Page 2 February Board report

Page 3 Palmyra substation upgraded (Cont.)

Page 4 RECC members named PorkProducer Family of the Year

Page 5 Director candidates to run for re-election

Page 8 Spring cleaning with a payback

Volume 62, #4Volume 62, #4April 2011

� e latest improvement to RECC’s electrical system is now in place, with a larger transformer at the Palmyra sub-station. � e co-op’s crews removed a 3,750-kilowatt transformer on March 16, and replaced it with a newer, 5,000-kilo-watt unit. While the old transformer was ad-equate for normal operations, the sub-station is sometimes used to back feed circuits to other substations, if problems are occurring there. � e Palmyra sub can be directly tied to our Girard and Lowder substations, which in turn are networked with the remaining six substations. “If we have a prolonged outage situa-tion in one area due to transmission line or substation equipment problems, we will back feed from other subs to mini-mize the outage time for our members,” explains Lou DeLaby, manager of op-erations and maintenance. “Sometimes when the load is heavy, we’re limited by the capacity of the substation in how much extra power we can send to the outage area.” With consumers relying on electric-ity for their most basic needs, RECC strives to get power back on as quickly as possible during an outage situation, he explains. Instead of a half-day outage or more for hundreds of co-op members, electricity can often be re-routed within an hour or two to restore power. At the Palmyra substation, a crane worked its way into the fenced enclosure after the high-voltage transmission line

feeding into the substation was turned o� . RECC linemen disconnected all wires feeding into and out of the trans-former, and prepared it to be lifted onto a semi trailer. As soon as one truck pulled out with the old transformer, another semi trailer with the new transformer was backed into the substation. At 62,000 pounds, it swung gracefully over the concrete pad and was lowered into place shortly

Palmyra substation upgraded

RECC linemen connect lifting straps to the old transformer at the Palmyra sub-station, so that a crane can move the transformer onto a semi truck. (More photos on page 3.)

Continued on page 3

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Rural Electric Conve-nience Cooperative3973 W. State Route 104

P.O. Box 19

Auburn, IL 62615

217/438-6197

Fax: 217/438-3212

e-mail: recc@recc.coop

Board Of DirectorsJimmy L. AyersChairmanChris WilcoxVice ChairmanMel RepscherSecretary-TreasurerJohn A. BeattyAsst. Sec.-Treasurer

Clayton BloomeThomas “Ted” DowsonCassie L. Eigenmann Erv ShoresLou Weitekamp

President/CEODavid Stuva

Rural Hilights(USPS 473-140) is published monthly for $3 per year by Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative Co. Publi-cation Offi ce, P.O. Box 19, Auburn, IL 62615. Periodical postage paid at Auburn, IL and at ad-ditional mailing offi ces. Postmaster: Send ad-dress changes to Rural Hilights, P.O. Box 19, Auburn, IL 62615.

Dana Smith, editor

Board reportResume of MinutesRegular Board MeetingFebruary 28, 2011

� e regular monthly meeting of the Board of Directors of Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative Co. was held at the cooperative headquarters at 6 p.m. on February 28, with all members present. Also present were Presi-dent/CEO David Stuva; Director of Member and Public Relations Dana Smith; Manager of O� ce Services Dean Fuchs; Executive As-sistant Sandy Lex; Journeyman Lineman Tim Hemberger; Electrician Je� Lancaster; Com-puter Support Specialist Brandon Taylor; and Attorney Jerry Tice. * � e minutes of the January 24 regular Board meeting were approved as presented. * CEO Stuva introduced Dana Smith and Je� Lancaster to review the Cooperative’s Peak Switch testing program. A signi� cant number of switches have been found that were disconnected or not working properly, and have been removed from the billing cred-its program. * CEO Stuva introduced Sandy Lex and Brandon Taylor who reported on their dem-onstration of information technology tools to the M.J.M. Electric board of directors, and the potential at RECC for uses of new devices such as the Apple iPad. * CEO Stuva and Tim Hemberger re-viewed the February 1-2 ice storm and blizzard and the damage caused to RECC facilities. * Chairman Ayers and CEO Stuva re-viewed comments and suggestions from par-ticipants in the Board’s recent strategic plan-

ning meeting. * CEO Stuva presented the IMEA report. * � e AIEC report was presented by Di-rector Wilcox. * � e Attorney’s report was given by Jerry Tice, who reported on proposed changes in the Service & Maintenance Agreement for the GobNob wind turbine.

