Wright Hennepin Electric News

Board blog: Representing your interests on a state and national level

In addition to our monthly board meetings, there are many other aspects of being a board member.

Energy saving blog: Save money on your lighting costs

Did you know the standard incandescent light bulb only uses 10-20 percent of the energy it consumes for light? The rest of the energy it uses is given off as heat.

CEO blog: Life before electricity: "It was a very dark place indeed"

In preparation for WH’s 75th anniversary next month, I have enjoyed reading the yellowing clips and documents in our archives that record the milestones of bringing power to this area. That prompted me to explore other sources of information about the development of electricity itself.

News release: Wright-Hennepin receives Outstanding Member of the Year Award

Board blog: Minnesota Rural Electric Association's role in cooperative business

Most Wright-Hennepin (WH) members may be familiar with their cooperative and the support it provides for its members. However, WH has a support system of its own to help provide its members with the best service possible. The Minnesota Rural Electric Association (MREA) is a part of that support system. This organization is governed by a 14-member board of directors, which represents electric cooperatives across the state.

CEO blog: A WH version of the Consumer Electronics Show

I’m a gadget guy. I like to watch the latest technology trends and determine how WH can quickly implement them to increase our service offerings.

Energy saving blog: The cost-saving advantages of space heaters

Portable heaters can come in handy for a variety of situations and can save you money on your overall heating costs. There are situations where you may only need to heat a small area, and using a small space heater can be less expensive than turning up the thermostat on your whole-house heating system. Space heaters can also be used to raise the temperature of rooms used by individuals who are sensitive to cold, without the added expense of over-heating the rest of your home.

News release: Wright-Hennepin will offer 20 scholarships for local students in 2012

News Release: Youth tour trip to Washington, D.C. available through Wright-Hennepin

Board blog: The value of your cooperative

Change in life means different things to different people.

Residents without electricity definitely experienced a change in life when their homesteads were electrified. My parents received this change after World War II.

Energy saving blog: Tightening up air leaks in your home

Conserving energy in your home is about better insulating the envelope inside as well as outside. A very easy and inexpensive project to help you accomplish this is to install wall and switch plate seals.

Board blog: A typical board meeting

As I write this, I am preparing for the January board meeting. Earlier this week, the CEO sent out the monthly information packet for this meeting. It is 104 pages of reports the board will review for the electric operation and the holding company meetings.

CEO blog: A prediction for 2012

My year-end reading included an article in Forbes Magazine from November that might offer perspective on the energy-policy path our nation is on right now. In the article “Renewable Energy’s Sixty Years of Broken Dreams, But Keep Those Ideas Coming,” author Bruce Upbin laid bare the gulf between energy hopes and realities that have come and gone in America over the years.

Energy saving blog: Save energy by reducing phantom loads

Have you ever gotten up at night to get a glass of water and noticed a lot of little red lights shining around your living room? Devices that produce these lights are constantly drawing energy – whether they’re on or off.

Energy saving blog: Choosing a television that is energy efficient

Even though you may have gotten a great Black Friday deal on an HDTV, that new television may end up costing you more money than your old tube TV in the long run.

Board blog: What makes cooperatives different?

You may know that your electric company is a cooperative, but have you thought about what that means to you?

Wright-Hennepin board returns $1.2 million in capital credits to members

CEO blog: Ben Franklin's experiment with electricity and a turkey

With Thanksgiving on the horizon, I set a writing objective to try to find some interesting research or a unique story that connects this great American holiday with the electric industry. I soon found that this was no small task. The only thing I found was the usual fare about baking your holiday bird in an electric oven.

Dutch fall out of love with windmills

This article from Reuters discusses how wind energy has transitioned from the Netherlands best hope for curbing carbon emissions to a financial burden.

Energy saving blog: My new oven - a sensible solution for saving energy

There’s been a lot of buzz about energy conservation in recent years, and as you probably know, conserving energy is not always easy to do. However, I’ve discovered a way to save energy while cooking and baking, which may be very helpful during the upcoming holiday season.

