January 25, 2024

   MINUTES OF REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
OF
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF NORTHWEST RURAL PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT

A regular meeting of the Board of Directors of Northwest Rural PPD was held at the headquarters January 25th at the hour of 1:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by President Lee Ahrens. The following Members were present and constituted a quorum: Lee Ahrens, Lucas Bear, Kevin Christy, Gary Fuchser, Christopher Garrett, and Marcus Sandberg.

Also present were General Manager Chance Briscoe, Operations Manager Ron Olson, Office Manager Tony Hindman, Member Service Representative Les Tlustos, employee guest Terry Knapp, and District Counsel Terry Curtiss.

Unless otherwise noted, all votes were taken by roll call on motion duly made and seconded and unanimously passed.

Excuse Director – A motion was made to excuse Director Skinner; motion carried.

Open Meeting Law: The Open Meeting Law was acknowledged.

Agenda: Motion to accept the agenda; motion carried.

Public Comments: None.

Approval of Minutes: A motion was made to accept the minutes of the Regular Meeting of December 19, 2023, Budget Hearing of December 19, 2023, and Special Meeting of December 20, 2023; motion carried.

Check Register and Payroll Summary Review: The Check Register and Payroll Summary for the previous month were reviewed. President Ahrens declared the items as informational items requiring no Board action.

Action Items: President Ahrens turned the meeting over to Counsel Curtiss to conduct the election of officers. A nomination was made to elect the current officers to another one-year term. The slate of officers is: Lee Ahrens, President; Chris Garrett, Vice President; Marcus Sandberg, Secretary; Lucas Bear, Treasurer; and Kevin Christy, Assistant Treasurer. A motion
was made to cease nominations and accept the current officers by acclimation; motion carried.

The meeting was turned back to President Ahrens. After discussion, a motion was made to reappoint Director Bear as representative to the Tri-State Board of Directors, appoint Director Christy to the NREA Board of Directors, and Director Bear to the NEGT Board of Directors, when the seat becomes available to NRPPD; motion carried.

Upon recommendation by Manager Briscoe, a motion was made to rescind policies; O-13 Meter Reading, Billing and Collection of Accounts, O-17 Tenant Services, O-18 Vacant Houses and Idle Tenant Services, O-19 Schools and Churches, O-20 Non-Connection and/or Broken Agreement, and O-27 Consumer’s Attachments to the District’s Equipment; motion carried.

Financial Report: Manager Briscoe reviewed the operating report for the previous month. A motion was made to table the financial report until after completion of the audit; motion carried. 

Safety Report: Operations Manager Olson reviewed the safety statistics and safety report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the safety report; motion carried.

Staff Reports: The staff made the following reports and answered Board questions:
          a. Operations Manager Olson reviewed the outage report for the previous month and discussed recent equipment transformer                and regulator failures.
          b. Office Manager Hindman informed the Board about recent reviews of an alternate SCADA system and waiting for cost                          estimates to be given.
          c. Representative Tlustos discussed the annual renewals available for the America’s Electric Cooperative PAC and discussed               arrangements for Directors Bear and Christy to join staff for scholarship application reviews.

General Manager’s Report: Manager Briscoe generally reported on or discussed, among other things: (1) attendance at NRECA’s CEO Close-Up conference; and (2) a lengthy update on current state of FERC developments, along with some next steps expected to occur.

Tri-State Report: Director Bear reported that the January meeting was held virtually and briefly reported that Tri-State intended to file comments on a FERC Deficiency Letter to reiterate TriState’s position on their formulary rate filing.

Items for Next Agenda: The next meeting was scheduled for February 16th at 1:00 p.m.

Legal Update: None.

Other Business: None.

Executive Session: None.

Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 3:36 p.m.

APPROVED:

President ____________________________________Secretary__________________________________


February 16, 2024

MINUTES OF REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
OF
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF NORTHWEST RURAL PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT

 

A regular meeting of the Board of Directors of Northwest Rural PPD was held at the headquarters February 16th at the hour of 1:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by President Lee Ahrens. The following Members were present and constituted a quorum: Lee Ahrens, Lucas Bear, Kevin Christy, Gary Fuchser, Christopher Garrett, Marcus Sandberg, and Ethan Skinner.

Also present were General Manager Chance Briscoe, Operations Manager Ron Olson, Office Manager Tony Hindman, Member Service Representative Les Tlustos, and District Counsel Terry Curtiss.

Unless otherwise noted, all votes were taken by roll call on motion duly made and seconded and unanimously passed.

Open Meeting Law: The Open Meeting Law was acknowledged.

Agenda: Motion to accept the agenda; motion carried.

Public Comments: None.

Approval of Minutes: A motion was made to accept the minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 25, 2024; motion carried.

Check Register and Payroll Summary Review: The Check Register and Payroll Summary for the previous month were reviewed. President Ahrens declared the items as informational items requiring no Board action.

Action Items: A motion was made to appoint Manager Briscoe as Alternate Delegate for the NREA Board of Directors; motion carried.

Manager Briscoe presented a group of old policies and recommended to rescind them. A discussion was held that the policies were either no longer applicable or had been replaced by other policies or procedures. A motion was made to rescind policies O-10 General Conditions of Service, O-21 Idle Service Policy, O-22 Lowering HP while in a 10 Year Contract, O-22A Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Contracts, O-26 Double Throw Switch Policy and O-28 Energy
Conservation; motion carried.

Financial Report: Manager Briscoe reviewed the operating report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the financial report; motion carried.

Safety Report: Operations Manager Olson reviewed the safety statistics and safety report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the safety report; motion carried.

Staff Reports: The staff made the following reports and answered Board questions:
          a. Operations Manager Olson reviewed the outage report for the previous month.

