News Releases
01.12.2012 TEC launches Youth Tour contest
11.11.2011 TEC crew helps restore power in Wisconsin
10.11.2011 Stay safe by looking up during harvest season
10.03.2011 Power outage planned for the city of Canton
10.03.2011 ORU grants $4,000 to local causes
09.03.2011 Lineworkers head to Wisconsin
08.23.2011 Buyer beware of energy saving product pitches
05.22.2011 Crews continue to work Sunday's storm outages
04.27.2011 Volunteers needed for GreenTouch May 7
04.11.2011 Karissa Meyer wins trip to D.C.
03.21.2011 ORU grants $2,700 to local causes
03.08.2011 Free Home Efficiency Expo March 24
03.04.2011 TEC's PowerPlus becomes part of STAR Energy
02.22.2011 TEC crews help with icy power lines in Iowa
For more information contact:
Brenda Tesch
Director of Public Relations
TEC launches Youth Tour contest
Rushford, MN (10 a.m. Jan. 12, 2012) — Area junior and senior high school students have until Feb. 20 to take part in a contest to win an all-expense paid trip to Washington D.C. to attend the 2012 Rural Electric Youth Tour June 16-21, courtesy of TEC.
The tour is a fast-paced leadership opportunity to see what helps make America tick. The trip includes tours of several historic monuments and museums, visits with Minnesota’s political leaders and the opportunity to learn more about electric cooperatives on a local, state and national level. Karissa Meyer, from Caledonia High School, was sponsored by TEC in 2011. She was one of about 1,400 high school juniors and seniors that participated in last year’s event.
The contest is open to high school juniors or seniors who attend one of the following high schools: Caledonia, Chosen Valley, Cotter, Fillmore Central, Hope Lutheran, Houston, Kingsland, La Crescent, Lanesboro, LeRoy-Ostrander, Lewiston-Altura, Mabel-Canton, Rushford-Peterson, St. Charles, Spring Grove, Stewartville or Winona. Home schoolers who live within the cooperative’s service territory are also eligible.
To enter the contest, students must complete the Youth Tour exam online at www.tec.coop. The exam portion consists of 25 questions regarding electric cooperatives, plus a short essay. All answers to the questions can be found within TEC’s website. Students scoring a 90 percent or higher on the exam will be scheduled for a brief interview in March with judges from TEC’s advisory committee. The advisory committee chooses the winner and an alternate for the trip.
Exams must be submitted to TEC by Feb. 20 to be considered for the contest.
TEC crew to help restore power to snowy Wisconsin
Rushford, MN (8:30 a.m. Nov. 11, 2011) — A two-person lineworker crew from TEC is en route to Rosholt, Wis. to assist Central Wisconsin Electric Cooperative (CWEC) in power restoration efforts.
A storm that blanketed the area with heavy snow on Wednesday caused trees to fall into power lines and break poles. Andy Prinsen and Davin Thompson, both of Rushford, have volunteered to help get the remaining 3,000 people who are without power back on line.
“The winter storm season is just beginning. You never know when the tables might be turned and we may be the ones needing the help,” says Chad Chaffee, TEC’s vice president of system operations. “It is great to have our guys willing to help out others in these situations.”
Prinsen and Thompson are expected to spend a day or two working in CWEC’s service territory before complete power is restored.
Stay safe by looking up during harvest season
Rushford, MN (12:15 p.m. Oct. 11, 2011)— TEC would like to remind area farmers to use caution near power lines during harvest season.
“We’ve had three incidents in the last week with farm machinery coming in contact with power lines,” says Chad Chaffee, TEC’s vice president of system operations. “Fortunately, there have been no injuries.”
Each year on average 62 farm workers are electrocuted in the U.S. with many more injured, according to Labor Department statistics. The most common equipment involved in power line accidents are portable grain augers, oversized wagons, large combines and other tall equipment that come into contact with overhead lines.
Farm operators, family members and farm employees are urged to take these measures:
- Use a spotter when moving tall loads near power lines.
- Inspect farm equipment for transport height and determine clearance with any power lines under which the equipment must pass.
- Make sure everyone knows what to do if accidental contact is made with power lines.
