All pre-conferences held at Best Western Plus Kelly Inn

Energy Issues Summit held at River’s Edge Convention Center

MON. JULY 29 PRE-CONFERENCE OPTIONS • New director orientation, Day 1 of 2: 1-4 pm (University B)

TUES. JULY 30 PRE-CONFERENCE OPTIONS • New director orientation, Day 2 of 2: 8-3 pm (University B) • Board chair round table and governance workshop: 9-3:30 pm (Ballroom) • NRECA BLC 905.1 - Assessing governance: Taking a continuous approach to governing your co-op: 9-4 pm (University A) • Cooperative Network electric sector meeting: 4-5:30 pm (Ballroom)

WED. JULY 31 - THURS. AUG 1 2019 ENERGY ISSUES SUMMIT Day 1: 9-4:30 pm, Reception 5-6:30 pm (Ballroom, Best Western Plus Kelly Inn) Day 2: 8-11:15 am

24th ANNUAL

ENERGY ISSUES SUMMITJuly 31-Aug. 1, 2019

with pre-conferences July 29-30

Best Western Kelly Inn & River’s Edge Convention CenterSt. Cloud, MN

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8:30 EIS registration & continental breakfast, River’s Edge Convention Center

9:00 Welcome Darrick Moe, president & CEO, Minnesota Rural Electric Association (MREA)

9:10 THE STATE OF TODAY’S ENERGY CONSUMER Nathan Shannon, deputy director, Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC)

This session will provide attendees with an up-to-date look at the interests, motivations and behaviors of U.S. energy customers as they relate to smart energy technologies, programs and services. Using insights derived from SECC’s “2019 State of the Consumer” report and a series of utility case studies published in 2018, this session will help attendees understand what consumers value most as it relates to energy and what actually makes them move from interest to program engagement. Insights will be backed by extensive consumer surveying and real-life examples of what has worked for utilities in the field.

9:45 EVOLVING ELECTRIC UTILITY BUSINESS MODELS IN THE AGE OF DER AND OTHER TECHNOLOGIES

Peter Muhoro, Ph.D., VP, strategic industry research and analysis, CFCAdvances in various technologies coupled with cost reductions have led to an increase in deployed distributed energy resources and other technolo-gies within the electric industry. These advances have not only challenged the historical traditional utility business model, but are now emerging to provide opportunities in new business models and the role the utility could have. In addition, these technologies and business models can drive to-ward cost reductions, operational and power supply efficiencies. During this session, learn what new business models are emerging and how utili-ties are adapting to them.

10:15 Break

10:30 KEYNOTE SPEAKER Dr. Scott W. Tinker, director, Bureau of Economic Geology, Switch Energy Alliance, University of TX-Austin

The energy transition is often described as the switch from carbon-based fuels to non-carbon fuels. But there is more to the energy transition than just carbon. The production of all forms of energy, at scale—fossil, nuclear and renewables—has environmental impacts. In addition, one third of the global population today live in various states of energy poverty, and as-sociated economic poverty. The successful energy transition will happen when humans are lifted from poverty and environmental impacts to land, water, local air and atmosphere are reduced.

12:00 Lunch

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31 - DAY 1

2019 ENERGY ISSUES SUMMIT

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31 - DAY 1

2019 ENERGY ISSUES SUMMIT

1:00 ATTRACTING & RETAINING THE NEXT GENERATION OF BOARD MEMBERS Moderated by: Adam Schwartz, The Cooperative Way Panelists:

• Miles Kuschel, board chair, Todd-Wadena Electric Cooperative• Tracy Lauritzen, director, People’s Energy Cooperative• Crystal Pluth, director, Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative

Many rural areas are experiencing “Brain Drain” - young people leaving their community and not returning. No society, community or co-op can survive over the long-term unless young people plant roots in the community. During this session, we will hear from younger board members about their views on how to attract younger board members and the benefits for the community.

2:15 THE BLIND SPOT: WHAT EXECUTIVES SHOULD EXPECT FROM INFORMATION SECURITY John Harmon, president, FRSecure

Decision-making at the executive level is often risk-based. Legal risk, fi-nancial risk, market risk, employee risk and supply-chain risk are a few that come to mind right away. What about information security risk? The gap in vocabulary and expectation at the executive level is too big. This session will provide three simple questions to ask of your information security program and what answers you should expect. Whether you are in a position to ask or answer these questions, this session will be helpful.

