Contract Construction Plans

Legacy Powerline Inc., located in Wadena, Minnesota, has been contracted to construct 15.3 miles of 3-phase overhead line in Montgomery, Page and Taylor counties as shown on the diagrams below. Construction is expected to begin in early to mid-November. This construction is part of our 2017-2020 work plan and will help to increase reliability and capacity in these areas.

Southwest inesA monthly publication for members of Southwest Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative November 2017

WWW.SWIAREC.COOP

Corning | Mount Ayr | Stanton

SouthweSt IowaRuRal electRIc coopeRatIve

With the heating season upon us, many of you may have already turned on your heating system

to take the chill off the past few mornings. While it is always best to plan ahead for upgrades of your heating /cooling systems; you may sometimes be surprised with the

unexpected need for replacement. If you find yourself in this position, please take the time to research your options because you will most likely use the system you

choose for 15 to 20 or more years.

Heat pumps are an energy-efficient way to

Check Out Our Heat Pump Rebatesheat and cool your home or business. The new models have greatly improved efficiency and comfort performance over models of years past. Southwest Iowa REC’s energy efficiency rebates can be found by visiting our website, www.swiarec.coop, or stopping by the office for a brochure.

Please contact Tim Pfeiffer or Chance Greenman for more information.REBATES (effective through 12/31/17)

Geothermal Heat Pump Closed Loop System $350/ton Open Loop System $250/ton (no “pump & dump” systems)

Unit Replacement $250/unit

Air-Source Heat PumpStandard Air-Source Heat Pump $150/ton (including mini-splits) Hybrid Air-Source Heat Pump $250/ton ENERGY STAR Bonus $350/unit (Min. SEER 15.0, HSPF 8.5, EER 12.5)

ENERGY STAR Central Air ConditioningENERGY STAR Qualified $75/unit (Min. SEER 15.0 & EER 12.5)

ECM Fan Motor Replacement $50/unit (requires qualified AC replacement)

Limit two air conditioner incentives per residence

Indoor Air QualityHeat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) $250/unit Equipment must serve the entire conditioned space of the home. Limit of two HRVs per home.

2 | Southwest Lines | November 2017

CEO’s COmmEnts:

Reducing Mother Nature’s Impacts

Phil KinserThe recent hurricanes that impacted the

southern U.S. and Puerto Rico are vivid reminders of the power of storms and

the toll they can take on an electric distribution system.

While our state is nestled in the heart of the Midwest – and far away from hurricanes – we

are not exempt from powerful natural disasters that can impact the poles, wires and other equipment needed to provide reliable power.

In fact, Iowa has experienced 41 presidentially declared disasters from 1990 to 2017, and 59 disaster declarations total. Iowa’s main hazards are those associated with severe weather,

including heavy rains and flooding, tornadoes and high winds, blizzards and heavy snow, and ice storms.

While the impacts of some disasters can’t be prevented, there are other risks that we can mitigate through proactive methods, such as tree trimming as part of our vegetation management program. As the winter season approaches – and

the heavy snow and ice that often accompanies it – vegetation management becomes more important than ever.

Trees may seem harmless on a calm, sunny day, but add a bit of wind or ice on a stormy night and those beautiful structures may threaten your home’s electric supply. Many storm outages are related to trees and branches contacting power lines, which is why regular trimming of trees and brush along power lines reduces the number of power interruptions.

Electricity outages can occur when branches break and fall across power lines or when trees tumble onto power lines. When strong winds blow, limbs growing too close to power lines may sway and touch wires. These momentary power disruptions or “blinks” aren’t just mild annoyances that leave digital clocks flashing; they also can damage computers, TVs and other sensitive electronic equipment.

Our system-wide maintenance program also includes an annual pole inspection completed on a ten-year cycle. Poles are inspected for their structural integrity to identify any weaknesses. We also inspect all vegetation in our service territory on a five-year cycle.

When it comes to Mother Nature, we know she is ultimately in charge. But, through our proactive planning and programs, we can work to lessen the impact on your electric service when bad weather hits!

Southwest Iowa REC offers another convenient way to pay your electric bill – it’s SmartHub. All you have

to do is visit our website (www.swiarec.coop), click the green Pay Online link, and you can pay your bill online. The payment site is fully secure and uses state-of-the-art encryption.

• With SmartHub you will be able to:

• Make a payment

• Access payment history

• View your bill

• View your electric usage

• Update your account or contact information

• Communicate directly with Southwest Iowa REC

Once you’re registered for SmartHub, you

will receive monthly e-mail notifications when the latest billing information is available online and when accounts are due. SmartHub is just another way your cooperative strives to provide the latest in convenience and technology for our members.

SmartHub option is available for you to use to pay your electric bill online. It will cost you $3.95 per transaction for up to $500 maximum with a credit card (Visa/MasterCard/Discover) or by check.

All you need is your REC account number, an email address and then create your own password.

Make Life Easier with SmartHub

Our offices will be closed on Thursday, November 23rd and Friday, November 24th.

Happy Thanksgiving

Co-op crews work diligently to manage vegetation that may interfere with electric lines during storms.

November 2017 | Southwest Lines | 3

Blinks are a sign that the electrical system is working properly.

It has happened to everyone at one time or another. You return home from work to find every digital clock in the house blinking. Or worse, the alarm doesn’t go off in the morning, making you late to work. While this is an annoying situation, it’s actually a sign that the power supply system is working as it is supposed to. Those little blinks – actually brief power outages – are designed to prevent big power outages that can cause large-scale damage to the entire system.

