Inside you will find:
2023 Graduates – Scholarship Application Now Available
Local student wins first place in statewide essay contest
FEELS GREAT TO GIVE BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY- $20,000 raised for local organizations
4H Group Spreads Holiday Cheer
And more!
OEC ACCEPTING SEALED BIDS
Oconto Electric Cooperative (OEC) has two crop land parcels totaling approximately 30 tillable acres, available for rent beginning Spring 2023.
Parcel Locations: Section 24, T28N, R19 E. USDA map shows 6.26 acres and 23.42 acres are located along Chestnut Rd, in Oconto Falls.
Bidding requirements: Bids must be submitted for a 5-year agreement (2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027). Each year’s rent is due no later than March 1st of that year. Sealed bids may be mailed to Attention: Byron Nolde, CEO, or dropped off at OEC, 7479 REA Rd, PO Box 168, Oconto Falls, WI 54154.
Deadline: 4:00 p.m. Friday, January 27th, 2023. OEC reserves the right to refuse any and all bids.
Inside you will find:
Understanding your electric bill
OEC’s Electronic Recycling Drive
Energy efficiency tip and more.
Inside you will find:
Driving behind farm equipment: do your part
Electrical safety for emergency responders
Welcome new OEC Employees
Energy efficiency tips and more.
Inside you fill find: Always Report Your Power Outage; How to Prepare for Severe Weather; Does Your Health Rely on Electricity?; Paving the way for young leaders; Do you have capital credits to claim?
Inside you will find: One Door Closes, Another Opens; Contact us if you plan to increase electric load; OEC Employee Charity Fundraising is Underway; Happy Retirement – Kent Lyng; Returning Money back to you and more.
Oconto Electric Cooperative is committed to providing the most reliable and safe electric to our members as possible. In recent news, MISO has made it evident that there is an increased possibility of rolling black outs due to an unbalance in power generation at peak times and usage during those peak times. OEC wants our members to be fully prepared for these possibilities. In this article you will find how to better understand the issue, what the unattractive reality of the situation may be, and what you should do to prepare and possibly prevent the potential of rolling blackouts going into the summer months.
WHAT IS MISO?
Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) is a wholesale electric market that encompasses all or parts of 15 states and Manitoba, Canada. Their purpose is to regulate the market for wholesale electricity. This creates safety standards and regulates the price of wholesale power. Minnesota Power, OEC’s generation and transmission supplier, generates electricity, sells it on the MISO Market, and then buys it back at a regulated price to distribute to its members, and bills members for their demand (the strain or draw on the power grid they service). During peak times, like a 90° day with air conditioning running, demand would be higher than usual.
WHY DO WE NEED TO BE VIGILANT NOW?
MISO’s executive director stated, “MISO’s northern and central region is at heightened risk for controlled ‘load sheds,’ or planned blackouts.” With the record heat expected this summer, the influx of new homes and properties, and the irregularity of renewable energy sources that have replaced more on-demand fossil fuel power generation, the demand is predicted to outweigh current generation of power. If the power grid is nearing capacity, members will be asked to begin to limit their consumption as much as possible. This may mean, turning down air conditioning, moving the use of dishwashers and washers and dryers to lower demand hours, and lessening the nonessential use of electricity as much as possible. Doing so will hopefully take some pressure off the grid to help keep the lights on and help avoid blackouts. If these measures are still not enough to offset a power shortage, it is possible that Minnesota Power will request an emergency load reduction plan to be implemented.
WHAT DO YOU NEED DO KNOW?
If peak alerts do not resolve the demand issue and/or Minnesota Power issues an emergency load reduction plan, Oconto Electric Cooperative will make every effort to keep our members in the loop about what to expect and when to expect it. In the event of rolling blackouts being a necessity, it will be an emergency event to prevent system wide power outages. We will do our best to let you be aware of the situation as it unfolds. Members or businesses who depend on electricity for oxygen or other life-sustaining medical equipment should have a plan in case of a power outage. Unfortunately, we are not able to exempt a member from this plan. Owning a backup generator can provide peace of mind in these situations. *
Before installing a backup generator, please contact our office to ensure your backup generator is installed correctly to protect the safety of our line crew.
Inside you will find: Winter Increases the Potential for Power Line Accidents, Calling All Photographers, Five Reasons We Love Serving Our Members, Energy Efficiency Tip and more.
Inside you will find: Scholarship Opportunities, Are Portable Space Heaters Efficient for My Home?, Energy Efficiency and more.
NOTICE OF UNCLAIMED CAPITAL CREDIT MONEY
The following members or former members of Oconto Electric Cooperative, 7479 REA Road, Oconto Falls, WI 54154, have unclaimed capital credit money at the cooperative. If this money is not claimed by January 31, 2022, the money shall be forfeited to the Oconto Electric Education Fund and will be used for scholarships or other charitable purposes as designated be the cooperative board of directors. This is the list of names with last known addresses. To claim this money, call Oconto Electric Cooperative at 800-472-8410 during regular business hours. The co-op will require some form of identity verification.
Please click the link to see the list of names with last known addresses.