2:45 Break

3:00 ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES OF THE FUTURE: THE ROLE OF THE UTILITY IN THE AGE OF DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES AND OTHER TECHNOLOGIES Moderated by: Peter Muhoro, Ph. D., VP, strategic industry research and analysis, CFC Panelists:

• Steve Beuning, vice president, power supply and programs, Holy Cross Energy

• Dan Husted, vice president, marketing & communications, Lake Region Electric Cooperative

• John Lemire, director of transmission resources, North Carolina’s Electric Membership Corporation (NCEMC)

4:15 RALPH K. MORRIS FOUNDATION William J. Nelson, independent consultant, founding member and board chair of Ralph K. Morris Foundation

Ralph K. Morris was a nationally acclaimed attorney from Minnesota rec-ognized for his leadership in advocacy, innovation, and representation of the cooperative business model, including electric and utility coopera-tives. Learn more about the Foundation that was established in his honor, its work in helping develop the next generation of cooperative leaders, and how you can get involved.

4:30 Adjourn5-6:30 Reception - Best Western Plus Kelly Inn Grand Ballroom Please join us for refreshments, snacks and fellowship with neighboring cooperative directors.

7:00 Breakfast Buffet in Best Western Plus Kelly Inn, Ballroom

GENERAL SESS ION - R IVER ’S EDGE CONVENTION CENTER

8:00 FIVE QUESTIONS TO PREPARE FOR THE COOPERATIVE OF THE FUTURE Mark Dyson, principal, electricity practice, Rocky Mountain Institute

The utility industry as a whole, including cooperatives, is facing unprec-edented changes in technology, customer priorities, and the policy land-scape, and these changes may pose fundamental challenges to co-ops if not proactively addressed. This presentation will lay out a series of difficult questions that co-op directors and executives should be grappling with as they define a strategy to thrive in this new era, and provide context and analytical results around these questions based on the experience of RMI and others working with utility partners over the past decade.

8:45 BEYOND THE TWO-PART RATE: DYNAMIC RATE DESIGN TO MEET COOPERATIVE GOALS

Moderated by Jim Horan, director of regulatory affairs, NRECA Panelists:

• Rich Macke, vice president, economics, rates, and business planning, Power System Engineering

• Kristi Robinson, manager of rates and regulatory, STAR Energy Services, LLC

The panel will discuss the industry trend away from the fixed two-part rates to dynamic pricing and residential demand charges including im-plementation considerations and potential challenges.

9:30 Break

9:45 MN LEGISLATIVE DISCUSSION Senator David Osmek, chair of senate energy, policy & finance committee

10:15 INDUSTRY CHANGE IN COLORADO Kent Singer, executive director, Colorado Rural Electric Association

The pace of change for Colorado’s electric co-ops is unprecedented. In the 2019 legislative session, the Colorado General Assembly passed legisla-tion that will require significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by the electric utility sector. This bill will have a significant impact on how our generation and transmission association, Tri-State, produces power for de-cades to come. In addition, the legislature directed our public utility com-mission to oversee Tri-State’s resource planning process. These legislative and regulatory initiatives, as well as the desires of some co-ops to find al-ternative power suppliers or have more flexibility under the all-requirements contract, are driving challenging discussions in the Colorado co-op family. This session will provide an overview of recent developments in Colorado and how they may be relevant to Minnesota’s electric co-ops.

11:00 STRENGTHENING MREA POLICY AND COMMUNICATIONS FUNCTION• Jared Echternach, CEO, Beltrami Electric Cooperative• Brian Krambeer, president & CEO, MiEnergy Cooperative• Darrick Moe, president & CEO, MREA

12:00 Closing remarks, evaluations and adjournment

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1 - DAY 2

2019 ENERGY ISSUES SUMMIT

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SPEAKER BIOS

Steve Beuning is vice president of Power Supply and Programs at Holy Cross Energy in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Prior to Holy Cross Energy, he worked at Xcel Energy for 34 years in various roles including regional wholesale markets, transmission and system operations. Steve has a bachelor of electrical engi-neering from the University of Minnesota and a masters of busi-ness administration from Colorado State University.