What should you do if contact is made?
It is almost always best to stay in the cab, call for help and wait until the electric utility arrives to make sure power is cut off. Even if a power line is on the ground, there is still potential for the area nearby to be energized. Stay inside the vehicle unless there is fire or imminent risk of fire.
In that case, the proper action is to jump—not step—with both feet hitting the ground at the same time. Jump clear, without touching the vehicle and ground at the same time and continue to shuffle or hop to safety keeping both feet together as you leave the area.
Overhead lines are not the only worry
Pole guy wires are grounded to the neutral, but when one of the guy wires is broken, it can cause an electric current disruption. This can make those neutral wires anything but harmless. If you hit a guy wire and break it, call the utility to fix it. Do not do it yourself. When dealing with electrical poles and wires, always call the electric utility.
Power outage planned for the city of Canton
Rushford, MN (1 p.m. Oct. 3, 2011)— The city of Canton will experience a power outage on Wednesday, Oct. 5 starting at 4 a.m. Last week’s high winds damaged equipment at the city’s substation. Tri-County Electric Cooperative will be replacing a damaged transformer and says it should take about one hour to complete the job.
Operation Round Up grants $4,000 to local causes
Rushford, MN (1 p.m. Oct. 3, 2011)— The Operation Round Up (ORU) Trust Board met Sept. 9 and granted $4,000 to the following organizations:
$1,000, Good Shepherd Child Care Center, Rushford, Minn., to help purchase new cabinets and a countertop.
$950, Semcac, for the organization’s heating assistance program.
$450, Southeast MN Education and Resource Center, St. Charles, Minn., for the organization’s heating assistance program.
$400, Bluff County Learning Center, Hokah, Minn., to support positive recognition opportunities for at-risk students.
$300, Salvation Army of Fillmore County, to help support assistance programs for residents of the county.
$300, Friends of the Houston Public Library, to help purchase books for its 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Program.
$300, Harmony Community Healthcare, to help purchase a public address system.
$200, Rushford-Peterson High School Drama Club, to help with the purchase of a new lighting system.
$100, Gifted and Talented Students Grades 4-6 at St. Charles Schools, to support a recycling program.
Operation Round Up is funded by donations made by members of Tri-County Electric Cooperative who voluntarily have their electric bill rounded up to the next dollar. About 1,200 members currently participate with the average of $6 a year per member. It truly shows that small change can make a difference. To learn more about Operation Round Up visit www.tec.coop.
Lineworkers head to Wisconsin to aid in power restoration
Rushford, Minn. (2:30 p.m. Sept. 3, 2011)— TEC sent four lineworkers to Friendship, Wis. earlier today to assist with power restoration efforts following a storm that rolled through Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative's (ACEC's) service territory. At one point ACED, which has 36,000 members, had 10,000 without power.
Tim Anderson, of Lanesboro, Tyler Eide, of Rushford, Dennis LeFebvre, of Caledonia and Randall Ashbacher, of Caledonia arrived at their destination around 8 a.m. The crews plan to be there for two days.
"Immediately following the flood of 2007 Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative sent a number of small bucket trucks for us to use until we could replace the ones that where damaged by the flood. We truly appreciated that act of kindess," said Chad Chaffee, vice president of system operations.
Electric cooperatives have a history of working together to help get the power back on.
"Even though it is the holiday weekend, we had employees ready to help our cooperative family when they need it most," Chaffee said.
Just the day before (Friday, Sept. 2) TEC had about 500 members without power for several hours due to a storm that caused trees to fall into power lines. Chaffee says all circuits were back up around 3 p.m.
Buyer beware of energy saving product pitches
Rushford, Minn. (3 p.m. Aug. 23, 2011)— An invitation for a free breakfast, lunch or dinner to listen to a presentation on energy saving products may sound harmless, but it can lead to the purchase of products that don’t live up to the hype.
TEC has received calls from its members asking about companies sending postcard invitations in the counties of Fillmore, Houston and Winona. The postcard claims the products produce significant residential energy savings.
Some of the products being promoted are reflective radiant barriers and power factor correction devices. Each product has an actual place that it is used in construction or electrical systems, but the demonstrations create conditions in your home that do not normally exist.
