2007 Electric Cooperative Rate Workshop

The Prime Group will be hosting the 4th Annual Electric Cooperative Rate Workshop in Louisville, Kentucky on September 25 and 26, 2007.

The reason that we host these conferences is to help create a community of cooperative managers and staff members who can get together once a year to discuss rate and other issues that have broad relevance to the industry.

The conference is friendly and informal with ample opportunity for discussion regarding issues that cooperatives face on a day-to-day basis.

The topics to be covered at the Rate Workshop will include:

• Cooperative Rates and Hot Topics: A Manager’s Perspective
  Stan Lewandowski - General Manager, Intermountain Rural Electric Association, Sedalia , Colorado


• Crisis Communications
  Paul Heagen - President, Lampion Consulting LLC


• Metering Advances: The Case for Pre-Paid Metering
  Bill Hetherington - President & CEO, Greenwave Solutions, Inc.


• Special Rates: Schools, Churches, Ethanol Plants, Pumping Stations, etc.
  Larry Feltner - Senior Consultant, The Prime Group LLC


• Large Customer Contracts
  Kendrick Riggs - Partner, Stoll, Keenon and Ogden


• Bridging the Gap Between Cost of Service and Rate Design Structure
  Larry Vogt - Manager of Rates, Mississippi Power Company


• Federal Impacts on Cooperatives
  Gregg Ottinger - Partner, Duncan & Allen


• Demand Response: Where We Are Headed and What Role Rates Will Play
  Marty Blake - Principal, The Prime Group


• Hot Topics in the Electric Utility Industry
  Marty Blake and Steve Seelye, Principals, The Prime Group, LLC

Please contact Eric Blake at (502) 241-4405 for information about this year's conference or to communicate ideas about topics that should be covered at the next conference. We are also interested in getting your input about possible speakers from the cooperative community for the 2008 Electric Cooperative Rate Conference. Your comments about the rate conference are always welcome. For more information concerning The Prime Group, click the link below:

www.theprimegroupllc.com

The 2006 Electric Cooperative Rate Conference was a Success!

The Prime Group hosted the 3rd Annual Electric Cooperative Rate Workshop in Louisville, Kentucky, on October 26 and 27, 2006. Based on the positive feedback we received this year, we plan to host another rate conference in 2007.

The reason that we host these conferences is to help create a community of cooperative managers and staff members who can get together once a year to discuss rate issues that have broad relevance to the industry. From this perspective, the 2006 Electric Cooperative Rate Conference was extremely successful. There was an abundance of excellent discussion at the 2006 conference.

The topics covered at the Rate Workshop included:

The art of communicating rate changes to customers
Paul Heagen - President, Lampion Consulting

Technology options for meeting the real time and TOU metering requirements of the 2005 Energy Policy Act
Bill Hetherington - President & CEO, Greenwave Solutions, LLC

Time of use rates and how to construct them
Marty Blake and Steve Seelye - Principals, The Prime Group, LLC

Common rate issues regarding commercial and industrial customers and advanced profitability analysis
Henry Fischer - Senior Consultant and Associate, The Prime Group, LLC

Reactive Power and Power Factor Issues
Marty Blake - Principal, The Prime Group, LLC

Capital Credit Policies Used by Electric Cooperatives
Larry Feltner - Senior Consultant, The Prime Group, LLC

Net Metering
Marty Blake - Principal, The Prime Group, LLC

Hot Topics in the Electric Utility Industry
Marty Blake and Steve Seelye, Principals, The Prime Group, LLC

The slides used during the presentations can be viewed by double clicking on the title of the presentation shown above. Please contact Eric Blake at (502) 241-4405 for information about next year's conference or to communicate ideas about topics that should be covered at the next conference. We are also interested in getting your input about possible speakers from the cooperative community for the 2007 Electric Cooperative Rate Conference. Your comments about the rate conference are always welcome.

Please post any comments concerning the conference on Rate Talk or visit our web site www.theprimegroupllc.com for information about future conferences and the services provided by The Prime Group, LLC. The Prime Group is a consulting firm providing rate and regulatory services to electric, gas and water utilities.

Open Question to Electric Cooperatives -- What Are Your Opinions on Capital Credits?

At the Prime Group's upcoming Cooperative Rate Workshop, we are planning to have a discussion about cooperative policies concerning the payment of capital credits. We are interested in getting some input about your cooperative's policies, practices, and general philosphy regarding paying capital credits prior to the Workshop.

Specifically, we would like your input on the following questions, which can either be posted on Prime Group - Rate Talk or by sending an e-mail to eablake@insightbb.com.

What is your cooperative's general philosophy on paying capital credits?
Does your cooperative feel that they should or should not be paid?
Does your cooperative feel that the priority should be to keep rates as low as possible instead of paying regular capital credits?

Any other general comments on the subject, including a discussion of your cooperative's general capital credit or ratemaking philosophy would be appreciated.

Thanks for your input.

Eric Blake
Rate Consultant

2006 Electric Cooperative Rate Workshop

Based on very positive comments we received from participants at the last two Rate Conferences, we are hosting another Electric Cooperative Rate Workshop in Louisville, Kentucky, on October 26 and 27 of this year. It’s not too late to sign up for the conference.

The topics to be covered at the Rate Workshop include:

The art of communicating rate changes to customers
Paul Heagen - President, Lampion Consulting

Technology options for meeting the real time and TOU metering requirements of the 2005 Energy PolicyAct
Bill Heatherington – President & CEO, Carina Technology, Inc.

Time of use rates and how to construct them
Marty Blake and Steve Seelye - Principals, The Prime Group, LLC

Common rate issues regarding commercial and industrial customers and advanced profitability analysis
Henry Fischer - Senior Consultant and Associate, The Prime Group, LLC

Reactive Power and Power Factor Issues
Marty Blake – Principal, The Prime Group, LLC

Capital Credit Policies Used by Electric Cooperatives
Larry Feltner - Senior Consultant, The Prime Group, LLC

Net Metering
Marty Blake - Principal, The Prime Group, LLC

Hot Topics in the Electric Utility Industry
Marty Blake and Steve Seelye, Principals, The Prime Group, LLC

Please contact Eric Blake at (502) 241-4405 to obtain information about the conference.

The Prime Group - Rate Talk

The Prime Group - Rate Talk

Test post!