Mark Dyson is a principal with the electricity practice at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), where he has worked since 2008 and currently leads RMI research and collaboration ef-forts around the roles that distributed energy resources can play in grid planning and investment. At RMI, Mark has led cutting-edge research projects on the value that renew-able energy, demand flexibility and storage offer customers and the grid, and has advised clients including large utilities, regulatory com-missions, oil majors and clean-tech companies on distributed energy topics. Mark’s work focuses on several topics related to the changing nature of the electricity grid. Mark has contributed to RMI’s work on new approaches to grid resource plan-ning that better account for the expanding role of renewable energy and distributed energy resources. Mark also helped lead RMI’s analysis of the potential of demand flexibility to reduce grid emissions and costs, and has engaged with several indus-try partners to launch new business models that take advantage of that potential.

Jared Echternach is the CEO of Beltrami Electric Cooperative in Bemidji, Minnesota. He has worked for electric cooperatives in northern Minnesota for the past 18 years, including Beltrami Electric, Itasca-Mantrap and North Itasca Electric. Jared holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. Jared and his wife Penny reside south of Bemidji with their seven-year-old daughter, Cali.

John Harmon, president, FRSecure, is an alum of Concordia Col-lege in Moorhead, MN and has 10+ years of business leadership and IT industry experience, through which he developed an affin-ity for information security. As president, John’s focus is helping clients better understand security requirements and implement effective information security strategies. As FRSecure continues to enjoy positive growth, he is constantly working to refine pro-cedures and leverage our customer feedback to keep FRSecure providing ever-improving value.

Jim Horan is a cooperative utility attorney, experienced in risk management, government and regulatory affairs, media relations, policy communications, leading teams and providing counsel to boards on a broad range of electric industry issues. Practical distribution cooperative utility experience managing member services, energy efficiency programs, key accounts, communi-cations, human resources and rate-design efforts. Successfully representing dis-tribution cooperatives in front of federal and state regulatory bodies on electric cooperative finance, technical, business model, and governance issues.

Dan Husted is the vice president of business development at Lake Region Electric Cooperative (LREC) and Lake Region En-ergy Services (LRES Natural Gas) in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota. His rural electric cooperative and public power career spans 38 years and includes stops in Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Wyo-ming and Minnesota. At LREC, Dan has served as project coor-dinator for two community solar projects and has developed unique programs for geothermal heating and cooling, EASY PAY LED lighting, peak time rebates, smart thermostats, standby generator installation and load control, GoWEST Solar and is currently working on a community storage pilot associated with a 2 MW wind-solar hybrid facility interconnected to rural LREC substation. Grid responsive water heat-ers will be managed to control power supply peaks, transmission peaks and provide beneficial electrification by storing excess wind energy production as thermal en-ergy. Dan is a graduate of Chadron State College in Nebraska – (alma mater of MN Governor Tim Walz)

Brian Krambeer is the president/CEO of MiEnergy Cooperative, which is the result of a 2017 member-approved merger between Tri-County Electric Cooperative in southeastern Minnesota and Hawkeye REC in northeastern Iowa. In 2010, he was elected as a regional director for the Federated Rural Electric Insurance Ex-change, and in 2015 was elected chairman. Brian serves as board chair for Southern Minnesota Energy Cooperative, the 12 electric cooperatives that successfully purchased the Minnesota service territory and 43,000 customers from investor-owned utility, Alliant Energy. In 2013, Brian embraced what some considered a disruption to the industry by leading Tri-County and Hawkeye REC to be among the first cooperatives to provide community solar. Shortly after, his leadership helped form an LLC, Minnesota Three, that supplies its G&T with solar power from a 517-kW array. Recently, Brian has led MiEnergy’s broadband initiative by partnering with two local telephone cooperatives to create an LLC company, Mi-Broadband, which will provide fixed wireless opportunities to rural and underserved areas.

SPEAKER BIOS

Miles Kuschel, board chair, Todd-Wadena Electric Cooperative is currently serving his third term as a director of Todd Wadena Electric Cooperative and was recently elected chair of the board. Miles grad-uated from the University of Wisconsin Madison. Miles and his wife Sarah live and work on a third generation beef ranch with their three children east of Nimrod, MN. Miles passion for agriculture and tech-nology drives him to continual learning and community involvement.