General Manager’s Report: Manager Briscoe generally reported on or discussed, among other things: (1) attendance at an EPRI conference; (2) activities of the NREA Legislative Reception and Board Meeting; (3) some of the topics discussed at the NREA Manager’s Meeting; and (4) a lengthy update on current state of FERC developments, along with some next steps expected to occur.

Tri-State Report: Director Bear briefly reported on the Tri-State Board Meeting, a Strategic Planning Session was held, and that Tri-State is up to $38M on its software conversion to date.

Other Meetings Attended: Director Sandberg reported on a Director Class attended which was sponsored by NREA and covered the topic of Electric Vehicles. Director Christy reported on a New Director Orientation he attended which was sponsored by NRECA, Federated, NRTC and CFC.

Items for Next Agenda: The next meeting was scheduled for March 28th at 1:00 p.m.

Legal Update: None.

Other Business: None.

Executive Session: None.

Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 3:21 p.m.

APPROVED:

____________________________________
President
____________________________________
Secretary

 

March 28, 2024

MINUTES OF REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
OF
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF NORTHWEST RURAL PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT

A regular meeting of the Board of Directors of Northwest Rural PPD was held at the headquarters March 28th , 2024 at the hour of 1:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by President Lee Ahrens. The following Members were present and constituted a quorum: Lee Ahrens, Lucas Bear, Kevin Christy, Gary Fuchser, Christopher Garrett, Marcus Sandberg, and Ethan Skinner.

Also present were General Manager Chance Briscoe, Line Superintendent Trampas Belknap, Office Manager Tony Hindman, Member Service Representative Les Tlustos, and District Counsel Terry Curtiss.

Unless otherwise noted, all votes were taken by roll call on motion duly made and seconded and unanimously passed.

Open Meeting Law: The Open Meeting Law was acknowledged.

Agenda: Motion to accept the agenda; motion carried.

Public Comments: None.

Approval of Minutes: A motion was made to accept the minutes of the Regular Meeting of February 16, 2024; motion carried.

Check Register and Payroll Summary Review: The Check Register and Payroll Summary for the previous month were reviewed. President Ahrens declared the items as informational items requiring no Board action.

Action Items: Manager Briscoe presented a group of policies to consider. A discussion was held that a couple policies were either no longer applicable or had been replaced by other policies or procedures. However, two were tabled for further future action. A motion was made to rescind policies O-38 Qualified Distributed Generation Facilities and O-39 Hazardous Electrical Conditions on Consumer Side of the Meter, and to table O-30 Capacitors and O-31 Vehicle Use Policy; motion carried.

Financial Report: Manager Briscoe reviewed the operating report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the financial report; motion carried.

Safety Report: Line Superintendent Belknap reviewed the safety statistics and safety report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the safety report; motion carried.

Staff Reports: The staff made the following reports and answered Board questions:
          a. Line Superintendent Belknap reviewed the outage report for the previous month.
          b. Office Manager Hindman discussed load control applications that have been received.

General Manager’s Report: Manager Briscoe generally reported on or discussed, among other things: (1) attendance at an EPRI conference; (2) attendance at a Basin Manager’s Meeting where Basin projected large load growth through the end of the decade; (3) updated the Board about information presented at the NEGT Board Meeting and projection of future rate increases by NPPD; (4) LaPlata has sent an unconditional notice of withdrawal to Tri-State; and (5) a lengthy update on current state of FERC developments and the Basin lawsuit filed in North Dakota, along with some next steps expected to occur.

Tri-State Report: Director Bear briefly reported on the Tri-State Board Meeting, the rate forecasts given to the board out to 2030, and a review of the performance appraisal of Tri-State’s CEO.

Other Meetings Attended: None.

Items for Next Agenda: The next meeting was scheduled for April 25th at 1:00 p.m. and the Vehicle Use Policy will be brought back to the Board.

Legal Update: None.

Other Business: None.

Executive Session: None.

Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 2:28 p.m.

APPROVED:

____________________________________ President ____________________________________Secretary

 

April 24, 2023

 MINUTES OF REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
OF
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF NORTHWEST RURAL PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT

A regular meeting of the Board of Directors of Northwest Rural PPD was held at the headquarters April 24, 2023 at the hour of 1:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by President Lee Ahrens. The following Members were present and constituted a quorum: Lee Ahrens, Lucas Bear, Kevin Christy, Gary Fuchser, Christopher Garrett, Marcus Sandberg and Ethan Skinner.

Also present were General Manager Chance Briscoe, Operations Manager Ron Olson, Member Service Representative Les Tlustos, Office Manager Tony Hindman, and Employee Guest Kelsey Yada.

Unless otherwise noted, all votes were taken by roll call on motion duly made and seconded and unanimously passed.

Open Meeting Law: The Open Meeting Law was acknowledged.

Oath of Office: Director Skinner read aloud and signed the Oath of Office to officially take his seat as Director.

Agenda: Motion to accept the agenda; motion carried.

Approval of Minutes: A motion was made to accept the minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 23, 2023; motion carried.

Public Comments: None.

Check Register and Payroll Summary Review: The Check Register and Payroll Summary for the previous month were reviewed. President Ahrens declared the items as informational items requiring no Board action.

District Counsel: District Counsel Terry Curtiss joined the meeting at 1:17 p.m.

Action Items: A slate of policies were presented for review and minor revisions. After discussion a motion was made to approve 301 Management Succession Plan and to rescind policies E-2, E-3, and E-4 to be replaced by 200 Board Training, 201 Elected Board Candidates, and Hiring a General Manager; motion carried.

Financial Report: Manager Briscoe reviewed the operating report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the financial report; motion carried.

