Plugged In with CAREA

CAREA and other Alberta REAs issue joint press release

2012-02-16T09:44:00.001-07:00

Listed below is the recent press release three of Alberta's REAs sent out to newspapers and radio stations across the province:

Submitted by:
Central Alberta Rural Electrification Association
Lakeland Rural Electrification Association
South Alta Rural Electrification Association

Rural Electrification Associations are uniquely Albertan – they do not exist elsewhere in Canada but they were, and remain today, the backbone and driving force that delivers electricity to thousands of rural Albertans, farmers and business owners alike. However, the REAs continued existence is threatened.

The rules in Alberta are working against the REAs because of the increased investment levels and the profit-maximizing investment of the multinational utilities. Government needs to thoroughly review the current legislation and revise the recent changes in legislation that have allowed this to happen.
When multinational utility companies in Alberta apply for rate increases, they receive a guaranteed rate of return on their investment – currently in excess of 9% per year. They earn this rate of return on the amount the Alberta Utilities Commission says they are deemed to invest in their rate base. The guaranteed rate of return goes to the stockholders of the multinational utility companies.

The multinational utility companies are allowed, through government legislation, to “invest” in their distribution system. They heavily subsidize the costs of new and other construction through this “investment.” In other words, for new construction, the consumer requiring the work pays little if anything; and the rest of the utility customers pay for the new consumer. All multinational utility company customers pay for this investment through rates and all profits, including the rate of return, go to stockholders and those profits do not necessarily stay in Alberta. Their customers also pay for a rate of return to the stockholders on top of the approved costs of construction.

These multinational utility companies have the added advantage of benefiting from their own defined, protected service areas under current legislation, where they operate as a monopoly providing an essential service to consumers without a choice. Correspondingly, the ability of the multinational utility companies to raise their investment levels in the past couple of years now effectively allows them to also utilize these levels to purchase REAs and rewards them for doing so.

How is it rewarding? The multinational utility passes the costs for the purchase of the REAs onto their Alberta customers as an “investment,” while their stockholders reap the rewards by way of increased stock value and the additional guaranteed profits. This business practice is vehemently opposed by REAs, who believe legislation created this unintended consequence for Albertans. In other words, the multinational is eliminating their competition without risk to stockholders and making an additional profit while spending their Alberta customers’ money – not their own money! What other environment do you know of where a company, that has a monopoly within a defined, protected service area, is permitted to systematically buy out the competition in other areas without risk to stockholders, include the cost of those buy-outs in their approved customer rates and then receive a guaranteed return on the investment expense to buy out their competition?

CAREA Cares!

2011-12-19T10:25:00.002-07:00

Top photo: Tim George, CAREA lineman, and Terry Scheiris, Onoway Area Manager, stand with Ruth McIntyre, Development Manager for Big Brothers and Big Sisters Edmonton and Area Branch, as well as the rest of the staff for the Edmonton office.

Bottom photo: Christine Jasper, CAREA’s Finance Co-ordinator, stands with representatives from Big Brothers and Big Sisters Innisfail (not in order) Brenda Joyce, Director, Adele McKechnie, Chairperson, and Linda Doering, Program Assistant.

Tim, Terry and Christine represented the CAREA Cares committee, which donated $3,750 to each Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization, CAREA’s charity of choice for the next three years.

The total $7,500 donation was raised through the CAREA Cares golf tournament, as well as office fundraisers such as cookbook, pop and candy sales and 50/50 draws.

Taking on-the-job experience into the classroom

2011-12-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, Dec. 8, representatives from CAREA spent the day with students from the Olds College Utility Aboriculture program.

Carson Milko, Utility Tree Worker, Joe Fetchko, Utility Tree Trimmer, Grant Hoff, Safety Manager, and Michaela Johnstone, Communications Co-ordinator, arrived at the college early that Thursday and spent the morning speaking to the students about electricity and how it works, transmission, generation, single and three phase electricity, on-the-job hazards and then all about vegetation management and the tools Carson and Joe use in their day-to-day working environment. Grant also touched on safe limits of approach when it comes to utility lines.

After lunch, the CAREA crew and the Olds College students headed to a farm near Eagle Hill for a demonstration – using the tools Carson and Joe talked about in class, the chipper and boom truck and then Carson lowered a branch onto a de-energized line and showed the class the safest way to fix this issue.

Laurie Newsham, the program’s instructor, had a lot of great things to say about the day: “I just wanted to say thank you very much to each of you for your great work in presenting to my Utility Arboriculture students. It was a really good day for learning. You folks did a fantastic job of not only representing CAREA but of showing a whole other world of arboriculture these students have only read about or heard me talk about. You put “life and breath” into the “bones” we have been talking about in class for several weeks. Thanks for making that happen.”

Grant, pictured behind the desk at the front, and Carson, pictured to the left, talk about the care and use of tools.

