Superheroes among us

ContentsVolume 16 Number 3

Editor: Andrea Blowers, ablowers@bepc.com

Publications Manager: Mary Miller

Graphic Designer: Nicole Perreault

Photographers: Steve Crane & Chelsy Ciavarella

Contributors: Traice Bettenhausen, Erin Huntimer, Chris Gessele, Dain Sullivan,

Lindsey DeKrey, Daryl Hill & Joan Dietz

Use your smartphone barcode scanner to view stories online.

On the cover: The 6th annual Brave the Shave campaign for St. Baldrick’s has grown exponentially in communities across the region. Two young brothers and shavees, Zachary Weiand (left) and Aiden Weiand, shaved on the team Cut to Con-quer in support of honoree Mia Thinnes. Read more about the participants in this year’s campaign on page 8.

In Every Issue14 Feature Series: A day in the life of an environmental hydrologist16 Member Focous: Capturing the future19 News Briefs23 Employee Highlights

Feature Stories2 Preparations in place to go black at Synfuels Plant4 Generating change6 Small plant, big job8 Superheroes unite for childhood cancer research

Cue Billy Joel’s song “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” While the start of this column bears a distinct resemblance

to the song, today is a new era. Friends, times are a-changin’.While change is scary, it’s really okay, and it can be good.Basin Electric has experienced a series of changes since

it celebrated its first 50 years, and these changes are really the tip of the iceberg. I am proud to serve you as Basin Elec-tric’s fourth CEO and general manager. However, many of the friendly faces that I’ve come to know this past year and a half are retiring. New faces have joined the family. New positions are being developed to address Basin Electric’s energy evolution. Our national trade association, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, has indicated that more than 70 percent of cooperative managers are due to retire in the next 10 years.

We are determining whether to join an RTO (regional transmission organization). The byproducts and co-product at our Great Plains Synfuels Plant are now a larger revenue source for Dakota Gasification Company than the sale of natural gas. We are exploring additional co-products, such as urea, which would be another fertilizer to join the two already produced there.

On a regional level, our membership is seeing many changes. While the coasts are falling victim to economic turmoil, the Midwest has proven that slow and steady does indeed win the race. North Dakota and beyond have struck oil, and the communities surrounding the Williston Basin are feeling it – the good and the bad. Economies are thriving, populations are increasing, and this domestic energy source is helping to fuel the nation. With growth, however, comes growing pains. Schools are full. The homeless population is increasing. More social services are needed. Restaurants have hour-long waiting lists. Yes, it is a new era in North Dakota.

CEO and General Manager’s Column:

Andrew M. Serri

It’ll take cooperation, time and flexibilityChanging times require a change in our thinkingNew national energy leadership … economic shifts … aging workforce … new NRECA leadership … familiar Basin Electric faces saying goodbye … ever-increasing EPA regulations … the RTO evaluation … Western shift in leader-ship … rising housing costs … shortage of skilled labor … community growth …

Andrew M. Serri, CEO and general manager

On a national level, we’ve seen a change in leadership across President Obama’s Cabinet. We will have a new EPA head, and new Energy and Interior secretaries. Increasing coal regulations and declining natural gas prices have made natural gas the fuel of choice for many utilities. Coal companies are shipping coal abroad, as we see China and India build newer and bigger coal facilities every day.

These changes are just a handful of many issues that we face as a cooperative, region, country and world. And, they aren’t necessarily bad. While many of the growing pains I mentioned above can be viewed negatively, I see them as opportunities – opportunities to improve our communities and to put our problem-solving skills to use.

It is human nature to shy away from change. Many of us actually fear it.

In my years, I’ve accepted the fact that change is inevitable and rather than fear it, embrace it. Simply closing the door and hoping the storm passes will not help. Facing it head on and managing it will open your eyes, increase awareness and broaden your vision. Folks, there is nothing so huge that we can’t get through it together. In the end, we will all be better for it.

So, what’s next? We must accept what we can control, and what we can’t. I pledge to keep you updated on Basin Electric activities, and I look forward to working with you to position the cooperative for the next era. After all, there has been change in our past 50 years, and from my perspective, Basin has not only adapted to change, but has held the torch and led the way!

God bless and be safe.

CEO and General Manager’s Column: Andrew M. Serri

May – June 2013 1

Preparations in place to go black at Synfuels Plant

Black plant.The term sounds frighteningly foreboding. In

reality, it’s quite the opposite. It’s part of a process to ensure safe, efficient and reliable operation of Dakota Gasification Company’s Great Plains Synfuels Plant long into the future.

Black plant describes the upcoming complete outage at the Great Plains Synfuels Plant. The plant is configured into two trains, or two series of linked mechanical parts. When work is done on plant elements that are common to both trains, operation ceases and the plant goes dark, or black.

The complete outage is expected to run from late May to late June, with 18 days of zero synthetic natural gas production within that span. The plant will be operating at half rate the remainder of that time, says Jerome Kramer, maintenance planning supervisor.

Annual half-plant maintenance outages generally consist of five to seven days of work on elements that affect only one of the plant’s trains, while the other half remains in operation. A half-plant outage is still scheduled for this year, in addition to the black plant event.

Much of the preparation for the black plant is in the capable hands of Dakota Gas employees Kramer, Ron Jorgenson and Tim Seidler.

Kramer and his department are breaking down outage work requests into details and determin-ing which materials will be needed for each task. Jorgenson, director of project controls, then loads those details into project management software that arranges the tasks into a schedule. Seidler, Dakota Gas’ shift superintendent, will coordinate the plant’s shutdown to allow these projects to be done and prepare for eventual startup. The order of activities is based mostly on logic and the startup and shutdown sequence of equipment, Seidler says. Once the order of activities is determined, they allot the appropriate level of manpower to each task.

Within the outage schedule are critical path projects that are common to both trains and must be done in a set time frame, Jorgenson explains. Such projects include tying in elements of the clean cooling water system, a $77-million project that will segregate the dirty water from the main plant heat exchangers, and replacing the flare tip on the plant’s main flare stack, which burns off waste gas from the gasification process.

Scaffolding was erected in several areas where outage work will be done at the Synfuels Plant, such as this scaffolding that will help workers replace the cold service insulation in the Rectisol area of the plant.

By Chris Gessele

Preparations in place to go black at Synfuels Plant

2 Basin Today

Other planned projects include work on spray coolers in the oxygen plant, cold service insulation work in the Rectisol area of the plant and changing out the economizer in one of the plant boilers. Kramer says a rough count showed 5,800 individual activities will be done in the month-long outage. Some of those tasks have been on hold since the Synfuels Plant’s most recent, and first ever, black plant outage in 2004.

All of the plant’s several hundred maintenance staff will be on hand for the outage, as well as 500-600 contracted personnel during the day and around 400 at night, Kramer says. Dakota Gas’ maintenance staff will work six 12-hour shifts per week, while contractors will set their own schedule with some likely to work seven 10-hour shifts per week.

Available housing may be difficult for contracted employees to find in the area, though Jorgenson says Dakota Gas has not heard any requests for help. Many contracts were secured by December 2012, which likely gave contractors plenty of time to secure housing.

“I think we realize the whole key to this process is planning early and getting the information out there early,” Kramer says. “Not waiting until the last minute is beneficial for us and for them.”

From past project experience, workers have a good idea of what they’ll encounter during the outage – though there are never any 100-percent guarantees.

“We can make some really good assumptions of what that work’s going to be, but there’s some stuff that we can’t see, so we don’t always know exactly what we’re going to find,” Jorgenson says.

“There will be plenty of responding to unknowns,” Kramer says.

Physical preparation is well under way at the plant. Crews have been setting up scaffolding and cranes, and assembling break facilities for contractors for several weeks, along with taking care of logistics such as lighting, generator placement and parking space.

The outage will cost Dakota Gas millions in mainte-nance costs and lost production, however, the benefits of the turnaround – such as increased safety, efficiency and reliability – will far exceed those costs.

“We’re looking at two to three years between future train turnarounds, and that will be the payoff,” Seidler says. “The viability of the plant – that’s what it’s all about. We’re working to have a plant that will run longer into the future.”

Dakota Gasification Company employees (from left) Ron Jorgenson, director of project controls; Tim Seidler, shift superintendent; and Jerome Kramer, maintenance planning supervisor, are helping lead preparations for the Great Plains Synfuels Plant’s black plant outage this spring.

Synfuels Plant fast factsThe only commercial-scale coal gasification plant

in the United States that manufactures natural gas.

Synfuels Plant products

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May – June 2013 3

By Erin Huntimer

Generating changeLaramie River Station pursues Reliability Excellence

The business world is certainly not lacking for quippy, quirky quotes about change. Some are meant to spur it, others to take the fear out of it. But for those words to truly generate change, they need to strike a personal chord.

For the employees at the Laramie River Station, that chord was struck by a magazine article that read more like a biography. Another power plant in another state saw reliability suffer as a result of reacting instead of being proactive.

“It was like reading a diary of the daily activities here at Laramie River,” says Brad Thompson, plant superinten-dent. “We had a few key areas where we were proactive, but for the most part, our work practices were highly reactive.”

The article detailed the power plant’s transformation to proactive practices. It served as proof that a change in course for the better is indeed possible. That prospect inspired the team at Laramie River to pursue a similar change. Thus began Laramie River’s journey to Reliability Excellence®.

Rx for changeIn 2007, Laramie River reached out to consultants Life

Cycle Engineering to help them find ways to improve reli-ability and work processes at the power plant. The process is called Reliability Excellence, or Rx. According to Life Cycle Engineering’s website, Rx is built around the concepts of asset reliability, business and work process reliability, and an empowered workforce supported by effective leadership and robust change management.

Thompson describes it in more relatable terms: “It’s being proactive in identifying impending equipment or asset failure. It’s having the right people doing the right things. It’s making decisions

based on data and not emotion. It’s stocking the right parts for critical equipment and being able to plan and execute

work on a schedule instead of simply reacting minute to minute. It’s understanding how

critical operators are in their ability to recognize when a piece of equipment

smells, sounds, or feels different. It’s precision maintenance and diligent work by everyone.”

Thompson says Laramie River waded into the process in waves starting in 2008. Wave 1 provided an overview of the process, and

Wave 2 assessed the situation at the power plant. A gap analysis

covering 29 elements of reliability was conducted. “Wave 2 showed that,

although we had pockets of excellence, there were significant opportunities for improvement,” Thompson says.

