Inside the Grid

This month, Sioux Valley Energy's Chief Financial Officer, Jason Maxwell, and General Manager & CEO, Tim McCarthy, talk about the upcoming rate adjustment. The Sioux Valley Energy Board of Directors approved an overall average rate increase of 6.38 percent as of April 1, 2024.

We discuss the need for a rate increase to address the rising costs for material, equipment, operations, financing, and power supply. Please visit Sioux Valley Energy's rate change page or call 1-877-511-8062 to learn how the new rates will affect your account. 

This month, Sioux Valley Energy's Chad Williams and Chris Graff discuss how the cooperative "Keeps the Lights On" (PG 10-11). Special guest, Jacob Slaathaug from Smart Grid Solutions also provides an update on the Department of Energy's Energizing Rural Communities grant. Four Sioux Valley Energy communities received wireless fault indicator devices to help improve reliability and outage response times.

This month Sioux Valley Energy's Member Services and Billing Supervisors Toni Kruger and Molly Burmeister discuss how the new paper bill and Smarthub redesigns can help members access, view, understand and pay for their electric usage. 

This month Sioux Valley Energy celebrates National Cooperative Month with Board Chairman Gary Fish and Vice-Chair Dan Leuthold. They discuss why cooperatives are important and their perspectives from the board room.

This month Sioux Valley Energy's Manager of Beneficial Electrification, Ben Pierson and Jay Buchholz talk with residential member Susan Kruse about her electric vehicle experiences and how the public can learn more about "going electric" at the 3rd Annual EV Expo on Tuesday September 19th from 4-7PM at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds in Sioux Falls, SD.

This month Sioux Valley Energy's Training and Development Coordinator Chinelle Christensen introduces two students from the EMPOWER Youth Leadership Class of 2022-2023. Lily Fods represents Chester Area School District and Ashirvad Sharma is from Brandon Valley High School.

This month Sioux Valley Energy's Member Services and Billing Supervisors Toni Kruger and Molly Burmeister discuss how the Smarthub App can help members access, view, and understand their electric usage. 

This month Sioux Valley Energy spotlights a key account member New Vision Cooperative.  We visit with New Vision Co-op's CEO Matt Ashton about agriculture and how New Vision serves their members in southwest Minnesota. 

This month Sioux Valley Energy celebrates October being National Cooperative Month. We sit down with SVE's CEO and General Manager Tim McCarthy to visit about the 7 cooperative principles. We talk about what everyday commitment to community looks like and why cooperatives are a great career choice.

Welcome to a Special Edition of Inside the Grid Podcast. This month we will host the 2^nd annual EV Ride and Drive event Thursday September 29^th from 4-7PM at the WH Lyon Fairgrounds eastside parking lot. Our Manager of Beneficial Electrification Ben Pierson and I recently sat down with Sioux Metro Growth Alliance’s Sheldon Jenson with their podcast Growing Places to visit about the coop and the upcoming EV Ride and Drive event. (Thank you and credit to SMGA's Growing Places podcast)

Inside the Grid was on the road at the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) Deep Dive Conference in Watertown, South Dakota. ISG's Economic Development Practitioner, Steve Watson, shares his perspective on economic development and Joe Fiala explains why GOED hosted the Deep Dive sessions for "landing-the-deal".

Inside the Grid welcomes Justin Moose, Sioux Valley Energy's Vice President of Technology. We discuss Cybersecurity terms, common scams, and best practices for avoiding potential data exposures. Justin shares ideas on possible scenarios if a cyber event occurs and training to help businesses and their employees limit online threats.

Inside the Grid welcomes Brandon Lane as Sioux Valley Energy's newest Community & Economic Development Representative. We talked about REVIVE 2030 and the chamber's impact on communities with Amy Meert Farr from Hartford Area Chamber and Rachael Neiman with the Brandon Valley Area Chamber of Commerce. 

Inside the Grid talks with USDA's Rural Development Business Loan Specialist, Cayla Holleman, about the variety of programs to assist Ag producers, new or expanding rural business owners, and other financial resource tools for electric cooperative members. 

Inside the Grid talks with Sheila Gross and Reggie Gassman from Sioux Valley Energy's Beneficial Electrification Department regarding Commercial and Agriculture rebates and incentive programs.

In the latest podcast, we visit with Sioux Valley Energy's System Engineer Chris Graff to talk about the Workplan and Budget process.