Vision Statement:

South Texas Electric Cooperative July 2017

Bi-Monthly Newsletter

South Texas Electric Cooperative is a cutting-

edge G&T Cooperative and a leader in providing a

diverse portfolio of affordable energy, a reliable

power delivery system, and services customized

to the needs of the members.

What’s Inside:

» Lineman Appreciation

» Manager’s Message » Board of Director News

» SkySTEC 318 » Accounting & Finance

» Corporate & Member Services » Power Delivery

» Power Supply » Committee Meetings Employee Standing Committee Safety Committee Scholarship Committee

» Service Anniversaries

» Upcoming Meetings

STEC observed National Lineman Appreciation Day on

Monday, April 10, 2017, with a luncheon to show their

appreciation for the efforts that all of our linemen,

operators, and technicians put forth each day,

regardless of the conditions, to help ensure that we

keep power flowing through our communities. They

work 365 days a year to build, maintain and repair the

electric infrastructure. Thank you all for all that you do

for STEC and our members.

The best car safety device is a rear-view mirror with a cop in it.

Dudley Moore

Anyone who has driven an automobile for any period of time has had this

happen. You glance in the rear-view mirror and see a police car behind you.

Be honest – what is the first thing you do? Take your foot off the accelerator!

Why? Because, without even looking, we know that we may well be guilty of

exceeding the speed limit. Why? Why would we knowingly violate a traffic

law? Because we have become accustomed to doing so, and we have gotten

away with it. Seeing the police car in our rear-view mirror brings our

awareness of past behavior to the front of our minds, and we instinctively do

what we know we should have been doing all along. The same is true when we

ignore measures designed to keep us safe on the job. We may get away with it

for a while, but eventually that type of work habit will catch up to us in ways

we may come to regret.

Without looking, see if you can guess who is quoted in the following passage:

“When any one asks me how I can best describe my experiences of nearly forty

years at sea I merely say uneventful. Of course, there have been Winter gales and

storms and fog and the like, but in all my experience I have never been in an

accident of any sort worth speaking about. I have seen but one vessel in distress

in all my years at sea, a brig, the crew of which was taken off in a small boat in

charge of my third officer. I never saw a wreck and have never been wrecked, nor

was I ever in any predicament that threatened to end in disaster of any sort. I

will say that I cannot imagine any condition which could cause a ship to founder.

I cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to this vessel. Modern ship-

building has gone beyond that.”

These words were spoken by EJ Smith, Captain of the Titanic, shortly before

it began its fateful and final voyage. Captain Smith wrongly assumed that

because he had not experienced any significant problems during his career at

sea up to that point in time, he could rely upon that experience to repeat itself

going forward. We all know that was not the case for Captain Smith or for the

crew and passengers aboard the Titanic. Nor is it true for us when it comes to

safety.

As I write this message, STEC employees are approximately one week away

from achieving a major milestone in our Safety Program – one million man

hours worked without a Lost Time Accident. I want to express my sincere

appreciation to each STEC employee for achieving this accomplishment – one

that would not have been possible without a great deal of hard work, focus,

and attention to safe work practices. My challenge to you is to not let up, but

to maintain your focus on working safely.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

2016 Capital Credit Certificates, consistent with the allocation of net income, were

presented and approved for issuance.

Don Gray’s recommended approach for the July 1, 2017 insurance policy renewals was

approved.

STEC contributed $1,500 to the CFC Integrity Fund from General Funds to be used for

territorial purposes only, as approved by the Board.

STEC continued support of the NRECA International Program in the amount of

$4,000.

Amy Pratka provided a status report on SkySTEC318, as well as risk assessments and

audits that are currently in progress and completed.

A recommendation to execute a contract with Roth Construction for the Unit 3

Renovation project was approved.

Revised Board Policy No. 241 – Safety Regulations, Authority, and Job Training,

Revised Board Policy No. 201 – Selection and Dismissal, Revised Board Policy No. 202

– Work Schedule and Overtime Policy, and Revised Board Policy No. 109 – Service

Awards for Employees and Directors were approved.

Frances Nitschmann, Clif Lange and Mike Kezar presented a breakdown of STEC

member rate components for 2016 and the major cost drivers behind those rate

components.

