Lake Region Electric Cooperative
Annual Meeting Update
Last month, our newsletter highlighted our Annual Meeting scheduled for June 2nd, 2022 at LifeChurch in Fergus Falls. To make it as easy as possible for members to attend the Annual Meeting, your board decided to add locations in Frazee and Parkers Prairie so you can enjoy a great meal, obtain your Lake Region Electric Cooperative (LREC) bill credit, and watch a livestreamed version of the entire Annual Meeting held in Fergus Falls. Any member attending at either the Frazee or Parkers Prairie location will have the same rights and privileges as those attending the event in-person at Fergus Falls, from casting a ballot to asking questions that will be communicated via text to our staff and directors who are physically located at the Fergus Falls live event. We are excited to expand the opportunities for members to attend the Annual Meeting! These meetings in Fergus Falls, Frazee, and Parkers Prairie will allow approximately 98% of our membership to be within 25 miles of a meeting location. The Frazee location will be at the Frazee Community Center and the Parkers Prairie location will be at the Prairie Event Center.
MREA Annual Conference
Last month, Director Patrick Meyers, Director Kurt Krueger, and I attended the Minnesota Rural Electric Association (MREA) Annual Meeting. The MREA Annual Meeting allows us an opportunity to learn more about how we can benefit from our statewide organization, while also allowing us a formal opportunity to engage with our local legislators. Ahead of the Annual Meeting, we coordinated meetings with Rep. Jordan Rasmusson and Rep. Paul Marquart. On March 16th, the three of us met with Rep. Rasmusson early in the afternoon. Later in the day we, together with Mike Bull and Jenny Glumack of MREA, met with Rep. Paul Marquart to discuss our co-op and how statewide decisions affect and impact LREC. We greatly appreciate the support of both Rep. Rasmusson and Rep. Marquart.
Materials and Supply Chains
LREC has been proactive when preparing for the material delays and supply chain issues that our nation and world are now facing. However, like most other industries, LREC and other co-ops are not immune to the increased costs of equipment, material delays, and supply chain issues.
To provide some perspective, in 2019, which was a typical year, we ordered meter pedestals in January and received them approximately 12 weeks later. Now we are planning for 2023, and we ordered those same meter pedestals in February and anticipate them to arrive 72 weeks from the purchase order date. To bridge that gap, we have been proactive with ordering additional alternative meter pedestals in February that should arrive 45 to 49 weeks from the purchase order date.
As another example, in 2019 we ordered transformers in January and again received them approximately 12 weeks later in April. In March, we ordered those same transformers for 2023 and anticipate a partial delivery to arrive 56 weeks from the purchase order date. We did this in an effort to line up deliveries with the start of our construction season. To sum things up, lead times for this critical equipment are approximately 4.5 to 6 times longer now compared to a typical year prior to 2020.
As a result, LREC will have to prioritize how it addresses the needs of our members and prospective members, serving first the basic electrical needs of the members we already serve, serving second the needs of individuals and businesses new to our service territory, and third, serving our existing members who desire to upgrade their current services.
Our entire staff is aware of the uncertainty and inconvenience this creates for our members and future members, but rest assured that we are prepared to address all needs as soon as we possibly can. In the meantime, we appreciate your consideration and patience, and encourage you to think much further ahead when planning compared to prior years. We will keep you updated as things move forward.