The analysis found not only reactive work practices, but also gaps in job planning and prioritization, and an asset management system, meant to increase work efficiency, being underutilized. “We also faced a crisis in knowledge retention; up to 30 percent of our workforce was projected to retire within five years,” Thompson says. With analysis in hand, the team moved on to the next wave.

Wave 3, the implementation, was approved for the 2012 budget. In the spring of that year, a leadership team composed of plant management and union leadership was formed. Next came Focus Teams of hourly employees in the

areas of Reliability Engineer-ing, Materials Management, Work Management and Opera-tor Care.

“The teams are tasked with developing formal processes to address how we would do basically everything in the facility. Life Cycle Engineering

ReliabilityExcellence

Rx

asse

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Wave 1

Wave 2

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Education and understandingVision of the opportunities

Rx assessmentMaster plan and business case

Rx implementationMeasurement and sustainability

Generating change

4 Basin Today

provided subject matter experts for each team to help guide them and to provide best-practice recommendations,” Thompson says.

The teams initially met for four hours, twice a week to develop the power plant’s new road map. They defined work processes and built Responsibility, Authority, Support, Inform (RASI) charts to define roles and responsibilities. Representa-tives from Life Cycle Engineering trained employees across the plant on the process through one-day sessions. The teams then started implementing new, more precise work flows in pilot areas (see sidebar for examples).

Thompson says the level of dedication shown by members of the Leadership and Focus teams has been outstanding. “They have spent a tremendous amount of time and bled their souls in working through this process and developing the future course of the facility.”

Next steps to successThe next steps will be to expand the pilot areas and

gather data on key performance indicators to measure progress. Some of the indicators include annual expedited shipping costs, compliance with preventative maintenance schedules, cost savings from reduced inventory, average time between equipment failures, job kit accuracy, and equipment inspections and resulting corrective work requests written.

“We already know this is a three-to-five year process to fully implement this massive change in culture,” Thompson says. “The change can be daunting, but we have some things that make the success of this initiative a foregone conclusion: outstanding employees, progressive union leadership, and management who understand the need to improve. Brian Larson’s unflagging support and leadership has been especially encouraging.” Larson is plant manager at Laramie River.

Thompson says the Rx process is in line with CEO and General Manager Andrew M. Serri’s objective to reduce costs in the cooperative’s core business.

“The Rx process will ultimately keep this facility up and running by making us more efficient and reducing costs,” Thompson says. “Our members deserve nothing less.”

They have spent a tremen-dous amount of time and bled their souls in working through this process and developing the future course of the facility.

Brad Thompson

Rx focus team progressReliability EngineeringThe team is ranking equipment criticality and history, and developing formal maintenance strategies using more predictive technologies to help identify pending equipment failures.

•Sponsors: John Ciz, Mike Nordeen•Leader: Myron Singleton•Members: Amy Windmeier,

Marty Finnerty, Nick Moore, Matthew McAnelly, John Atterbury, Lee Apodaca

Materials ManagementThe team has started issuing high-volume materials at the point of use to help reduce time needed to travel to the warehouse. They are also building kits for jobs where applicable and evaluating opportunities to reduce inventory in the warehouse.

•Sponsors: Brad Thompson, Eric Roesler•Leader: Ken Gall•Members: Gary Lockman, Joann

Hubbard, Scott Woolsey, John Shields, Joshua Barnes

Work ManagementThe team has defined processes for everything from work identification to work scheduling and execution. They are also training employ-ees on a new interface in the cooperative’s asset management software.

•Sponsors: Willie Allison, Arnie Minear•Leader: Keith Hepker•Members: Troy Gunter, Daniel Bowen,

Torey Hanks, Mark Walker, Joe Bowman, Don Moede

Operator CareThe team has developed structured rounds and activities for operators, defined maintenance tasks that can be performed by operators, and simplified lubrication activities.

•Sponsors: Anthony Lucero, Dave Herriott•Leader: Wayne Koerwitz•Members: Scott Olson, Kelly Tyson,

Dave Patterson, Jim Jackson, John Huston, Tyler Sorensen

Generating change

May – June 2013 5

In the list of Basin Electric power plants, the Pioneer Generation Station looks like a lightweight.

Weighing in at 45 megawatts, the power plant looks to be a small fraction of some of the more recent additions in Basin Electric genera-tion, like the 300-net megawatt Deer Creek Station in South Dakota and 385-megawatt Dry Fork Station in Wyoming.

But Pioneer Generation Station, located northwest of Williston, ND, was built small for a big task. The natural gas-fueled plant will serve the quickly increasing demand for electricity in northwest North Dakota, and it will do so soon.

It is a simple cycle plant, which means it doesn’t have a steam cycle, and it will have the capability to provide voltage support to the area transmission grid through the use of a synchronous clutch when additional electricity is not required. The technology, a General Electric LM 6000 combustion turbine generator, is used all over the world, and the experience means construction moves quickly, according to Craig Muilenburg, Basin Electric construction coordinator II. “There are more than a thousand of these units in operation,” Muilenburg says. “Everything comes in compo-nents. You basically hook them together and away you go.”

Myron Steckler, Basin Electric generation resource project manager, says the layout of the turbine generator package is largely deter-mined by General Electric. “The components come in skids, which are required to be very close to the main turbine generator unit. It’s congested, but very typical of these types of units. We set each skid in place and tie them together with piping and electrical,” Steckler says. The remainder of the plant equipment and layout needed to make this facility a fully functional plant is designed by Basin Electric’s Engineering & Construction department, along with the project engineering consultant, Harris Group.

Small plant, big job

By Tracie Bettenhausen

A look at Pioneer Generation Station construction

Small plant, big job

6 Basin Today

At the height of construction, about 120 workers were on-site at a time. “Wanzek Construction has been excellent on safety,” Steckler says. “We have no lost time accidents to date on the project.”

The step between construction and the plant generating electricity is called commis-sioning. Muilenburg says commissioning started in mid-April with the water system. “Once we get rural water on-site, we can start filling our water tanks to hydro test them.”

Around the same time, electrical backfeed can occur when the electrical interconnec-tion is completed with the transmission system and the plant begins to pull electric-ity from the power grid. “Once we get that power on-site, the commissioning phase really takes off,” Muilenburg says. “You can start bringing on the individual skids with the motors and things like that.”

Construction started on Phase I of Pioneer Generation Station in June 2012, with commercial operation anticipated early this summer.

And construction season at this location will continue into another phase immediately.

Phase II construction is slated to start a month earlier than first expected, in June after all the necessary permits have been acquired. Phase II will add two turbine generators and 90 megawatts in genera-tion. Muilenburg says construction of Phase II is able to move more quickly because both phases will use the same utility interconnections and balance of plant equipment such as the water tanks and administration building.

“We have a couple things going for us. General Electric has been helpful with getting the extra equipment for us on a timely basis, and permitting has been going well,” Steckler says. “We are trying to take advantage of the summer construction season and should be able to be commercial with the second phase by January 2014.”

Need for powerIn April, Basin Electric’s board

of directors approved the 2013 load forecast update, which shows continued electricity demand throughout the membership and especially in northwest North Dakota and northeast Montana.

Jay Lundstrom, Basin Electric senior forecast analyst, says the 2013 load forecast is the second annual update of the 2011-2025 forecast period. “The 2013 update shows member requirement has increased about 280 megawatts from the previous forecast completed just one year ago,” Lundstrom says.

The weather-normalized forecast expects Basin Electric’s demand to grow about 3.7 percent annually.

280MWINCREASE

Contractors and Basin Electric employees work together. (From left) Trenton Schwahn, Basin Electric electrical engineer II; Ben Cannon, Tidal Power Services, Houston, TX; Eric Lempke, Tidal Power Services; and Craig Muilenburg, Basin Electric construction coordinator II.

Small plant, big job

May – June 2013 7

WHAM!

BAM!

pow!lUCKY

Not all superheroes wear capes. In fact, some are so cleverly disguised there’s only one way to uncover their life-saving powers. They unexpectedly go bald or suddently appear with short hair. Spotting these heroes is slightly easier knowing their disguises are lifted only once a year – usually in March, but sometimes in April.

Their mission: To help find a way to end childhood cancers.

These superheroes are participants in the annual Brave the Shave – St. Baldrick’s events. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity that funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government.

Superheroes unite for childhood cancer research

By Andrea Blowers

Since they began appearing throughout the Midwest in 2008, more than 1,500 heroes have been spotted following the Brave the Shave events. In each of the first years Basin Electric coordinated the events, the number of participants averaged 150-200. In 2013, this mix of champions for children battling cancer grew exponentially. More than 400 people participated in the Brave the Shave campaign this year from eight states – North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington and Hawaii.

There are numerous stories about why each participant elected to lose their hair – more stories than space to share them. But, there is no doubt, each and every hero has a story. Following are a few from this year’s campaign.

Superheroes unite for childhood cancer research

8 Basin Today

White-coat protectors unmaskedBismarck pediatricians Dr. Rafael Ocejo and Dr. Parag

Kumar walked into their staff meeting at Sanford Health Children’s Clinic in February unaware of the request they were about to receive.

Tom Petrik, Sanford Health Foundation vice president of development, was there with information about St. Baldrick’s in hand. Petrik explained that Sanford was plan-ning to hold an event under the Brave the Shave campaign, and they were looking for volunteers to face the clippers.

Dr. Ocejo wouldn’t say he energetically volunteered, but he’s not one to turn down a challenge. “Dr. Seibel, she’s a sweetheart, she pushed me into the pool,” Dr. Ocejo says. “You know how sometimes people say let’s jump into the pool together, and you jump and then find yourself alone in the pool? She said to me, ‘I’ll do it,’” he explains. So Dr. Ocejo told her if she was going to shave her head, he would shave his.

As Sanford’s event approached Dr. Ocejo learned Dr. Seibel decided not to shave this year. “I said, ‘You have to be kidding me!’ … But now that I’ve done it, I think it was a good thing she pushed me,” Dr. Ocejo says.

“My story is different,” Dr. Kumar says. “I volunteered. My past experience showed that even if I do something for five or 10 minutes, it has huge dividends. … If my five minutes is able to buy years’ worth of a good life for a child, that’s a no-brainer for me,” Dr. Kumar says.

