2019 ER Annual Report_website

In this annual report, you’ll read examples
from the past year that highlight how our
cooperative network is working together to
shape a strong future for our member-owners.
In 2019, East River set our transmission
system upgrade plan into motion. The plan
will invest hundreds of millions of dollars
over the next decade to replace aging
infrastructure, improve our system’s reliability
and accommodate continued load growth.
East River’s Renewable Energy Credit (REC)
program entered its third year in 2019 and 11
of our member systems are now offering the
program to their member-owners. By offering
the REC program at their local co-ops,
East River’s member co-ops can give their
member-owners a low-cost way to showcase
their support for renewable energy.
East River continued its award-winning farm
safety campaign in 2019. Now in its third year,
the campaign reminds farmers to be aware
of electrical equipment when working on the
farm and educates them on the steps to take
if their equipment contacts a power line. It also
showcases the great work that can happen
when our membership comes together
to drive change. East River established a
partnership with the South Dakota Department
of Agriculture this past year to distribute the
campaign’s brochures and equipment window
clings to all attendees of statewide pesticide
applicator trainings and we look forward to
continuing that partnership in future years.
East River’s business development efforts
continued expanding in 2019, alongside the
Rural Electric Economic Development (REED)
Fund, with overall goals to build connections
with prospective load-growing businesses
and show them the benefits of locating in the
service territories of our member systems.
In November 2018, East River and our
member systems hosted a regional Livestock
Development Summit on the South Dakota
State University campus. The purpose of the
regional summit was to address key issues
related to livestock development in our region,
discuss the most effective and responsible
ways to move forward and connect producers
with industry leaders and businesses.
In its second year, East River’s Cyber and IT
Services program is one of our newest servicesharing
opportunities and now has eight
member system participants. The program
provides participating co-ops with complete
cyber security and IT support and the co-ops
also receive full IT helpdesk services. The
program’s cyber security services include
logging, incident response, vulnerability
scanning, software patching, data backup,
end user training, monthly reports and more.
East River staff has been meeting with Dakota
State University (DSU) officials over the past
year about a potential smart home research
project. In mid-2019, NRECA and East River
entered into an agreement to begin the project
with researchers from DSU to explore the
technologies that will be included in the next
generation of the rural home. The project
will also work to find solutions that will allow
electric cooperatives to play an integral role
in helping consumers optimize their energy
usage.
Leadership on public policy remains an
important objective in East River’s strategic
plan and our team was hard at work again this
past year in Pierre, St. Paul and Washington,
D.C., representing our industry. By working
closely with our member systems as well as
with SDREA, MREA and NRECA in remaining
connected with elected public officials as well
as candidates for office, we ensure that the
electric cooperative voice remains strong both
locally and nationally.
East River was formed by the determination
and collective effort of our member systems.
Our continued success will rely on our
cooperative family staying committed to our
unified future. The great working relationships
between East River and our member systems
will enable us to shape an even stronger
tomorrow.
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