Board blog: Seven questions the board asks during the budgeting process

One of the primary financial oversight responsibilities of your board is to approve the annual budget and ensure that your company is effectively using the budget to make informed managerial decisions.

Wright-Hennepin to host safety day for home-schoolers

Energy saving blog: How to save money on holiday lighting

The holiday season is approaching fast, and many of you are probably planning on using stringed lights to make your home look more festive. However, it’s important to consider how much these electricity-drawing additions cost.

California's new green tax

This article - originally posted in the Wall Street Journal - suggests that California's "green" laws, which were implemented in 2006, do not take into consideration the current state of the U.S. economy.

Board blog: Hello and goodbye

If I have not met you at an Annual Meeting or around town, let me introduce myself. My name is Sarah Evenson, and I am the board representative for District 7 (Plymouth, Minn. and Medina, Minn.). This is my first and last post, as I will soon be leaving the board.

Energy saving blog: Preventing air infiltration

Air leakage – or infiltration – occurs when outside air enters a house through uncontrolled spaces like cracks and small openings. Properly sealing cracks and openings in your home can significantly reduce your heating and cooling costs, improve building durability and create a healthier indoor environment for you and your family.

CEO blog: Could the next Steve Jobs come from WH's service territory?

On the heels of my last blog about the great electrical inventor Thomas Edison, came word that Apple Founder and CEO Steve Jobs passed away. As an uber-fan of Apple products, my attention zoned in on every Jobs’ story that ran in the days that followed his death.

Energy saving blog: Save money by properly maintaining your mechanical ventilation system

Fall is a great time of year to check your mechanical ventilation system. Keeping these systems well maintained is a simple, cost effective way to save you money on your winter energy bills.

Home systems that manage energy may be a harder sell

This article from SDM explains why environmental issues are being put on the general public's "back burner."

Shedding some light on solar power

This article from The American Thinker discusses the challenges associated with transitioning to renewable energy sources.

Board blog: Why is my power company a cooperative?

Seventy-five years ago, if you lived in a city or small town, chances are your home had electric power. That meant you could have a refrigerator, electric lights and indoor plumbing

Prologue to Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years

This excerpt from Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years uses Greenland as an example to explain that climates naturally change over time.

Energy saving blog: Top 10 tips learned from energy-saving contest

What would you do with an extra $1,200? That is what one family calculated their electric bill savings to be over a four-month period of actively conserving energy. This family also won Wright-Hennepin’s 2011 “Littlest User” energy-saving contest.

Board blog: A message from your board chair

Seventy-five years ago, if you lived in a city or small town, chances are your home had electric power. That meant you could have a refrigerator, electric lights and indoor plumbing

CEO blog: In the spirit of Edison, WH and its members are part of ground breaking technology, innovation

As we get ready for WH’s 75th anniversary next year, I can’t help but think of Thomas Edison from time to time – how his pioneering ideas quite literally changed the world and ultimately how his inventions made WH possible. I think, too, about how important it is that we keep the spirit of Edison alive.

Electric bills about to spike

This article from The Daily Beast discusses how upgrading the electric industry’s aging infrastructure will cause electric rates to rise.

Energy saving blog: Wright-Hennepin’s new energy saving information blog

At Wright-Hennepin, we do regular member surveys to help us provide our members with relevant information. Based on the results of these surveys, you have told us time and time again that you’d like to hear more energy-saving tips that will help reduce energy use in your homes and reduce your electric bills. This blog is meant to help meet that objective.

CEO blog: You can teach an old CEO new tricks

I started my career with WH 31 years ago this week. So much has changed over the past three decades; it’s a constant challenge to stay ahead of it all – especially the technology. On my first day here, I was assigned a manual typewriter and a stack of five-part carbon paper to write and edit WH’s newsletter and other public communications.