Safety Report: Operations Manager Olson reviewed the safety statistics and safety report for the previous month. Olson also reviewed safety statistics and ratio calculations for DART and VAR. A motion was made to accept the safety report; motion carried.

Staff Reports: The staff made the following reports and answered Board questions:
          a. Operations Manager Olson reviewed the Outage Report for the previous month and briefed the Board about receipt of insurance for substation fence and breaker            damage.
          b. Manager Briscoe reviewed some operating statistics for the Gordon solar project on the well fields serving the city of Gordon.

General Manager’s Report: Manager Briscoe generally reported on or discussed, among other things: (1) a meeting with NPPD to better understand their rate structure; (2) an additional meeting of the Rate Design Committee for Tri-State to discuss a few logistical issues in preparation for a filing in June; (3) a recap of meeting with the NE congressional delegation’s offices during the NRECA Legislative Conference; (4) updates on FERC matters including rejection of Tri-State’s filing to alter some of the exit processes; and (5) a review of a solar proposal to install 3 solar generating sites in NRPPD territory. After discussion it was determined further analysis should be considered for solar projects and a bid proposal process should be completed.

Tri-State Report: Director Bear could not attend the Tri-State board meeting in person but referenced some of the operating statistics for the month and that the board reorganization meeting resulted in the same slate of officers.

Other Meetings Attended: None.

Items for Next Agenda: Audit report.

Legal Update: None.

Other Business: None.

Executive Session: None.

Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 2:36 p.m.

APPROVED:
____________________________________ ____________________________________
President                                                          Secretary

  

May 25, 2023


MINUTES OF REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
OF
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF NORTHWEST RURAL PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT

 

A regular meeting of the Board of Directors of Northwest Rural PPD was held at the headquarters May 25, 2023 at the hour of 12:56 p.m. The meeting was called to order by President Lee Ahrens. The following Members were present and constituted a quorum: Lee Ahrens, Lucas Bear, Kevin Christy, Gary Fuchser, Christopher Garrett, Marcus Sandberg and Ethan Skinner.

Also present were General Manager Chance Briscoe, Operations Manager Ron Olson, Member Service Representative Les Tlustos, Office Manager Tony Hindman, District Counsel Terry Curtis, and Employee Guest Darren Drabbels. 

Unless otherwise noted, all votes were taken by roll call on motion duly made and seconded and unanimously passed.

Open Meeting Law: The Open Meeting Law was acknowledged.

Agenda: Motion to accept the agenda; motion carried.

Scholarship Recipients: Member Service Representative stated three of the four 2023 scholarship recipients were in attendance and proceeded to introduce each. He gave a brief review of the scholarship awarded and the school the recipient planned to attend. Each recipient gave a short statement as to their future plans and were awarded their scholarship funds. This year the awards were given to: Ty Brady, $500 Arbor Wealth Scholarship; Mia Skinner (not present), $500 TriState Scholarship; Paityn Homan, $500 Tri-State Scholarship; and Arielle Lawrence, $1000 Basin Scholarship. After presentation of awards the recipients left the meeting.      

Tri-State Visit: Representatives from Tri-State G&T joined the meeting; CEO Duane Highley, Board Chair Tim Rabon, and Executive Committee Member Shawn Turner. President Ahrens welcomed the group to the meeting. CEO Highley thanked the board for the time given and began a conversation to understand positions and differences between the organizations. The conversation lasted about an hour and concluded without any resolution to the issues being
argued before FERC. At the conclusion of the conversation, the delegation left the meeting.

Approval of Minutes: A motion was made to accept the minutes of the Regular Meeting of April 24, 2023; motion carried.

Public Comments: None.

Check Register and Payroll Summary Review: The Check Register and Payroll Summary for the previous month were reviewed. President Ahrens declared the items as informational items requiring no Board action.

Action Items: Brandon Blair from DeCoria, Blair and Teague joined the meeting by phone to review the 2022 Audited Financial Report. Mr. Blair reviewed a number of sections from the report. At the conclusion of review Mr. Blair left the meeting. A motion was made to accept the 2022 Audit Financial Report; motion carried.

A slate of policies were presented for review and minor revisions. After discussion a motion was made to rescind policies O-33 to O-37 and be replaced by 400 Continuing Education, 401 DOT Anti-Drug, 402 Anti-Drug and Alcohol, 403 Alcohol Misuse, and 404 Nepotism; motion carried.

A discussion was held regarding recognition of potential hazards observed on the customer side of a meter. It was discussed that NRPPD already has a policy that if determined to be an immediate danger to life or property that the service will be disconnected, the state electrical inspector will be notified, and service will be restore after repairs are made. After lengthy discussion a motion was made, for other non-emergency situations, the crew will attempt to notify the customer of the observed hazard and that the office will follow up with a report of the hazard for repair and the service will be disconnected if the repair is not made within 60 days;
motion carried.

Revisions have been proposed by the NREA Managers group to the NREA Mutual Aid Agreement. Those revision mostly revolve around how to bill for services rendered and how to charge for those services. A motion was made to adopt the revised NREA Mutual Aid Agreement as presented; motion carried.

Operations Manager Olson introduced quotes for construction of a new garage to house equipment used by NRPPD that is becoming cluttered in the current storage building. Options were discussed for a 40x60 three bay or a 40x80 four bay garage. After consideration and discussion, a motion was made to approved construction of a 40x80 insulated and heated four bay garage; motion carried. 

Financial Report: Manager Briscoe reviewed the operating report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the financial report; motion carried.

Safety Report: Operations Manager Olson reviewed the safety statistics and safety report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the safety report; motion carried.

Staff Reports: The staff made the following reports and answered Board questions:

          a. Operations Manager Olson reviewed the Outage Report for the previous month.

