Posted: 12/4/07
Tri-County Electric breaks ground on new headquarters
There's an old saying that when you're handed lemons, make lemonade. That is exactly what Tri-County Electric Cooperative (TEC) has been doing the past few months.
"We've been handed a lot of lemons," joked Brian Krambeer, TEC's president and CEO, as he held up a lemon during the groundbreaking ceremony for the cooperative's new headquarters Nov. 26.
It was two years ago that a new facility designed to encompass the cooperative's office, warehouse and pole yard at one site was first identified by TEC's board of directors as a future necessity. With wholesale power costs accounting for nearly 70 percent of TEC's budget, the greatest opportunities for the cooperative to control the remaining 30 percent of its budget lie in technology and automation. Extensive remodeling wasn't going to solve the limitations of its office building in achieving those goals. The board took action at that time and dove into the planning process. Then came the rains of Aug. 18 and 19, which changed the lives of everyone.
The flood left lemons, but because of the forward thinking of the co-op's board, the planning process for the new headquarters is complete and TEC is moving ahead now with lemonade.
Krambeer announced during the ceremony that the new headquarters is 78,680 square feet and will house all current operations at one location, which will help improve efficiency among departments. The co-op also will be following "green" building practices some of which include: heating and cooling with a ground source heat pump, adding a reflective white roof to reduce summer cooling costs and collecting rainwater for irrigating the grounds.
The new headquarters will also allow TEC to move forward with the advancement of technology such as utilizing an advanced outage management and mapping system to help pin-point power outages quickly. For members it means that when the lights do go out, they will be back on faster. Other additions include the ability to host on-site trainings and web conferencing, which will ensure employees continue to be trained properly so members continue receiving the best service possible, while reducing travel costs for the cooperative.
"Overall, the new building adds new technology that will increase efficiency in our day-to-day operations." Krambeer said. "It will also allow us to be more proactive in meeting the needs of our members. We'll have the tools to track electric usage by members to help them find areas to reduce energy use. Tools will also be available to aid in decreasing the number and length of power outages."
The headquarters, which is located along City Park Road and has access to highways 30 and 16 just west of Rushford, is projected to cost $6.5 million.
The cooperative is currently conducting business out of its warehouse and a construction trailer. The office building has been cleaned, sanitized and recently sold to another Rushford business affected severely by the flood, Norsland Lefse.
TEC is a member-owned electric distribution cooperative serving three counties in Minnesota including Winona, Houston and Fillmore and parts of Olmsted and Mower counties in Minnesota and Howard, Winneshiek and Allamakee counties in Iowa. It provides electricity to more than 12,000 services in the area. Tri-County Electric is a Touchstone Energy cooperative.
Caledonia Argus
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