable to "HDD Base 65".
Then hit the GO button. The graph and chart show monthly HDD. Do the same for “CDD Base 65”.
By tracking the temperature against your usage you should see the colder or hotter it is, the more energy
you use. This makes sense. The colder the winter, the more your furnace or heaters run. The hotter the
summer the more your a/c runs. For those without a/c, your refrigerators, freezers and fans run longer.
We hope you find the temperature information useful.
McCone Electric is highly dependent on energy sales to cover our operating costs. Matching our sales to
the last major El Nino, we are estimating a 33% drop in heat sales this winter. We are basing our 2016
budget on reduced energy sales. I plan to cover the 2016 budget next month.
Look for additional upgrades and offerings in 2016.
Cooperatively yours,
Michael Hoy – General Manager
January 2016
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Take the brrrr out of
from the January 2016 North Dakota Network
starting a cold vehicle
Will your vehicle start Monday morning when it
is 30 degrees below zero? When your vehicle doesn’t start due to frigid temperatures, it can be frustrating. That’s why most Montanans use an engine block heater on their vehicles. Engine block heaters keep your vehicles motor warm, allowing an easy start on those cold mornings. But there are some
considerations when using an engine block heater.
McCone Electric Co-op offers these tips:
 Don’t overload a circuit by plugging your enginge block heater into just any outlet. A simple formula will help you decide how many watts one circuit can handle. Divide the wattage of the engine
block heater by 120 volts to find out how many amps will be used . If you plug a 640-watt engine
block heater into a 120-volt outlet, you are using 5.33 amps. Circuit breakers are rated in amps, so
make sure the circuit has enough amps to carry the additional load. It might be best to use an exterior outlet that is protected by one circuit breaker and has ample capacity.
 If the engine block heater has a three-prong plug , don’t alter it. Always leave the plug intact and
attach extension cords correctly.
 If you use an extension cord outdoors, make sure it is a heavy-duty extension cord rated for outdoor use.
 Warming your engine all night and sometimes all day can use a significant amount of electricity. For better energy efficiency, purchase a timer
for your block heater. A timer allows you to automatically turn the engine
heater to on-and-off intervals according to your specifications.
Q. Am I wasting money by keeping my tractor engine
block heater plugged in and on all night?
A. Leaving engine block heaters on all night does waste money and energy. Agricultural producers can cut energy consumption by using an inexpensive timer to turn the heater on and off. Diesel
tractor engines generally require one to three hours of heater operation before cold weather starts,
depending on the temperature (-30 degrees for three hours). Many farmers and ranchers leave heaters plugged in overnight. A 1,000-watt engine heater can cost $150 a season to use ((based on 10 hours
per night at 10 cents/kilowatt-hour and a 150-day heating season). Operating that same 1,000-watt
heater for only two hours each morning will save $120 a year, which is more than enough to pay for
the cost of the timer.
Youth Tour to Washington DC essay winner announced….
Each year, McCone Electric Cooperative, Inc. sponsors a student in our service territory to attend the Washington DC
Youth Tour, June 11-17, 2016. Students earn the opportunity by submitting a resume, and writing an essay.
This year Lucas Shefelbine wrote his winning essay by answering the
question: “Considering your top three consumer needs, how do you believe we, as an
electric cooperative, can best communicate our care and concern to the younger members
of the cooperative?” Lucas, wrote very correctly, that we need to “leverage social media such as
Facebook and Twitter”. He will join 30 other Montana youth, and meet up with, and greet, the North
Dakota winners at the Minneapolis airport for lunch. The Montana and North winners will all travel
together from Minneapolis for a fun filled week in Washington.
The tour, which is coordinated by National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), has an
Lucas Shefelbine attendance of over 1,300 students from 46 states. The students visit the headquarters of NRECA in
Arlington, Virginia, and learn about the important role that cooperatives play in rural America. In addition, the tour is packed with the sights, education, memorable experiences, and enjoyment of our nation's capital. The
value of this tour is immeasurable as the experience may open doors to opportunities student may not have considered.