The Sanford event was held March 8 at the Ritterbush Auditorium at the UND Center for Family Medicine building. The event overall raised nearly $14,000 for the campaign and each of the doctors raised around $1,500. They were part of the team Amber’s Baldies, which had participants

If my five minutes is able to buy years’ worth of a good life for a child, that’s a no-brainer for me.

Dr. Parag Kumar

shaving at both the Sanford event and the flagship event at the Missouri Valley Family YMCA on March 15. The team’s fundraising totaled more than $24,000.

“The last few days (before the Sanford event) it was busy,” Dr. Kumar says. “My wife had to keep the tea flowing all the time. All the people, they just kept coming to our place. I was so happy that even without soliciting I was able to raise $1,500.”

Both Drs. Ocejo and Kumar were intrigued with different parts of the event and the inquiries that followed once their heads were bald.

“I was absolutely totally surprised there was a 16-year-old beautiful young girl that had her head shaved,” Dr. Ocejo says. “I think for a girl to do that at her age … to be able to say, ‘I’m going to do it, and I’m proud to do it,’ that to me was like, ‘Why should I be concerned about my head?’”

Dr. Kumar remembers a 5- or 6-year-old chronic-needs child that comes to his office. “She said to her mom, ‘Look, mommy, Dr. Kumar has no hair.’ This mom gave a really nice reply, she said, ‘Dr. Kumar has no hair because he likes kids like you so much.’ I was touched,” Dr. Kumar says.

As with anything they do for their patients, the hospital, the clinic or the community, they never look back. “We are always looking to improve the hospital experience for children,” Dr. Kumar says. “How good we are in society is how well we can take care of other people. … I think children’s welfare; there is no negotiation to this.”

“I was really happy I went through it,” Dr. Ocejo says. “Any time that there are things we can do to improve the care of children, I am all for it.”

Both doctors agreed they would shave again. Both also agreed they would like to recruit other doctors to shave with them.

(From left) Dr. Parag Kumar and Dr. Rafael Ocejo.

Superheroes unite for childhood cancer research

May – June 2013 9

Forces collide for communityAlone, superheroes are mighty forces. When they merge,

they are forces to be reckoned with.That’s certainly the case for a mighty duo from this

year’s Guns n’ Hoses event at the Blarney Stone in Bismarck held on March 12. The duo is Chad Nicklos and Tiffany Hardy. Hardy was the top fundraiser and shavee for the Guns – Missouri Valley Fraternal Order of Police team and Nicklos was the top fundraiser and shavee for the Hoses – Firefighters of North Dakota team.

This was the first annual Guns n’ Hoses event. Local law enforcement and local fire departments challenged each other to see who could raise more for St. Baldrick’s. The goal for the event was $5,000. The participants raised more than $14,000; Hardy and Nicklos together pulled in more than $3,500 of that.

This isn’t the first time Nicklos and Hardy have teamed up (unknowingly) for a cause. The two met while sandbag-ging in 2011 when the Missouri River threatened to flood homes. However, neither knew the other was participating in the Brave the Shave Blarney Stone event. When Nicklos saw Hardy’s name on the website he says they exchanged

a few messages and razzed each other to see who was going to be the top fundraiser. “We met each other helping other people out so to meet up again for this event was pretty cool,” Nicklos says.

In their everyday lives, Hardy is a massage therapist at HealthSource Chiropractic of Bismarck and Nicklos is a contractor through his business Chad Nicklos Construction. Nicklos is also a volunteer firefighter with the Mandan Fire Department. “I actually heard about it (St. Baldrick’s) through Andy Beck who is our training officer for Mandan Fire Station One. It was something he asked me if I wanted to do with him,” Nicklos says. Nicklos didn’t hesitate. “I’ve always had short hair, so it wasn’t a big deal for me as far as the haircut goes. If I can help others, I will,” he says.

Hardy didn’t hesitate either. She joined the Guns team because one of her good friends is a police officer. “I was at the Blarney Stone and saw the flyer. It was just one of those things where I thought that would be a blast,” she says. “Why wouldn’t you do it? … When you’re healthy and have a good life, you don’t

Why wouldn’t you do it? … It’s such a small sacrifice for anyone to do.

Tiffany Hardy

10 Basin Today

think about a whole lot of other people who are going through things like that. It’s such a small sacrifice for anyone to do.” But, she says, “You really have to take all the vanity out of it.”

Nicklos echoed Hardy’s intentions. “This day and age I think everybody knows someone who has gone through, maybe it’s not cancer, but has really gone through a life-changing event and I think a lot of people take our health for granted. So, to be able to give back in any way I can, I feel, is just the right thing to do,” Nicklos says.

Each was really impressed with how much they were able to raise in such a short amount of time. They sent text messages and used Facebook. In less than two days Hardy was able to raise nearly $2,000 alone.

That surprised her, but what also amazed her was the energy at the event. “I’ve been to the Blarney Stone hundreds of times, but the energy was just different. Everyone was there for a common tie,” Hardy says.

Nicklos was impressed with the turnout as well and says he’s sure he’ll do it again next year.

Hardy says she too will do it again, “in a heartbeat.”

I think a lot of people take their health for granted. So, to be able to give back in any way I can, I feel, is just the right thing to do.

Chad Nicklos

2013 campaign sponsors

May – June 2013 11

Young heroes mobilizeThey may be smaller than the average hero, but the

goodness in their hearts makes them larger than life. They are Jayden Scott, Austin Henschel and Ryan Johnson, 6th

graders at Highland Acres Elementary School in Bismarck. Scott and Henschel participated for the first time during

the Brave the Shave event at the Missouri Valley Family YMCA on March 15.

It was the middle of a school day, but that didn’t stop the rest of their class from flashing signs of encouragement like “Be Brave and Go Bald,” while crowding near the front of the stage to cheer on their classmates. “The original plan was to walk (from Highland Acres to the YMCA), but because it was so chilly a couple of parents offered to drive all the kids over and wait,” says Kurt Weinberg, the boys’ physical education teacher and a shavee himself.

Johnson got to have his own head-shaving the day before. Because he wasn’t able to attend the event at the YMCA, his mom shaved his head during gym class with a number of Highland Acres students as his audience.

Weinberg coordinated their efforts. He had participated in the Brave the Shave event last year with two other boys, and he wanted to do it again this year as part of a project for a class he was taking on building developmental assets in students. Dave Fey, a counselor at Highland Acres, was also part of the team.

“I thought this would be so excellent because the boys that did it last year had such a great time with it and it seemed like such a great charity to work with,” Weinberg says. “Kids can relate to the childhood cancer issue. I think by getting the whole school on board, I’ve got 2nd and 3rd graders now that just can’t wait to be in 5th grade so they can do it as 5th graders. That is what I’m hoping for, that we can create a tradi-tion, that this is what Highland Acres does,” Weinberg says.

“The whole school was behind it. We had a couple of fundraising activities here – a hat day, gum day and then wacky hair day. The student council actually planned that as part of Spirit Week,” Weinberg says.

Each of the boys, whose interests range from football and fishing to soccer and jet skiing to swimming and learning about

You can see the smiles on their faces and know it has deep meaning, and that’s what we want.

Kurt Weinberg

(Clockwise from top left) Kurt Weinberg, Austin Henschel, Ryan Johnson and Jayden Scott.

12 Basin Today

World War II, was drawn to participate in St. Baldrick’s because they wanted to help kids battling cancer. But, they admitted they were nervous. “I’ve never had short hair, so I didn’t really know what it would feel like to have a bald head,” Scott says.

They found out. “After I got done with my head being shaved, I put on the hat and it felt like Velcro,” Henschel says and the others nodded in agreement.

The boys agree they were left with more than a prickly head; the event left a lasting impression. “One of the things it does, it builds kids up and gives them a stronger self-esteem. They know they are part of the community and they are recognized as an important link,” Weinberg says. “You can see the smiles on their faces and know it has deep meaning, and that’s what we want.”

Helping end childhood cancer

The stories of Brave the Shave participants could fill a novel. These volunteers may not wear capes, but the good they do makes them superheroes in their own right.

In the six years Basin Electric has coordinated the Brave the Shave events more than $1.08 million has been raised; more than $330,000 was raised in 2013 alone. Thanks to the efforts of superhero volunteers, every year more money is raised to fund pediatric cancer research, and every year more children survive and enter remission thanks to their efforts.

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2013 Brave the Shave events & stats

Read more storiesCheck out basinelectric.wordpress.com for more stories of 2013 St. Baldrick’s superheroes.

•St. Baldrick’s Zumbathon stomps last year’s totals!•Basin Electric employee and kids recruit for St. Baldrick’s•Guns n’ Hoses pack Blarney Stone for St. Baldrick’s•Bismarck Bobcats brave the shave tonight on center ice•Milt Aus braves the shave•CEO Dream Team braves the shave for St. Baldrick’s•Librarian and elementary students support St. Baldrick’s•St. Baldrick’s shavee survives cancer, goes bald for others

•Two dads, two kids shave and cut for St. Baldrick’s•St. Baldrick’s pillows for honorees•Centennial Elementary Hat Day for St. Baldrick’s•Elementary students get crazy for Basin Electric Brave the Shave•St. Baldrick’s honoree and friends featured on KX News•Local car dealership donates beanies for Brave the Shavers•Sanford Health St. Baldrick’s event video and pictures •Go pink or go home

May – June 2013 13

By Chris Gessele

A day in the life of … an environmental hydrologist at the Great Plains Synfuels Plant

Jacob Dow

Feature Series

Where you find water on the Great Plains Synfuels plant site near Beulah, ND, you’ll likely also find Jacob Dow.

Dow is an environmental hydrologist at the Synfuels Plant, which is owned and operated by Dakota Gasification Company, a for-profit subsidiary of Basin Electric.

Dow grew up in north-central Iowa and now lives in Beulah, about three miles south of the plant site. He has been working at the plant for about a year and a half. Dow works with water, but his original interest was dirt. After high school he earned a geological engineering degree from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, SD.

Dow installed monitoring equipment and relief wells on earthen dams along the Missouri River for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after college graduation. After 15 months on the job, that experience helped him get hired at Dakota Gas.

It’s a breezy, overcast April day and Dow is already busy doing what only he does at the Synfuels Plant – he’s sampling water. As the only environmental hydrologist on the plant site, Dow samples drinking water, groundwater and storm water, and reports those test results to various

state regulatory agencies. While his job description sounds

fairly consistent and straightforward, his workdays are not.

