BENCO Electric Cooperative Link - Co

Agricultural & Industrial Electric Tax Exemption
A mailing is going out to all BENCO Electric members currently claiming the exemption. Please return the
Certificate of Exemption to BENCO Electric by the deadline to continue receiving the exemption.
Cooperative members who use electricity for agricultural or industrial production may be able to get a sales tax
exemption. Industries that use electricity, natural gas, water, and/or steam to produce items that are ultimately sold
at retail are exempt from sales tax if the utilities are used directly in the production process. This exemption does
not include utilities used for space heating and lighting of the production area or office, administration, or other
nonproduction areas.
To claim the exemption, you must provide BENCO Electric with a completed Form ST-3, Certificate of Exemption,
which can be picked up at the office.
Production includes:
• manufacturing
• producing road building materials
• farming
• horticulture
• processing agricultural products (vegetable
• floriculture
or animal) other than by restaurants or consumers
• raising pets, fur bearing animals, and research • printing
animals on a commercial basis
• photography
• farming deer, elk, ostriches, llamas, and horses • artwork (both fine art and commercial art)
on a commercial basis
• generating electricity
PRSRT STD
U.S. Postage
PAID
Mankato, MN 56001
Permit No. 47
P.O. Box 8
Mankato, MN 56002-0008
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Tom Uppman
The following is a list of former BENCO Members whose
capital credit checks were
returned by the post office as
undeliverable. Any information
you can give us to help locate
them would be greatly appreciated. Please contact Lori at
387-7963 or 1-888-792-3626.
A
Aresenio Abella, Mankato
Julie K. Abrahamson, Gaylord
James Adams, Mankato
Terry Albrecht, Granada
Barbara Allen, Port Washington WI
Al Ambrose, Woodbury
Howard W. Andersen, Harvard NV
Dale & Deborah Anderson, Burnsville
Dan & Darcia Anderson, West Concord
Gregg Anderson, Mankato
Wayne Anderson, Blue Earth
Christopher Andresen, Silverdale WA
Scott & Brenda Armbrust, Jackson MO
November 2014
Rick Ashpole, Mankato
James O. Augedahl, New Market
B
Karen Backman, Kasota
Steven T. Bacon, Mankato
David L. Bale, Rochester
Cindy A. Barclay, Gaylord
John C. Barrett, Brainerd
Dena J. Bass, Janesville
Michael Bauman, Moundsview
Brian Beckel, Mankato
Robin Becker, Mankato
Lee Ann Beinke, Mankato
Alan R. Bennett, Onalaska WI
Jonathan Berg, Hudson WI
Brent A. Bergeman, Mankato
Anita E. Bergemann, Mankato
Jon R. Bergemann, N. Mankato
Dave Bloch, Wells
Jason Block, LeCenter
Patricia Bode, Mankato
Waldemar Bode, Madison Lake
Judith R. Bond, Mankato
Suzanne M. Borchardt, Burnsville
David A. Brandt, Eagle Lake
James Brekke, St. James
Dennis Breyer, N. Mankato
Jill Britney, Grand Saline TX
Deborah Buchanan, Blue Earth
James A. Burger, N. Mankato
Tim & Justine Burgess, Janesville
David A. Butler, Mankato
Dale Butson, Lake Crystal
Michael Buxrude, Fargo ND
C
Dean Cafourek, N. Mankato
Lisa K. Callahan, McFarland WI
Susan K. Campbell, Mankato
David L. Carlson, Bradenton FL
Ronald Carpenter, LeSueur
Bradley D. Chaffee, Delavan
Karl C. Charron, Goodland KS
Julie Chesney, Eagle Lake
Timmothy Chirpich, Villa Park IL
Greg J. Christenson, Rapid City SD
Sherry A. Cole, Stanberry MO
www.BENCO.coop
Paul W. Covey Sr., N. Mankato
Richard Coyle, N. Mankato
Karen Crespo, St. Cloud
Susan Crespo, The Woodlands TX
Richard Crumb, Woodbury
Olivia Cuellar, St. Peter
Marion Current, Mapleton
D
Allen Dammann, N. Mankato
Christy Danner, Fairmont
Cindy Dauer, Eagle Lake
Kirk W. Davis, Moose Lake
Michael A. Davis, Mankato
Ralph & Ana Davis, St. Paul
John Davy, Cleveland
Russell DeMars, Waseca
M. Anna Dentinger, Lake Crystal
Ellen Dinsmore, Mankato
Matthew & Stephanie Dolan,
N. Mankato
James L. Dunn, Decatur IN
Page 5
Steve Willett
Bob Wilmers
November 2014
Volume 28 No 10
What’s CTV and How Can I Get It?
If you have any questions, please call our office at 387-7963 or 1-888-79BENCO. You can also stop by and pick up an
application.