General Manager’s Report: Manager Briscoe generally reported on or discussed, among other things: (1) attendance at a NREA Managers meeting; (2) review of information presented at an Employment Law seminar; (3) a brief review of the Tri-State board meeting partially attended by phone; (4) continued high sales and backlog volumes reported at the Western United board meeting; (5) attendance at a MDM Meeting; (6) information from a recent NREA Board Meeting held in Norfolk; and (7) an update on current FERC proceedings.

Tri-State Report: Director Bear reported among other things that Tri-State reviewed the 2024 budget and indicated just over a 6% rate increase planned for 2024 and high cost of poles and other infrastructure on construction of a transmission line between Burlington, CO and Lamar, NE.

Other Meetings Attended: None.

Items for Next Agenda: Review of Gordon Solar installation.

Legal Update: None.

Other Business: The next meeting of the Board will be held at 1:00 pm on June 22nd.

Executive Session: None.

Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 4:50 p.m.

APPROVED:
____________________________________ ____________________________________
President                                                          Secretary
 



June 22, 2023

MINUTES OF REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
OF
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF NORTHWEST RURAL PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT



A regular meeting of the Board of Directors of Northwest Rural PPD was held at the headquarters June 22, 2023 at the hour of 1:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by President Lee Ahrens. The following Members were present and constituted a quorum: Lee Ahrens, Lucas Bear, Kevin Christy, Gary Fuchser, Christopher Garrett, Marcus Sandberg and Ethan Skinner.

Also present were General Manager Chance Briscoe, Operations Manager Ron Olson, Member Service Representative Les Tlustos, District Counsel Terry Curtis, and Employee Guest Brad Johnson.

Unless otherwise noted, all votes were taken by roll call on motion duly made and seconded and unanimously passed.

Open Meeting Law: The Open Meeting Law was acknowledged.

Agenda: Motion to accept the agenda; motion carried.

Approval of Minutes: A motion was made to accept the minutes of the Regular Meeting of May 25, 2023; motion carried.

Public Comments: None.

Check Register and Payroll Summary Review: The Check Register and Payroll Summary for the previous month were reviewed. President Ahrens declared the items as informational items requiring no Board action.

Action Items: Policy 509, Identity Theft was discussed and the policy require additional consideration. A motion was made to table Policy 509; motion carried.

A slate of policies were presented for review and minor revisions. After discussion a motion was made to rescind policies O-1, O-2 and O-4 and be replaced by 506 Right to Appeal to the Board of Directors, 507 Work on Consumer Premises, and 508 Non-Betterment Costs; motion carried.

The Board discussed who would be attending the NRECA Regional meeting and who would be the voting delegate. After discussion, a motion was made to appoint Director Bear as the delegate and Manager Briscoe as the Alternate; motion carried.

Financial Report: Manager Briscoe reviewed the operating report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the financial report; motion carried.

Safety Report: Operations Manager Olson reviewed the safety statistics and safety report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the safety report; motion carried.

Staff Reports: The staff made the following reports and answered Board questions:

          a. Operations Manager Olson reviewed the Outage Report for the previous month.
             Additionally Olson discussed a couple construction projects that are potentially eligible for grant funding at 50%. The two projects were transmission lines from the
             Dunlap Sub and distribution line from Hay Springs Sub to Chadron Sub. A number of scenarios were considered but the consensus was if grant monies are made               available to proceed with both project at a gross cost of about $9M, of which NRPPD’s share would be $4.5M.
          b. Manager Briscoe reviewed statistics from the solar on the Gordon City Wells.

General Manager’s Report: Manager Briscoe generally reported on or discussed, among other things: (1) attendance at a NREA Managers meeting; (2) a brief review of the Tri-State board meeting related to approval of the formulary rate and 2024 budget; (3) progress update on construction of the new garage; and (4) an update on current FERC proceedings. Briscoe also raised the potential of a forgivable loan program being offered through RUS and coupled with Direct Pay funds available through the IRS. The RUS program would allow up to 40% loan forgiveness on projects serving or located in distressed areas, two of which apply in NRPPD
service territory. The additional Direct Pay could provide an additional 40% discount if materials are domestically sourced. The consensus of the board was to submit a Letter of Intent for projects in Crawford, Hay Springs and Gordon areas. Additionally, Briscoe showed some video of Ford’s Intelligent Backup System that provides backup power to homes from the onboard batteries of an electric F-150. Briscoe recommended the Board approve a purchase of an extended range electric F-150, along with a 10kW rooftop solar for installation on the new garage. The consensus was to delay consideration of such a project.

Tri-State Report: Director Bear reported on Tri-State’s passage of the formulary rate and the 2024 budget reliance of $66M Deferred Revenue that Tri-State may or may not receive.

Other Meetings Attended: None.

Items for Next Agenda: Policy 509 Identity Theft.

Legal Update: None.

Other Business: The next meeting of the Board will be held at 1:00 pm on July 27th.

Executive Session: None.

Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 3:42 p.m.

APPROVED:
____________________________________ ____________________________________
President                                                          Secretary
 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         July 27, 2023

 MINUTES OF REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
OF
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF NORTHWEST RURAL PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT

 

A regular meeting of the Board of Directors of Northwest Rural PPD was held at the headquarters July 27, 2023 at the hour of 1:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by President Lee Ahrens. The following Members were present and constituted a quorum: Lee Ahrens, Lucas Bear, Kevin Christy, Christopher Garrett, Marcus Sandberg and Ethan Skinner.

Also present were General Manager Chance Briscoe, Operations Manager Ron Olson, Member Service Representative Les Tlustos, District Counsel Terry Curtis, and Employee Guest John Hessler.

