Manager’s Message – July 2018
PrintDear Members:
It is with a sad heart that I inform you of the passing of District 1 Director, Dan Kenney. He was a dedicated director who will be deeply and sincerely missed by all who knew him.
Dan came on our board in 2007. He immediately contributed and worked hard to understand the complexities of both the electric and telecommunications business.
Dan represented the cooperative with the Northern California Power Agency and was key in protecting the smaller members of NCPA from being bullied by the larger members when the bylaws and governance of NCPA—including Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative—were re-written.
Dan became chairman of Plumas-Sierra Telecommunications, and provided key leadership in implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Fiber-optic grant and expansion of our system, including the acquisition of the coaxial network and expansion of our wireless service.
He did this while also being active with the Long Valley (Cromberg/Sloat) Community Services District, including stints as fire chief, assistant fire chief, and a member of their board of directors.
Even when Dan became ill, he fought off his illness and worked hard on behalf of the member-owners and our community to the end.
He was a gracious, kind, tough, and thoughtful member of the board of directors, and a dear friend. The board and staff of PSREC/PST will deeply miss him.
Annual Meeting
This year’s annual meeting is set for Saturday, September 8.
Up for election are District 1 (Quincy and Sloat areas), formerly served by Dan Kenney; District 3 (Blairsden, Clio and Portola areas), served by Fred Nelson; and District 4 (Calpine, Sierraville, Loyalton and Beckwourth areas), served by Dave Roberti. The boundaries of each district are on the PSREC website.
If you are interested in running for the PSREC Board of Directors and live in one of these districts, please contact me as soon as possible. The deadline for nominations by petition is July 25.
If you are unsure of your district, please visit our website to view the map, or call the office at (800) 555-2207.
A copy of the PSREC Qualifications and Nomination Procedures is available on our website at www.psrec.coop.
Fire Danger and the Threat of Power Disconnection
PSREC and other small utilities throughout California are in discussion with Pacific Gas and Electric and regulatory authorities about the potential of PG&E shutting down the grid in the event of high fire danger.
In theory, PG&E would shut down the regional grid when fire conditions become extreme. This would prevent the electrical grid from starting a fire. In reality, this puts our communities at risk as many of us are on wells, and disconnecting our wholesale power supply would hamper emergency communication and firefighting.
Fortunately, your board of directors has invested in backup power supply. We will work diligently to restore power from the Nevada grid and our own generation, if we are disconnected from PG&E at Quincy.
This is a complex issue, and we will keep you informed as the summer progresses.
Telecommunications
Plumas-Sierra Telecommunications is working to expand broadband coverage to west Quincy and Chandler Road. Once those areas are up and running, we will continue to repair and convert the coax system to provide broadband services.
We are also studying how to rehabilitate the coax system in Plumas Eureka Estates. Unfortunately, the cable TV system was directly buried in the ground and will take more time to repair and convert to digital service than it will in other areas.
If you haven’t already contacted us to get on our interest list, give us a call at (800) 221-3474 or visit our website at www.pst.coop so we can contact you as soon as service is available in your area.
PST’s service offers download speeds as fast as 20 Mb per second, with unlimited data usage.
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
