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The original item was published from 6/10/2011 4:40:00 PM to 8/11/2011 12:05:00 AM.

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City Newsletter Posted on: June 10, 2011

[ACTIVE] Pella joins Missouri River Energy Services; will begin purchasing

power in November

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JUNE 9, 2011

Pella joins Missouri River Energy Services; will begin purchasing power in November

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The City of Pella, Iowa, has joined Sioux Falls-based Missouri River Energy

Services (MRES) and will begin purchasing electricity from MRES in November. Pella signed an

agreement with MRES June 8 and the MRES Board of Directors gave its approval June 9.

Pella, Iowa is a community of approximately 10,000 people located 43 miles south and east of Des

Moines, Iowa. It is home to Pella Corporation, a manufacturer of windows and doors, and Vermeer

Corporation, a manufacturer of industrial, environmental, and agricultural equipment. Central College

is a private, four year liberal arts college located in Pella.

With the addition of Pella, MRES has 61 member communities in the states of Iowa, Minnesota,

North Dakota, and South Dakota. All but one of the MRES members have long-term power sales

agreements with MRES and also are entitled to receive a wide range of energy-related services.

MRES is governed by a 13-member Board of Directors elected by and from the ranks of its member

communities.

Under the agreement Pella will begin buying 10.5 megawatts of power from MRES Nov. 1.

Beginning April 1, 2012, the City will purchase all of its electric requirements, approximately 45

MW, from MRES. Also, as part of the agreement, Pella will sell its interest in the Walter Scott Unit

4 to the Western Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (WMMPA), which has financed and owns the

electric generating and transmission facilities that serve MRES and its members.

Pella also will sell to MRES all of the wind energy it is entitled to under its agreement with FPL

Energy Hancock County Wind, LLC, and will dedicate to MRES the capacity from its diesel

generating facilities. In addition, Pella will retire its local down town power plant in 2012. Power

generated from this plant is primarily derived from coal.

“Our new agreement with MRES will give Pella access to a solid, reliable, diverse electricity supply

and membership in one of the nation’s most respected public power joint-action agencies,” said

Pella Mayor Darrell Dobernecker. “In addition to power supply, MRES will handle transmission

arrangements on our behalf. MRES also offers its members many energy-related services that Pella

will benefit from as a result of our member status.”

“We are very pleased that Pella is joining the ranks of our members,” said MRES CEO Tom Heller.

“As with all of our members, the City will continue to own and control its electric distribution

system. The role of MRES is to provide a way for public power communities to leverage the

strength of the group to ensure that they have reliable, cost-effective long-term energy and energy

services while remaining fiscally responsible and environmentally sensitive.”

The majority of MRES power is produced at the Laramie River Station, a large coal-fired generating

plant in eastern Wyoming. MRES also gets power from the natural-gas-fired Exira Station located

in Audubon County, Iowa, and from the oil-fired Watertown Power Plant in Watertown, S.D as well

as from several diesel generating plants located in and owned by member communities. In addition,

MRES gets approximately 11% of its total wholesale energy from wind energy generated at

facilities in Minnesota and North Dakota.

* * * * *

For more information, contact Bill Radio at Missouri River Energy Services, phone: 605-338-4042;

e-mail: bradio@mrenergy.com

or Mike Nardini at Pella, phone 641-628-4173; e-mail:mnardini@cityofpella.com

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6/13/2014 Pella, IA - Official Website

http://www.cityofpella.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=43&ARC=70 2/2

Pella City Hall

825 Broadway St.

Pella, IA 50219

Ph: 641.628.4173

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