As a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, we strive to offer new solutions and state of the art technology to meet our member’s needs.
Your Touchstone Energy Cooperative and our power supply partners of Northeast Missouri Power Cooperative and Associated Electric Cooperatives are continually making changes to make our power generation and delivery to you our member –consumers as environmentally friendly as allowed by cost effective measures. For example, Associated Electric Cooperative has been a leader in incorporating wind energy and other renewable energy into the generation power supply mix. Associated currently has 1,240 megawatts of wind generation in the portfolio representing 19% of member load in 2021. Also, the Hydro power allocation represents 7% of the member's energy needs bringing the renewable resources to 26% of the total power supply mix for 2021.
At the distribution cooperative level, we at Southern Iowa Electric Cooperative have two programs for our member-owners to consider.
The first program is to use energy created by renewable energy jointly owned by Southern Iowa Electric Cooperative and our generation/transmission partners Northeast Power Electric and Associated Electric Cooperative. Members may choose to purchase blocks of renewable equal to all or some of their energy from these renewable sources. Many residential customers will average through the year 1000 kWh’s each month of electric usage. With the purchase of 1 block, 10% of the energy used in the home is from a renewable source. The premium for the Green Power Program is added to the amount you are already paying for electricity. Renewable energy is sold in 100-kilowatt hour (kWh) blocks. The program will be offered semi-annually with a term of 6 months. The cost for the Green Power Program for the January 1 - June 30, 2023 term is an adder of $0.333 per 100 kWh block (per month). This means for each 100 kWh block that is purchased, $0.333 will be added to the current electric bill. If you are interested in participating in this program please contact Lori McAllister at 800-607-2027.
The Green Power Program is also available to our Commercial and Industrial Members. Renewable energy is sold in 1-Megawatt hour (MWh) blocks. The cost for the program for the January 1 - June 30, 2023 term is an adder of $3.33 per 1 MWh block (per month). If you are interested in participating in this program please contact Lori McAllister at 800-607-2027.
The second program is to purchase your own renewable generation equipment and sign an interconnection and purchase power agreement with Southern Iowa Electric Cooperative. There are a few members who have signed these agreements for wind and solar generation and have found a more prompt return on their investment by matching the size of the generation resource to their expected load requirements. Associated Electric Cooperative (SIEC's power provider) will purchase the energy you make available from your generation facility that is not consumed by you at the time of generation. When the generation exceeds the members load then payment in the form of a bill credit will be applied to the member's electric bill on a monthly basis. It is within the members control to match either the generation resource to their load requirements and/or seek to control the timing of their load to match their member owned generation. Regardless of the size of generation facility you are considering please contact us early in your decision making process. In accordance with Iowa Code 476.6A the owner of any alternate energy production facility (solar, wind, etc.) that is attached to the Cooperative lines is required to provide written notification to the Cooperative of the intent to install the facility at least 30 days prior to construction. (The notification form is available below.) The appropriate Interconnection Agreement must also be completed and signed by the member and the Cooperative before installation on Cooperative lines occur. We believe we can be a valuable resource in your decision making process. Please feel free to contact Lori McAllister at 800-607-2027
Are you considering an investment in solar power? We can help!
The core mission of Southern Iowa Electric Cooperative, Inc., is to provide you with power that is safe, reliable, environmentally responsible and affordable. Whether the power is generated through the cooperative’s generation and transmission systems or through an individual member’s distributed generation system, we never deviate from this mission.
With public interest growing in both renewable energy and the advancements of small-scale electric generating systems, it’s easy to understand why the idea of solar power interests so many people. However, adding distributed generation at your home, farm or business takes much more effort than just a trip to the hardware store and plugging in a solar panel when you get back. It’s a process that requires a significant amount of fact-finding and analysis – and then careful evaluation of the information you learned about everything from equipment availability and siting requirements to professional installation and the significant dollar investment involved.
We invite you to call us for assistance at the beginning of your investigative process. Beyond meeting the requirements of Iowa law stating that you must contact the cooperative before attempting to interconnect your own power generating equipment to our lines, we can walk you through a number of preliminary safety and installation precautions to consider.
You also should contact the experts at the Iowa Energy Center (www.iowaenergycenter.org) or Indian Hills Community College for advice on what other issues to consider, including a site assessment. You should get in touch with several lenders, beyond the one the seller of the solar equipment recommends. And you should consult your attorney and insurance agent for their input on your project.
Notice: Iowa Code 476.6A Alternate energy production facilities-notification requirements:
1. On and after January 1, 2013, the owner of an alternate energy production facility, as defined in section 476.42, which when constructed or installed will be attached to an electric transmission or distribution line or attached to equipment which is attached to an electric transmission or distribution line, who has not entered into a power purchase agreement with a public utility, shall be subject to the notification requirements of subsection 2. 2. No later than thirty days prior to commencement of the construction or installation of an alternate energy production facility as described in subsection 1, the owner of the facility shall provide written notice to the public utility within whose service territory the facility is to be located of the owner’s intent to construct or install the facility, the type of facility to be constructed or installed, and the date that the facility is anticipated to commence operation.
DISTRIBUTED GENERATION 30 DAY NOTICE REQUIRMENT FORM
DISTRIBUTED GENERATION MYTHS VS FACTS
DISTRIBUTED GENERATION TOP 10 CONSIDERATIONS
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR SOLAR VENDOR
IOWA ENERGY CENTER SOLAR PV ENERGY GUIDE
Just some steps we are taking to help to provide a cleaner, brighter tomorrow.