Tracy Lauritzen, director, People’s Energy Cooperative, has held executive positions in management, marketing and business de-velopment for the past 20 years. The type of organizations span from HVAC to engineering. In 2018 her entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and she launched, Krakerjak – a strategic marketing, sales and analytics firm. She is an active community member, serving on a variety of boards and committees. Tracy, husband Damian, son Otto and dog Luke Skywalker enjoy the outdoors and live near Whitewater State Park in Elba, MN.

John Lemire is director of transmission resources at NCEMC, the power supply organization serving North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives. John is responsible for short-term and long-term planning and reliability of member delivery points, analysis and forecasting of transmission rates, assisting with the interconnec-tion processes for distributed generation, procurement of long-term transmission service for the optimization of NCEMC’s power supply portfo-lio, and coordination with the three transmission providers that provide service to NCEMC member cooperatives. John also served as the project manager for the Butler Farms Microgrid. John joined NCEMC in 2012 and has more than 15 years of experience in transmission planning and system operations. Prior to joining NCEMC, John worked for Duke Energy Progress. He has a B.S. in electrical engi-neering from N.C. State University and an MBA from Liberty University.

Rick Macke leads the economics, rates and business planning practice area at PSE where he serves on both the board of direc-tors and the executive committee. He and his staff provide servic-es to utilities and the utility industry in areas concerning business strategy, cost of service studies, rate design studies, demand-side management programs, resource planning, performance bench-marking, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory support and expert testimony. He is frequently called upon to speak to utility management, directors, commissioners and industry associations on a broad range of topics related to utility economics, finance, rates and business strategy. In addition, Rich is currently serving on a cus-tomer-owned distributed generation committee for a G&T cooperative and on a net metering rate subcommittee with the Minnesota Rural Electric Association. He holds an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and has nearly 20 years of experience consulting with electric utilities.

SPEAKER BIOS

Dr. Peter Muhoro, Ph.D. is an accomplished electric utility execu-tive with over ten years in domestic and international experience in areas of leadership in the energy industry. Results-oriented decisive leader with proven success in strategic positioning and new market development for technology adoption and providing excellent service. He currently serves as vice president, strategic industry research and analysis at National Rural Utilities Coop-erative Finance Corporation (CFC).

William J. Nelson is an independent consultant who works with educational organizations, membership associations, coopera-tives and non-profits as they address personal, professional and organizational transitions. He previously served as vice president of corporate citizenship for CHS Inc. and president of the CHS Foundation. He retired from CHS in 2016. William is a founding member of the Ralph K. Morris Foundation, and currently serves as its board chair. William joined CHS in 1992 after serving 13 years as a University of Minnesota fac-ulty member and administrator. He has been awarded FFA’s Honorary American Farmer Degree, was inducted into the USA Cooperative Hall of Fame in 2015 and was recognized by IFAMA (International Food and Ag Management Association) as a Fellow in 2016. He was selected as the 2018 Business Leader of the Year by the Association for Career and Technical Education.

Senator David Osmek was born in Glencoe, MN and raised on a farm in Biscay. He graduated from Glencoe Senior High in 1983 and earned his bachelor’s degree at St. Cloud State. Senator Os-mek represents District 33 in the Minnesota Senate, which includes western Hennepin County and the City of Chanhassen in Carver County. He is chairman of the Senate Energy and Utilities Finance and Policy Committee, in addition to serving on the Capital Invest-ment, Local Government, and Transportation Finance and Policy Committees. Prior to his election to the Senate in 2012, he served on the Mound City Council for 11 years. Senator Osmek began his 20 year business career working in the healthcare industry for several companies and is currently a healthcare consultant. Senator Osmek has been active in his community, volunteering for Gillespie Senior Center, Our Lady of the Lake Church and Knights of Columbus, Adopt-a-Greenspace in Mound and various other civic organizations.

Crystal Pluth has served on the Iowa Lakes Electric Coopera-tive board of directors since April 2012. Her interest in member-owned cooperatives began in 1991 with a part-time job at a credit union. Fast forward 28 years and Crystal is still employed in the credit union industry and carries an even deeper pas-sion for the member owned cooperative structure and appre-ciates being part of an industry that strives to make sound de-

SPEAKER BIOS

cisions on the member’s behalf. Crystal and her husband, John, live outside of Estherville, Iowa where she serves as co-chair of the Estherville Jr. High and High School Rodeo, vice president of the Estherville Saddle Club, serves on the board of directors for the Estherville Area Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Estherville Elks Lodge.