CAREA kids get into the Christmas spirit

2011-12-06T08:54:00.000-07:00

The children of CAREA employees were treated to their own Christmas party on Dec. 4, from noon to 3 p.m. at Carnival Cinema in Red Deer.

Everyone loved their gifts and had a wonderful time!

CAREA scores well on annual survey

2011-11-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

CAREA sends out a survey to its members each year, to gauge how the association is doing, where we can improve and things we are doing right.

Listed below are the results for 2011:

CAREA’s goal is to provide its members with quality service in a timely and efficient manner. In our October newsletter, we asked members to respond to a series of questions to help us find out how we are doing. We received 357 responses from the Innisfail Area and 128 responses from the Onoway Area for a total or 485 responses, or 5.8 per cent of our total membership. The following is the feedback provided by those members that responded and had experience with CAREA’s services and communications.

Inquiries

1) 93 per cent for Innisfail and 97 per cent for Onoway were satisfied with the response they received when calling our office.

a) 98 per cent for Innisfail and 99 per cent for Onoway were treated courteously by all staff.

b) 98 per cent for Innisfail and 98 per cent for Onoway were responded to in a timely manner.

Power Outages

1) 90 per cent for Innisfail and 88 per cent for Onoway were satisfied with the response time if they have experienced a power outage.

2) 92 per cent for Innisfail and 91 per cent for Onoway were satisfied with our after-hours answering service if they have experienced a power outage after regular business hours.

Field Personnel

1) 95 per cent for Innisfail and 99 per cent for Onoway were satisfied with how they were treated the last time they had contact with our field personnel on their property.

Communications

1) 75 per cent for Innisfail and 88 per cent for Onoway were satisfied with the message provided in any recent CAREA radio ad that they have heard.

2) 79 per cent for Innisfail and 83 per cent for Onoway were satisfied with the message provided in any recent CAREA newspaper ad that they have read.

3) 89 per cent for Innisfail and 91 per cent for Onoway were satisfied with the information contained in our newsletter.

4) 72 per cent for Innisfail and 93 per cent for Onoway were satisfied with the information contained on our website.

Your comments are appreciated and members who have experienced problems or have concerns will be contacted to address their issues.

Congratulations to the winners of the member survey draws. Alex Taylor received a $250 Home Depot gift card and the following individuals will receive a $75 power bill credit: Ross and Bernadina French, Gerald and Shelley Ingeveld, Susan Parcels, Evelyn Quartly, John Richter and Norma Stobbe.

REAs build relationships at AAMD&Cs convention

2011-11-23T10:43:00.001-07:00

On Monday, Nov. 21, Central Alberta REA, along with South Alta REA and North Parkland Power REA, hosted many councillors in a hospitality suite during the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties annual convention.

There were finger foods to be enjoyed and a putting game to try, and councillors were encouraged to ask questions and learn all they could about Rural Electrification Associations and their role in Alberta's electricity industry.

Over 100 people came through the doors of the REA hospitality suite that night.

Board members and the General Managers of the three participating REAs were very happy to speak to all of the attendees and appreciate the efforts of everyone that stopped by. They hope to see everyone again next year!

The new kid up the pole

2011-11-21T08:09:00.001-07:00

It’s never easy being the new guy at work, but CAREA’s first year Power Line Technician apprentice David Sorestad is learning the ropes – and wires! – of his new career path.

David, 18, started his apprenticeship with CAREA only a month after graduating from Olds High School.

“Some parts of me regret not going to college or university, for the experience, but this is good,” he said of his decision to join CAREA right after high school. “I grew up on a farm so working isn’t new or hard for me.”

David grew up in Olds and worked on his uncle’s 3,000-acre wheat farm, which is situated east of town.

The decision to join the work force right out of high school was made even easier by David’s father.

“I wanted to become a lineman because of my Dad,” David said. “He’s a lineman, too.”

David said he used to go out on calls with his Dad sometimes and got used to seeing him use the digger and all of the other equipment.

“It was cool, and it looked interesting,” David said. “I had worked on the farm for a long time, so I preferred a labour job.”

David said his father recommended CAREA, because he knew guys that worked here.

“It’s been great,” David said of his experience so far with CAREA. “It’s starting to get cold now, so I don’t know what to expect next. But it’s been about four months and I learn something new every day.”

So far, David said the most exciting part of his job has been using the digger and climbing.

“My Dad had me on a few poles before I applied to CAREA, so I would know what it was about and not be terrified,” David explained.

He said he’s also looking forward to being able to start figuring things out for himself, instead of relying on people to tell him because he’s still new.

“I want to be able to be independent at the job,” he said.

And what David is not looking forward to? Winter.

“I’m also looking forward to going to school,” David said. “I do like school, and I just finished high school.”

David said he intends to stay at CAREA for a long time.

“Our crew is pretty great,” he said. “They are outgoing and nice. It makes work better when you have guys you enjoy working with.”

His plan going forward is to work his way up to a crew foreman position, and take on more responsibility.

In his spare time, David said he enjoys gaming, mountain biking, BMX riding, working out, boxing and hockey.