President/CEO’s Report CEO Stuva reviewed the following reports which had either been mailed or distributed to all directors and attorney: Job Training and Safety, Meters and Outages, Operations and Maintenance, Engineering and Construction, Cash Disbursements Summary, and Check Listing. � e Board accepted the reports. � e � nancial and statistical reports for November were reviewed and accepted. CEO Stuva also reviewed plans for upcom-ing meetings.

Board Action � e Board acted on the following: * Approved the application for, or reinstate-ment of, membership and electric service for 11 persons. * Voted to change the schedule for monthly Board meetings, from the fourth Monday of each month to the fourth Tuesday of each month. � e March Board meeting will be held on March 29. * Approved a Resolution regarding guide-lines for equity management and decisions on payment of capital credits.

� e meeting adjourned at 10:50 p.m.

RECC offi ce closed on Good Friday RECC’s o� ce will be closed on April 22 in observance of Good Friday and Easter. Line crews will be on standby as usual for any outages or emergency situations, and the answering service can be reached at (217) 438-6197.

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after noon. Linemen went to work attaching insulators, wires, meter-ing and other equipment, and the high voltage power was reconnected by that evening. � e work wasn’t � nished, however, and power was diverted again on March 17 to allow � nal connections. � e “old” trans-former was still in working order, in spite of its age over 50 years. It was whisked directly to Cleveland, Ohio, to be refurbished and used by another utility company. � e 5,000-kilowatt transformer had once been used by Sho-Me Power Electric Coop-erative in Missouri, and was thoroughly tested and � lled with new cooling oil last winter. Some members did experience a few blinks or momentary outages during the switching process on March 16 and 17, Lou DeLaby says. “We need to open and close switch-es at di� erent points on our system to make the back feeding work. � ose operations will normally cre-ate a blink,” he says. Overall, the upgrade went very well, according to DeLaby. He says plans are underway to do similar upgrades by this summer at the Farmersville and Harvel substations. � at will make a total of six subs � t-ted with bigger, better transformers over a two-year period.

Palmyra substation upgraded (Cont.)

The new, larger transformer is prepared for unloading at RECC’s Palmyra substation. The transformer takes 38,000 volts from the transmission line and reduces it to 7,200 volts on each phase wire to be distributed on RECC’s lines.

The 5,000-kilowatt substation transformer is eased into position on a concrete pad, almost ready for RECC’s linemen to connect power wires, voltage regulators, switches and other equipment needed for safe operation.

RECC crew members Travis Boylen, Craig Costello and Ken Williamson watch intently as the new transformer is lifted inside the substation.

The Palmyra sub can be directly tied to our Girard and Lowder sub-stations, which in turn are net-worked with the remaining six substations.

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RECC members named Pork Producer Family of the Year