“There are weekly and monthly tasks, and that’s about as regular as it gets,” Dow says. “Otherwise it depends what’s going on, and what’s a priority.”

There are more than 130 groundwater sampling wells scattered throughout the 640-acre plant site. The wells are under various permits that require sampling and results reporting to the state at various frequencies. There are also 31 additional wells on the plant site not under permits that the plant installed for added groundwater surveillance. It takes about five weeks to sample all of the wells, Dow says.

Jacob Dow, an environmental hydrologist for Dakota Gas, examines a water sample he delivered to the Dakota Gas chemistry lab on-site at the Great Plains Synfuels Plant.

Dow takes water samples from an air stripper at the Synfuels Plant. The plant’s recovery well pumps impacted groundwater into the air stripper, which then blows air through the water to strip out volatile compounds.

It’s kind of one of those jobs where you get geared up for it

and once you get into it, it’s what you live for a few weeks.

Jacob Dow

Feature Series: A day in the life of an environmental hydrologist

14 Basin Today

“It’s kind of one of those jobs where you get geared up for it and once you get into it, it’s what you live for a few weeks,” Dow says. “If you stop for something else, it takes so long to get everything ready and prepped for the day, that it affects how much you get done.”

Dow, suited up in fire-retardant coveralls, steel-toed boots, hard hat and safety glasses, hops into a blue, well-traveled Chevrolet Tahoe. Winding through the plant site, Dow stops to check the water level in a stormwater pond in the southeast corner of the plant site. On this day, the pond is at 9 feet 5 inches and discharging stormwater off-site.

There are three stormwater ponds on-site that handle precipitation runoff from the plant site, Dow explains. The ponds fill up over the course of a few months. They are sampled to ensure water quality meets state criteria, and then they are partially drained into a ditch that encircles and eventually leaves the plant site by way of Antelope Creek. The tests are conducted and results are reported quarterly.

“We need to track the pond level each day to keep track of how much water we get rid of,” Dow says.

The ponds’ water levels are reduced in the fall so they can handle as much winter and spring precipitation runoff as possible. This past winter, ice buildup in the creek caused releases to overflow the creek banks, Dow says. They held water in the ponds as long as possible and recycled some of it back through the plant to help remedy the situation.

“There’s always some situation that changes the way things go,” Dow says. “I prefer to have things planned. When they’re not planned, they’re more of a surprise. I don’t like those quite as much.”

After checking the stormwater pond, Dow pulls up to a building that houses an air stripper to collect water samples, a weekly duty. The plant’s recovery well pumps impacted groundwater into the air stripper, which then blows air through the water to strip out volatile compounds. Dow collects samples from water entering and leaving the air stripper to ensure it’s operating as it should be. After collection Dow delivers the samples to a walk-in cooler for the chemistry lab to analyze.

Dow also had a request that day to test tap water in a new lunchroom in the Synfuels Plant’s vehicle maintenance building. He tested the water’s conductivity, pH balance and temperature, as well as the amount of free chlorine and total chlorine in the water. He concluded that it was fit for drinking.

The Synfuels Plant is adjacent to Basin Electric’s Ante-lope Valley Station. Water piped from Lake Sakakawea, located a few miles north of the plant, is softened at Antelope Valley and chlorinated at the Synfuels Plant before being used for drinking water. Dow tests the plant’s potable water monthly for bacteria.

“If you do have bacteria in your system and someone drinks it they can get sick. We haven’t had any issues like that, so we’ve been pretty good,” he says.

Dow’s other responsibilities include managing the permit for the plant’s underground injection system. Salty wastewater derived from backwash-ing the plant’s filters is injected down two 6,000-feet-deep wells. Those wells pump the water into a storage aquifer that’s already too high in total dissolved solids to be used for drinking water, Dow explains.

Dow is currently finishing up the last of his annual groundwater reports and ordering supplies for the upcom-ing spring groundwater sampling event, which consists of sampling 75-80 wells. He’s also helping secure permits and gearing up for the upcoming black plant outage in May and June. Read more about black plant preparations on page 2.

“With the black plant coming up, I really want to get all the sampling at least close to done before all the construc-tion and stuff goes crazy,” Dow says. “If they’re working in an area, equipment might block access to some of my wells, so the sooner I can get out there and get it done, the better.”

Dow says it’s his engineering education that makes him “fussy and meticulous,” though on-the-job experience taught him the ins and outs of being a hydrologist.

“That’s one of the good things about this job is there’s office work and outdoor work, and if it’s a nice day you can find stuff to do outdoors, and if it’s a crappy day you can find stuff to do indoors,” Dow says. “Though basically, if it’s anything water on the plant site, I’m involved.”

That’s one of the good things about this job is there’s office work and outdoor work, and if it’s a nice day you can find stuff to do outdoors, and if it’s a crappy day you can find stuff to do indoors. Though basically, if it’s anything water on the plant site, I’m involved.

Jacob Dow

Feature Series: A day in the life of an environmental hydrologist

May – June 2013 15

Member Focus

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association has an audacious goal in mind: to facilitate solving the carbon utilization puzzle.

The Tri-State board of directors has strategic goals that focus on affordability and regulation mitigation. The board has directed staff to focus on dealing with existing and potential regulation that could substantially affect the cost and affordability of electricity Tri-State produces and distributes to its 44 member system owners. This necessarily includes a focus on carbon dioxide (CO2).

Depending on the form of CO2 regulation, Tri-State’s member systems face a potential risk of $200 million-$400 million a year of additional cost on top of $1.2 billion in annual operating expenses. The additional $200 million-$400 million will not generate or transmit one more kilowatt-hour of electricity.

Carbon capture and storage has long been considered as the only solution, with its complementary use of enhanced oil recovery (EOR), but implementation has been limited so far by cost, geologic and regulatory issues.

A potential game-changing approach is emerging that could reframe the carbon management challenge by turn-

ing CO2 from a waste to an asset beyond EOR – a valuable feedstock for fuels, fertilizers, feeds, chemi-cals, plastics, building materials, and other products.

Tri-State, headquartered in Westminster, CO, is sponsoring one of the most significant efforts to tackle this challenge.

Having supported conventional industrial carbon management research and development for several years without achieving significant breakthrough results, Tri-State has decided to support the development of a non-profit test center adjacent to one of its power

Capturing the futureTri-State invests in carbon-use advancementBy Dain Sullivan

What we’re looking for here is a significant breakthrough. At the end of the day, it’s the future of the market that makes the difference. Jim Spiers

Escalante Station, in Prewitt, NM, is owned by Westminster, CO-based Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association. Tri-State is interested in finding ways to utilize carbon dioxide from its operations to produce useful byproducts.

Member Focous: Capturing the future

16 Basin Today

plants. The test center will be dedicated to accelerating the development and commercialization of scalable carbon utilization solutions, and could soon be connected with a $10-million inducement prize competition.

Tri-State has worked with fellow generation and trans-mission cooperative Sunflower Electric Power Corporation, and the X PRIZE Foundation, in an effort to take the next step in the carbon utilization game, which Tri-State Senior Vice President for Busi-ness Strategy and Chief Technical Officer Jim Spiers says involves attracting inter-national industry players that have the potential for converting CO2 into profitable byproducts.

“What we’re looking for here is a signifi-cant breakthrough,” Spiers says. “At the end of the day, it’s the future of the market that makes the difference.”

Spiers also says Tri-State is forecasting the possibility of increased carbon mitigation in years to come, and is interested in being prepared for potential changes that may arise.

“We have a fairly broad range of efforts to really do

whatever we can on carbon mitigation,” he says. “The reality check for us all is that even natural gas, at some point in the future, will be a potential target of carbon regulation.”

Tri-State has been tracking approximately 150 compa-nies addressing carbon utilization, Spiers adds. It was when the association raised concerns regarding the lack of answers being provided as part of recent carbon utilization

research that they chose to reach out to the X PRIZE Foundation.

Spiers says EOR is the most widely deployed form of carbon utilization, such as Dakota Gasification Company’s carbon sequestration into Saskatchewan for EOR.

“That side of utilization is pretty well-covered. The problem is that it can’t be the only arrow that we’re going to need in our quiver to deal with carbon exposure in the future,” Spiers says. “We’re looking at other forms of utilization.”

Spiers says one area of carbon utilization that has shown promise is graphene, “a building block of the 21st

We certainly think any-one in the fossil consumptive industries should be inter-ested in this.

Jim Spiers

May – June 2013 17

century” that Tri-State is hoping to build upon even further. A couple of the results graphene leads to include a lower cost of display screens in mobile devices and a lower cost of solar cells.

“We’re pretty excited about the developments,” Spiers says.

The competition hasn’t officially launched yet. Spiers says Tri-State is hoping to finish fund-raising for the prize by the end of June. The goal is to raise $17 million to develop the test center and, once that is complete, another $17 million for the potential prize.

Spiers says fundraising efforts look promising, and the X PRIZE Founda-tion has been instrumental in helping with the competition’s initial design work, such as discovering what it means to have a capture separation and reuse business model that could be proven at a power plant, as well as what it takes to be scientifi-cally sound.

“We did a lot of due diligence about who to partner with to make this work,” Spiers says, adding that X PRIZE Foundation has the international presence Tri-State was looking for. “In that essence, you’re partnering with them for their expertise, and then you’re partnering with them for their development and their marketing.”

Despite the fact that the event has not yet launched, Spiers has seen significant interest emerging in Canada and the United States. Tri-State expects a response from a variety of entities as preparations progress.

“We certainly think anyone in the fossil consumptive industries should be interested in this. We are talking to the coal companies, we’re talking to the railroad companies, we’re talking to the other utilities, in addition to these international folks,” he says.

A process is also being developed on how finalists for the potential competition will be chosen. Spiers explains that the first step is securing the necessary funding. From there, a final rule set will be established with the X PRIZE Foundation, followed by the competitive process, which Tri-State hopes will involve hundreds of companies that are

Member Series

working in areas of carbon utilization. Eventually, screening will reveal 20 participants, later being narrowed to five finalists that will engage in a year-long testing process at the test center, using flue gas from an operating coal plant.

A panel of experts will be chosen to judge throughout the entire process, which encompasses four years, Spiers says. If participating parties do not cross the proverbial

finish line or meet the criteria of the rule set, the prize goes to no one.