Unless otherwise noted, all votes were taken by roll call on motion duly made and seconded and unanimously passed.

Excuse Director: A motion was made to excuse Director Fuchser; motion carried.

Open Meeting Law: The Open Meeting Law was acknowledged.

Agenda: Motion to accept the agenda; motion carried.

Approval of Minutes: A motion was made to accept the minutes of the Regular Meeting of June 22, 2023; motion carried.

Public Comments: None.

Check Register and Payroll Summary Review: The Check Register and Payroll Summary for the previous month were reviewed. President Ahrens declared the items as informational items requiring no Board action.

Action Items: Policy 509, Identity Theft was discussed and the policy require additional consideration. A motion was made to table Policy 509; motion carried.

Policy 516, Harmonics was discussed with some minor and grammatical changes. A motion was made to approve Policy 516 and to rescind policies; O-15 Annual Billing, O-43 Harmonics, and O-44 AMI Remote Disconnect Collars; motion carried.

The Board was presented with an increase of Long Term Debt advance from the 2023 Budget.The budgeted amount was for $1.4M but due to inventory increases and legal costs related to the FERC proceeding, the amount was increased to $1.8M. A variety of term options and rates were considered. A motion was made to approve a Long Term Debt advance of $1.8M from CFC’s PowerVision loan facility, with a maturity term of 25 years and a 5 year fixed interest rate term.

A motion was made to appoint Director Bear as NRPPD’s voting delegate and Director Skinner as Alternate to Basin’s Annual Meeting; motion carried.

Financial Report: Manager Briscoe reviewed the operating report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the financial report; motion carried.

Safety Report: Operations Manager Olson reviewed the safety statistics and safety report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the safety report; motion carried.

Staff Reports: The staff made the following reports and answered Board questions:

          a. Operations Manager Olson reviewed the Outage Report for the previous month. Additionally Olson discussed that tree cutters are north of Gordon and will be                      there for a couple weeks more.
          b. Tlustos handed out new lapel pins to all Directors, who are members of America’s Electric Cooperative PAC.

General Manager’s Report: Manager Briscoe generally reported on or discussed, among other things: (1) attendance at Tri-State’s Manager Meeting; (2) attendance at Basin’s Manager Meeting; and (3) a brief review of Tri-State’s recent FERC filing for rates to become effective 1/1/24.

Tri-State Report: Director Bear reported on: Tri-State’s continued spending on multiple projects, including the on-going Oracle project; 32% availability of coal plants but only 16% of coal plant usage; renewables accounted for 37% of Tri-State’s supply and Tri-State set a new peak over 1,300 MW’s from renewables.

Other Meetings Attended: None.

Items for Next Agenda: Policy 509 Identity Theft and the next meeting date was set for August 23rd at 8:00 am.

Legal Update: District Counsel Curtiss reviewed Tri-State’s recent submittal to NRPPD for a Withdrawal Agreement. Both he and FERC counsel have been reviewing the draft agreement and will be submitting back to Tri-State a modified agreement for their consideration.

Other Business: None.

Executive Session: None.

Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 2:24 p.m.

APPROVED:
____________________________________ ____________________________________
President                                                          Secretary

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       August 23, 2023

MINUTES OF REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
OF
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF NORTHWEST RURAL PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT

 

A regular meeting of the Board of Directors of Northwest Rural PPD was held at the headquarters August 23, 2023 at the hour of 8:00 a.m. The meeting was called to order by President Lee Ahrens. The following Members were present and constituted a quorum: Lee Ahrens, Lucas Bear, Kevin Christy, Gary Fuchser, Christopher Garrett, and Ethan Skinner.

Also present were General Manager Chance Briscoe, Operations Manager Ron Olson, Member Service Representative Les Tlustos, District Counsel Terry Curtis, Employee Guest Criag Housh and representatives from PREMA, Zac Bryant and Loralee Young.

Unless otherwise noted, all votes were taken by roll call on motion duly made and seconded and unanimously passed.

Excuse Director: A motion was made to excuse Director Sandberg; motion carried.

Open Meeting Law: The Open Meeting Law was acknowledged.

Agenda: Motion to accept the agenda; motion carried.

Approval of Minutes: A motion was made to accept the minutes of the Regular Meeting of July 27, 2023; motion carried.

Public Comments: PREMA representatives thanked the Board for allowing them to attend and observe the meeting.

Check Register and Payroll Summary Review: The Check Register and Payroll Summary for the previous month were reviewed. President Ahrens declared the items as informational items requiring no Board action.

Action Items: Policy 509, Identity Theft was discussed and a motion was made to approve Policy 509; motion carried.

Financial Report: Manager Briscoe reviewed the operating report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the financial report; motion carried.

Safety Report: Operations Manager Olson reviewed the safety statistics and safety report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the safety report; motion carried.

Staff Reports: The staff made the following reports and answered Board questions:
          a. Operations Manager Olson reviewed the Outage Report for the previous month. Additionally, Olson announced Denny Thorson has accepted a position with                        NPPD and we will look to refill the position later in the year and the new building is on schedule for completion by end of October.
          b. Tlustos mentioned the upcoming Hay Springs parade if anyone wanted to participate.

General Manager’s Report: Manager Briscoe generally reported on or discussed, among other things: (1) attendance at Tri-State’s Board Meeting; (2) attendance at Basin’s Annual Meeting; (3) NREA Board Meeting; and (4) an update on FERC matters where FERC has still not issued a final ruling on the CTP but did issue a ruling on the four reserved issues from the Stated Rate Docket.

Tri-State Report: Director Bear reported on: Tri-State set a new peak for the month of May at 1,330 MW’s; plant disruptions forced Tri-State to purchase more market power than had been forecasted; the EPA GHG emission targets are to reduce emissions by 88%; and Tri-State is applying for grants and loan forgiveness programs under the federal programs for energy transitions.

