Manager’s Message – September 2019

Dear Members:

The cooperative’s 2019 annual meeting is Thursday, September 5. We hope you will join us for an informative evening at the Sierra Valley Grange. We will have the election for the board of directors for Districts 2 and 5. If you do not vote by mail, you can vote at the meeting.

The board of directors moved the meeting to a Thursday evening for the convenience of the members. We received a good deal of feedback that it was hard for people to give up a full Saturday. As some of you may remember, we used to have the meeting on Friday evenings, so this is a bit of a throwback.

This is a great opportunity to ask questions about your electric cooperative and its telecommunications business. There will be great prizes, including $500 off one lucky member’s electric bill.

Telecommunications Expansion

Plumas-Sierra Telecommunications is currently focused in American Valley. We are scheduling Bellamy Track (behind Plumas District Hospital), and are replacing the old coaxial system in west Quincy with fiber optics. We are also adding customers in parts of Chandler Road, though some areas will take more time to get to. We will discuss our plans for additional areas at the annual meeting.

We are also working with various communities on hard-to-reach areas, and have applied for grant funding from the California Advanced Services Fund. We will know in November if we are awarded grant funds to continue broadband expansion in these hard-to-reach areas.

For more information about our telecommunications products, including coverage maps, please visit www.pst.coop.

Joint Electric/Telecommunications Project Underway

We have received quite a few inquiries about the progress of our joint electric/telecommunications project to building a fiber optic line to Sierraville and then Sattley and Calpine. The project is underway, with rapid progress made from the Marble Substation to the Sierraville Substation. The first leg of the project will go to the end of Sierraville on Highway 89.

We will also build an advanced wireless broadcast point at the Sierraville Substation, allowing good coverage. From there, fiber optic service will extend back to Sattley and north to Calpine.

PSREC will greatly benefit from control of key switches and our substation. This will allow faster restoration of power and better control of our system with winter storms and fire risks. Our telecommunications subsidiary, PST, will rent data capacity from PSREC, making the whole project cost effective.

Now is the time to sign up for this project. Let us know about your interest by calling 800-221-3474 or visiting www.pst.coop.

WRAP Program

We are again offering a discounted rate for qualifying members through our Winter Rate Assistance Program. The discounted rate is available for November through April electricity use to income-qualified members.

For more information and an application, visit www.psrec.coop, or call 530-832-4261.

Youth Opportunities

As part of our commitment to the communities we serve, PSREC and its subsidiary offer life-changing opportunities to local youth, including scholarships and the Washington Youth Tour.

These programs provide enriching experiences to help young people discover themselves and their roles as citizens.

They also introduce them to the cooperative way, teaching the value of involvement and commitment to their communities.

Please see page 4 for more information about the Washington Youth Tour. Visit www.psrec.coop for more information on all of our youth opportunities.

If you have any questions, please contact me at 800-555-2207 ext. 6076, or email me at bmarshall@psrec.coop.

Sincerely,

Bob Marshall
General Manager