Where, Oh Where?
BENCO Electric Cooperative Link
What’s Cookin’ in your Kitchen
What’s Cookin’: Zuppa Tuscana
From the Kitchen of: Amy Swanson
Office Hours: Mon -Fri - 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
1 lb Italian sausage, mild or spicy
6 – 10 slices of bacon
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 qt water
2 T chicken bouillon
6 medium potatoes, cut into 1/4” slices
2 cups kale, shredded
Pinch red pepper (optional)
1/3 c heavy whipping cream (may add 2% milk to increase broth amount to your liking)
In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until done, 12–15 minutes, turning
to brown all sides. If using sausage links, slice sausages into 1/2” slicesi first. Set aside.
Drain fat. In the same skillet, cook bacon. Crumble and set aside. Reserve 1 T bacon fat.
Add bacon fat and onions to large cooking pot. Cook until softened. Add garlic; cook for 1
minute. Add water, chicken bouillon and potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer
until potatoes are tender. Add cooked sausage and crumbled bacon to pot. Add kale and red
pepper flakes and simmer for 4 minutes. Stir in cream and heat through without boiling.
Serve hot.
November 2014
This newsletter is published monthly by
BENCO Electric Cooperative, PO Box 8,
Mankato, MN 56002-0008.
www.BENCO.coop
Phone: 387-7963 or 1-888-792-3626
Outages/After Hours: 387-7964 or
1-888-792-3626
Dave Sunderman - Member Services Manager
Kathy Gerber - Editor
Board of Directors:
Duane Ehrich - President - District 8
Scott Johnson - Vice President - District 9
Harvey Hesse - Secretary - District 5
Harlan Lanz - Treasurer - District 2, Coop Network Dir
Garfield Eckberg - District 1
Brad Leiding - District 3 - GRE Director
John Wells - District 4
Blake Meshke - District 6
Gary Stenzel - District 7
Wade Hensel - General Manager
John C. (Chuck) Peterson - Attorney
Board Meetings: The last Thursday of each month
- members are welcome to contact directors with
items of interest or concerns in advance of the
meetings.
Page 6
You may be surprised to learn that CTV is a business brought to you by many
partnerships. CTV is owned by four local cooperatives: BENCO Electric, Brown
County REA, Federated REA and South Central Electric Association. These
cooperatives have worked together for over 22 years to bring CTV to our area.
The programming is brought to you by various metro broadcasters and, locally,
DeGrood’s and others help bring the service into your home.
The picture above shows some of the faces that are involved in this great
service. Tom Uppman is CTV’s engineer. He helped find and install the
equipment needed to take CTV from an analog system to the high-definition
system you are watching today. Steve Willett, Degrood’s, has over 17 years of
experience and will help you find the right equipment to bring you the best
possible CTV signal you can get. Bob Wilmers is Vice President of Engineering
at FOX9 KMSP, one of the many metro broadcasters that CTV works with. Dave
Sunderman, CTV General Manager, works with bringing all the above mentioned
groups and many other people together to get the best possible TV service to you,
our CTV subscribers. Dave said, “It’s great to have such a strong partnership with
FOX9, and we appreciate the support of all the metro broadcasters.”
Steve has been working with CTV since 1997 and has seen many changes take
place. Steve said, “The biggest change took place when CTV went from an analog
signal to a digital one. CTV now offers the best signal you can get, even compared
to satellite, which compresses their signal; CTV doesn’t compress theirs, so it’s a
much better signal. Cable companies also went to needing a digital box on every
TV, which definitely increased most customers’ bills since they have 4 – 6 TVs
per home.” Steve averages about two new CTV installs per week. If you don’t
have any equipment, it will cost around $350 – $450 to get set up. This includes
an antenna, preamp, mounting and basic hardware. Tower installations will cost
more.
Call BENCO if you’ve been watching CTV and want to do your part in
supporting this great service, or if you have questions on how you can get this
great TV service for $7 per month at your home.
2.1 TPT
2.2 TPT MN
2.3 TPT Life
2.4 TPT WX
4.1 WCCO 4
5.1 KSTP
5.2 KSTC
5.3 MeTV
5.4 Antenna TV
5.6 ThisTV
5.7 LWN
9.1 KMSP
9.2 WFTC 29
9.3 Movies TV
9.4 Bounce TV
9.9 KMSP
11.4 KARE
11.5 KARE WX
12.1 KEYC
12.2 FOX
12.4 KEYC
12.5 FOX
23.1 WUCW 23
23.3 ZUUS
40.1* Fam Net
41.1 ION TV
41.2 QUBO
41.3 ION Life
41.4 SHOP
41.5 QVC
41.6 HSN
Twin Cities PBS
Minnesota Public TV
Weather
Minneapolis CBS
Minneapolis ABC
Independent
Television Classics
Television Classics
MGM Movies
Live Well Network
Minneapolis FOX
Minneapolis UPN
Classic Movies
African AME Broadcast Network
Minneapolis FOX
Twin Cities NBC
24-hour weather
Mankato CBS
Mankato FOX
Mankato CBS
Mankato FOX
The CW Twin Cities
Country Network
Family Network
TV shows & movies
Kids’ programming
Wellness shows
Products for sale
Home Shopping
Home Shopping Network
Spiritwood Station Starts Up
New facility will be nearly twice as efficient as traditional coal-fueled power plants
For decades, coal-fueled
power plants have followed
a traditional, tried-and-true
design: coal is mined and
then combusted to produce
steam, which is used to
generate electricity.