Kristi Robinson started her career in 2002 as a distribution sys-tem engineer at Steele-Waseca Cooperative Electric. In late 2015, Kristi made a change and is now working for Star Energy Services, LLC as a manager of rates and regulations. Her primary areas of responsibility include system planning, renewable policy and regulation, cost of service studies, service territory conflicts, inte-gration of utility technologies and operation management of Southern Minnesota En-ergy Cooperative. Kristi received her bachelors in electrical engineering from North Dakota State University and masters in engineering management from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. She is a licensed professional engineer in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Iowa. In addition, Kristi has completed the Robert I. Kubat Management Internship Program in 2014. Kristi’s other job is the mom to three kids ages 7, 9, and 11 who are all destined to become liberal arts majors as Kristi’s husband is also an engineer by trade. Kristi currently resides in Underwood, MN with her family.

Adam Schwartz is the founder of The Cooperative Way, a con-sulting firm dedicated to assisting all types of cooperative busi-nesses succeed and is a passionate advocate for cooperatives. The Cooperative Way is a strategic partner with CDS Consulting Co-op, a shared services cooperative of 35 cooperative consul-tants. Adam provides strategic guidance (for employees, boards and members) for organizations seeking to utilize cooperative principles and values as a primary force in serving their members and the commu-nity. He teaches at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) executive training program about how to create a cooperative culture in your or-ganization. Prior to founding The Cooperative Way, Adam served as vice president for public affairs and member services from 2005-2011 for the National Cooperative Business Association. From 2001-2005 Adam was vice president of external affairs for the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative. From 1992-2001, Adam was a senior legislative representative for the NRECA. He is a frequent speaker and au-thor on cooperative business. He writes a monthly column #Gocoop-The Future of Co-ops in NRECA’s RE Magazine. Adam has appeared on MSNBC and CNN to pro-mote cooperatives as the better business model for economic and social change.

SPEAKER BIOS

Nathan Shannon came on as Smart Energy Consumer Col-laborative’s (SECC) deputy director in early 2015. In this role, he is responsible for advancing a consumer-friendly, consumer-safe smart grid through research and educa-tion. Along with his work on the research and policy com-mittees, Nathan also leads member recruitment and engagement and routinely presents SECC research at major industry confer-ences and policy workshops. In his previous role as director of operations and major gifts officer at Athens Land Trust, he had a focus on policy and sustainability through his work with land conservation and carbon credits. He also gained ex-tensive knowledge in the realm of non-profit development and capacity building. Nathan has a bachelors in economics from the University of Georgia and a back-ground in financial management.

Kent Singer became Colorado Rural Electric Association’s (CREA) executive director on January 1, 2010. Singer had been CREA’s general counsel since 1996, representing the association in pub-lic utility and legislative matters. Prior to becoming CREA’s ex-ecutive director, Singer was also corporate counsel for Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, and general counsel for Holy Cross Electric Association. Singer was a founding member of the board of advisors for the Electric Cooperative Bar Association, and is currently a member of that association as well as the Denver and Colorado Bar Associations. A native of Kansas, he and his wife, Deborah, have resided in Denver for 28 years. Singer is a graduate of Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science degree and received his juris doctor from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1984.

Dr. Scott Tinker works to bring industry, government, academia and NGOs together to address major societal challenges in en-ergy, the environment and the economy. Dr. Tinker is director of the 250-person Bureau of Economic Geology, the State Geologist of Texas and a professor holding the Allday Endowed Chair in the Jackson School at The University of Texas at Austin. Tinker co-pro-duced and is featured in the award-winning energy documentary film Switch, which has been screened in over 50 countries to more than 15 million viewers and is used on thousands of K-12 and college campuses. Dr. Tinker formed the nonprofit Switch Energy Alliance and is working on two new films addressing global energy poverty and the energy transition. He is the voice of EarthDate, a 2-minute weekly program produced by the Bureau of Economic Geology, that fo-cuses on remarkable stories of Earth, and is featured on over 350 NPR stations in all 50 United States. He has served as president of the American Geosciences Institute, the Association of American State Geologists, the American Association of Petro-leum Geologists, and the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies. Dr. Tinker is an AGI Campbell Medalist, AAPG Halbouty Medalist, GCAGS Boyd Medalist, and a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. In his visits to some 60 countries he has given over 750 keynote and invited lectures.

SPEAKER BIOS

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