Chimney Rock News

Choice is Local Control www.crppd.com February, 2018

12–A

Manager Memos -by Diana Reich

Energy Effi ciency Credits

Energy Effi ciency Credits are available on electric motors, electric heating, electric hot water heaters, Energy Star appliances and LED lights. Effi ciency Credits are available on new installations only.

Certain standards of effi ciency must be met to qualify depending on the type of electric equipment installed.

Some of the credits from Tri–State G & T are:*Electric water heaters - $30 - $100/unit*Heat pumps $125 - $500/ton*Electric motors 10-500 hp $8/hp*2 Ton or larger Energy Star air conditioners-$100-$150/unit*Energy Star Appliances (refrig, clothes or dish washer and clothes dryers) $30-$90*LED lights - lesser of 1/2 cost of lights or $8 per lamp

Chimney Rock also contributes to some of the credit.

Please contact our offi ce for infor-mation on requirements and credit amounts at 586-1824.

Let us help pay for your new elec-tric appliances and motors. Safe – Effi cient – Electric

Dear Consumer, The staff and I at Chimney Rock have recently been working with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) on the tornado that hit Morrill County in June. This storm along with others across the state caused enough damage that it reached the threshold where FEMA declared it a disaster, making Chimney Rock and other utilities eligible for reimbursement for damages incurred. FEMA pays 75% of the damage, which makes it a good deal for the utilities affected and usually well worth the paperwork to qualify for the payments.

Chimney Rock has had storms that qualify as disasters in the past and found working with FEMA to be time consuming, but the person-nel we dealt with were professional and the process usually went well. This storm turned into an exception to our experience with FEMA. It started well with the initial meeting we had and at that time we gave them all the data we had.

We thought we had complied with their document requests and were waiting for the FEMA representative to come back when the hurricanes hit Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico. The individual we were working with disappeared. We then received an email telling us we would be contacted by another FEMA representative but it was un-known as to what the timeframe would be. It was about a month later when we were contacted and we basically started the process over.

The engineer who contacted us either did not receive any of the documents originally submitted or did not like the format that was used which was a FEMA worksheet. He developed his own worksheets that he wanted completed.

We did receive the fi nal paperwork in December and it is our hope that we complied with everything they needed. Someone from FEMA still has to come out and inspect our poles replaced but there is no timeframe for that. When we receive the funds is anybody’s guess; it could be years.

Hopefully when and if we have a storm in the future, the process will be smoother.

12–B

Make Your Home More Energy Efficient

There are many steps you can take to make your home a greener one, no matter the weather. Cut your energy costs by following these efficiency steps year round.

* Update your insulation. This helps keep cool air in your home during summer months and warm air in during the winter.

* Invest in a programmable thermostat. With a programmable thermostat, you can set the tem-peratures to automatically adjust for when you are home and when you are away. You can save money any season by closing off rooms that you do not need to heat or cool.

* Make use of ceiling fans, and make sure they are circulating air in the correct direction for the season. Ceiling fans should operate in a counter-clockwise direction during warm months and in a clockwise direction during cold months.

* Use curtains or window blinds to your advantage. Close curtains or blinds in the summer when the sun is out to keep the room cool, and leave them open in the winter to let the heat from the sun warm up the room.

* Seal cracks around the house to reduce heat loss in the winter and cool air loss in the summer by using caulking and weather stripping around windows and doors.

* Replace incandescent bulbs with energy efficient CFL or LED bulbs.

* Adjust your own habits to increase efficiency. Turn off lights when leaving a room, set computers to go into sleep mode when not in use, and make sure nothing in your home is covering vents. This allows for continued air flow and reduces the work for the furnace or air conditioning unit.

12–C

Creamy Pasta ShellsWith Broccoli & Ham

1 lb small pasta shells4 cups small broccoli fl orets2 tablespoons unsalted butter1 small onion, fi nely chopped4 ounces cooked ham, chopped3/4 cup heavy cream, warmed1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until 8-10 min-utes. Drain and return to pot.

While pasta is cooking, melt butter on medium heat in a large skillet. Add onion and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Add ham and cook, stirring for 2 min-utes. Stir in cream, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes.

Scrape cream mixture into pan with pasta and brocco-li. Add cheese and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve im-mediately with Parmesan cheese.

CRPPD DIRECTORS COMPLETECURRICULUM COURSES

Two Chimney Rock PPD directors, Larry Fiscus and Travis Petersen, have successfully completed the National Rural Elec-tric Cooperative Association’s Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD) curriculum. This consists of fi ve courses designed to pro-vide basic knowledge and skills required of cooperative directors.

Courses include: Director Duties and Liabilities; Understanding the Electric Business; Board Operations and Process; Strategic Planning and Financial Decision Making. The CCD curriculum provides the important foundation directors require to effectively oversee the business of Chimney Rock PPD.

Directors, Travis Petersen, pictured left, and Larry Fiscus both received their CCD certifi cates.

Chimney RockPublic Power District

128 W 8th St.P O Box 608

Bayard, NE 69334

Board of Directors

PresidentKevin Stuart

Vice–PresidentTravis Petersen

Secretary/TreasurerRichard Kildow

Larry Fiscus

Corey Henkel

Stan Propp

StaffShauna AbbottJacob AshmoreTina DouglasAlvin HarimonRon HubbardDJ KearnsJustin McAllisterHunter McCormickScot OuderkirkDiana ReichBrandon WyckoffKande Zuber

During normal offi ce hours and after hours call:(308) 586–1824 or(877) 773–6300

The February board meetingwill be held:February 12th at 9:00 am

This institution is an equal oppor-tunity provider and employer.

12–D

Budget Billing Set Up Time

With our budget billing option, you can avoid seasonal peaks in your electric bills by dividing your payments evenly over the course of the entire year. This plan makes it easier for you to budget and pay your energy bill each month, because you’ll know your regular payment amount. The budget installment amount is established based on past energy usage patterns at your service location. You will pay the same budget amount each month with January being the “settle up” month. If you are interested in setting up on budget billing give our offi ce a call.

Rebates Available to Replace Diesel IrrigationPump Motors with Electric Motors

The Department of Environmental Quality’s Nebraska Clean Diesel Rebate Program is offering rebates to replace eligible agricultural irrigation pump diesel engines with electric motors.

The application deadline for this program has been extended to February 15, 2018. NDEQ will reimburse 60% of the cost of the new electric motor, installation, and required electrical infrastructure (including electric service line extension) up to a maximum rebate of $16,200. In order to ensure emissions reductions are achieved through this pro-gram, the diesel engine being replaced must be permanently disabled within 90 days of replacement. Replacement projects must be completed by August 30, 2018.

For more information and application material log on to http://deq.ne.gov/publica.nsf/pages/17-016. Or call Randy Smith at 402-471-4272.