“They do have to make a capital invest-ment on their own front, but what they’re betting on isn’t the $10-million prize; they’re betting on this new market that would develop, and that they would be one of the ones that would get a huge market share in the future,” Spiers says. He adds that participants will have their own funding

sources during the competition, and they could easily spend hundreds of millions of dollars funding their research and development.

The $10-million prize stimulates interest, but “at the end of the day, it’s the future market that makes the difference,” he says.

When reflecting on Tri-State’s initiation in carbon utili-zation efforts, Spiers explains that such a market was the main focus.

“We’re invested in an outcome that is the solution to carbon emissions,” he says, adding that Tri-State is interested in seeing progress from anyone and everyone taking part in the competition. “Right now we don’t want to be in a position where we have to try and bet on one technology or on a company.”

The competition would also be beneficial, because “there is really no place in the world that is designed to provide for a test environment” necessary for the carbon-related projects participants would be engaging in. Considering the multiple benefits that could come from working with the X PRIZE Foundation, and an end to fundraising efforts on the horizon, Tri-State is eager to see how the competition will play out.

“Our objective is to find outcomes, not who the winners or the losers are,” Spiers says. “It’s a great research hypothesis right now.”

Our objective is to find outcomes, not who the winners or the losers are. It’s a great research hypothesis right now.

Jim Spiers

18 Basin Today

Mongolian delegation tours Great Plains Synfuels Plant

A high-profile delegation from Mongolia visited the Great Plains Synfuels Plant near Beulah, ND, on March 22.

Z. Enkhbold, the Democratic Chairman of Mongolia’s Parliament; Ambassador B. Altangerel; and G. Tsogt-saikhan, State Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; made the trip to learn about the process of taking coal and turning it into synthetic natural gas. The group included business, energy and mining industry representatives from Mongolia. The delegation was greeted by Basin Electric CEO and General Manager Andrew M. Serri and Plant Manager Dave Sauer*.

Enkhbold said Mongolia wants to be more energy independent, while taking the environment into consid-eration. “We are number 10 in the world in coal deposits. We have hundreds of millions of tons,” Enkhbold said. “But we are 100-percent dependent on foreign oil, from Russia. We also get much of our electricity from Russia. We want to develop gas and liquid petroleums and would like a syngas plant.”

In addition to government officials, the tour included reporters from Mongolia National Broadcast-ing and Bloomberg TV. Learn more at http://bit.ly/MongoliaTour.

*Sauer was promoted to senior vice president and chief operating officer of Dakota Gasification Company as of May 1. He replaces Gary Loop who is retiring.

Milestone delivery of CO2 made by Synfuels Plant

At 4:53 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2013, a mile-stone event occurred for the Great Plains Synfuels Plant, near Beulah, ND – the 25 millionth metric ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) arrived at its final

destination in Saskatchewan, Canada. The CO2 is delivered via a 205-mile pipeline to two Canadian oil fields near Weyburn where it’s used for enhanced oil recovery.

Daren Eliason, senior process engineer, said the CO2 travels through the pipeline at about two to three miles an hour and began its journey about three days earlier. “During a typical day the plant sends 7,000 to 8,000 metric tons to Canada,” he said.

CO2 is one of nine co-products/byproducts produced at the Synfuels Plant and is the most talked about. “This is part of the largest coal-based CO2 capture project in the world,” said Dave Sauer*, Synfuels Plant manager. The Synfuels Plant began CO2 deliveries in 2000.

Of the plant’s two Canadian customers, one reports that by using CO2 they’ve been able to achieve production of nearly 30,000 barrels per day, up from the anticipated 10,000 barrels per day it would have been without the CO2.

The other eight co-products/byproducts produced at the Synfuels Plant include tar oil, anhydrous ammonia, ammonium sulfate, cresylic acid, phenol, krypton-xenon, liquid nitrogen and naphtha.

News Briefs

The delegation from Mongolia gets a tour through the Great Plains Synfuels Plant model room.

News Briefs

May – June 2013 19

Milestone ton of lime produced at Frannie Lime Plant

On Feb. 13, the Frannie Lime Plant near Frannie, WY, produced the 2.5 millionth ton of lime.

Dean Bray, Dakota Coal director of lignite, lime and limestone, said the plant produces more than 400 tons of lime each day. Since Basin Electric became involved with the plant in 1993, the need for lime at the power plants has grown. “About 70 to 75 percent of all lime produced in the Frannie Lime kiln is consumed at Antelope Valley Station, with another 8 percent used at Laramie River Station’s Unit 3,” Bray said. “Changing coal qualities and increasing environmental regulations on our power plants have proven the wisdom 20 years ago of building and operating the Frannie Lime kiln.”

The Frannie Lime Plant converts limestone to high qual-ity lime through a heat transfer process called calcination.

The cooled lime is crushed to meet customer require-ments and loaded onto railcars or trucks for delivery to

News Briefs

Basin Electric’s coal-based energy facilities for use in stack emission scrubbers and water treatment facili-ties. The lime also has other regional industrial and environmental uses.

Bray said a celebration is being planned for September at Frannie Lime Plant to commemorate 20 years of opera-tion and the milestone ton of lime produced.

400 millionth ton of coal produced at the Freedom Mine

The Freedom Mine near Beulah, ND, reached 400 million tons of production March 8.

The Freedom Mine is owned and operated by The Coteau Properties Company, and began producing lignite in 1983. All of the production is sold to Dakota Coal Company, a subsidiary of Basin Electric, to fuel the nearby Antelope Valley Station and Great Plains Synfuels Plant. Dakota Coal also rails two 50-car unit trains of lignite daily to the Leland Olds Station near Stanton, ND.

(From left) Dave Fink, dragline operator; and Jerome Weiss, heavy equipment operator, load and haul; display the Freedom Mine’s milestone. Fink was the truck operator who delivered the very first ton of coal.

20 Basin Today

Integrated Resource Plan approved by board

Basin Electric’s board of directors took action to approve the cooperative’s 2012 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) at their March meeting.

The plan evaluates future load growth expectations within the membership and the existing power supply portfolio of Basin Electric. The evaluation helps determine the most economic power supply additions to meet the cooperative’s future power supply obligations.

Becky Kern, Basin Electric manager of utility planning, said through the IRP process, Basin Electric committed to the expansion of the Pioneer Generation Station near Williston, ND, and the Lonesome Creek Station near Watford City, ND, for a total of three units at each site. The cooperative also entered into power purchase contracts with five area utilities for the next four to five years.

“With these power supply commitments and current forecasted member load levels, we have sufficient resources to meet our power supply obligations into 2019. We are continuing to evaluate member load growth and resource alternatives to meet member load levels beyond 2019,” she said.

Transmission Siting Act passes ND legislature

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed SB 2209, the Transmission Siting Act, into law March 27. The bill allows eminent domain proceedings to begin at the same time the North Dakota Public Service Commission is evaluating a route permit. Dale Niezwaag, Basin Electric senior legislative representative, said the ability to do these two activities at the same time allows utilities to keep the transmission line siting process moving forward while preserving landowners’ existing rights and protections.

“The need for electricity is growing at an unprecedented rate in western North Dakota, and we and our members are responsible for providing a majority of the electricity in that region,” Niezwaag said.

Basin Electric is working on completing and energiz-ing a 200-mile, 345-kilovolt transmission line, called the Antelope Valley Station-to-Neset Transmission Project, to help get the electricity where it’s needed. The in-service date for that line is 2016.

“Entering into eminent domain proceedings is our absolute last and least desirable option, but if all negotiations fail, this legislation will help Basin Electric continue to provide reliable electricity to a region that desperately needs it,” Niezwaag said.

Application filed for major transmission line in North Dakota

On March 15, Basin Electric filed an application with the North Dakota Public Service Commission for a major transmission line to be built in northwestern North Dakota. The proposed 200-mile Antelope Valley Station-to-Neset 345-kilovolt (kV) transmission project would be located in portions of Dunn, McKenzie, Mercer, Mountrail and Williams counties.

The transmission line is needed to help meet the increasing demand for electricity in the Williston Basin region due to oil development. Transmission studies have indicated that the current system is reaching its limit, and additional lines are needed. The new 345-kV line will also improve the reliability of the existing system, making a stronger infrastructure throughout the region.

Cris Miller, Basin Electric senior environmental project administrator, said the application for a Certificate of Corridor Compatibility and Route Permit initiates the commission’s review and approval process. “This review will include public hearings in the project area later this summer or fall,” he said.

It is anticipated that the commission’s permitting process will be completed by the end of the year.

Also, the Rural Utilities Service is preparing the final Environmental Impact Statement for the transmission line. It is anticipated that will be completed by the end of the year.

Basin Electric works to improve safety performance in 2013

Basin Electric rounded out 2012 with safety perfor-mance better than the industry average, but there’s room for improvement in 2013. Kelly Cozby, Basin Electric safety and occupational health administrator, delivered the update on the cooperative’s safety programs to directors during the February board meeting.

May – June 2013 21

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News Briefs

cooperative. Cat Safety will help us measure our safety culture and identify specific areas on which to focus by asking employees to provide their thoughts and ideas,” she said.

Basin Electric begins Scorecard process

On April 23, Basin Electric’s Cooperative Planning department began the Balanced Scorecard strategy and performance measurement process. The Balanced Scorecard is an analytical process that will give an overall strategy map for the cooperative to help understand how each department contributes to the overall strategic objectives of the organization. Participants from divisions throughout Basin Electric are participating in the development of the scorecards.

According to Shanda Traiser, Basin Electric busi-ness strategies planner, the scorecard process is rolling out in two phases. Phase 1 focuses on operational measures and Phase 2 will focus on flowing strategic initiatives through the various areas and departments.

Phase 1 is under way. “We have developed small working groups to establish measures of perfor-mance critical to particular areas,” Traiser says. “This process is not static. It will be ongoing and will evolve over time.”

The information shared within the working groups will aid in establishing appropriate objectives and track-ing processes in each business unit. “The Balanced Scorecard recognizes the importance of items not directly related to financial measures. It’s more than a measuring system; it’s a management process,” Traiser says. “Overall, the Balanced Scorecard will be a good tool to help areas and individuals know where to focus their attention and efforts.”

Basin Electric, with an employee base of about 2,050 people, ended 2012 with a days away, restricted or trans-ferred (DART) incident rate of 1.06 incidents per 200,000 work hours. The industry average is 1.5. Basin Electric’s rate of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordable incidents was 2.05 per 200,000 work hours. The industry average is 3.0.