Clif Lange gave a presentation on the impact various congestion

scenarios can have on STEC resource power prices.

Lucas Turner presented the ERCOT Capacity, Demand, and Reserves

(CDR) report to the Board.

The Independent Market Monitor (IMM) report was provided by Diana

Liebmann.

Cory Allen presented the 2017 Transmission Cost of Service matrix.

Pete Masiel presented an update on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety

Regulations, STEC’s Driver Vehicle Inspection Form, and STEC’s Com-

pliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) scores.

Travis Chrest gave a presentation on NERC and TexasRE compliance

activities.

John Packard gave a presentation on a recommendation for the

permanent retirement and removal from service of the Pearsall Steam

Units. The Board approved the recommendation.

John Packard presented a case study of a potential 500 kW solar

installation at the Pearsall plant site. Draft Request for Proposals

(RFP) were provided for the Board to review.

Mike Kezar continues to visit each of the members’ Boards giving an

overview presentation on STEC.

Larry Huesser, STEC Board Vice-President, represented the STEC

Board at the Service Awards Luncheon on June 30th at the Victoria

Community Annex honoring 38 employees.

Gary Raybon

Larry Huesser

Tommy Ermis

Barbara Miller

Bobby Bauch

Brad Bierstedt

Paul Brysch

James Coleman

Bruce Elliott

John Herrera

Ron Hughes

Leroy Kaspar

Trace McCuan

Mark Rollans

Blaine Warzecha

Donald Wehmeyer

President

Vice President

Secretary/

Treasurer

Asst. Secretary/

Treasurer

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

South Texas Electric Board of Director News:

SkySTEC 318 The SkySTEC project is the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics AX which is a

software package we will begin using across the company in March 2018. This software

will take information/processes we have spread throughout the business and bring that

information into one location. The Project Leaders for STEC are Amy Pratka and Tony

Gigli. We are also working with Erin Kitt of Edisto Resources who is serving as

Consultant for Project Management. The company that will be performing the implemen-

tation is Sopris Systems, and they will also be our contact for support once the system is

in operation.

There are five phases associated with the project, and each phase includes specific

activities and deliverables. The phases (in order) and some examples of the activities in

each phase are as follows:

Plan – Environment Planning, Requirement Workshops/Process Flows, Core Team

Education (current phase)

Design – Environment Building, Data Conversion Workshops/Process Flows

Build – Sprints, Sprint User Acceptance Testing, Functional Testing

Test/Train – Train the Trainer Training, End User Training

Go-Live Transition – Successfully execute Go-Live, Transition to Support, Evaluate

future needs/phases

We have assembled a Steering Team to guide the business process decisions that will be made

throughout the project. The Steering Team members are as follows:

Mike Kezar Wendy Ohrt Amy Pratka

Cory Allen Frances Nitschmann Tony Gigli

John Packard Jane Krause

We should be completing the planning phase in the next couple of weeks. This phase has been long and

intense. We started the planning phase with demos of Microsoft Dynamics AX with STEC’s implementation

team members. Those demos were intended to give a broad overview of the system we are purchasing. The

next step in the planning phase was Requirement Workshops, including discussions about workflows. These

workshops were conducted with the following Teams: Finance/Budgeting, Trade and Logistics (Purchasing/

Warehouse/Inventory), HR/Payroll, EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) and Projects. These meetings were

intended to help Sopris better understand our current process so that they can help design and build the new

system to best suites our needs. Another set of meetings was conducted to develop requirement use cases.

The Planning Phase will end when we receive a Fit/Gap Analysis (a document stating STEC requirements

that are not part of our contract).

While working in the Planning Phase, we simultaneously started the Design Phase. Data Conversion

Workshops were conducted. The purpose of these workshops was for Sopris to walk through the templates

with STEC that we will use for gathering data to upload into the new software.

During the Planning Phase, the Technology Team worked with Sopris to create an Environment Plan, and

during the Design Phase, Sopris is working on Designing the Environment for STEC.

Changes to the Project Team from Sopris are as follows:

Rick Kennedy has taken over the role of Project Manager for the Sopris Team.

Jeannie Cooper has taken over the role of Financial Consultant for the Sopris Team.

