The monitor in the tank sends a signal to a controller, and the controller makes the phone call.
Customers can have their tanks measured as often as they wish.
Software loaded onto computers at the co-op allows managers to see where each customer's account stands and to process billing. The routing system, called the Bulk Automated Scheduling System, is based in Minneapolis, Minn., and trucks are dispatched from the cooperative-owned refinery, Country Energy LLC, in McPherson. It has been in use in Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin for about three years. We're now at the point where it's working quite well. One of the most popular features for customers, Strunk said, is a single, monthly bill based on consumption and the 30-day average price.