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November 2020
Important Notice
FreeState offices will be CLOSED on Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27 so our employees can celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.

If you experience an outage, please call 800-794-1989 or utilize the SmartHub mobile app.
Hello!
Here are a few helpful links
Exciting Renewable Opportunity

When Opportunity Comes Knocking, You Answer.

FreeState has opened a door to renewable energy and saving our members more money — especially during the summer months. This month we’re introducing you to our new renewable project. We’ll be providing much more information as we go through the process, but we wanted to share the news with you that we’re moving toward a progressive solar project that will not only lower our power costs but also reduce our carbon footprint. 
This solar project is a unique opportunity. We’ll be working with other cooperatives across the state, as well as Today’s Power, Inc. (TPI), to get the best price for purchased power we can. As we’ll explain in the next pages this project is unique because it requires very little investment upfront. TPI will be installing and operating the solar farms and contract with FreeState to sell the power produced by each solar farm as a Purchased Power Agreement (PPA).
The cooperative has identified two 10-acre areas near substations in the East District to build the solar farms. The farms will then be connected to the FreeState distribution system. 
Although the arrays will physically
be in the East District due to our power suppliers.
The way these solar farms are set up requires minimal investment from the cooperative, but we benefit by being able to purchase up to 5% of our peak demand from these farms. That means we can pass those savings directly on to each of you. 
What we pay, you pay. The less we pay for energy, the less you pay for energy.
The opportunity ahead will allow us to be a leader in solar generation and give us the chance to work with cooperatives across the state and with a reputable company in TPI that understands the cooperative principles and the cooperative mission. 
We’re excited, and we hope our members will be too. 
FreeState looks to solar for future cost-saving measures, increased reliability, reducing our carbon footprint and an added unique opportunity through a partnership in 2021 to construct two 1-megawatt solar farms in FreeState’s Territory.


The way these solar farms are set up means there is very little investment from the cooperative, but we are able to benefit by being able to purchase up to 5% of our peak demand from these farms at a rate that is competitive. We’ll be able to pass that savings directly to our membership. 
Small Investment Opportunity Harvests Clean Energy 

FreeState is taking advantage of a unique opportunity while practicing the sixth cooperative principle — cooperation among cooperatives. A group of Kansas cooperatives is collaborating on a progressive project that not only makes financial sense for the cooperative but for members, too. 

The innovative project will give FreeState the ability to take on a leadership role when it comes to renewable energy and set an example for working together to benefit many. 
“Our power supplier KEPCo (Kansas Electric Power Cooperative) allowed an additional 5% energy production by renewable energy,” said CEO Steve Foss. “This adjustment provided us some pretty significant opportunities when it comes to benefiting the cooperative and the members.”
Foss added that multiple Kansas cooperatives will be working together with vendor Today’s Power Inc. (TPI) to construct solar farms across the state with low up-front costs that will reap huge rewards. By working together all cooperatives will be able to save with a lower energy cost. 
“The situation we find ourselves in is exciting,” Foss said. “We are able to work with TPI with little investment on the cooperative end to provide us with a clean energy source to supplement what we purchase from our provider.” 
“FreeState’s costs are associated with land leasing, and not the construction or infrastructure investment of constructing two 1-megawatt solar farms.” 
The cooperative has identified two 10-acre areas near substations in the East District to build the solar farms. The farms will then be connected to the FreeState distribution system. 
“The fact that these solar farms are connected into our system will also help us with reliability because those areas will have additional infrastructure built in to account for the generation of power,” added Foss. 
TPI will be installing and operating the solar farms and contract with FreeState to sell the power produced by each solar farm as a Purchased Power Agreement (PPA). The PPA is slated for an initial 25 years followed by additional five-year options. 
“The way these solar farms are set up means there is very little investment from the cooperative, but we are able to benefit by being able to purchase up to 5% of our peak demand from these farms at a rate that is competitive,” Foss said. “We’ll be able to pass that savings directly to our members.”
TPI will be constructing, maintaining, and selling the power generated from these two solar farms. TPI is the for-profit subsidiary of Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (AECI) with a rich history in working with cooperatives. They also are experts in renewable energy.
“We’re working with the best in the business, and that’s exciting,” said Foss. “We are realizing our core principle of working together for the common good, and this will be a great project for not just FreeState, but for cooperative members across Kansas.” 
Board Votes on ESC Adjustment
The FreeState Board of Trustees voted in favor of adopting the Electric Service Charge adjustment. Members will not see an adjustment until the February 2021 billing cycle reflecting January usage.

If you have questions, please contact the office or email us.
Energy Use Coordinator Matt Lambert will answer questions about energy efficiency, renewables, co-op programs, and everything in between.
Broadband Conversation

Why has FreeState not jumped on the broadband bandwagon?

Broadband for everyone would be an excellent prospect. However, it is not as easy as just running fiber and plugging into high-speed broadband. There are multiple steps to consider before even getting to a point to make a decision.

The Six Steps to a Broadband Vote: 
  • Initial research 
  • Assessing need 
  • Regulatory assessments
  • Feasibility study 
  • Determine the business model 
  • Trustee vote on pursuing the project 

FreeState has had discussions with the trustees about the possibility of bringing broadband to our members. Still, after lengthy talks and initial research, it was determined that a project of this size is not economically feasible. 

To undertake a broadband project, FreeState would need significant capital investment. This investment is not only at the cooperative level, but at the member level as well. Members would need to invest in technology and equipment to make in-home broadband a reality. Some members may be willing to do that. Still, on a cooperative level, electric service members would need to subsidize this project. 

There may be grants available to assist or even federal funding. Still, those are not always guaranteed, and in some cases, the cooperative may not qualify for this type of financing. Current members’ capital would have to be used for the project, threatening electric rates’ stability. In turn, this would jeopardize FreeState’s mission and commitment to our members to provide safe, reliable and affordable service. 

The bottom line is that a broadband project takes time and is a multimillion-dollar project. Even with a strict budget, these projects can cost up to 20% more than budgeted due to technology’s evolutionary speed. 

FreeState understands that some members lack access to high-speed internet. In the current climate of working and learning from home, it is vital to make our communities thrive. As a cooperative, we are open to looking at partnerships or other avenues to assist our members. We also want to be responsible for the capital investments our members trust us with to maintain electrical service. 
Broadband is not something FreeState can invest in right now. Still, it is something we continue to monitor and discuss internally. 
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). 
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.   
         
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.
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