� e Dunkirk family of Morri-sonville was recognized as the 2011 Illinois Pork Producer Family of the Year at the 2011 IL Pork Expo in Peoria. � is award recognizes a pork producer family who has done an outstanding job in promoting pork and has exempli� ed leader-ship skills at the county, state, and national levels. � e award from the Illinois Pork Producers Associa-tion (IPPA) is sponsored by Elanco Animal Health. Gary and Marietta Dunkirk and their son Dereke and his wife Chelsea are the proud owners and operators of Dunkirk Farms. � e Dunkirk family has been an in-tegral part of pork production in Christian County for many years and has shown dedication and commitment to the pork industry for � ve generations. “� e Dunkirk Family is the epitome of IPPA’s tagline – ‘Illinois Pork Producers… Generations of Commitment’ – for their commit-ment to their community, the envi-ronment, their farm, and their fam-ily for � ve generations,” said Mike Haag, pork producer from Eming-ton, Ill. and current IPPA President. “Like many successful family busi-nesses, the Dunkirks have had to adapt their farm to changing market conditions to remain e� cient and viable, while being good stewards of the land and a valuable member of their community.” Gary and Marietta have two chil-dren, Dereke and Ashley. Dereke and his wife Chelsea have one daughter, Adelaide. Ashley and her husband Rhett have one daughter, Joscelyn.

� e Dunkirks have a long tradi-tion of farming. Gary’s father Ken-neth started farming back in 1951. He began raising pigs then and the operation grew and changed over the years. Dereke is the � fth gen-eration to farm. � e farm includes 1,900 acres of corn and soybeans. � ey also raise 4,200 head of pigs per year. Marietta served on the IPPA board for six years, and Dereke is now serving on the board as Vice

President/Treasurer. Gary is a past president of the Mid-Illinois Pork Producers. � e family actively promotes their product, working at the Pork Patio at the State Fair for many years and serving pork at local events and to legislators at the State Capitol. (� ey’ve also helped serve delicious grilled pork chops in recent years for RECC’s Annual Meetings.) Gary and Marietta, as well as Dereke and Chelsea, have served on RECC’s Cooperative Communicators Committee as well. Congratulations to the Dunkirk family for their recognition as lead-ers in their community and the pork industry. We’re proud to serve their farms, and have them as members of our cooperative!

The Dunkirk family includes (from left) Dereke and Chelsea and their daugh-ter Adelaide, Ashley and Rhett Niewinski and their daughter Joscelyn, and Marietta and Gary.

Congratulations to the Dunkirk family for their recognition as leaders in their community and the pork industry.

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A committee of RECC mem-bers has nominated candidates for director positions in Districts 4, 5 and 6 that are up for election at this year’s Annual Meeting. Directors are elected for three-year terms. � e Nominating Committee met on March 3 at the RECC o� ce, and named the following candidates:

District 4Ervin Shores22057 Virden Rd.Virden, IL

District 5John A. BeattyP.O. Box 62Auburn, IL

District 6Melvin L. Repscher928 E. 1090 North Rd.Taylorville, IL

� e nominations have been posted at the Auburn o� ce, as stipulated in the co-op’s bylaws. Other candidates may be named by petition for a district, signed by 15 or more members in that district. Petition forms are available from the co-op o� ce in Auburn, and must be returned by May 10 (30 days before the Annual Meeting, which is on June 9 in Chatham). Any persons nominated by petition will be in-

cluded in the 2011 Annual Meeting Notice booklet to be mailed to the membership on May 27. Biographi-cal information and a statement from each candidate will also be printed in the booklet. Serving on this year’s Nominat-ing Committee were: District 4 – Pauline Miller, Helen Miller, Kelly Pitchford (all from Virden); District 5 – Fred Reichert, Galen Bailey, John Megginson (all from Auburn);

District 6 – Brian Abshire (Paw-nee), Fred Vangeison (Morrison-ville), Steve Elam (Palmer). Fred Reichert was elected as chairman of the nominating committee, and Fred Vangeison as secretary. � ank you to these members for your time and interest in the Co-operative’s business operation, and to the candidates who are willing to work for the bene� t of all RECC member-owners!

Director candidates torun for re-election

Follow uson FacebookLink from our web page at www.recc.coop

The RECC Nominating Committee met on March 3 to name candidates for Board elections at the 2011 Annual Meeting. Front row, from left, are: Fred Vangeison, Pauline Miller, Kelly Pitchford, and Helen Miller. Back row: Brian Abshire, Steve Elam, Galen Bailey, Fred Reichert (chairman), and John Megginson.

