Dear Members:
The Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative annual meeting is Thursday, September 10, at the Sierra Valley Grange Hall. The August issue of Ruralite will have meeting details and voting materials for the director election, as well as information on how to watch the meeting live on YouTube. Be sure to look for that information.
Up for election in 2026 are District 6 (Jerry Williams), which covers the Grizzly Road area, Lake Davis, the north side of Portola, the north of Hwy 70 from Portola to Blairsden, along with the southern and western part of Plumas- Eureka Estates. District 7 (Nancy Miller) is also up for election. District 7 covers Highway 395 starting at Lassen County Road A-26, and all members west of A-26 and all members north of the intersection of A-25 and 395.
If you are interested in running for the PSREC Board of Directors and live in one of those districts, contact the co-op as soon as possible. The deadline for nominations by petition is July 27. A petition needs 30 separate members to sign it. There can only be one signature on the petition per member.
If you are unsure of your district, visit our website to view the map or call the office at (530) 832-4261. A copy of the PSREC director qualifications and nomination procedures is available online.
Outages
There have been a few outages recently. The outage on April 28 was caused by PG&E. On May 1, there was a short outage on the PSREC system, and on May 3, lightning and a tree on the line caused another outage. The outage on May 26 was caused by PG&E.
PG&E is our primary transmission supplier, delivering our power and power PSREC has bought through two power lines that come from the Caribou Powerhouse in the Feather River Canyon. Recently, PG&E placed settings on their lines that disconnect the power grid at any disturbance as a fire prevention measure. Their settings are extremely sensitive to any grid disturbance, and this increases the risk of power going off. PG&E traditionally has turned on its distribution customers in Plumas County online before restoring service to their wholesale customers like PSREC and LMUD.
PSREC has a backup power line that normally allows us much faster restoration than we usually get from PG&E, but that line from NV Energy was down for repairs. This line will be down through much of the summer and will only be available for multi-day outages.
PSREC’s board and management are glad we’ve been working on a new interconnection with NV Energy out at the Fort Sage substation in Nevada, east of Herlong. This will allow us a much more robust connection to wholesale markets, as well as give us better control over system reliability.
Title 24 Update
PSREC is pleased to announce that its Community Shared Solar program has been approved by the California Energy Commission. The community solar program gives those who are building new homes the ability to meet the Title 24 Building requirements of rooftop solar without having to install it on their rooftop. The program gives new home builders the opportunity to secure utility-scale solar power from PSREC to meet the requirements of the 2025 California Building Standards Code, which requires all new low-rise residential buildings permitted after May 1, 2026, to be solar-powered.
The solar energy for this program is produced by the solar array owned by PSREC at the Sierra Army Depot in Herlong. The project came online in late 2018 and has provided renewable energy to PSREC ever since. Although most of the solar energy produced by the solar project powers the Sierra Army Depot, PSREC contracted a portion of the solar output to offer a community solar program to its members.
Interested in community solar, but aren’t building a new home? PSREC has a community solar program for you as well. Buying solar power from PSREC’s Community Solar Program is a great option for members who may not want to make the large up-front investment in a solar system, are renting, or live in an area with shading where a solar system would not produce optimal energy output. Community solar is a great way to use renewable power without solar panels on your roof, as well as providing members with solar energy that is maintenance-free. For more information on either of PSREC’s community solar programs, visit our website or call (530) 832-6032.
Telecommunications
Plumas-Sierra Telecommunications crews and contractors are busy building out PST’s fiber network throughout its communities.
We are upgrading our network with a new wireless system everywhere we currently have wireless, except where it’s being replaced with fiber-optic. If you are interested in signing up for service, contact PST at (530) 832-4126 to schedule your installation.
The California Public Utilities Commission voted to approve four of PST’s latest grant applications. We are pleased to announce that we have received grants to bring high-speed internet to the following areas: Grizzly Road-Chilcoot, Herlong Flats-East Milford, Mohawk Meadows, and Sierraville.
PST’s fiber-optic service offers speeds up to 1 gigabyte per second, with 10G service commercially available in some areas. Our wireless broadband service offers download speeds up to 100 Mbps in some areas.
For more information or to sign up for service, call (530) 832-4261 or visit the PST website.
Please note that the construction along highways 70 and 89 is not PST. Those projects are part of the State of California Middle- Mile Broadband Network. Some of it is duplicative of what we have in place already, but other parts will be used in the future by PST for improved redundancy for our system.
Rebate Program
When you make upgrades or purchases to reduce home energy use, those smart decisions should be rewarded. PSREC offers rebates on energy-efficient appliances, heating and cooling equipment, and more. Visit the Rebates page to learn about our rebate program and how you can receive a bill credit/cash back for making smart energy choices.
To learn about the latest co-op updates, follow Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative on social media.
If you have questions, contact me by phone at (530) 832-4261 extension 6076 or by emailing Bob Marshall.
Sincerely,
Bob Marshall
General Manager