March 2023 Editorial

March 2023 Highline Notes Editorial 

Marshal Albright, Cass County Electric Cooperative CEO & President

Board Leadership Changes
The Cass County Electric Cooperative Board of Directors elected Glenn Mitzel, West Fargo, director for district 6, to serve as the board chair after the recent chair, Jeff Triebold, resigned from the board. Former Director Triebold’s departure opened a seat in District 4. During the annual meeting in April, the membership will vote for a new director to fill the vacancy. Terry Kraft, West Fargo, District, At-large, was named vice chair/secretary, and Kalvin Hoff, Fargo, District 8, is treasurer.

NDAREC Board Appointment
Former Director Triebold served on the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives (NDAREC) Board. To fill the vacancy because of Director Triebold’s departure, Tom Seymour, West Fargo, director, District 5, was elected by the board to represent Cass County Electric Cooperative on the NDAREC board.

2023 Legislative Session
The 2023 legislature is in full swing, with over 900 bills introduced. Some of the areas we are watching and providing input on are:

Workforce
Many of our members are challenged with unaffordable and unavailable childcare. This is a hot topic across the state, and several bills have been introduced addressing the issue. In some cases, childcare costs have risen over 40% in the past few years because of high demand, lack of workers, and increased childcare center operating costs. One example of the high price of childcare is that a family with two kids under six years of age pays nearly $24,000 annually for childcare.

Infrastructure Funding
With drought conditions persisting in the State, the need for a secondary water supply for eastern North Dakota remains a high priority. A small portion of the Red River Valley Water Supply Project was funded by the Legislature in the 2021 session and is now under construction. However, future funding has not been allocated and must be fast-tracked to complete the project as soon as possible, as we are one drought away from running low on water. This will require the Legislature to allocate hundreds of millions of dollars over the next 6-10 years to ensure we have an adequate water supply for our future.

CCEC Operations
Over the past two years, the cooperative has been challenged with supply chain issues, including critical components like transformers, poles, and wires. Not only is material hard to get with lead times of more than one year in many cases, but prices have also increased by more than 40%.

One manufacturing component that has increased in price and is in high demand is electric steel (E-steel). E-steel is one of the main components of an electric transformer. Copper is also in high demand because it is used in the production of transformers and, along with E-Steel, is used to make motors for electric vehicles.

Annual Meeting
CCEC will hold its annual meeting on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, at the Delta Hotel in Fargo. Doors open at 5:00 PM, the meal will be served at 5:30 PM, and the business meeting will begin at 6:00 PM. Districts 4 and at-large will have contested elections. If you are unable to attend the meeting in person to vote for a director, you can request an absentee ballot by calling the office at 701-356-4400, or you can request a ballot on our website at CassCountyElectric.com.