When BENCO
Electric’s wholesale
power supplier, Great
River Energy, planned
Spiritwood Station, the
cooperative discovered
improvements at every step
in the process. When the
plant begins producing
electricity for the regional
grid this month, it will
set a new standard for efficiency and environmental performance.
“Spiritwood Station proves that consumers can recognize the economic benefits from coal-fueled electricity generation
without sacrificing environmental performance or reliability,” said Great River Energy President and CEO David Saggau. “It also
demonstrates that coal is fertile ground for innovation. The benefits we have seen in North Dakota can – and should – be replicated
almost anywhere in the world.”
Located near Jamestown, ND, Spiritwood Station is a combined heat and power plant. That simply means that, in addition to
generating electricity, energy is used for other purposes. At Spiritwood Station, that energy – in the form of heat or “process steam”
– will power an adjacent malting facility as well as an ethanol biorefinery scheduled to open in 2015.
Like all combined heat and power plants, the success of Spiritwood Station depended on firmly established “steam hosts,” which
are industrial facilities that use thermal energy from the power plant in place of natural gas or another fuel. The numbers don’t lie.
Most conventional coal-fueled power plants are 30 to 35 percent efficient. Spiritwood Station will be approximately 60 percent
efficient.
President Barack Obama recognized the efficiency potential of combined heat and power in 2012 when he signed an Executive
Order to expand its use, calling for the deployment of 40 additional gigawatts of capacity in the United States by 2020.
Combined heat and power facilities benefit everyone involved. At Spiritwood, Great River Energy will collect revenue by selling
steam to partners. Those businesses will, in turn, receive the energy they need to operate. The plant will also be an economical
resource to supply electricity to BENCO Electric and Great River Energy’s 27 other member-owner cooperatives.
Designed with steam in mind
Great River Energy’s Coal Creek Station power plant near Underwood, ND, has developed combined heat and power attributes
over time. A combination of process steam and waste heat fuels a nearby biorefinery, and waste heat is applied in the cooperative’s
patented DryFiningTM process. With Spiritwood Station, Great River Energy had a plan for its process steam from day one.
“Spiritwood Station is so much more than a power plant,” said Great River Energy Generation Vice President Rick Lancaster.
“It is the centerpiece for industrial investment in the region, and a catalyst for the state and local economy.”
Great River Energy has worked closely with the Jamestown Stutsman Development Corporation to leverage Spiritwood Station’s
efficiencies by creating the Spiritwood Energy Park Association. The site can accommodate industrial facilities with its supply of
energy and water, and access to rail.
From the Board
Spiritwood Station Starts Up
Continued from page 2
Improving the fuel
The innovative design of Spiritwood Station starts 200 miles west of the plant,
where North Dakota lignite undergoes the aforementioned DryFining process.
This technology uses waste heat from Coal Creek Station to dry lignite coal
in order to raise its heating value, which boosts efficiency and reduces emissions.
DryFine coal arrives at Spiritwood Station in covered railcars designed to prevent
moisture from reentering the coal. The combination of DryFine coal and state-ofthe-art emission controls make Spiritwood Station one of the cleanest coal-based
power plants in the world.
“From the fuel used to the boiler design to the air quality control system, every
element of this project has been crafted to be as efficient as possible,” Lancaster
added.
Patience pays off
Although Spiritwood Station will begin producing electricity this month,
construction of the plant was completed more than two years ago. At that time,
the economic downturn had slowed demand for and reduced the market price
of electricity, making it an inopportune time to bring a new power plant online.
For similar reasons, few potential steam hosts sought to break ground on a new
industrial operation. Great River Energy decided to delay the plant’s startup and
commissioning until an additional steam host could be secured.
“While we could have continued waiting for a new business to locate at
Spiritwood, it became clear that there was significant membership value if we led
the development,” said Great River Energy Business Development and Strategy Vice
President Greg Ridderbusch.