Momentary power interruptions – blinks – can occur anywhere on the power system, during generation, during high-voltage transmission from the generation facility to your co-op’s substation or during distribution from the substation to your home. Blinks are created when a breaker, or switch, is opening any portion of the power system. The breaker usually opens because of a very large, very quick rise of electrical current on the power system. This large rise is called a fault condition. Examples of this include: when a tree touches the lines, lightning strikes them or a wire breaks. When this happens, a relay – think of it as a brain – senses the fault and tells the breaker to open, preventing the flow of power to the site where the tree touch, lightning strike or wire break occurred.

Then, in short order, the breaker closes again. The brief delay is to allow the fault to clear the power line. It usually lasts less than two seconds. When this happens, every electrical service that receives power from that line has just blinked. This could include thousands of homes and businesses if the breaker protects a

transmission line or is a substation breaker.

If this didn’t happen, power lines or other equipment could be severely damaged. These blinks are more common in rural areas for a number of reasons. Many of our electric lines travel through areas with heavy vegetation (trees) and wildlife – more common in rural areas – causes a lot of these blinks. Squirrels, cattle rubbing against guy wires, hawks, owls, raccoons, frogs and even snakes have all caused blinks on rural electric lines. Because of the many miles of line your co-op owns, the source of the problem can be difficult to locate.

There are no solutions that can completely eliminate blinks on power systems. But there are things your cooperative can and does do to reduce their frequency. Tree trimming is probably the easiest and most used method to reduce possible blinks on the power system. This is where your cooperative needs your help. Make sure your co-op knows of any trees or limbs close to a power line that could cause problems. The cooperative has or hires right-of-way crews that are trained to cut and trim trees near power lines. Meanwhile, one way to reduce the frustration of blinking clocks is by purchasing an alarm clock that has a battery backup. This type of digital clock will keep the correct time and sound the alarm at the right time even after a lengthy outage, provided it has a good battery installed.

Blinks affect all electrical equipment, not just digital clocks. If there is a blink while you are using a computer, the odds are good that your computer will crash. Any data you have not saved will be lost if this happens.

To prevent this from happening, invest in an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for your computer. The UPS incorporates surge suppression technology along with a battery backup. The battery provides the computer with a supplementary power source to keep it operating during a blink. This battery will keep the computer running long enough for you to save work and shut it down properly.

Many UPS systems also have software that warns you when an outage occurs.

The blink is something that will never disappear from your electric energy delivery system. The best we can do is to minimize the effects of these interruptions and the frequency in which they occur. Your cooperative has an active maintenance program. Identifying and fixing sources of interruptions is a top priority.

What Makes the Power Blink?

Spending more time in the kitchen during the holiday season? Here’s one way to be more energy efficient: Unplug small kitchen appliances, like toaster ovens and microwaves, when not in use. You could save $10 to $20 per year.

Source: U.S Department of Energy

Energy Efficiency Tip of the Month

Sweet Potato Casserole 4 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes

1 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/4 c. milk

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. salt

The RECipe

Corning1801 Grove Ave., Corning, IA 50841

Mount Ayr1502 W. South St., Mount Ayr, IA 50854

Stanton415 Broad Ave., Stanton, IA 51573

SouthweSt IowaRuRal electRIc coopeRatIve

Phone Number: (888) 220-4869

Board of Directors

Marilyn Werner, President

Dennis Meier, Vice President

Richard “Dick” Ballantyne, Secretary

Mark Herzberg, Treasurer

Kay Fast Deena Moore

Dana Morgan Ken Peppmeier

Jason Smith Dale Walkup

Phil Kinser, CEO

4 | Southwest Lines | November 2017

hank you so much for fixing my yard light.

–Phyllis McFee

Thank you for the 4-H shirts we received at the Iowa State Fair for the communications events. We are 12 years old and have finished our third year in 4-H. Thank you for supporting 4-H and communications. We look forward to participating again next year.

–Riley, Peyton, and Emmet Long

Thank you so much for your prompt service in my electric concern. I couldn’t believe you had put up a bigger transformer so soon. Everything is working well.

Annual meeting was great – wonderful speaker!

–Estella Swartz

T

Preheat oven to 400°. Bake sweet potatoes at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Let stand until cool to touch (about 20 minutes); peel and mash sweet potatoes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°.

Beat mashed sweet potatoes, granulated sugar, and next 5 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Spoon potato mixture into a greased 11 x 7-inch baking dish. Combine cornflakes cereal and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle over casserole in diagonal rows 2 inches apart.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle marshmallows in alternate rows between cornflake mixture; bake 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

1 1/4 c. cornflakes cereal, crushed

1/4 c. chopped pecans

1 T. brown sugar

1 T. butter, melted

1 1/2 c. miniature marshmallows

Safety is always our first priority at Southwest Iowa REC. Our goal is to keep the power flowing to you 24/7/365

and to do that SAFELY.

Each month, all of our employees attend a safety meeting. A Safety Specialist from the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives (IAEC) provides instruction every other month on a variety of safety and OSHA topics. They also perform in-the-field crew inspections/observations. During the other six months, our personnel provide the training from information supplied by the IAEC. Specialized safety training and instruction is not only a requirement but it

also helps to prevent injuries and help us to meet our Safety Achievement goals.

One of the most important safety meetings we hold each year is Pole Top and Bucket Rescue which also involves training on May Day procedures in coordination with office staff. Our personnel received this training in October. Remember – SAFETY FIRST EVERY TIME!

Pictured, at left: Line Foreman Mike Stargell practices pole top rescue.

Pole Top and Bucket Rescue Training

Want to stay up-to-date on the Southwest Solar Farm progress? Visit https://www.senserasystems.com/public/embed/M68632974232 to view the time lapse camera!