DAVE GESCHWIND, SOUTHERN MINNESOTA MUNICIPAL POWER AGENCY
CEO Profile
How has SMMPA evolved since its beginning in 1977 to meet those changes to the industry? We’re definitely evolving, and we have to do that to serve our members and the residents of their cities. SMMPA’s first major power plant investment when the Agency was created in 1977 was to co-own Unit 3 with Xcel Energy at the Sherco coal-fired power plant. I think of that as the SMMPA 1.0 period. That facility will be retired soon, and we are working on SMMPA 2.0. We already have significant renewable generation in our generation portfolio, but SMMPA 2.0 will have even more. We also have plans to add more natural-gas fired generation, primarily to maintain reliability. We will continue to invest in large-scale electric transmission projects with our peer utilities to help support the transition from large-central station power plants to more distributed carbon-free generation projects. Finally, a big part of what we do is to help our members assist retail customers in using electricity efficiently and affordably. One way we do this is by designing programs that inform and provide rebates to customers that install energy-efficient appliances or processes in their facilities. This will continue to be an important part of how we work with our member cities. As you look ahead to the future, what do you see as the outlook for the energy industry as well as for SMMPA? We are in an exciting time for our industry. We can definitely point to changes that are coming and the challenges those changes are creating. Our predecessors said the same things about the challenges they faced and eventually overcame. SMMPA is in a great position to continue working with our member cities to provide the electricity and programs they need for their electric customers. The way the industry and SMMPA do that will undoubtedly be different in the future, but the core mission of the Agency in serving our cities will be just as relevant twenty years from now as it was twenty years ago.
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