ANNUAL MEETING Q&A FOLLOW UP

I would like to thank all the members who attended our annual meeting on April 27. This month, I'm going to provide answers to the questions members asked during the business meeting.

INCENTIVES

Our incentive/rebate program is managed by Dairyland Power Cooperative (DPC). One requirement for the appliance incentive is the appliances need to be ENERGY STAR-certified products. ENERGY STAR is a government-backed energy efficiency program administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Certification as “ENERGY STAR approved” is a helpful standard for energy efficiency thresholds and is a straightforward way for co-op members to confirm expected energy efficiency and related cost savings. Additionally, it qualifies for efficiency standard requirements outlined in the incentive programs offered to our members.

Members can also get incentives through our participation in Focus on Energy, a Wisconsin-based program.

Please go to www.oakdalerec.com/focus-energy to learn more about available energy-saving incentives.

BATTERY STORAGE

Currently, OEC does not have any large-scale battery storage systems established on our distribution network. We are closely monitoring this technology and have tentative plans to deploy a system within the next five years. Right now, these batteries are expensive, and depending on the size, last for only four to six hours before being fully discharged and needing to be recharged. Although the batteries do not last long, we are evaluating how battery storage could be used during our peak demand times. They could eventually put stored energy back onto our grid so there would be less demand on our substations.

SOLAR SAVINGS

Since December 2023, OEC has had two solar gardens in operation that combined generate a total of 4.5 MW of energy annually. Although OEC does not technically own these two solar gardens, we have a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the developer, which means we purchase the electricity at a set price.



We purchase the electricity for less than if we bought it from our wholesale provider DPC, which provides small savings for the entire membership annually. Unfortunately, due to the small savings, you will not see a lower electric bill each month. There would need to be a more significant amount of solar energy (at a lower cost) installed on our system before we’d really see a difference in our bills.