Dairyland Power's 70th Annual Meeting Highlights

LA CROSSE, Wis., June 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 700 delegates and guests attended Dairyland Power Cooperative's 70th Annual Meeting at the La Crosse Center earlier today.

The theme of the meeting was Long-term Value, paying tribute to Dairyland's forward-thinking founders and demonstrating the cooperative's lasting commitment to providing reliable, responsible and affordable energy. William Berg, Dairyland President and CEO, discussed the concept of value and how it can change with the situation and the times. "We have to ask ourselves, have our members' perceptions of the value of the electricity we produce changed? If we look back 70 years to compare, the answer is probably yes. It didn't matter back then if the lights flickered a little, as long as they eventually came back on. Today it's a different story. A flicker can take down your computer or stop an automated process midstream," said Berg.

Dairyland's value will endure to the benefit of generations to come, so long as its employees, directors and members remember the lessons of co-op pioneers and work hard, encourage more productive uses and forms of energy and stay faithful to core cooperative values. "The pioneers of Dairyland had that faith, even when the future looked bleak. There were no guarantees, no assurance of success. But they knew there was value in what they were doing, value in the groundwork they were laying. The future has proven them right beyond their wildest expectations," said Berg.

Following Mr. Berg's address, three members of Dairyland's staff presented on the history and current decommissioning status of LACBWR, Dairyland's shut-down nuclear reactor located near Genoa, Wis. The presentation, titled The LACBWR Story—from Infancy to ISFSI (Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation) took the audience from Dairyland's entry into the nuclear business, through the years of active plant operation and to the current stages of nuclear facility decommissioning. The ISFSI refers to the onsite interim storage system currently under construction to securely contain the used nuclear fuel. An update on political issues rounded out the morning session.

The keynote presentation, Shaping the Future Through Innovation, was provided by Hank Courtright, EPRI's Senior Vice President, Global Member and External Relations. Courtright detailed the mission and the challenge of "providing society with affordable, reliable and sustainable electricity while transforming the power system to a cleaner, modern generation fleet, and an interactive electrical grid."

President and CEO William Berg closed the annual meeting by taking questions from the audience. Dan Korn, Chairman of the Board and director representing Vernon Electric Cooperative,

presided over the meeting.

Clarence Hoesly, Treasurer of Dairyland's Board and director representing Clark Electric Cooperative, provided a 2010 Financial Report: "Dairyland's cooperative management works closely with the Board of Directors and member cooperatives to make sure that business operations support the cooperative's long-term Vision, Mission and Values. The goal is to make sure operations are financially prudent for cooperative members and maintain Dairyland's long-term value.

"Dairyland's financial outlook remains strong as reflected in the Standard and Poor's and Moody's 'A' ratings of the cooperative. Dairyland experienced a moderate rebound in electric sales in 2010, after having experienced a decrease in 2009 due to the economic recession combined with a very cool summer. System-wide, Dairyland energy sales increased to 6.4 billion kilowatt-hours in 2010— compared to 2009 sales of 6.2 billion kilowatt-hours. Total operating revenues for 2010 increased to $415.5 million, as compared to $381.2 million in 2009.

"Dairyland is working to mitigate the impact of factors that cause rate pressure, which include rail transportation, health care insurance, potential costs of climate change/carbon regulation, recent environmental improvements at power plants, financial pressures from further renewable energy resources, and other operating expenses," Hoesly noted.

Along with the meeting, an Expo Center took place adjacent to the meeting room. It featured displays on Dairyland services, energy efficiency, electrotechnical and renewable energy technologies.

Dairyland, a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, was formed in December 1941. Headquartered in La Crosse, Wis., Dairyland provides the wholesale electrical requirements for 25 distribution cooperatives and 16 municipal utilities. These cooperatives and municipals, in turn, supply the energy needs of more than a half-million people in the four-state service area.

Today, the cooperative's generating resources include coal, natural gas, hydro, wind, landfill gas, biomass, animal waste and solar. Dairyland delivers electricity via 3,100 miles of transmission lines and nearly 300 substations located throughout the system's 44,500-square-mile service area.

SOURCE Dairyland Power Cooperative