Lake Region Electric Cooperative
“Lake Region Electric Cooperative (LREC) is such a good organization and I feel proud to have been a part of it,” says Sid Wisness, who currently serves as Vice Chair on LREC’s Board of Directors.
Wisness has served as a director on LREC’s Board since June of 2008. When he retires from the Board this spring, he will have spent just short of 15 years representing the members of District 8.
He first joined the Board because he hoped the expertise he had in the utility industry would be a benefit to the Cooperative. Wisness spent his career in the electric utility business, starting out with Otter Tail Power. Over the next 28 years, he had the opportunity to work in investor-owned, public, and cooperative arenas of the electric utility industry. The last 22 of those years were with Dakota Electric Association.
During the time spent working in the industry and serving on LREC’s Board, Wisness witnessed some major changes in the utility industry. “I remember when Coal Creek Station in North Dakota was first built,” he recalls. “That was the generation lifeblood for a long time. Solar and wind wasn’t even thought of then. That has changed dramatically over the years.”
Thinking back on his time with Lake Region, Wisness says there are several highlights that stand out to him. The first was the decision to buy into Carr’s Tree Service. Investing in vegetation management was another important step the Board decided to take. He mentions how the reliability of service has greatly improved for members over the years as a direct result of the proactive vegetation management plan that was adopted. A third decision he brings up is the creation of Lake Region Energy Services, LREC’s natural gas subsidiary.
“Investing in Carr’s Tree Service, spending money on vegetation management, and developing the natural gas business – these decisions each took a lot of money up front. They all had to make sense economically. Those decisions of spending the extra money were difficult because they involved moving away from the core business of just supplying electric power to our membership. As I look back, I can see that those were good decisions that we made,” he says.
Wisness notes how the Board was unanimous in those difficult decisions. “It’s good to work with that unified mentality,” he comments. “This extends beyond just the Board. The employee group at Lake Region is so strong. We have good employees, good management, and good supervision. We put the needs of our members first and let that drive the Cooperative.”
As a result of several key business decisions, Wisness is pleased to report how the Cooperative’s financial strength has improved over the past 15 years. In addition to a stronger equity level, LREC has reduced the timeframe in which capital credits are returned to members. Looking forward, Wisness says he hopes the Cooperative is able to continue on the track it is on.
“I would like to say a big thank you to District 8 members and the whole membership for the support I’ve had and what we’ve been able to do,” he concludes. “I would also like to wish Jim Gronbeck the very best and an enjoyable and successful directorship on the Lake Region Electric Cooperative Board.”