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Missouri River Energy ServicesMissouri River Energy Services
September 09, 2010
Latest Headlines

05/18/2010
 Hutchinson Utilities Commission agrees to long-term power sale agreement with MRES
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Missouri River Energy Services (MRES) will begin supplying Hutchinson with 15 megawatts of baseload power 24 hours a day starting in September, which amounts to more than 40 percent of Hutchinson’s annual energy needs.

The Hutchinson Utilities Commission (HUC) and MRES signed a long-term power sale agreement Thursday that will extend through Jan. 1, 2046. The 15-megawatt level will remain steady through 2012. Beginning in January 2013, it will rise to 25 megawatts, which will amount to about 70 percent of Hutchinson’s current annual energy needs.

“We’ve been working with HUC since 2005 to find a solution to the city’s baseload power needs in a way that provides value to both Hutchinson and MRES,” said Jeff Peters, director of Marketing and Development for MRES. “This agreement is a reflection of the efforts we’ve put into those discussions.”

MRES, headquartered in Sioux Falls, S.D., is made up of 60 member communities in the states of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. It is a not-for-profit joint-action agency that already has long-term power sale agreements with 58 of its members. Hutchinson has been a member of the organization since March 2006.

The other long-term MRES customers receive an average of almost half of their power needs from the federal government’s Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), which sells renewable hydroelectricity generated at dams along the Missouri River. Hutchinson is the first long-term customer of MRES that does not have a contract with WAPA.

However, there is a renewable component in the new agreement. Peters said one of its unique features is that, with the power it sells to HUC, MRES will provide the same level of non-hydro renewable energy toward meeting the State of Minnesota’s renewable energy requirements as it does for its other long-term power supply members in the state. MRES derives its electricity from facilities that use a variety of fuels including coal, natural gas, and wind. In 2010, about 12 percent of its energy is expected to come from wind generation.

MRES is entitled to 82.4 megawatts of wind power from facilities located in Minnesota and North Dakota. The Minnesota wind farms, which account for 42.4 megawatts, include community-based projects near Odin and Marshall, as well as a project near Worthington.

“We are glad to have this arrangement with MRES in place,” said Mike Kumm, general manager of HUC. “The agreement will supply us with a reliable, reasonably priced supply of electricity for many years to come. MRES has been a power supply organization for more than 30 years and has built a solid reputation for high-quality, low-cost service to its members.”
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For more information, contact MRES Marketing and Development Director Jeff Peters, phone: 605-929-6691.




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