Other Meetings Attended: Director Bear and Skinner both discussed attendance at the Basin Annual Meeting and talked about some of the presentations made during the meeting.  Director Ahrens discussed attendance at the NREA Board Meeting in Scottsbluff. He commented that the NREA seems to be on the right track and things generally seem to be going well but a full time GM might be appropriate upon conclusion of the current GM’s contract.

Items for Next Agenda: None.

Legal Update: District Counsel Curtiss reviewed United Power’s state district court case, the “Adams County” case, and potential impact on FERC rulings for the CTP. It was also discussed that Tri-State and United will be attempting mediation in September and Tri-State has reserved Sept 22 for a Special Meeting of the Board if the mediation results in a settlement to be approved by the Board.

Other Business: None.

Executive Session: None.

Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 9:38 a.m.

APPROVED:
____________________________________ ____________________________________
President                                                           Secretary
 

September 29, 2023

 MINUTES OF REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
OF
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF NORTHWEST RURAL PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT

 

A regular meeting of the Board of Directors of Northwest Rural PPD was held at the headquarters September 29, 2023 at the hour of 10:00 a.m. The meeting was called to order by President Lee Ahrens. The following Members were present and constituted a quorum: Lee Ahrens, Lucas Bear, Kevin Christy, Gary Fuchser, Christopher Garrett, Marcus Sandberg, and Ethan Skinner.

Also present were General Manager Chance Briscoe, Member Service Representative Les Tlustos, and District Counsel Terry Curtis.

Unless otherwise noted, all votes were taken by roll call on motion duly made and seconded and unanimously passed.

Open Meeting Law: The Open Meeting Law was acknowledged.

Agenda: Motion to accept the agenda; motion carried.

Approval of Minutes: A motion was made to accept the minutes of the Regular Meeting of August 23, 2023; motion carried.

Public Comments: None.

Check Register and Payroll Summary Review: The Check Register and Payroll Summary for the previous month were reviewed. President Ahrens declared the items as informational items requiring no Board action.

Action Items: The NREA Worker’s Compensation Retention Plan was presented to the Board for consideration of renewal. Counsel Curtiss offered some comments and a memo to the Board for consideration. After thorough review of the program, a motion was made to approve a Resolution to adopt the Plan; motion carried.

Policies O-23 Recording Irrigation Agreements, O-24 Installation of Security Lights, O-25 Accounts Receivable Policy, and O-32 Extraneous Voltages were reviewed by the Board. Upon recommendation of management, a motion was made to rescind all four policies; motion carried.

Financial Report: Manager Briscoe reviewed the operating report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the financial report; motion carried.

Safety Report: Manager Briscoe reviewed the safety statistics and safety report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the safety report; motion carried.

Staff Reports: The staff made the following reports and answered Board questions:
                           a. Manager Briscoe reviewed the Outage Report for the previous month.

General Manager’s Report: Manager Briscoe generally reported on or discussed, among other things: (1) attendance at Tri-State’s Board Meeting; (2) attendance at MDM Meeting held at Highline Electric; (3) NRECA Regional Meeting; and (4) a discussion about status of FERC proceeding and future power supplier. After a lengthy discussion it was the consensus of the Board to have Manager Briscoe begin pursuit of a contract offer from NPPD for future power supply.

Tri-State Report: Director Bear reported Tri-State’s most recent board meeting was a one-day meeting, held virtually but he was unable to participate for the majority of the meeting.

Other Meetings Attended: Director Garrett and Bear both discussed attendance at the NRECA Regional meeting held in Omaha where a large amount of focus was dedicated to Reliability of the nation’s electric grid.

Items for Next Agenda: Potential consideration of a future power supply contract with NPPD.

Legal Update: None.

Other Business: The issue was raised about whether NRPPD would begin conducting business with a local radio station that is under new management and that Tlustos would follow up. A proposal was also raised as to consider new information provided to irrigation accounts to show potential savings by joining the load control program. Additional consideration will be given to that request and potentially included in the materials distributed next year.

Executive Session: None.

Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 11:53 a.m.

APPROVED:
____________________________________ ____________________________________
President                                                           Secretary
 

 

October 26, 2023

  MINUTES OF REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
OF
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF NORTHWEST RURAL PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT

A regular meeting of the Board of Directors of Northwest Rural PPD was held at the headquarters October 26, 2023 at the hour of 1:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by President Lee Ahrens. The following Members were present and constituted a quorum: Lee Ahrens, Lucas Bear, Kevin Christy, Gary Fuchser, Christopher Garrett, Marcus Sandberg, and Ethan Skinner.

Also present were General Manager Chance Briscoe, Operations Manager Ron Olson, Office Manager Tony Hindman, Member Service Representative Les Tlustos, District Counsel Terry Curtiss, employee guest Drew Loutzenhiser, and NE G&T Manager Darin Bloomquist.

Unless otherwise noted, all votes were taken by roll call on motion duly made and seconded and unanimously passed.

Open Meeting Law: The Open Meeting Law was acknowledged.

Agenda: Motion to accept the agenda; motion carried.

Approval of Minutes: A motion was made to accept the minutes of the Regular Meeting of September 29, 2023; motion carried.

Public Comments: None.

Check Register and Payroll Summary Review: The Check Register and Payroll Summary for the previous month were reviewed. President Ahrens declared the items as informational items requiring no Board action.