Rebeca Coker was added as a Human Resources/PR Consultant for the Sopris Team.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the project, please contact Amy Pratka or Tony Gigli.

Accounting and Finance:

Accounting Procedure Reminders:

Review the list of open work orders provided monthly to identify any work orders that

are complete and should be closed. Next, submit the work order close form so that it

may be properly closed and reclassified as a finished asset. This is always an

important requirement and is a particularly timely concern as conversion to new

software is being implemented.

When you use a company charge account, such as Home Depot, Lowes, or Wal-Mart,

the receipt should be submitted to the Purchasing department within 24 hours of the

purchase. Before submitting to Purchasing the PO should be created in the PO

database.

When you have a counter sale or repair service and you are given the invoice at the

time of sale, make sure you give that invoice to the designated individual in your area.

This person will need to properly process the invoice and send to Accounts Payable for

payment.

When scanning invoices to Accounts Payable for payment, please make sure the

scanning is done on the highest resolution level for clarity.

All invoices should come to Accounts Payable first then distributed if need be.

When staying in a hotel, the Hotel Tax Exemption Forms should be presented at the

time of check-in to avoid state & local hotel tax being charged for the stay. The form

can be found on the X drive under forms.

The new warehouse is near completion. This warehouse should house bulk items

(i.e. slow movers, and back stock) and will help us store items that we only currently

have room outside to park but will be more safely stored inside. The new warehouse

will help us transition into a new workflow concept as we will now have space to

stage pallets for projects without comingling with stock items that are not ear-

marked.

Mark Kimmey joined the Accounting & Finance Department as the Procurement

Manager on July 10, 2017. Please welcome Mark to the STEC family.

Corporate & Member Services—Competitive Retail:

Spring into Action and Get Ready for the Heat.

Don’t wait until your first high electrical bill to get ready for this South Texas summer heat. What an excellent

time to spring into action to save your hard earned dollars from going to a large electric bill. Here are a couple

tips for electricity conservation during the summer months:

Contact a qualified technician to service your central air-conditioner system. If you want to ward off major

problems with your HVAC unit, it should be serviced every year.

Change your AC filter on a monthly basis. A clogged up filter will cause your AC to work harder and use

more electricity. If you are like most of us with allergies, you will appreciate not having the dust and other

allergens that it has collected getting back into the air.

Use exhaust fans in your bathroom and kitchen to take out humidity. But turn them off after the smoke in

the kitchen or the steam in the bathroom clears.

Open windows when the air is cooler instead of AC. If used along with ceiling fans the breezes will freshen

up your home as well as keeping it cool and you won’t be sweating when time to pay that electric bill. Just

remember, fans only cool your body temperature, not your house, so turn them off when you leave. You can

also save electricity by turning off those lights now because the sunlight is shining in!

Fire up the old BBQ to keep the heat out of the house. Steaks on the BBQ vs. hamburgers on the stove top,

now that’s a win-win.

Pull down the shade or blinds. No there are not spies in your yard; I’m talking sun rays in your windows.

Even with triple pane windows, the heat still finds its way. Just think, if you block that beautiful view now,

you can use the money saved for a beautiful view on vacation.

Install a programmable thermostat and keep it around 78 degrees. It will allow you to set the temp when

you are away from home and lower the temp shortly before you return. Program it for vacation too with all

the money you will be saving on your electric bill.

Lower you water heater temperature. A good summer setting is around 110 to 120 degrees.

Wash clothes and dishes at night and let your dishes air dry. Stay clear of running large electronics between

2 pm and 8 pm.

The NEC’s software billing conversion day has come. STEC’s Victoria retail office has shut

down telephone business starting July 6th at 5:00pm. First was the task of closing out of the

Daffron system Thursday night. Friday spent uploading files to iSigma and STEC’s retail

crew busy learning and training on the new iSigma system. The NEC Robstown office is taking

phone calls during this time to offer information and limited support to NEC Coop Energy

members. Most requests will be held for the new software system to be live or members are

instructed to call back.

iSigma is projected to become the live billing system for NEC Coop Energy July 12th. Prior to

this point our staff that includes Shawndra Chumchal, Connie Hermes, Ina Hohlt, Ginger

Lorance, Jackie Perez, Mary Jane Munoz and Darilyn Barger, will probably be spending some

late nights getting ready for it. Some of the tasks will be validating data in iSigma, data entry

of various items that was not uploaded from Daffron from multiple reports just to name a few.

