Inside The Grid Podcast

Manager of Public Relations, Jay Buchholz, hosts a podcast each month. Inside the Grid offers a look at issues surrounding the electrical industry. It is typically geared towards commercial and agricultural members.

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Inside the Grid

SVE: Reasons for Basin Electric Rate Increase

Utilities across the country (including electric cooperatives like Sioux Valley Energy) are working to build new electrical generation to keep up with increasing demand, which is putting pressure on your electric rates. On this month's Inside the Grid podcast, we visit with Sioux Valley Energy's General Manager and CEO, Tim McCarthy and Board President Dan Leuthold regarding the reasons for Basin Electric's upcoming rate increase.

What Happens at a Cooperative Annual Meeting?

On this month's Inside the Grid podcast, Southeastern Electric Cooperative and Sioux Valley Energy's Board Chairs talk about each organization's Annual Meeting and how coopertives serve more than electricity to their memberships and communities.

Thank you Lineworkers!

On this month's Inside the Grid podcast, Sioux Valley Energy and cooperatives around the country celebrate Lineworker Appreciation Day on April 14, 2025. We thank our most visible cooperative employees and visit with three Sioux Valley Energy lead lineworkers: Dan Doyle, Tony Remund, and Bob Johnson. Sioux Valley Energy, Southeastern Electric Cooperative and Xcel Energy partnered together on this featured video: https://vimeo.com/1071560922/a45ed1c423

SVE Safety Around Power Outages

On this month's Inside the Grid podcast, we visit with Sioux Valley Energy's Manager of Dispatch Operations, Sharla Haugen and Manager of Safety, Terry Ebright on how SVE responds to outages and how to be safe around electrical equipment. While electrical disruptions can be an annoyance, a power outage can also help lineworkers find and repair problems in the electrical system. If a storm or public contact knocks out the power, we share what goes on behind the scenes to help keep the public safe.

SVE 2025 Workplan

In this episode, we visit with Sioux Valley Energy's Vice President of Engineering and Operations Ted Smith and Director of Operations Chris Graff on the cooperative's 2025 Workplan and Budget.

SVE 2025 Rate Adjustment

In this episode, we visit with Sioux Valley Energy General Manager and CEO, Tim McCarthy, along with Bob Sahr, East River Electric CEO and General Manager, and Curt Dieren, General Manager of L&O Power Cooperative about the reasons for the upcoming 2025 rate adjustment. The Sioux Valley Energy Board of Directors approved an overall average increase of 4.9%, effective January 1, 2025. Members will see the increase with their February billing which reflects January energy usage. Rate adjustment percentages will vary depending on members' specific energy (kWh) usage. This rate increase is an overall rate increase across all rate classes. https://www.siouxvalleyenergy.com/2025-rate-change

SVE Day of Giving

South Dakota's Day of Giving is on #GivingTuesday, December 3, 2024. It's the one day of the year where nonprofits across the state come together to raise funds, build awareness, and have a little fun along the way. In this episode, we visit with Dan LaRock from Rock Ranch in Minnesota, Sioux Valley Energy's VP of Public Relations, Carrie Vugteveen, and Culture and Training Development Strategist, Chinelle Christensen, on how Sioux Valley Energy and its employees give-back to non-profits and communities.

SVE Part of Co-op Group Bringing Electricity to Guatemalan Village In June

In June, Sioux Valley Energy journey lineworker Steve Dvergsten was part of a crew of 14 lineworkers from Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota who traveled to Las Peñas, Guatemala, to help electrify the village of 35 homes in a mountainous area east of Jalapa, Guatemala. The endeavor was a project of National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) International, which has been working in Guatemala since 2011.

SVE 2024 Leroy Vanderpool Excellence in Safety Award

Sioux Valley Energy was recently awarded the 2024 Leroy Vanderpool Excellence in Safety Award at the Minnesota Rural Electric Trust (MRET) annual meeting held on June 13 at Breezy Point, Minnesota. The cooperative was recognized for its culture which centers around the safety of employees, members, and the public along with Sioux Valley Energy's work to move that culture to a new level of excellence. On the podcast, several members of the Safety Steering Committee discuss how each department collaborates and provides unique input on SVE's safety culture.

SVE April Safety Awareness

This month, Sioux Valley Energy's Manager of Dispatch, Sharla Haugen, and Manager of Safety, Terry Ebright, discuss safety reminders such as Call Before You Dig, 811, farm, construction, and road side safety. SVE's new Roadside Safety Campaign coincides with the Department of Transportation's Work Zone Safety week April 15-19, 2024.