Action Items: Manager Briscoe introduced Mr. Bloomquist who gave a presentation about the Nebraska Generation and Transmission Cooperative (NE G&T). Mr. Bloomquist discussed who the G&T is, how the G&T interacts with members and NPPD, and benefits of being G&T members. A lengthy question and answer period followed and Mr. Bloomquist left the meeting.
The discussion continued and Manager Briscoe added additional context to the decision of joining the G&T membership. After discussion, a motion was made to request membership in the NE G&T and authorize the General Manager and/or the Board President to sign any documentation to effectuate the membership; motion carried.

The second action item on the agenda was to formally consider requesting a wholesale contract from NPPD. This was by default accepted because membership in the NE G&T is only eligible by having a wholesale contract for power from NPPD. This action item was deemed moot.

Financial Report: Manager Briscoe reviewed the operating report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the financial report; motion carried.

Safety Report: Operations Manager Olson reviewed the safety statistics and safety report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the safety report; motion carried.

Staff Reports: The staff made the following reports and answered Board questions:
          a. Operations Manager Olson reviewed the Outage Report for the previous month, reported that the building is                    essentially on schedule to be done before winter sets in, and that the open lineman position closes in the next                couple weeks.
          b. Member Service Representative Tlustos reported that advertising agreements have been re-established on a                  local radio channel.

General Manager’s Report: Manager Briscoe generally reported on or discussed, among other things: (1) attendance at Tri-State’s Board Meeting; (2) attendance at a Tri-State Manager Meeting; (3) actions taken to pursue wholesale contract with NPPD and/or membership in the NE G&T; and (4) a discussion about status of FERC proceeding and other FERC activities related to Tri-State.

Tri-State Report: Director Bear reported nothing of import to NRPPD occurred at the Tri-State Board Meeting.

Items for Next Agenda: The November meeting was schedule for 1:00 pm on November 27th.

Legal Update: None.

Other Business: None.

Executive Session: None.

Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p.m.

APPROVED:
____________________________________ ____________________________________
President                                                           Secretary


  

November 27, 2023

 

MINUTES OF REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
OF
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF NORTHWEST RURAL PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT

 A regular meeting of the Board of Directors of Northwest Rural PPD was held at the headquarters November 27, 2023 at the hour of 1:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by President Lee Ahrens. The following Members were present and constituted a quorum: Lee Ahrens, Lucas Bear, Kevin Christy, Gary Fuchser, Christopher Garrett, Marcus Sandberg, and Ethan Skinner.

Also present were General Manager Chance Briscoe, Operations Manager Ron Olson, Office Manager Tony Hindman, Member Service Representative Les Tlustos, and employee guest Erik Persons.

Unless otherwise noted, all votes were taken by roll call on motion duly made and seconded and unanimously passed.

Open Meeting Law: The Open Meeting Law was acknowledged.

Agenda: Motion to accept the agenda; motion carried.

Approval of Minutes: A motion was made to accept the minutes of the Regular Meeting of October 26, 2023; motion carried.

Public Comments: None.

Check Register and Payroll Summary Review: The Check Register and Payroll Summary for the previous month were reviewed. President Ahrens declared the items as informational items requiring no Board action.

Action Items: None.

Financial Report: Manager Briscoe reviewed the operating report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the financial report; motion carried.

Safety Report: Operations Manager Olson reviewed the safety statistics and safety report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the safety report; motion carried.

Staff Reports: The staff made the following reports and answered Board questions:
          a. Operations Manager Olson reviewed process to hire a replacement lineman and the number of applications                    received. Olson also updated the Board regarding the completion of the new Truck Garage, which should be                  completed the following week.

General Manager’s Report: Manager Briscoe generally reported on or discussed, among other things: (1) attendance at Tri-State’s Board Meeting; (2) meeting with executive staff of NPPD to discuss logistics and process of procurement of future power supply; (3) attendance at the NPPD Board Meeting where the board voted unanimously to authorize the NPPD CEO, Tom Kent, to offer the 2016 wholesale power supply contract to NRPPD; (4) discussion regarding the United Power/Tri-State settlement terms related to the Adams County case; (5) overview of a new lawsuit filed against Tri-State by La Plata claiming breach of contract on a variety of issues by Tri-State; (6) attendance at the NE G&T Board Meeting where NRPPD was approved to become the 21st member beginning in 2024 after signing wholesale supply contract; and (7) update on various actions at FERC regarding the Formulary Rate filing by Tri-State and lack of action regarding a final ruling in the CTP docket. Briscoe also went through a detailed preview of the 2024 budget forecast for action at the next Board Meeting and Budget Hearing.

Tri-State Report: Director Bear reported Tri-State is showing $-8.2M compared to budget of $18.4M after using $47M of deferred revenue; Barbara Walsz has retired from Tri-State; and that the state of Colorado implemented a $1.4M/year greenhouse gas emissions payment on Tri-State.

Items for Next Agenda: The December meeting was scheduled for December 19th at 10:00 a.m.

Legal Update: None.

Other Business: None.

Executive Session: None.

Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 3:13 p.m.

APPROVED:
____________________________________ ____________________________________
President                                                           Secretary

 MINUTES OF BUDGET HEARING
OF
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF NORTHWEST RURAL PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT

A Budget Hearing was held on December 19, 2023 at the hour of 10:00 a.m. The meeting was called to order by President Lee Ahrens. The following Members were present and constituted a quorum: Lee Ahrens, Lucas Bear, Kevin Christy, Chris Garrett, Gary Fuchser, Marcus Sandberg, and Ethan Skinner.

Also present were General Manager Chance Briscoe, Operations Manager Ron Olson, Office Manager Tony Hindman, Member Service Representative Les Tlustos, employee guest Trampas Belknap, District Counsel Terry Curtiss, and Chad Podolak from NPPD.

Unless otherwise noted, all votes were taken by roll call on motion duly made and seconded and unanimously passed.