Radiant barriers are more effective in hot climates than in cool climates. A reflective radiant barrier offers little energy savings to a home in a northern climate that is already insulated. According to the Minnesota Department of Commerce’s Division of Energy Resources website, “radiant barriers are generally not worth the investment in terms of energy savings. Field tests by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory suggest that attic radiant barriers are not an effective way to reduce heating or cooling loads in Minnesota.”
With the power factor correction devices, the first and primary fact is that residential electric meters measure and bill on kilowatt-hours, not power factor. There is no power factor penalty for residential homes, so there is no measurable savings for a homeowner to correct power factor.
What TEC recommends:
- Check out claimed energy savings before spending hard earned money.
- Use caution when looking for simple solutions to complex heating and electrical situations.
“Something that has an application in a factory or for cooling in very hot climates may not offer any savings to a homeowner in Minnesota,” says Brad Pecinovsky, TEC’s member services director. “As a non-profit, member-owned cooperative, we really are looking out for the best interests of our members,”
Pecinovsky says the best place to start reducing energy use is with low-cost measures and the co-op has a number of helpful guides available at its office or online at www.tec.coop.
Crews continue to work on Sunday's storm outages
Rushford, MN (9:20 a.m. May 23, 2011)— TEC crews worked overnight to get power back to members who suffered outages at the hands of Mother Nature during yesterday's storm. Currently about 16 members continue to be without power.
At its peak, the co-op had about 4,500 members without power. A total of eight substations were out due to damage to Dairyland Power Cooperative's transmission lines that feed power into the substations. Those substations included: Cherry Grove, Fountain, Granger, Henrytown, Lewiston, Peterson, Spring Valley and Stockton.
Power to the substations was restored at about 6:30 p.m. At that time, TEC had about 500 members without power. Crews concentrated on power line problems in isolated areas of its service territory. One area was west of Harmony and north of Granger. Another targeted spot was a line south of the Valley High Addition and west of Hokah. Power to most individuals was restored early this morning around 3 a.m. About 16 members still are without power. Some of those members are serviced south of Greenleafton which is attached to a Dairyland transmission line that lost about 30 poles. TEC crews are working to get the remainder of the system back online by late afternoon or evening.
"I'd like to thank the membership for their patience as our crews continue to work to get those last individuals back online," said Chad Chaffee, TEC's vice president of operations. "We have a dedicated group of guys who have been working hard to get the power back on."
Chaffee says this is the co-ops's most significant power outage since the flooding of 2007. The cooperative has about 40 broken poles.
TEC urges members and the public to take caution near downed power lines and broken poles.
"Once we have everyone online, crews will focus on the cleanup process and be removing damaged line and poles," said Chaffee. "Cleanup of the system could take several weeks."
Volunteers needed at Great River Bluffs State Park May 7
Rushford, MN (2 p.m. April 27, 2011)— Tri-County Electric Cooperative (TEC) is hosting a clean-up day at Great River Bluffs State Park on Saturday, May 7 from 8 a.m. to noon.
Volunteers will help with trail trimming, spreading wood chips, general cleaning, raking and picking up debris. All ages are welcome to participate. TEC encourages families, youth groups and other organizations to take a few hours to enjoy nature. Be sure to bring gloves, pruners, clippers and rakes if you have them available.
“The park managers really look forward to us hosting this event. They have limited budgets and it’s a great way to help local parks get ready for the summer season,” said Brian Krambeer, TEC’s president/CEO.
After noon volunteers can enjoy the remainder of the day at the park with a free day permit.
TEC will provide snacks and beverages for volunteers so please call 1-800-432-2285 or send an email to ahoiland@tec.coop if you plan to attend.
Getting there: The park is about 20 miles southeast of Winona at the junction of Hwy. 61 and I-90. The park entrance is accessed off County Road 3. If coming from the west or south east via I-90 take exit 266 and follow the park signs. If coming from Winona south on Hwy. 61 (just past mile marker 15) take a right on County Road 3 and drive about four miles to the park entrance.
