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• Resolutions and ByLaws

Resolutions and ByLaws

The 2009 Resolutions Committee met Sept. 16-17 at Headquarters. From left: Alan Lucken, District 4; Philip Habeck, District 10; Roberta Rohrer, board representative; David Sigloh, District 8; Arden Fuhrer, District 3; Alden Flakoll, District 1; Melanie Roe, District 6; John Van Beek, District 7; Harold Dykstra, District 2; Mark Doll, District 9. Not pictured: Jack Finnerty, District 5.

The Resolutions Committee, represented by a director from each of the districts and a Basin Electric director, meets every September to review Basin Electric's resolutions and consider amendments in light of current events and legislation. Roberta Rohrer, District 6, represented the board of directors on the 2009 committee.

Resolutions changes approved by the membership

The committee approved changing the resolution on a national transmission grid to encourage support for system-wide average pricing. Because broad support for a national transmission grid has been increasing, the resolution now urges development. The resolution supporting nuclear power was revised to reflect that Basin Electric’s generation portfolio now includes, through Corn Belt Power’s joint ownership in Duane Arnold Energy Center, a nuclear plant near Palo, IA.

The resolution, “Energy Efficiency and Conservation,” was split into two and renamed. “End-use Energy Efficiency and Conservation” is now directed toward the end-use consumer. “Barriers to Operating Efficiency,” the new resolution, focuses on power plant efficiency because making power plants more efficient often means initiating more regulation. The new resolution urges Congress to adopt legislation promoting efficiency improvements at existing plants.

The resolution, "Dilution of Federal Preference Power," was revised to include a statement on wind energy and how preference customers are treated. Preference customers are those protected by Congress to protect rural economies from unstable power rates. Preference customers such as Basin Electric have aggressively included wind in their energy portfolios. For that reason, policies should protect existing preference customers and where feasible, ensure that future benefits accrue to them.

Three resolutions dealing with air quality regulations and climate change were revised to include recent legislative activities involving carbon dioxide and regulatory activities involving Regional Haze. Additional edits and amendments were made to several other resolutions.

Arden Fuher of District 3 – Central Power Electric Cooperative, chair of the Resolutions Committee, reported the changes to the membership during the Annual Meeting and asked that they be approved as presented. The membership voted and approved all changes made by the committee.

• Download a PDF version of the 2009 Resolutions

Chairman Arden Fuhrer, District 3, (right) discusses possible amendments to Basin Electric resolutions with members of the Resolutions Committee prior to the 2009 Annual Meeting. Roberta Rohrer, District 6, (left) was the board of directors representative.

Report of the Bylaw Review Committee

Following the Resolutions Committee report, Jeff Nelson of East River Electric Power Cooperative, chairman of the Bylaw Review Committee, reported to the membership.

The Bylaws Review Committee meets every other year; this year, the committee met prior to the Special Membership Meeting held Aug. 13. The membership voted on bylaws changes at that time, most notable of which was the addition of District 11.

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