By Brad Dolinski, CEO

Good morning,
I’m running a little late on my article this month. That’s why you got the Watts a little late I suspect. I wanted to write
my article after we had the chance to visit the Capitol. Many of you have heard me before talking about how political my job can be. I take time to consider both sides of an issue, in the end I do my best to do what is best for your Cooperative. I won’t get this right for everyone all the time, there are issues we will disagree on. I am trying to lead with respect and consideration for all. I will cover the issues we discussed with our legislators while we had a chance to visit them. I spent time researching and offering information about nuclear power over this summer/fall prior to the legislative session starting. We were able to get our Member-Owners and industry experts to join us for an educational session in Marcell. Senator Hauschild and Representative Igo both joined us for that opportunity to share and learn together. While we were at the Capitol we continued to discuss the need for nuclear power generation. Carbon Free by 2040 has greatly increased the focus and need for nuclear power generation in Minnesota.
Nuclear power runs carbon free at roughly 90 percent efficient. This will be vital as the carbon emitting facilities continue to close into the future. We cannot rely solely on intermittent resources like wind and solar. The battery technology simply isn’t robust enough to carry us when the wind isn’t blowing, and the sun isn’t shining. We are working with our legislators to lift the Nuclear Moratorium. Net metering was the next concern voiced to the group. Minnesota’s net metering law is outdated, expensive and inequitable. This law was enacted in the 1980s when solar was in its infancy. Now with Minnesota’s carbon free by 2040 legislation, all electricity generated must come from carbon free sources. The law is also inequitable because it benefits those who can afford solar systems at the expense of lower income consumers who subsidize these projects in the form of higher electric bills unless it is sized to load as it should be. Generating electricity from solar installed at home costs about twice as much as larger utility scale solar. We are not against solar, we are for reforming the law to make necessary improvements, so we don’t have cost shifting among members. Property taxes are always a hot topic. Electric cooperatives in Minnesota have paid property taxes by member count for many years. This legislation has saved you yearly vs. paying taxes on “plant value.” Recently the Minnesota Department of Revenue interpreted the law differently, they began to charge electric cooperatives additional taxes we have not been required to pay. We are working with the Department of Revenue with our Governor’s office to clarify property tax exemptions. This bipartisan initiative, which faces no opposition, will help improve affordability for cooperative members. We were able to get our legislators out to a dinner with North Star Electric, Lake Country Power, Arrowhead, Cooperative Light and Power, Mille Lacs, and North Itasca Electric. The house building is being remodeled at the Capitol so the Capitol building where we usually meet with our legislators wasn’t available. We decided to meet over dinner, share a meal and hear from each of our elected officials. We then gave them our priorities we would be working on; at dinner we had overwhelming support. We had Representatives and Senators from East Grand Forks to Grand Marais and our friend Senator John Hoffman from Champlin.
Thank you to all that made this a successful trip.

By your side! Miigwech
Brad