Cozby reported that while both rates are better than industry averages, they did increase over previous years’ safety performance. “I am concerned with the number and types of injuries we saw in 2012. Yes, we are better than industry average, but not by much,” she said. “‘Better than average’ is not a term I think of when discussing all of the hard work employees do every day to keep themselves and others safe.”

She said to truly get Basin Electric to a safety culture that is a leading example for safety excellence, the coopera-tive has a lot of work to do in upcoming years. “It’s time to bring in a fresh strategic perspective, make some changes, and take extra steps to help us get there,” she said.

In 2012, the cooperative-wide safety campaign was, “Think safe,

work safe, be safe, at work and at home, 24/7.” Cozby said employees

are continuing with that theme as they implement cooperative-wide clearance programs, improved incident investi-

gation processes, the DuPont™ STOP™ Program, and improvements to

the Corporate Safety Committee.In 2013, Basin Electric will introduce the

Zero-Incident Performance Process, or ZIP™, by Cat Safety. “The goal of the process is to instill safety as a value at every level of the

22 Basin Today

Employee Highlights

Snapshots of generosityBasin Electric employees help their communities in many ways. Here are a couple.

Germain Krueger’s daughter, Cortney, participates in the March for Babies event, which took place at the Bismarck Civic Center April 6. Krueger, business applications developer II, and the Basin Electric Team raised $2,211, which will go toward research to prevent birth defects and fight respiratory syncytial virus. Working with Krueger on Basin Electric’s walking team were Amy Sorge, desktop applications analyst I; and Alyssa Binstock, BTInet customer service representative. Learn more at http://bit.ly/MarchforBabies.

Great American Bike Race

March of Dimes

Basin Electric employees participated in the Sanford Health Great American Bike Race to help raise money for families of those diagnosed with cerebral palsy and similar disabilities by providing equipment and services. The Basin Power Pedalers biked 82.26 miles and raised more than $5,000. Riding in the race were Judy Hojian, senior purchasing agent; Marian Voeller, senior administrative assistant; Linda Binstock, buyer; Sonja Bosch, associate contract administrator; Russ Bosch, instrument/controls supervisor; and Angie Eggl, wife of Mike Eggl, senior vice president of Communications & Administration. Other participants were Mark Foss, general counsel; Daryl Hill, manager of media and communications relations; Mike Schwartz, senior business applications administrator; Cathy Schacher, travel coordinator; Loren Carson, pilot/aviator safety officer; Deb Salmonson, business analyst; and Tom Swanson, uncle of Jen Holen, event planner/charitable giving coordinator. Learn more at http://bit.ly/GABR2013.

Employee Highlights

May – June 2013 23

Employee Highlights

“David Griffin, come on down!”After six hours in line and securing great seats, Dave

Griffin, Great Plains Synfuels Plant senior chemist, was called to bidder’s row on The Price Is Right on Jan. 16. Lori Bosch, his girlfriend, and Monica and Eugene Thomas, her parents, were there, too.

“I’m not sure if I remember hearing my name or if Lori nudged my ribs to get my attention,” Griffin says. “She said I popped out of my seat like a cork shooting out of a champagne bottle. I honestly don’t remember.”

During intermission, the music blares. “During the first intermission, Babette (a lady that stood next to him in line before the taping) came racing toward me with her arms out and jumped to my waist, wrapping her legs around me and squeezing me. We are dancing in bidders row, and Lori was wondering how my lower vertebrate were going to hold up. I did go to the chiropractor, and Dr. Swanson got a good laugh out of it.

“The next intermission they started playing the Gang-nam Style song. The gal next to me in bidder’s row nudged me and said something like, ‘Can you dance, boy?’ I’ve seen the video once or twice so I start dancing in sync with her on bidder’s row. The crowd went crazy.”

Drew Cary, the show’s host, came out after the break and asked Griffin where he was from and what he did in front of the audience. “I said Hazen, ND, and that I work at a gasification plant that makes methane,” Griffin says.

Dave Griffin, Lori Bosch, Monica Thomas and Eugene Thomas show their excitement at The Price Is Right taping at CBS Studios, Hollywood, CA, on Jan. 16.

“Drew said ‘Methane?’ I said yes. Drew said to the audi-ence, ‘Meet the Midwest’s largest meth lab producer, David Griffin!’ The crowd went crazy. I said, ‘Drew, methane not meth!’” None of that is on tape, Griffin says.

During another break, Drew said hello to Bosch’s dad, Eugene Thomas, and shook his hand. “He asked where he was from and what he does. Eugene said he was from Mandan, ND, and that he was a retired dairy farmer who has watched the show for 40 years. Drew said, ‘I’ll bet you’ve got some silky hands,’ and pretended he was milking a cow. The audience laughed. It was so cool for Drew to come over and acknowledge Lori’s dad,” Griffin says. “He really enjoyed that!”

Griffin was the last person to get called to bidder’s row. He was the first person to bid on a pair of designer his/her sunglasses. Griffin says his original thought was $600. Griffin’s girlfriend, Lori Bosch, says she was flashing $600 as well.

Griffin says he thought he saw a bunch of people near Bosch and her parents flashing $800 so he said $800. The last bidder bid $1 and won it. The correct price was $610.

The bidder went on to win her game which was a trip to Jamaica, and she went on to win the showcase as well.

“I hope the nightmares of not bidding $600 go away soon,” Griffin says with a laugh. By being on bidder’s row, Griffin automatically won $300. The episode ran on March 15.

Synfuels Plant employee hears those famous words … “Come on down!”

24 Basin Today

Kodi Dixon, an engineering intern at Dry Fork Station, achieved high honors in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Student Design Competition in Houston, TX. He is a senior at the University of Wyoming. Dixon and a team of three other University of Wyoming engineering students were awarded as the top United States team and placed third overall in the competition.

The first place award in the “Energy Relay” went to Institut Superieur de L’Aeronautique et de l’Espac, an engineering school in Toulouse, France. The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, took second in the competition.

The group created four small vehicles each powered by a different fuel source to run in a line down a track in the least amount of time possible. Each design required a unique, on-board energy source and it needed to trigger the motion on the following device. There was a rigid set of guidelines the designs had to meet.

Dixon says that his internship at Dry Fork Station helped him prepare for the competition. “We are constantly juggling a dozen projects at a time and are working with a team of contractors and Basin Electric employees at work. Through that experience as an intern, I have learned a lot about project management and teamwork skills,” Dixon says. “The internship helped me balance the competition and my studies as a full-time mechanical engineering student, and it also made me more proficient when working with University of Wyoming faculty and my teammates for the competition.”

Dixon has two semesters remaining at the University of Wyoming. He plans to intern again at Dry Fork Station this summer.

Petera named University of Wyoming’s Outstanding Alumnus Engineer

Michael Petera, Laramie River Station electrical engineer III, was selected by Tau Beta Pi, University of Wyoming’s engineering honor society, as the Outstanding Alumnus Engineer for 2013.

Petera holds three patents in liquid crystal display technology and one pending patent in speech recogni-tion software applications for nursing informatics. In 1997, Petera was named the Arizona Innovator of the Year for his technical contribution to liquid crystal display technology.

From 1998 through 2002, Petera was the vice president of engineering at Three-Five Systems, an Arizona-based manufacturer of cellular phone displays. He created and managed cross-functional teams of more than 100 engineers and technicians.

Petera was also a charter member of the Wyoming Business Council, appointed by Gov. Jim Geringer, serving as a general member between 1998 and 2002, and as vice chairman from 2002 through 2003.

New EmployeesJeff Simpson started his position as call taker

at Headquarters March 10. Originally from

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Simpson previously

worked for Clear Channel KFYR Radio in Bis-

marck, ND, as a news and public affairs director.

Jolene Hoffman started working as a

quality assurance coordinator at Head-

quarters April 8. The Bismarck, ND, native

previously worked for Advanced Nursing

Solutions as president in Bismarck. Hoff-

man also previously worked as the quality

assurance director, corporate compliance and risk manager,

certified nursing assistant instructor, and communications

and customer inservice instructor for Heart of America

Medical Center in Rugby, ND. She served eight years in

the U.S. Army Reserve.

Kodi Dixon (second from left) and his team placed as the top United States team and third overall in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Student Design Competition.

Intern receives international award

May – June 2013 25

Employee Highlights

Tyler Schmidt, laborer, began work at Leland Olds

Station April 8. Originally from Mandan, ND, he

previously worked for Blue Flint Ethanol in Under-

wood, ND, as a plant operator. He has an associate

degree in power plant operations.

Kathryn Harvey, safety representative, began work

at Laramie River Station Feb. 25. The Cheyenne, WY,

native previously worked for Carpet One Commercial

Flooring as a project manager in Cheyenne. She has

a bachelor’s degree from South Dakota School of

Mines and Technology, Rapid City.

Marjorie Hoon started her position as administrative

assistant II at Headquarters Feb. 18. The Selfridge,

ND, native previously worked for Bobcat Company

as a laser operator and Medcenter One Hospital (now

Sanford Health) as a certified nursing assistant, both

in Bismarck, ND. She also has an associate degree in

power plant technology.

Jess Arnold, laborer, began work at Laramie River

Station Feb 25. Originally from Cheyenne, WY, Arnold

previously worked for Cloud Peak Energy - Antelope

Mine as a welder/mechanic IV. Arnold has an associ-

ate degree in welding and joining technology from

Eastern Wyoming College, Torrington.

Coltyn Anderson began working at the Synfuels

Plant Feb. 25 as an electrical and instrumentation

maintenance field technician. Originally from

Beulah, ND, Anderson received an associate degree

from Bismarck (ND) State College in instrumentation

and controls. He previously worked for Alliance

Pipeline in Valley City, ND.

Dain Sullivan, staff writer, began work at Head-

quarters April 1. The Oakes, ND, native previously

worked for Forum Communications Company as

editor/general manager in Wadena, MN. He also

worked as a reporter at The Dickinson (ND) Press,

Detroit Lakes (MN) newspapers, The Forum of Fargo

(ND)-Moorhead (MN), and the Valley City (ND) Times-

Record, and as a web producer for Valley News Live

in Fargo.

Mark Eastman started his position as a laborer at

Laramie River Station Feb. 25. Originally from

Elkhart, IN, Eastman previously worked for Clean

Harbors in Kimball, NE, as a shift supervisor.