The project is part of a statewide effort by Minnesota Touchstone Energy cooperatives called GreenTouch in which many state parks throughout Minnesota will be spruced up the same day. GreenTouch began 12 years ago to promote the education and use of Minnesota’s state park system using the cooperative values of integrity, accountability, innovation and community involvement. In addition to the volunteer work, the partnership also gives the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources funding to enhance the State Park Guide and the junior Park Naturalist Program. TEC rotates the location of GreenTouch Day between three state parks in its service territory: Beaver Creek Valley, Forestville and Great River Bluffs.
Karissa Meyer wins co-op’s trip to D.C.
Rushford, MN (11:30 a.m. April 11, 2011)—Karissa Meyer, a senior at Caledonia High School, has won an all-expenses paid trip to Washington D.C., courtesy of TEC. As the winner of TEC's Youth Tour Contest, Meyer will represent the cooperative on the 2011 Rural Electric Youth Tour June 11-16 in Washington D.C. She is the daughter of Doug and Lori Meyer of Eitzen.
While meeting nationally known political figures and visiting historical sites in and around the capitol, students learn about electric cooperatives on a local, state and national level.
Contestants completed TEC’s online contest exam. Those scoring 90 percent or greater were granted interviews. A panel of judges made up of members of TEC’s Advisory Committee selected Meyer as this year’s winner.
In June, Meyer will join about 1,400 other high school students sponsored by other electric cooperatives across 43 states. Electric cooperatives have been sending students to participate in this unique program since the early 1960s. To date, over 40,000 students from rural areas and small towns all over America have participated in the Rural Electric Youth Tour.
Each year TEC hosts the Youth Tour Contest which is open to high school juniors or seniors attending one of the following high schools: Caledonia, Chosen Valley, Cotter, Fillmore Central, Hope Lutheran, Houston, Kingsland, La Crescent, Lanesboro, LeRoy-Ostrander, Lewiston-Altura, Mabel-Canton, Rushford-Peterson, St. Charles, Spring Grove, Stewartville or Winona. Home schoolers who live within the cooperative’s service territory are also eligible. For more information about TEC's Youth Tour visit www.tec.coop.
ORU grants $2,700 to local causes
Rushford, MN (1:30 p.m. March 21, 2011)— The Operation Round Up (ORU) Trust Board met March 4 and selected to grant $2,700 to the following worthy organizations:
$800, Local Food Shelves Participating in Minnesota FoodShare Month, to help purchase food for residents in need. The amount is divided equally between eight food shelves.
$300, Eitzen Volunteer Fire Department and First Responders, to help purchase a cardiac defibrillator.
$200, Bundles of Love, to help infants and their families in need. The donation will help purchase supplies to fill diaper bag “bundles.”
$200, St. Charles Elementary School, to help update the school to an internet-based catalog program.
$200, Lanesboro Local, to help provide speakers for community enrichment classes.
$200, Friends of the Wounded Warrior Project, Winona, Minn., to support severely injured service men and women.
$200, Preston Historical Society, to assist with the replacement of windows as part of the O’Hara School restoration project.
$200, Ready Set School, Winona, Minn., to help provide school supplies and/or clothing to families in need in Winona County.
$200, City of Houston, to help purchase field lights for the new Houston public ball field.
$200, Winona County Development Achievement Center (DAC), Winona, Minn., to help purchase work carts to enable workers to safely move items from the loading dock to workrooms and back.
Operation Round Up is funded by donations made by members of Tri-County Electric Cooperative who voluntarily have their electric bill rounded up to the next dollar. About 1,200 members currently participate with the average of $6 a year per member. It truly shows that small change can make a difference. To learn more about Operation Round Up visit www.tec.coop.
Free Home Efficiency Expo March 24
Rushford, MN (10 a.m. March 8, 2011)— Allamakee-Clayton Electric Cooperative, Hawkeye REC and TEC are hosting a FREE Home Efficiency Expo at Nob Hill Supper Club on Thursday, March 24 from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. The event is open to homeowners, contractors and builders. It focuses on what consumers can do when constructing or remodeling their homes to make them more energy efficient.