Open Meeting Law: The Open Meeting Law was acknowledged.

Public Comment: None.

Order of Business: A motion was made to accept the Order of Business; motion carried 2024 Budget Review: Manger Briscoe reviewed the presentation that was made in November regarding the 2024 Budget. Several questions were asked by the Board and discussion was held.

Adjournment: After questions were reviewed, President Ahrens declared the hearing adjourned at 10:21 a.m.

APPROVED:

____________________________________
President
____________________________________
Secretary-Treasurer

  

December 19, 2023

MINUTES OF REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
OF
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF NORTHWEST RURAL PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT

A regular meeting of the Board of Directors of Northwest Rural PPD was held at the headquarters December 19, 2023 at the hour of 10:22 a.m. The meeting was called to order by President Lee Ahrens. The following Members were present and constituted a quorum: Lee Ahrens, Lucas Bear, Kevin Christy, Gary Fuchser, Christopher Garrett, Marcus Sandberg, and Ethan Skinner.

Also present were General Manager Chance Briscoe, Operations Manager Ron Olson, Office Manager Tony Hindman, Member Service Representative Les Tlustos, employee guest Trampas Belknap, District Counsel Terry Curtiss, and Chad Podolak from NPPD.

Unless otherwise noted, all votes were taken by roll call on motion duly made and seconded and unanimously passed.

Open Meeting Law: The Open Meeting Law was acknowledged.

Agenda: Motion to accept the agenda; motion carried.

Public Comments: Mr. Podolak from NPPD addressed the Board to thank them for their recent decision to attain future power supply from NPPD. Additionally, he gave an update on plans NPPD has for future contract discussions, reviewed some information about NPPD’s billing structure, and other discussion and questions related to NPPD. Upon conclusion, Mr. Podolak left the meeting.

Approval of Minutes: A motion was made to accept the minutes of the Regular Meeting of November 27, 2023; motion carried.

Check Register and Payroll Summary Review: The Check Register and Payroll Summary for the previous month were reviewed. President Ahrens declared the items as informational items requiring no Board action.

Action Items: Previously the Board reviewed the 2024 Budget proposal during the Budget Hearing. A motion was made to approve the 2024 Budget proposal with no rate changes; motion carried.                              

The Action Item to consider 2024 Staff Compensation was moved to the end of the meeting in Executive Session.

Executive Session: A motion was made to enter Executive Session, including management staff, to discuss litigation matters at 11:05; motion carried. A motion was made to exit Executive Session at 11:41.                 

Financial Report: Manager Briscoe reviewed the operating report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the financial report; motion carried.

Safety Report: Operations Manager Olson reviewed the safety statistics and safety report for the previous month. A motion was made to accept the safety report; motion carried.

Staff Reports: The staff made the following reports and answered Board questions:
          a. Operations Manager Olson reviewed the outage report for the previous month, he updated the board on the announcement of a new apprentice to join NRPPD in January, Brenton Abbott, and Director Ahrens attendance at the Safety Meeting.

The board recessed for lunch from 12:00-1:00 pm and Mr. Curtiss left the meeting.

General Manager’s Report: Manager Briscoe generally reported on or discussed, among other things: (1) attendance the NREA Annual Meeting; (2) Tri-State’s Board Meeting; (3) a MDM meeting at Midwest Electric; (4) the Mid-West Electric Consumers Annual Meeting; (5) and some additional FERC activities related to the Wabash/Tipmont docket. A discussion was also held regarding proposed legislation regarding the compensation cap for Directors and the
potential to raise the cap along with tying it to an index that could be adjusted annually. The consensus of the Board was to find out more information but likely support legislation if NREA can work out language to bring forward for approval in the next session.

Tri-State Report: Director Bear reported Tri-State made very brief mention regarding the announcements from NRPPD selecting NPPD for future power supply, that CFC did approve a $200M loan for Tri-State and that Tri-State is expecting FERC to approve their treatment to reverse the $40M ARO expense booked as an expense by Tri-State, which would help satisfy their loan covenant requirements.

Items for Next Agenda: The December meeting was scheduled for January 25th at 1:00 p.m.

Legal Update: None.

Other Business: None.

Executive Session: A motion was made to enter Executive Session at 1:40 p.m. to discuss 2024 Staff Compensation; motion carried and all employees left the meeting except Manager Briscoe. Manager Briscoe was excused for a portion of the Executive Session and then invited back in. A motion was made to exit Executive Session at 2:04 p.m.

Action Item: A motion was made to approve management’s proposal with some modifications discussed with the Manager Briscoe; motion carried.

Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 2:05 p.m.

APPROVED:

____________________________________
President
____________________________________
Secretary


                                                            MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING
                                                                                    OF
                          THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF NORTHWEST RURAL PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT


A special meeting of the Board of Directors of Northwest Rural PPD was held at the headquarters December 20, 2023 at the hour of 4:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by President Lee Ahrens. The following Members were present and constituted a quorum: Lee Ahrens, Lucas Bear, Kevin Christy, Gary Fuchser, Christopher Garrett, Marcus Sandberg, and Ethan Skinner.

Also present were General Manager Chance Briscoe, District Counsel Terry Curtiss, and from the law firm of Loeb and Loeb, Richard Lorenzo and Nicole Travers.

Unless otherwise noted, all votes were taken by roll call on motion duly made and seconded and unanimously passed.

Agenda: A motion was made to accept the agenda; motion carried.

Public Comment: None.

Executive Session: A motion was made at 4:01 p.m. to enter Executive Session to discuss Litigation matters; motion carried. A motion was made to exit Executive Session at 6:00 p.m.; motion carried.

Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 6:01 p.m.

APPROVED:
____________________________________ ____________________________________
President                                                           Secretary