Pictured above, David climbs a pole to change over wires.

Critters cause damage near Onoway

2011-11-21T08:05:00.001-07:00

Power outages can be the result of many circumstances – high winds, hail, ice building up on the lines and vehicles colliding with a power pole are all examples.

Now, Power Line Technicians in CAREA’s Onoway office can add “hungry beavers” to their list of mishaps causing a power outage.

In mid-September and then again in mid-October, linemen in the office were notified late at night or early in the morning of power out near Brightwood Ranch, in the Evansburg/Entwistle area.

Upon their arrival, the linemen were able to isolate the line that was out and quickly discovered the reason homeowners in the area were without power – beavers had chewed down several nearby trees, many of which had fallen on the power lines and snapped them.

“We found trees on the line every time we went out,” recalled Killey Vaughan, an apprentice lineman with CAREA. “I had never dealt with an issue like that before.”

After repairing the lines, crews went out with chainsaws and cut back nearby trees. According to CAREA’s vegetation management policy, the trees need to be trimmed back six metres on either side of the line, but the crew up in Onoway decided to take the trees back even further to avoid future issues.

Jim Robb, a lineman who has been with CAREA for many years, said this isn’t the first time he has seen these animals cause issues with power lines.

CAREA’s Power Line Technicians deal with all kinds of issues, day and night. But there are not many professions where hungry beavers can wreak such havoc on a work day.

Pictured above, this photo shows the damage the beavers caused near the power lines.

Happy birthday Terry!

2011-10-12T09:42:00.000-06:00

Terry Scheiris, CAREA's Onoway Area Manager, celebrated his 50th birthday on Oct. 5. CAREA staff treated him to cake, a birthday card signed by all staff and a "You Old Fossil" sign on the front lawn of the Innisfail Area Office building.

Happy birthday, Terry!

CAREA staff meeting honours high achievers

2011-10-12T09:31:00.000-06:00

During CAREA's recent staff meeting on Oct. 5, many employees were honoured for their high achivements.

First, congratulations to Riley Gleiser on his achievement from apprentice to fully-certified Power Line Technician!

Riley was presented with a framed drawing (complete with his name on the plaque at the bottom).

CAREA also celebrated the wrap up of its first annual CAREA-thon, where staff competed to have the most steps logged at the end of 21 days. The Sole Sisters, pictured below (minus Charlene), took home many prizes. Kimberly Scheiris, also pictured, won for highest number of steps for an individual.

Staff members climb mountains

2011-10-07T16:07:00.000-06:00

Ok, maybe not mountains. But for some, it might have felt like it!

On Wednesday, Sept. 7, CAREA staff members donned sneakers and sweaters and drove out to Camp Kuriakos in Sylvan Lake for what promised to be a fun-filled day.

The weather was fair and the day turned out to be pretty warm for September.

Veteran staff members were somewhat tight-lipped about what usually happens on Staff Training Day, and then new staff members only heard snippets - comments like, "40-foot pole" or "rock climbing" were some of the rumours that were going around.

When everyone had arrived at the camp, the co-ordinators set the staff to work: team building games and exercises in the morning, personal challenges in the afternoon.

The day was as fun as the staff had been promised. With games like trying to untangle a long, long rope, all while everyone has their eyes closed; or trying to flip a tarp while people were standing on it, but no one could use their hands; these were all challenges that had the staff members laughing and working together.

For the afternoon, the co-ordinators put the staff in front of a rock wall, a giant (giant!) rope ladder with large spaces between each rung and the last task was a thinking-challenge about feeding a rope through a spider web.

There were fears conquered, talents shown off and new friendships made (sometimes born out of a time of personal crisis, or something close to it). All in all, it was a day that won't soon be forgotten.

Pictures to come soon!

A blog about SPOG

2011-10-07T15:42:00.000-06:00

CAREA attended the Sundre Chamber of Commerce Trade Fair on Sept. 14, at the Sundre Curling Rink. This trade fair was held in conjunction with the Sundre Petroleum Operators Group (SPOG) trade fair, as well.

Grant Hoff, CAREA's Safety Manager, set up the Hazard Hamlet display and in between conversations about rural electricity, membership criteria and explaining just exactly who CAREA is and what the company does, a lot of kids from the neighbouring schools stopped by and were fascinated by the man that got "shocked" by touching a back hoe that had come into contact with an overhead power line.

It was great to see all of the CAREA members that had come out to the show and it was nice to meet some potential new members, as well.

CAREA will be attending even more trade shows next year and we're excited to see everyone!

Grant is pictured setting up the Hazard Hamlet display, which held kids spellbound and maybe scared them a little bit.

Quinn, 2, and CAREA's youngest recruit.

Central Alberta REA joins blogging community

2011-09-09T11:08:00.000-06:00

Central Alberta REA wants to keep its members up to date and informed about everything that's going on within the association - news, highlights of recent events, photos and more!

Please check back often!