One of my favorite events is coming up on May 13, 2023, when Hill County Electric Cooperative (HCE) will host our Annual Meeting for you, the members we proudly serve. I always look forward to this event because it’s a great opportunity for our employees and myself to talk with our members and hear what’s on their minds. We hope you will join us for the Annual Meeting, which will take place at MSU-Northern's Student Union Building on Saturday, May 13 at 10 a.m. We thank you in advance for getting involved because your participation means so...

This year, HCE no longer has a nominating committee. The committee was eliminated in last year’s bylaw change. With this change, the only way to run for the Board of Trustees is by petition. Open districts this year are District 2 and District 3. Nominee requirements to run: Petition with district number and name of nominee Collect 15 current members’ printed name, address, and signature on petition Nominee must live within the district in which they are running To sign the petition, a member does not have to live in same district as ...

If you look around your home, you likely have more devices and equipment that require electricity more than ever before. Our connected lives are increasingly dependent on more electricity to function. As demand for electricity rises, Hill County Electric (HCE) delivers an uninterrupted 24/7 power supply. Electricity use fluctuates throughout the day based on consumer demand. HCE must be able to provide enough electricity to meet the energy needs of all members during times of high energy use or “peak hours.” These peak times are typically i...

In this month’s message I would like to discuss kW demand and energy. I covered this topic in previous newsletters, but now you should be seeing graphs on your bill statements showing monthly usage and kW demand, so I wanted to review these topics. Energy and demand are two separate things. Energy is the amount of power you consume; it is the amount of electricity used over a period of time and you would see it on your bill as a kWh or kilowatt- hour. Demand measures the maximum amount of electrical power consumed at a given time. How is d...

Last month we reviewed demand of the peak at your home and on our system. We covered how the base load that we reviewed in September makes the peak possible. Now we are going to look to see what produces CO2 and how we either avoid it or sequester for the climate. Nuclear gives off zero CO2 emissions while generating power and energy. Did you know that all nuclear waste in this country can fit in an area less than the size of one football field? The new methods of nuclear power generation are using small modular reactors that are much safer...

In the September magazine I spoke about how renewables help the grid, but are not an answer as a replacement to hydro/coal/natural gas or nuclear provided base load that is needed to ensure 24/7/365 coverage of your power needs. The base load is necessary for reliable and sustained power and energy that is there when we all need it, not just a percentage of the time when renewables are producing power and energy. California is a prime example of what happens when you remove the above listed base load power and energy generation methods. Cal...

Fall is a busy time and October is a particularly eventful month with school, community, and sports activities in full swing. October is also when cooperatives everywhere celebrate National Co-op Month. When I say Hill County Electric Cooperative (HCE) celebrates Co-op Month, it really means we are celebrating you! After all, our co-op wouldn’t exist without you, our members. Our core business purpose is to serve as your electricity provider, but the larger mission of the co-op is to help make our corner of the world a better place. “Concer...

This month’s note is going to be a little different for me. What a crazy weather year! It seems that we started in a drought, moved to some wet weather, but not enough to take us out of the drought and now we are back to grasshopper weather; hot and covered in grasshoppers. This is the second year in a row where the grasshoppers outnumber everything else. I hope that you all are staying cool in your homes and are winning the battle against the grasshoppers. I am staying cool in the house, but losing the battle against the grasshoppers. To s...

You may have noticed a Demand graph on your June bill. Demand refers to the maximum amount of electrical power that is being consumed at a given time. At this time, Hill County Electric is NOT charging a demand charge. The new graph gives our members an idea of their demand usage each month. The bill example at right includes an explanation of the charges on your monthly bill. Please contact our billing department if you have any questions.