By Brian Bultje, Manager of Operations & Patrick Soukup, Manager of Member Services & Marketing
Growing up in farming families, we both understand the drive to continually expand and improve your farming operation.
Many of you have future plans of adding additional facilities, including grain bins, dryers, shops, or even building a new home. Our request is that you involve your electric cooperative and your electrician in that conversation prior to making any decisions or purchases. We can make sure that you have the electricity available when and where you need it on your operation.
Ensuring the Right Size Equipment
After adding a grain bin or a heated shop, your current electrical equipment might not be able to power everything that it could before. Don’t wait until you damage equipment or can’t power your load until you contact us.
When you’re busy on the farm, the last thing you need is an inconvenience that’s completely preventable. We will work with the member and their operation to ensure that you have the proper equipment size for your needs and understand your electric rate.
Avoiding Unexpected Costs
We do our best to manage our costs at your cooperative and know that you do the same for your operation. Overloading the cooperative’s transformer or damaging your own personal equipment can be very expensive.
For larger members exceeding 50 kVA transformer capacity, they pay a demand charge on their electric bill, and those demand charges can also add up quickly. If you are on a demand rate or have the potential to be, we can work with you on how and when to run your equipment for maximum efficiency.
Adding to your operation can also impact the location of electrical equipment. Having to move electrical equipment or trench wires can add additional costs to your project. We will assist you in placing the equipment where it will meet your current and future needs.
In summary, we ask that you visit with your electric cooperative for any addition or change on your farm that could impact your electric needs.