Great River Energy, with significant investor, county, municipal and state
stakeholder participation, has since developed Dakota Spirit AgEnergy, a 65-milliongallon-per-year biorefinery that will produce ethanol, distillers grains and distillers
corn oil. The facility achieved renewable fuels certification (RFS2) through the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), affirming that Dakota Spirit AgEnergy will
have lifecycle carbon intensity 20 percent lower than conventional motor fuels. The
lower intensity is primarily due to the “over the fence” use of combined heat and
power steam from Spiritwood Station.
“By mid-2015, we will have the most modern power plant in the region, and it
will be selling steam that facilitates the economic and environmental performance of
Dakota Spirit AgEnergy,” Ridderbusch added. “That is a winning combination for
Great River Energy and our member-owner cooperatives.”
The start-up of Spiritwood Station will also help North Dakota comply with the
EPA’s Clean Power Plan, which will require states to achieve reductions in carbon
dioxide intensity at power plants within their borders.
“This fact, above all else, illustrates the achievement that Spiritwood Station
represents,” Saggau said. “By thinking differently about energy, we built a coal-fueled
power plant so efficient that it will actually reduce emissions intensity in North
Dakota.”
Continued on page 3
November 2014
www.BENCO.coop
Page 2
November 2014
www.BENCO.coop
Minnesota Utilities Unite to Fight Phone Scams
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Duane Ehrich Presided
The board reviewed and approved:
• The minutes of the August 15 board meeting.
• Capital Credits to estates totaling
$5,125.52.
Wade updated the board on the Alliant
Acquisition.
Wade reviewed the proposed statewide net
metering policy.
Wade reviewed the GRE solar project and
local alternatives.
Dave reported that Habitat for Humanity
has interest in a REDLG loan for their new
ReStore.
The attorney reviewed recent legal work for
the cooperative.
Directors’ reports were as follows:
Brad reported on the September GRE
Board meeting.
CTV directors reported plans for a Strategic
Planning Session.
Harlan reported on Cooperative Network.
Directors attending the NRECA/CFC/
RESCO regional meetings reported on them.
Directors attending the Washington, D.C.
Legislative meeting reported on it.
New Business:
The board approved the net metering
policy.
PCA Update
Actual PCA for October
$0.0199
Estimated PCA for November
$0.0195
Estimated PCA for December
$0.0230
The Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) is
due to changes in the monthly
wholesale rate from our power supplier,
Great River Energy (GRE).
Page 3
For the first time, 13 Minnesota utilities are joining forces to
fight back against scams. Reports of phone and email billing scams
targeting Minnesota utility customers are increasing at an alarming rate,
representing thousands of dollars lost by customer victims. In an effort
to shut down scammers, the Minnesota utility coalition today launched
“Slam the Scam,” an awareness campaign aimed at warning customers
and preventing scams. The coalition is encouraging customers who think
they are being targeted by a scammer to simply end the conversation –
“slam” down the phone.
Utility companies across the country are reporting an increase in scams aimed at customers. Some Minnesota utilities
are experiencing an increase of more than 300 percent in customer scam attempts compared to 2013 figures. Scammers
are targeting all classes of customers, but particularly small businesses such as restaurants. In most cases, a scammer calls
during busy hours of operation and threatens to disconnect the customer’s utility service unless the customer makes a
payment immediately.
Scammers are using various tactics to con customers into providing payment. Posing as utility employees, scammers
have been known to:
• Tell intended victims their accounts are past due and threaten to disconnect their utility service if they do not
make payments immediately.
• Require victims to pay using a pre-paid debit card, such as a Green Dot card.
• Manipulate caller ID to display a fake number, which may actually be your utility’s number. This is called “spoofing.”
• Email customers phony utility bills that appear to be from an energy provider with an account number, amount
due, due date and a link to make the payment.
Protecting personal and financial customer data is a top priority for utilities, and they are working to provide
solutions to protect the public from scams. Utilities want customers to know how to identify a scam. If they are
behind on their bills, they will receive a written notice before service disconnection. Customers who have not received
a disconnection notice in the mail should not engage anyone on the phone or by email demanding to take payment.
Instead, customers should hang up and contact their respective utilities to verify account status and report the attempted
scam. They are also encouraged to report the incident to local law enforcement. Utilities offer the following tips to avoid
being victimized:
• Never give out personal information or credit card numbers or wire money as a result of an unexpected or
unsolicited call or email if you cannot validate the authenticity.
• Be suspicious if the caller is insisting on the use of a pre-paid debit card or an immediate payment. Utilities provide many options for payment.
• Know that your utility will contact customers first by U.S. mail about past due bills. You will be sent a disconnection notice in writing before your service is turned off.
• If it just doesn’t feel right, “slam the scam” and end the conversation.
• Your utility will welcome the call to verify your account status. Contact your utility using a number provided on
a recent bill or the company’s website.
The Better Business Bureau of Minnesota is closely tracking these types of scams and has provided an informative
video to help protect the public.
November 2014
www.BENCO.coop
Page 4