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August 2020

Important Notice Economic Rebuilding FreeState understands some members may be facing unusual financial hardships due to the pandemic, and we are here to help. If you are unable to pay your bill due to the financial impacts of the pandemic, we urge you to call FreeState at 800-794-1989 to discuss options. Hello! Here are a few helpful links Visit our website Contact FreeState The Digital Outlet

A 1 MW solar farm production is the equivalent of 1, 322 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Reducing the carbon footprint is just one benefit of renewable energy like solar. Are you interested in renewable energy? Yes Select No Select Solar projects reduce the amount of power purchased through the wholesale power contract with KEPCo, decrease peak demand and create stability for all FreeState consumer-members. Harvesting Clean Energy Power Supplier Contract Updated. FreeState can now generate an additional 5% of peak demand utilizing renewable generation - and will. Recently, the wholesale power contract between FreeState and one of our power suppliers, Kansas Electric Power Cooperative (KEPCo), was updated to include the ability to generate up to an additional 5% of peak demand (kW) and energy (kWh) utilizing renewable generation. The power contract adjustment is for the East District, and allows FreeState the rare opportunity to expand renewable energy production at the cooperative level. A primary driver of increasing electric rates is increased peak demand, and FreeState’s wholesale power cost is based on that peak demand. We intend to take advantage of this opportunity to save our consumer-members money over time. FreeState is working on plans to build two 1 MW solar farms in our East District. As FreeState explores the opportunities provided by this new development, we know these solar projects will help the cooperative maintain the promise of providing safe, reliable and affordable energy to all of our consumer-members across the entire service territory. FreeState sees the benefit of lessening the cooperative’s carbon footprint. A 1 MW solar farm production is the equivalent of 1, 322 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Reducing the carbon footprint is just one benefit of renewable energy like solar. Harvesting clean energy is low maintenance and the cost to produce energy from the sun is practically zero, and grid distributed solar has lower losses during transfer due to the proximity to the end-user. Solar projects reduce the amount of power purchased through the wholesale power contract with KEPCo, decrease peak demand and create stability for all FreeState consumer-members.  We will be providing more information about our renewable opportunities in the coming months, but I wanted to take the opportunity to let our consumer-members know that we are working hard behind the scenes to come up with a solution to save money that makes sense, and uses clean, renewable energy.

Capital Credits Delayed Members saw an allocation on their July electric bill, but the capital credit retirement will be delayed. The board of trustees elected to delay the retirement of capital credits after concluding that the impact on revenue due to weather and the global pandemic needs to be reevaluated before making a decision that could alter the financial stability of the cooperative.  “Earlier in the spring we communicated to members that we were going to see some financial impacts due to the weather,” said Steve Foss, FreeState CEO. “But we didn’t anticipate a global pandemic.”  “The pandemic did impact our revenue, but, with changes we made as a staff, we were able to mitigate drastic measures and maintain our projected budget,” Foss said. “But part of maintaining was the decision to delay the payment of capital credits.”  Foss said that once the moratorium on disconnection for nonpayment was lifted, and as the weather shifts to warmer temperatures the board is optimistic that capital credit payments may come later in the year.  “The cooperative has gotten to a point where we are looking at how we are going to move forward,” said Foss.  Once the board of trustees makes a decision regarding capital credits, FreeState will communicate that information with our consumer-members.  Fall Events Canceled Board of Trustees decides to cancel member appreciation events amid ongoing public health concerns. The Community Health Fair, that was scheduled for Sept. 23, and the Community Energy Fair, which was scheduled for Oct. 28 have been canceled.  “Our concern for our community extends to the overall health and welfare of our members,” said Steve Foss, CEO. “With growing concerns over an uptick in the spread of COVID-19, we have made the difficult decision to cancel these events this year.”  The Centers for Disease Control’s “All of Community” approach to slowing the transmission of COVID-19 includes minimizing social contact. “We are disappointed that we’ll miss our members this fall,” said Sarah Farlee, public relations and marketing specialist, who plans the events. “But, the fact of the matter is we want our members and vendors, and communities to stay healthy and we have a responsibility to help our communities and members to stay healthy." “Our health fair has grown and the space we have in McLouth would force us to limit the number of vendors or attendees, and we didn’t want to do that.”  FreeState continues to operate normally and monitor the situation to keep employees safe. “The situation we’re facing is still fluid, and if you need us, we’ll be here,” Foss said.

