The ECE Credentials & Election Committee met February 21 and approved director candidates for Districts 1, 3, and 6 for the 2024 election year. To learn if you live in one of these districts, please check the upper-right corner of your bill. View all candidate profiles on pages 3-5 of the March/April Co-op Advantage newsletter.
If you are an ECE member in a voting district, please vote online or by mail (traditional mail-in paper ballot, online through our website, by scanning a barcode on a smartphone, or through the SmartHub app). Official ballots will be mailed March 27. Online voting opens March 27 at 8 a.m. Paper and online ballots must be received by our third-party election management provider, Survey and Ballot Systems, no later than 8 a.m. April 17. As a reminder, ECE does not participate in the sending or tabulation of ballots.
Please join us for ECE’s 88th Annual Meeting at the Braham Event Center on April 18 with the theme of “Beyond the Blueprints.” Grab some hot appetizers beginning at 5 p.m. and peruse the multiple electric vehicles on display or stop by our fiber informational table.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. sharp, which includes a short review of the 2023 activities of the cooperative, director election results, and exciting prize drawings at the end of the evening—including bill credits.
All trees have been claimed. Thanks for your interest!
Cybercriminals continue to target shoppers with urgent phishing emails and smishing text messages about their recent purchases.
A very common scam includes fake shipping delays. See example.
Typically, these have a sense of urgency, designed to catch you off guard in the hopes you’ll click impulsively.
Remember that the post office does NOT have your phone number! Clicking a link in a text will likely direct you to a screen attempting to obtain your financial information. Don’t click the link and be aware of the red flags!
Visit uspis.gov (United States Postal Inspection Service) for more helpful information.
With rebates on everything from appliances to ground source heat pumps, it’s easy and cost-effective to make your home more energy efficient. Check out 2024 ECE residential rebates.
As of February 1, your co-op hit a milestone of 100 members connected to ECE Fiber internet! This was the first of many historic milestones for our newest endeavor and was certainly an exciting time for members in the Dalbo, MN, area. Fun fact: we surpassed the 100-member mark exactly one year after the launch of ecefiber.com!
Throughout the last year, we certainly saw our fair share of growth. With over 850 miles of fiber lines constructed, 14,500+ members expressing interest, 34 new employees, a new operations center built, and the first members connected to fiber, we all have a lot to be proud of.
To celebrate this achievement, the co-op hosted a ribbon-cutting event on February 23 at our Braham Headquarters location. By the time the ribbon-cutting ceremony took place, fiber connections hovered around 280 people. In attendance were smiling faces from the entire project trajectory, including partners from townships, cities, counties, state government agencies, and local media.
During the event, President/CEO Justin Jahnz said a few words regarding the historic achievement. “In 1936, ECE powered its first address and undeniably improved the lives of members throughout the region,” he mentioned. “Now 88 years later, we are connecting members to fiber internet and bridging the digital divide. ECE Fiber service provides an opportunity for members to participate in remote work, distance learning, telehealth, and so many other opportunities that improve daily life.”
Although fiber construction was paused during the winter months, the co-op has continued to accept registrations for the Braham, Cambridge, Dalbo, Ogilvie, and Pine City areas. Spring construction will begin once the ground thaws and will generally follow ECE’s power structure (using both overhead and underground lines).
You are encouraged to visit ecefiber.com to sign up and express interest in internet services. You’ll also receive timely email updates as ECE moves closer to your area.
One of your co-op’s most powerful and long-standing collaborations is with Lakes & Pines Community Action Council. In 1964, Lakes & Pines’ original staff of 10 operated out of a small office space in Braham provided by East Central Energy. Though their central office is now located in Mora and staff has multiplied tenfold, Lakes & Pines still helps administer our Caring Members program, which is funded by donations and assists members struggling to pay their electric bills.
“ECE’s Caring Members initiative underscores our shared commitment to address the unique needs of individuals and families within the communities we both serve,” describes Denise Stewart, Executive Director at Lakes & Pines.
Founded on the principles of community empowerment, Lakes & Pines is deeply committed to fostering a brighter future for the residents of Aitkin, Carlton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, and Pine counties.
Denise continues, “Partnering with entities like ECE embodies the spirit of Lakes & Pines’ grassroots initiatives and really highlights the power of collaboration.”
The Caring Members program continues to play a vital role in ensuring the safety and comfort of our members. Don’t forget, the Cold Weather Rule, which governs how ECE handles winter disconnects, ends April 30. We encourage you to call us if you are struggling to pay your electric bill. We’re here to help!
The winter of 2023-24 shaped up to be the winter that wasn’t. We had historically warm temperatures and almost no snow. Our thoughts go out to the businesses who depend on winter activities and associated revenue.
In the middle of January, we did experience a period of cold weather in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and more importantly, that cold weather pushed all the way into the southern parts of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) market. During the cold weather, we saw market demand spike to high levels.
Baseload generation resources like coal, natural gas, and nuclear supplied most of the energy during the cold snap. In fact, it represented up to 80% of the electricity serving the loads.
There was an abundance of energy available. Reserves in the market exceeded the load by more than 20%. At no time was there a risk of rolling blackouts.
Wind was available and helped keep market prices reasonable. Because there was an abundance of wind in southern Minnesota and the Dakotas, many more expensive resources (such as peaking stations owned by our power supplier) were not needed. If these resources had been called upon, we would have seen prices go much higher.
Often, we hear strong political messages around the U.S. generation mix. Some advocate for more renewable energy, claiming it can do everything our legacy resources do. Others would rather see us hold onto our fossil fuel resources at all costs, asserting that wind is unreliable
and financially unsustainable.
This weather event, while locally normal for our region, did create pressure on our regional market, and the resource mix performed well. Neither end of the political spectrum can point to the event and prove their arguments because it was our baseload, combined with recently developed wind assets, that kept energy reliable and affordable through a regionally challenging event.
At your service we remain,
Justin