This year’s guest speaker is Dick Stone. He is an extension educator in housing technology with the University of Minnesota. He has two sessions: Managing Energy Efficiency in the Home: There is more to it than just energy savings at 5:45 p.m. and Building Performance Details into a Residential Energy Retrofit at 7 p.m.
In addition to the speaker, representatives from manufacturers of energy efficient building materials, HVAC and lighting systems will have booths at the event. Attendees can come and go as their schedule allows.
“Year after year people tell us they enjoy coming because they get the opportunity to visit with the speakers and vendors to find out specifics about their personal project,” says Brad Pecinovsky, TEC’s member services director. “This is not a pressure sales event, this is an educational opportunity.”
Nob Hill Supper Club is five miles north of Decorah, Iowa, along Hwy. 52.
For more information visit www.tec.coop.
Tri-County Electric’s PowerPlus becomes part of Star Energy
Rushford, MN (1:30 p.m. March 4, 2011) — STAR Energy Services, LLC, of Alexandria, Minn., has purchased PowerPlus Engineering, LLC, of La Crosse, Wis. PowerPlus provides electrical engineering services to rural electric cooperatives in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.
This purchase adds 3 full-time employees to STAR’s staff, increasing their employee count to 21. STAR’s headquarters will remain in Alexandria, keeping a branch office in La Crosse.
“PowerPlus’ areas of expertise fit well with the services STAR currently provides to electric cooperatives—electrical engineering, inspection services, GIS, safety coordination, IT support, electrical testing, and software development,” said Al Haman, CEO of STAR. “The clients of PowerPlus will now have access to these expanded services.”
As part of the sale, STAR has issued 20% membership interest to MINNOWA, LLC, Rushford, Minn. MINNOWA is owned by four rural electric cooperatives: Tri-County Electric Cooperative (TEC), Rushford, Minn.; Allamakee-Clayton Electric Cooperative, Postville, Iowa; Hawkeye REC, Cresco, Iowa; and Heartland Power Cooperative, Thompson and St. Ansgar, Iowa.
The remaining 80% ownership is split evenly between four Minnesota electric cooperatives: Agralite Electric Cooperative, Benson; Meeker Cooperative Light and Power Association, Litchfield; Runestone Electric Association, Alexandria; and Todd-Wadena Electric Cooperative, Wadena.
“This action combines the resources of two very successful companies and makes them both better as one,” said Brian Krambeer, TEC’s president/CEO. “We are eight electric cooperatives located in Iowa and Minnesota working together in an innovative way to meet the needs of our members. STAR Energy Services is a great organization and this acquisition is a tremendous accomplishment.”
Tri-County crews help with icy power lines in Iowa
Rushford, MN (9:30 a.m. Feb. 22, 2011) — Mother Nature’s rain and snow mix over the past weekend and early this week has left several people without power in northeast Iowa due to ice building up on power lines. TEC has sent eight lineworkers and four bucket trucks to help its neighboring electric cooperative, Hawkeye REC, of Cresco, Iowa, with power restoration. Approximately 600 of Hawkeye’s members are without power.
TEC lineworkers Tim Anderson, Brian Bauer, Tyler Eide, Steve Oian, Andy Prinsen and Davin Thompson, all of Rushford, Minn., and Matt Ginther and Dennis LeFebvre, both of Caledonia, Minn., volunteered to go to Iowa and use their expertise to help get the lights back on for Hawkeye’s members.
When wind blows rain or snow around a power line it can cause it to freeze and form ice. As the wind continues to blow and the ice continues to build, the power lines start to move. This is called galloping. As little as a quarter-inch of ice buildup on a power line can begin to cause outage problems.
“The power outages they are seeing at Hawkeye are primarily due to ice on the power lines,” says Chad Chaffee, TEC’s vice president of system operations. “They have also had problems with tree branches being weighed down by the ice and the branches coming into contact with the power lines.”
Electric cooperatives have a history of working together to help restore power following severe weather. In the past TEC has sent lineworkers across the Midwest, Kentucky and even to Louisiana following hurricane Katrina.
“We are fortunate to have our crews willing to volunteer. You never know when the tables might be turned and we may be the ones needing the help,” Chaffee says.
Crews are expected to spend a day or two working in Hawkeye’s service territory before complete power is restored.