Learn More About Youth Opportunities Youth Tour Alumna Shares Memories Barely missing the Topeka tornado, hearing LBJ speak, meeting (then Congressman) Bob Dole and checking out the engagement ring of the First Daughter, were just a few highlights Patricia (Page) Smith remembers from her trip to Washington, D.C. in 1966. Read More

Smart power strips can save you money while making your home more energy efficient. Smart power strips actually cut power off to save energy since they are able to detect when a device is in standby mode. Source: energy.gov Do you utilize smart strips or surge protection in your home? Yes Select No Select It’s important to understand the difference between a power strip that provides more plugs and a power strip that provides surge protection. A power strip adds extra outlet space while a surge protector defends against possible voltage spikes that could damage your electronics, appliances, or equipment. Protecting Your Home Against A Power Surge At $5 per month a device from FreeState will protect against power surges that comes through the meter. FreeState’s meter base surge arrester, while not a whole home surge suppressor, does protect against surges that try to go through your electric meter. The device the cooperative leases to members for $5 per month (no installation fee) will protect against surges that come through the meter location.  Surges can be caused by lightning strikes, birds, squirrels, and trees, or accidents involving utility poles. The device leased by FreeState would help protect from surges caused by these factors. It’s a small price to pay for added security.  A whole home surge suppressor is designed to protect all the appliances in your home from voltage spikes, limiting excess electrical current by blocking its flow or shorting it to ground, much like a pressure relief valve. This includes surges occurring not only from lightning or what would come through the meter, but the 60-80% of surges that occur from within your home. These devices are usually installed in your breaker box by an electrician. Your final layer of defense for sensitive electronics in your home is a surge protector at your outlet. It’s important to understand the difference between a power strip that provides more plugs and a power strip that provides surge protection. A power strip adds extra outlet space while a surge protector defends against possible voltage spikes that could damage your electronics, appliances, or equipment. Purchasing a Power Strip Keep in mind the orientation of the outlets. The typical design is along the length of the strip, facing the bottom or end of the strip. I recommend power strips with the outlets perpendicular to the length of the strip.  Get a smart strip. These are becoming more common and less expensive. With smart strips, one outlet serves as a master, receiving power all the time. This allows you to shut off the TV and everything else on the power strip also powers down, saving electricity. Purchasing a Surge Protector Ensure that the packaging indicates surge suppression or surge protections and has a rating. A Surge protector will have a joule rating. For most applications, 1,000-2,000 is enough. However, for expensive home theater gear, game consoles, desktop or laptop computers something over 2,000 joules is recommended. Another level of protection you may want to consider is cable or internet connections. Surges can enter any wired connection. Be sure the surge protector you purchase is designed to handle digital televisions because if not, you can get pixelation on your screen.  Make sure there is an indicator light that will alert you if the protection is no longer functional.  Price matters. Higher quality surge suppression may be worth the money if you are protecting higher-priced electronics.  Finally, if you have older surge protectors in your house or if you think they have absorbed a major surge it is recommended they be replaced. Most resources I have found online recommend they be replaced as frequently as every year or two. If you are interested in investing in this device contact our office.

FreeState Electric Cooperative, Inc., is not subject to the jurisdiction, regulation, supervision and control of the Kansas Corporation Commission, except as specified in K.S.A. 66-104d(f).

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Privacy Policy  FreeState is a consumer-owned and consumer-controlled electric cooperative. FreeState operates on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of its member-consumers. Accordingly, the Board has adopted this Policy on Privacy of Member-Consumer Information to establish fair information principles for FreeState in carrying out its responsibility to respect the privacy of personally identifiable information about member-consumers. Notice: FreeState publicly discloses its policies and practices for the collection, maintenance, use, and disclosure of personally identifiable information about member-consumers.               Read the complete statement

Statement of Non-Discrimination In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. Read the complete statement

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