Darcy Garhart began working at Laramie River

Station as a laborer Feb. 25. The Fort Laramie, WY,

native previously worked for BNSF Railway as a

locomotive foreman in Guernsey, WY. He has a

bachelor’s degree in business management from

Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, OK.

Justin Martin began working at the Synfuels Plant

Feb. 25 as an electrical and instrumentation mainte-

nance field technician. He is a Bismarck, ND, native

and previously worked for Skeels Electric. Martin has

an associate degree from Bismarck State College in

electronic technology.

Keith Gibbs, laborer, began work at Laramie River

Station Feb. 25. Originally from Lingle, WY, Gibbs

previously worked for BNSF Railway as a conductor

between Guernsey and Cheyenne, WY.

Michael Bornemann started his position as a

laborer at Leland Olds Station Feb. 25. The Hazen, ND,

native previously worked for Clean Coal Solutions as

an operator in Center, ND. He has an associate degree

in power plant technology.

Darrel Kempel began working as an operator/

technician at Pioneer Generation Station March 11.

The Lisbon, ND, native previously worked for URS

Corporation as an electrical technician in Peoria, IL.

He has an associate degree in electr ica l

power technology.

Amanda Huntimer began work as a laborer at

Leland Olds Station Feb. 25. The Beulah, ND, native

previously worked for St. Joseph Church as a director

of education in Beulah. She has an associate degree

in power plant technology from Bismarck (ND)

State College.

New Employees

26 Basin Today

Jasen Reiser began work as an electrical and

instrumentation maintenance field technician at the

Synfuels Plant Feb. 25. He is originally from Turtle

Lake, ND, and has a journeyman electrician’s license

from the North Dakota State Electrical Board.

Curt Bachmeier, laborer, began work at Leland

Olds Station Feb. 25. Originally from Raleigh, ND,

Bachmeier previously worked for Dakota Gasification

Company in maintenance in Beulah, ND. He has an

associate degree in mechanical maintenance.

Randy Bittner started his position as a laborer at

Leland Olds Station Feb. 25. The Center, ND, native

previously worked for Center-Stanton School as a

janitor. He was also an Oliver County Ambulance

emergency medical technician, and is an Oliver County

volunteer f i refighter. He has an associate

degree in power plant technology from Bismarck

(ND) State College.

Matthew Jameson, help desk coordinator I, began

work at Headquarters Feb. 10. The Minot, ND, native

previously worked for the U.S. Department of Defense

as a security officer in Grand Forks, ND. He served in

the North Dakota Army National Guard as a combat

engineer through 2010, serving a year in Iraq as a

trailblazer seeking roadside bombs.

Robert Benz began working as a laborer at Leland

Olds Station Feb. 25. Originally from Mandan, ND,

Benz previously worked for Mandan Public Schools

as head custodian. He has an associate degree in

mechanical maintenance technology.

Matthew Flink, laborer, began work at Leland Olds

Station Feb. 25. The Bismarck, ND, native previously

worked for South Central Regional Water District as

a plant operator in Bismarck. Flink has a bachelor’s

degree in zoology from North Dakota State University,

Fargo, and an associate degree in process plant

technology from Bismarck State College.

Dennis Larson, coalman A, started his position at

Leland Olds Station Feb. 25. The Bismarck, ND, native

previously worked for Butler Machinery in Bismarck

as a lube technician. Larson has an associate degree

in process plant technology. He is also a veteran of

the U.S. Army and served in Germany, Kosovo and

the United States.

Shanda Traiser began work as a business strategies

planner at Headquarters March 11. Originally from

Woodworth, ND, Traiser previously worked for the

University of Mary in Bismarck, ND, as dean of the

Gary Tharaldson School of Business. She has a Ph.D.

from North Dakota State University, Fargo, and a

master’s degree in business administration from

Minnesota State University Moorhead. She is a

certified management accountant.

Melody Morrison, accounting analyst II, began

work at Headquarters March 11. The Hannaford, ND,

native previously worked for Montana-Dakota Utilities

Company/MDU Resources Group in Bismarck, ND.

She is a graduate of Jamestown (ND) College.

Kayla Konschak began working as an accountant

at Headquarters March 11. The Linton, ND, native

previously worked at Capital Credit Union in Bismarck,

ND, as an accountant. Konschak has bachelor’s

degrees in accounting and business administration

from the University of Mary in Bismarck.

Courtney Bosch started her position as a service

dispatcher at Headquarters March 25. The Beulah/

Hazen, ND, native previously worked for Hobby Lobby

and St. Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck, ND.

Alexis Hellman, service dispatcher, began work

at Headquarters March 25. The Bismarck, ND, native

is currently working part-time at Pride Inc. as a direct

support professional in Bismarck. She is earning an

associate degree in social work from Bismarck

State College.

May – June 2013 27

Employee Highlights

Mike Risan35 yearssenior vice president of TransmissionHeadquarters

Karen Crawford35 yearssupervisor of financial operationsHeadquarters

Marvin Richter35 yearsmaintenance planner/schedulerLeland Olds Station

Michael Mastel30 yearsmechanicLeland Olds Station

Pedar Bjerkness30 yearsyard operatorAntelope Valley Station

Nancy Scheid30 yearselectrician IAntelope Valley Station

Joseph Barland30 yearsmechanical designerDakota Gasification Company

Bruce Banks30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Dean Emter30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Service Awards

Rocky Hagel30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Marty Heller30 yearscontrol systems specialistDakota Gasification Company

Jeffery Klein30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Timothy Leidholm30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Randy Martens30 yearsshift supervisor utilitiesDakota Gasification Company

Michael McKinzie30 years shift supervisor chemical productionDakota Gasification Company

Nichole Braunberger began work as a financial

services analyst I at Headquarters March 25. Origi-

nally from Mandan, ND, Braunberger previously

worked for Capital Credit Union as an accountant in

Bismarck, ND. She has a bachelor’s degree in account-

ing from Dickinson (ND) State University.

Kelcee Wright started her position as a financial

services accountant at Headquarters April 8. The

Watford City, ND, native previously worked for Eide

Bailly LLP as an audit associate in Fargo, ND. Wright

has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from University

of North Dakota, Grand Forks. She is licensed as a

certified public accountant.

Maureen Payne, communication technician

apprentice, began work at Transmission System

Maintenance – Williston (ND) April 8. Originally from

Placerville, CA, Payne previously worked for Nextel/

Sprint as an equipment engineer in Rancho

Cordova, CA. She has served in the U.S. Air Force.

Tiffany Zablotney began working as a financial

services analyst I at Headquarters April 8. The

Minot, ND, native previously worked for Starion

Financial as a credit specialist in Bismarck, ND. She

has a bachelor’s degree in finance with a minor in

accounting.

Craig James started working as an instrument II

at Laramie River Station April 4. Originally from

Alaska, James worked for Holly Frontier as an instru-

ment technician in Cheyenne, WY. He has an associate

degree in instrumentation and process control.

Monique Thomas-Parker started her position as

a scheduler at Headquarters April 8. The Atlanta, GA,

native previously worked for U.S. Gas & Electric as a

senior scheduler in Miami Beach, FL. She has a

bachelor’s degree in business administration.

28 Basin Today

Kim Kessler30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Jerome Kramer30 yearsmaintenance plan-ning supervisorDakota Gasification Company

Rodney Sargent30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Larry Wetzel30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Curtis Wiedrich30 yearsshift supervisor chemical productionDakota Gasification Company

Gary Anderson30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Lorry Barnick30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Keith DeYoung30 yearsshift supervisor gas productionDakota Gasification Company

Steven Krueger30 yearsshift supervisor utilitiesDakota Gasification Company

Duane Otto30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Douglas Peterson30 yearsmechanical engineerDakota Gasification Company

Todd Schock30 yearssection manager utilitiesDakota Gasification Company

Robert Keniston30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

James Privratsky30 yearsprotection services specialistDakota Gasification Company

Troy Sandberg30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Troy Bauer30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Randy Biffert30 yearssuperintendent of field maintenanceDakota Gasification Company

Wayne Breimeier30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Mark Schaper30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

DeVane Webster30 yearselectrical and instrumenta-tion engineering supervisorDakota Gasification Company

Lyle Yeager30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Dan Anderson30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Darnell Bohrer30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Daniel Getz30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Douglas Delvo30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Eugene Freidt30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Wayne Hipp30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Scott Johnson30 yearsarea plannerDakota Gasification Company

Wilmer Kittler30 yearsarea plannerDakota Gasification Company

Terry Landenberger30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

May – June 2013 29

Employee Highlights

Service Awards

Rick Dschaak25 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Ronnie Eagle25 yearsshift supervisor gas productionDakota Gasification Company

Jeb Fredericks25 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Bruce Mattheis25 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Bruce Goodnight25 yearselectrician ILaramie River Station

Craig Muilenburg20 yearsconstruction coordinator IIPioneer Generation Station

Lisa Herman20 yearsstorekeeper Transmission System Maintenance – Wheatland, WY

Joan Gad30 yearspurchasing agentHeadquarters

Pat Meidinger30 yearssupervisor accounts payableHeadquarters

Tom Schwab30 yearsmechanic Leland Olds Station

Warren Herman25 yearscoordinator of emergency response, fire and securityDakota Gasification Company

Terry Myers25 years protection services specialistDakota Gasification Company

Mohler Beko25 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Wes Klein30 yearsscrubber operatorAntelope Valley Station

Charles Fettig30 yearsshift supervisor chemical productionDakota Gasification Company

Robert Macklin30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Brian Wallender30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Timothy Gallaher30 yearsshift supervisor chemical productionDakota Gasification Company

Jim Garrett30 yearsshift supervisor gas productionDakota Gasification Company

Wade Entze30 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

Connie Boe25 yearsfield technicianDakota Gasification Company

30 Basin Today

RetireesDuane Heuchert retired from the Great Plains Synfuels Plant March 13 after 23 years of service.

Heuchert began working at the Synfuels Plant in 1990 in protection services as a protection services specialist. Heuchert says

he has too many memories to be specific. “There have been many great experiences and adventures.”

Heuchert plans to spend a lot of time with the grand-kids, work with Farm Rescue, and spend time motorcycle tripping around the United States.

Peggy Gegelman, cost/planning analyst, retired from Antelope Valley Station March 15 after 33 years of service.

Gegleman was hired in 1979 as an account technician II. She worked her way to accountant I, accountant II, accountant III,

accountant, associate accountant, intermediate accountant, accountant-liabilities, and finally, cost/planning analyst.