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News & NotesNews & Notes

We need access to our equipment!

Incandescent Incandescent bulbs going dim � e classic 100-watt light bulb will no longer be sold in the U.S. next year, and smaller incandescent bulb sizes will also be phased out by 2014, as new energy e� ciency requirements kick in. � e Energy Indepen-dence and Security Act of 2007 requires signi� cant improvements in lighting e� ciency, and the � lament-wired incandescent bulb that � omas Edison patented in 1879 just doesn’t make the grade. A typical incandescent bulb turns 90 percent of the electricity used into heat, and just ten percent into light. Specialty bulbs like 3-way reading lights and appliance bulbs will still be available. Technology is providing many alternatives to the incan-descent bulbs. Compact � uores-cents (CFLs) have been around for several years, and have been improved with no-� icker start-ing, better color rendition, and better long-life reliability. New LED bulbs are also available, although they are still rather ex-pensive. LEDs are actually small electronic “chips” that emit light when energized, o� ering high e� ciency and less heat output. Most higher-wattage bulbs actu-ally have multiple LEDs inside, using re� ectors to create the light patterns desired. Watch for more information on LED technology in future Rural Hilights issues!Rural Hilights issues!Rural Hilights

RECC has poles, transformers and meters on members’ property to provide electric service, and we sometimes need to work on those facilities. � at means we need ac-cess to our equipment, and some-times the surrounding area for transformers and junction boxes at ground level. � ese boxes must be opened at times, with room to work with “hot sticks” and other tools to maintain the connec-tions inside. Trees, shrubbery or fences placed too close to our boxes can prevent our linemen from using the proper equipment or working safely around our high-voltage wires. Also, if a box or pole

needs to be replaced, a line truck needs to get close to lift the equip-ment. If you have a pad-mounted transformer on your property, be sure to keep trees and shrubbery at least eight feet from the door-opening side and three feet from the other sides. And, be mindful when planting or digging around a pad-mounted transformer or other electrical box – there are underground wires in the area!

Always call the JULIE lo-cating service two days before digging, to have any underground facilities

located and marked. It’s a free call, and easy to re-member … just dial 811.

Photo courtsey of Greystone Power

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_______Clothes Dryer, Electric Replacement – $$25_______Clothes Dryer, New Home or Gas Conversion – $25_______Electric Range, Electric Replacement – $25_______Electric Range, New Home or Gas Conversion – $25

_______Water Heater, Standard Warranty – $$200 (less than 10-yr waranty)_______Water Heater, Life–long Warranty – $250 (10-yr or longer warranty)

MEMBER RESPONSE PAGE

Electric heating equipment rebatesAn electric heat rebate form must be completed. Minimum system sizes apply.

• Geothermal System – $250/home

• Air Source Heat Pumps – $250/home (with electric back-up)

• Air Source Heat Pumps – $100/home (with gas back-up)

_______Peak Switch_______Dual Meter Heating Rate_______Security Light Rental_______Convectair Heaters

_______New Home Energy Guidelines_______Surge Suppressor Lease_______Co-op Power Plus™ Visa_______DTN Wireless Internet

_______Marathon Lifetime-Warranty Water Heaters_______Long Distance Saving Rates_______AT&T Wireless Cellular Phone Savings

Please send me information on services from RECC:

Member NameMember Name Account No.

Mailing AddressMailing Address

Town Phone

Rural Electric Convenience CooperativeP.O. Box 19, Auburn IL 62615P.O. Box 19, Auburn IL 62615Telephone: (800) 245-7322 (RECC) or (217) 438-6197 • www.recc.coopNormal offi ce hours 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.Normal offi ce hours 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Please include a copy of your sales receipt for your new electric equipment, purchased and installed within the past 12 months.Electric equipment rebate request

� is water heater is for: _______New Home� is water heater is for: _______New Home _______Gas Conversion _______Electric Replacement

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P.O. Box 19Auburn, IL 62615

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