The funds to make this trip possible are realized through the interest earned on unclaimed memberships, deposits
and capital credits.
RURAL MONTANA
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January 2016
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HAPPY NEW YEAR
McCone Electric outage
call in procedure
If you have a power outage call the
Circle headquarters phone number.
You can call the cooperative’s local
phone number or the toll free phone
number. During the normal work week an
office employee will answer the
phone between the hours of 8:00 a.m.
and 5:00 p.m. After hours, weekends
or holidays a dispatcher will be on duty to answer
your outage call. You will be assisted by our dispatcher who will call out a work crew to restore your
electrical service.
For outages call:
406-485-3430 or 1-800-684-3605
at any time day or night
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Call Before You Dig
1-800-424-5555
For Primary Line Locates:
To protect property, prevent personal injuries,
and avoid lawsuits, call toll free.
Be prepared to pinpoint the location of your
dig site with the exact street address, township,
range, section and quarter section.
You’ll need to describe the type of work to
be done and some detail as to where you are
working on the site.
Call at least 48 hours before your digging
project.
Remember, the number is:
1-800-424-5555 or 811
For secondary line locates, please
call 485-3430 during business
hours.
McCone Electric Co-op., Inc.
Office Hours
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays
Telephone 406-485-3430
or toll-free 1-800-684-3605
OFFICERS AND TRUSTEES
Conrad Moline, Pres. ........... Brockway, MT
Arne Sutton, V.P. ....................... Circle, MT
Ruth Hinnaland, Sec. ........... Brockway, MT
Brent McRae, Treas. ..................Jordan, MT
Dean McCabe ............................. Circle, MT
Kirk Haynie ................................ Circle, MT
Patti Murphy ............................... Circle, MT
Don Bogar .................................... Vida, MT
Brent Kluth ................................... Vida, MT
OFFICE PERSONNEL
Michael Hoy ......................General Manager
Theresa Haynie..Manager/Finance & Admin.
Scot Brown…Mgr. Member Services/Compliance
Jennifer Hogan................... Plant Accountant
Sonja Arnston ........... Payroll/Accts. Payable
Nichole Sikveland...... Consumer Accountant
Donna Lala…………Consumer Service Rep.
Vickie Eissinger ......... Cashier / Receptionist
Dan Hammons…..Member Services Advisor
Bill Books ........................ Master Electrician
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The Trouble Reporting Number is
406-485-3430 or 1-800-684-3605
A dispatcher is available to
answer your call at all times
Touchstone Energy
®
The power of human connections
OPERATING REPORT
McCone Electric Co-op., Inc.
Year-To-Date
For Period Ending: October 31, 2015
Total Income................................................... $7,177,532
G&T Capital Credits .......................................... $102,678
Cost of purchased Power ................................ $2,856,173
Total Operating Cost...................................... $4,193,405
Total Margins .................................................... $230,632
KWH Purch. (Yr.-to-Date) ........................... 62,075,082
KWH Sold (Yr.-to-Date) ............................. 52,141,339
Meters Billed ...........................................................5,281
Miles of Line in Service ...........................................3,830
LINE PERSONNEL
CIRCLE / RICHEY AREA
Ed Crockett…………...Plant Superintendent
Rex Sikveland ......................... Line Foreman
Bryan Becker ........................... Sub Foreman
Clay Nagle .............................. Sub Foreman
Chris Taylor ............................. Sub Foreman
Nathan Tuttle ................Apprentice Lineman
Brian Mothershead……Apprentice Lineman
Hunter Braaten………..Apprentice Lineman
Scott Becker ..................... Meter Technician
JORDAN AREA
Jordan Dasinger ....................... Sub Foreman
Adam Stanton .......................... Sub Foreman
LanceAnderson……………………Lineman
Jonathan FitzGerald…...Apprentice Lineman
RURAL MONTANA