Century-old Burke, S.D., enjoys 50 years of hydropower
Before Burke, S.D., population 800, celebrates its centennial in August, Western would like to congratulate the little town near the Nebraska border on another milestone—its golden anniversary as a Federal hydropower customer.
Although the 50th anniversary of Federal hydropower allocations will not be observed with the parade, barbecue or street dance planned for the town's 100th birthday party, residents might pause when they turn on a light to reflect on the meaning of the occasion. "The Western allocation helps us keep the costs to our customers down," said Jerry Jones, Burke's finance officer and acting utilities superintendent.
The municipal utility receives about 70 percent of its power from Western, and buys the remainder through Missouri River Energy Services.
Clean hydropower offers alternative to diesel generators
Before June 1954, two diesel-powered generators produced about 600 kW to meet Burke's energy needs. But the generators were wearing out, recalled retired Utilities Superintendent Richard Bailey. "It would have cost $20,000 to rebuild the motors, which was a lot of money then. It made more sense to purchase Federal power instead."
Although that decision predated Bailey's tenure with the city from 1970 to 2000, he kept a rate card from 1949. "Electricity cost six cents per kilowatt then," he said. "In 1970, customers were paying one and a quarter cent per kilowatt. You can figure out how the move affected our rates."
Burke purchased all its electricity from Federal sources until 1977, when Federal caps on hydropower allocations forced the town to find a supplemental provider. Missouri Basin Municipal Power Agency, which later evolved into MRES, stepped in to make up the difference. "Western power is still our best buy," stated Jones.
Energy Services help utility ensure reliable power delivery
Since Western's establishment in 1977, it has been more than a source of affordable electricity to Burke and other municipal utilities. "Over the years, Western helped us maintain the distribution system, building and repairing substations and monitoring our power factor," Bailey said.
At one point, testing indicated that the power factor had dropped to 40 or 50 percent. With technical assistance from Western, the utility installed three new banks of capacitors, bringing the power factor up to 97 percent.
When Western launched the Equipment Loan Program in 1986, Burke was one of the first utilities to schedule an infrared scanning inspection of its electrical system. "That first inspection, we found a transformer with its bushing almost burned in two, right in one of the substations," Bailey said. "If we hadn't caught and repaired it, it would have knocked out the whole town."
Even though the town now contracts out system maintenance, Jones carries on the tradition Bailey began, scheduling a thorough infrared inspection every two years. "We always find something that we need to fix or to plan for in the future," said the finance officer.
"And we always include the substations in the inspection," added Bailey. "We learned that the first time."
Both Bailey and Jones spoke highly of the utility's relationship with Upper Great Plains Energy Services representatives. Jones noted that Greg Vaselaar has been a big help with the scanning program. Bailey remembered that Dick Siebert, Vaselaar's predecessor, always came to town to go over the purchasing contract and to see if the utility needed any assistance.
Utility participated in early efficiency program
Another program that Burke took up in its early days was compact fluorescent light promotion. In 1989, the utility partnered with Western, the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, the Burke Jaycees and the Burke Gazette newspaper to distribute the energy-efficient light bulbs to residents.
In an interview for Western's June 1991 C&RE Bulletin, Bailey called the promotion an amazing success, with more than half the utility's customers showing up to collect a complementary CFL. Several households participated in monitoring the lights for a six-month period to determine how much energy they saved.
"Those bulbs are great," said Jones. "I installed several when I bought my house in 1992, and most of them still work."
Jones's enthusiasm for technologies that last is understandable, since maintaining the utility infrastructure of a century-old town is an ongoing challenge. The city, which provides water and sewer service in addition to electricity, is currently putting in four blocks of new water main and updating fire hydrants.
The work should be done in plenty of time for festivities honoring Burke's 100th birthday. On the other hand, the city's 50th hydropower anniversary will probably pass unnoticed. If that is because residents know they can count on clean, reliable and affordable electricity, Western doesn't mind our customers forgetting our anniversary.