John Jacobs, Antelope Valley Station plant manager, says he cannot think of a time Gegleman was downbeat in their 33 years of work together. “She brought the workplace to life with her great sense of humor and ability to make you laugh. If you ever needed anything from her she would get it to you right away and it was always done flawlessly,” Jacobs says.

In retirement she plans to travel to Texas a few times a year to visit her children and grandsons.

Grieg Schroeder, shift supervisor, retired March 8 after 28 years of service at Laramie River Station.

Schroeder started as a laborer in 1985. He moved to utility operator, boiler attendant, auxiliary equipment operator, assistant

plant operator, plant operator, control room operator, and finally, shift supervisor.

Keith Hepker, Laramie River Station scrubber supervisor, says Schroeder can be a penny pincher. “If something was going to cost him a dollar he would shop around and try to find it cheaper. If it was the lowest price he could find, he would evaluate if he actually needed it. If he needed it, he would buy it reluctantly,” Hepker says.

Hepker says it was understood that if you rode in Schroeder’s vehicle you did not eat, drink or sleep. “It was clear that his car was for getting you from A to point B. It was not a lunch counter or a bed,” Hepker says.

Schroeder says in retirement he would like to do some traveling.

Clayton Schaible, senior business analyst, retired from Headquarters March 1 after 33 years of service.

Dave Bangen, manager of financial plan-ning and forecasting, says Schaible was the type of employee everyone wants on their

team. “He worked hard in his position and was respected within the cooperative. Because of his long tenure at Basin Electric, Clayton had been a part of many projects and task forces over the years and as a result he had developed a broad knowledge base of Basin Electric. He knew our people and he knew our history and for that reason, it is hard to lose employees like Clayton. I could assign him to any task and know that he would be effective and the results trustworthy,” Bangen says.

Bangen says he will miss Schaible’s ability to always find the lighter side in his work experiences at Basin Electric. “He could lighten most situations and make the work day a little brighter.”

Joel Hughes retired March 22 from the Great Plains Synfuels Plant after more than 30 years of service.

Hughes began working in the process operations department as a shift supervisor in 1982 and was a process operations shift

supervisor when he retired. Hughes and his wife, Connie, plan to stay in the area and do some traveling.

Dwight Smith, lead mechanic, retired from Laramie River Station April 5 after 30 years of service.

He was hired in 1982 as a mechanic/welder and was promoted to mechanic-lead in 2010.

Smith says in retirement he plans to continue his clas-sic car restoration hobby, and travel, especially to see his granddaughter.

May – June 2013 31

Employee Highlights

Diane Paul, vice president of Human Resources, retired from Headquarters May 1, after 33 years of service.

Paul began working at Basin Electric in 1979 as an account technician I. She became director of Human Resources in 2011, acting

vice president of Human Resources in October 2012 and vice president of Human Resources in November 2012.

Basin Electric CEO and General Manager Andrew M. Serri says Paul was willing to step into the position of vice president of Human Resources when it suddenly opened in late 2012, even though she had plans to retire at the end of 2012.

“A true trooper, she stepped up to the plate and has done an absolutely wonderful job for us,” Serri says. “Just always caring, always giving, and open to different ideas. She’s always been open-minded and open to trying different things. She’s very well-respected; she has my respect and the board’s as well. She’s done great work and is a great gal, both personally and professionally.”

Deb Haga, Basin Electric’s director of Human Resources, worked with Paul for more than 20 years.

“Diane and I have enjoyed a great working relationship all through the years as we discussed and dealt with various human resource issues and concerns,” Haga says. “Diane has always been the ultimate professional who is very concerned about our employees and dedicated to Basin Electric’s success. It’s been an honor for me to work with Diane, and I would like to wish her a well-deserved and happy retirement.”

Paul Sukut, Basin Electric chief financial officer, says, “Diane has been a consummate professional during her many years of service to Basin Electric. She has grown and evolved personally and professionally. To complete her career as the vice president of Human Resources is a testament to her abilities, competence and diligence. I’m going to miss seeing her face at Basin Electric, but she has earned this retirement and all the good times to come.”

Paul and her husband, Mike, Basin Electric’s vice president of Engineering and Construction, purchased a home in Fountain Hills, AZ. They plan to split their time between Arizona and North Dakota, with some of their time in the latter spent at Lake Sakakawea and on their

classic car hobby. Their first order of business: restoring their 1934 Ford.

“Basin Electric has provided me with a remarkable career and lasting friendships. The accomplishments my genera-tion have made to this cooperative are significant, and our cooperative stands second to none,” Paul says.

Jane Olind, human resources coordinator/benefits representative, retired from Laramie River Station Feb. 11 after 25 years of service.

Olind was hired as administrative secre-tary II in 1987. Her title was changed to benefits assistant, plant human resources

assistant, and finally to human resources coordinator/benefit representative.

Diane Paul, vice president of human resources, says Olind is a dependable, caring and considerate person. “Jane was loyal to Basin Electric and Laramie River Station, and was an advocate for Laramie River Station employees. She was compassionate about her work in human resources, always working in an ethical and professional manner,” Paul says. “Jane’s accomplishments at Basin Electric were many, and I wish her well in her retirement.”

Olind says in retirement she plans to travel, garden, catch up on projects around the house and continue participating in current community area boards, and supporting the University of Wyoming Cowboy athletic teams.

Judy Whelchel, engineering assistant, retired from Laramie River Station April 8 after 31 years of service.

Whelchel was hired as an accountant I in 1981. She worked her way from there to accountant II, accountant III, accountant,

associate accountant, and finally to engineering assistant.John Ciz, Laramie River Station plant engineer, says

Whelchel was a great employee and person to be around. “Judy’s personality, character, dependability, thoroughness, sense of humor, and impeccable accuracy will all be things I will greatly miss,” Ciz says.

Whelchel says she wants to thank everyone for their support throughout several rough spots, both personal and medical.

32 Basin Today

Editor’s note: Expanded retirement stories were written only for those who returned their questionnaire to Basin Today staff.

Marcia Heidt, senior business application developer, retired April 10 after 29 years of service at Headquarters.

Heidt was hired as a programmer I in 1983. Her title was changed to program-mer/analyst, senior programmer/analyst,

systems analyst, business applications developer III, and finally to senior business applications developer.

Ann Schreiber, application integration architect, says Heidt always knew what was going on, whether it was in the office or in the community. “She had a knack for knowing when an event was going to occur or when it happened,” Schreiber says. “In the earlier years of my time here at Basin, the group held some fun and interesting Christmas parties. Marcia was on many of the organizing committees for those parties and most employees that were around at that time would agree that Marcia was the documenter of those events or keeper of the stories.”

Gail Keator, business systems analyst, says she formed a friendship with Heidt through their years working together. “She is easygoing, dedicated and accurate. She always wanted what was best for the project. It was easy to bounce ideas off her, because she was very knowledgeable and honest about many things. She worked at Basin for years and on many projects, so she had vast experience in many areas,” Keator says.

Scott Flach, infrastructure manager, says Heidt liked things organized and structured. “Marcia worked on a lot of different applications and technology platforms during her tenure at Basin. Because of this I often thought of her as my utility infielder and used her to help out on a lot of different projects. She was always willing to backfill for others,” Flach says.

Mike Fluharty, vice president of Plant Operations, retired from Headquarters April 5 after 34 years of service.

Fluharty started working for Basin Electric in 1979 as an instrument and control journeyman at Laramie River

Station. He eventually became plant manager in 2008 and vice president of Plant Operations at Basin Electric Headquarters in 2009.

As vice president of Plant Operations he was responsible for the supervision of the operation and maintenance of Basin Electric’s owned generating facilities and ensured compliance with environmental and safety policies and procedures.

Basin Electric CEO and General Manager Andrew M. Serri appreciated Fluharty’s openness and “colorful commentary.”

“He’s a very personable guy, and very well-respected within the organization,” Serri says. “He was a valuable resource as far as giving me some recent history and some background. Mike was always a good information source – always on top of things. And he always focused on safety. He had a passion for a safe work environment and kept the employees in mind. He’s just a good guy.”

“The things I really appreciate about Mike is he has a lot of common sense and he’s direct and to the point. You never had to guess what he wanted out of you after you talked to him. You always knew,” says Kevin Tschosik, manager of distributed generation. “I think he was a great leader for our department. He’s always been somebody where if I needed some advice or needed somebody to bounce something off of, he would always listen to what I had to say and provide some positive feedback of some sort.”

Before Basin Electric, Fluharty worked as an instru-ment and control technician apprentice for Montana Power Company in Colstrip, MT. He was interviewed for the position by Clyde Bush and Robert Holzwarth, who both also eventu-ally went to work at Basin Electric.

Fluharty says one of the more memorable moments in his career included a fire in Laramie River’s Unit 2 boiler in the 1990s. It was expected to take at least a month to get the boiler back in operation, though Fluharty used his knowledge of the plant to get it up and running in four days.

Fluharty also spoke of his eye-opening promotion to vice president of Plant Operations. “I was at Laramie River Station for 30 years, and that’s what I knew about Basin Electric. It was quite a horizon-expanding experience.

“I think Basin’s going to have some growing pains. We are a growing company and that always comes with a little bit of pain,” Fluharty says. “But it’s been just a great company to work for. A lot of good memories came out of this place.”

In his retirement, Fluharty plans to continue woodwork-ing at his home north of Mandan, ride his motorcycle, fish and travel.

May – June 2013 33

PRESORTEDSTANDARD

U.S. POSTAGE PAIDBISMARCK, ND

PERMIT 224

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTEDPRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

1717 EAST INTERSTATE AVENUEBISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA 58503-0564701-223-0441

When a deadly tornado ripped through South Dakota in 2010, its path of destruction included a three-mile stretch of the transmission line that carries electricity from our Antelope Valley Station, near Beulah, ND, to a substation near, Huron, SD. The structure was no match for the 166-200 mph wind. But accepting defeat was not an option. “I have to take my hat off to the crews and supervisors for safely restoring the line in record time,” says Bryan Keller, Basin Electric TSM manager. Cooperative employees have continually stepped up whenever help is needed. Putting our members’ dollars to responsible use is a must.

“It’s just what we do. Delivering peace of mind and reliable power to our consumers is what drives us.”

Bryan Keller

24 hours a day, 7 days a week, we are working for you.