Even though this new billing system accomplishes the similar results as the Daffron system, the differences in

the steps to get there is greatly different. This made the creation of new procedures necessary as work

assignments have been reassigned between the STEC Retail office, the NEC Robstown office, as well as inner

office personnel. The procedures will assuredly go under multiple changes in the months to follow as we continue

working in the new system and learning the most efficient way to streamline tasks that will benefit both

employees and NEC Coop Energy’s members.

NEC Coop Energy rate plans stay the same, however the members will be facing multiple changes at once. New

account numbers, new online portal for account access, and automated phone payment system are just a few.

Not only have the account numbers changed, the members will be facing new bill formats, disconnect for

non-payment notifications as well as other form changes. NEC Representatives will encourage members to use

the new interactive voice response (IVR) system to make their payments on the accounts and continue to give

members the best customer service.

On April 7, 2017, Dotty DiSanto, Member Services Coordinator,

and Amy Segler, Engineering Assistant, represented STEC’s

technical women at the “Women in Industry” event held at the

Victoria College Emerging Technology Complex. The event

showcased many companies in the area that employed women in

technical fields. Dotty and Amy gave a presentation to VISD

high school girls to expose them to careers in Industrial Trades.

Feedback from the girls was that “the event left everyone feeling

empowered and inspired”.

Corporate & Member Services (continued) —

Competitive Retail & Member Services:

Jacklynn Thormahlen, daughter of Ina Hohlt, graduated

from Victoria East High School on June 2, 2017. She is

ranked in the top 10% of her class and is a member of the

National Honor Society. She has received a scholarship from

Victoria Sembradores Education Foundation to apply to her

future Bachelors of Science Nursing degree program. Best of

luck to Jacklynn on her future endeavors!

Joshua Munoz, son of Mary Jane Munoz, has been awarded

the Star rank in Boy Scouts at the end of April 2017. To earn

the rank of Star, he had to complete numerous camp-outs,

many hours of community service and multiple merit badges.

He has now started working on the Life rank which is the

second highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program.

He will concentrate on building his leadership skills for the

next six months. Recently, Joshua was elected by his peers

as a member of the Order of the Arrow, which is the Boy

Scouts National Honor Society. Way to go Joshua!

On May 17, 2017, Dotty DiSanto

presented “Home Arcing

Demonstration for Electrical

Safety” to 2nd through 5th

grade students at the Rowland

Elementary Career Day.

As part of the National and State efforts to protect human health and the environment, Federal and

State laws require companies to submit an annual emissions inventory to their state regulatory

authority. The Environmental Department recently submitted inventories for Sam Rayburn, Red Gate

and Pearsall Power Plants for reporting year 2016 to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

(TCEQ). The inventories total the air pollutants emitted by each emission source at that facility.

Additionally, Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) were submitted to the Environmental Protection

Agency’s (EPA) reporting system for all three power plants for 2016. With EPA’s Facility Level

Information GreenHouse gases Tool (FLIGHT), you can quickly and easily filter GHG data in a variety

of ways, including by facility, industry, location, or gas.

May was National Electrical Safety Month

National Electrical Safety Month means it’s time to

check your year-round electrical safety awareness

efforts. Each year, electricity kills nearly 400 people

and injures thousands more. Increasing awareness of

electrical safety could help avoid deaths and injuries.

Power line contact with construction equipment, ladders

and gardening tools are among the leading causes of electrocutions.

National Electrical Safety Month serves as a great reminder for everyone to be careful

around downed power lines during this stormy season.

Stay at least 10-20 feet away from downed or low-hanging power lines at all times.

Moving away from the downed line, shuffle your feet close together and on the

ground.

If your vehicle touches downed power line, stay inside until rescue workers say it

safe to leave.

If you must leave the vehicle due to dangerous situation such as fire, jump away

from the vehicle so that you do not touch the vehicle and the ground at the same

time. Land with feet together and shuffle, keeping the feet close together and on the

ground.

Contact your local electric provider to report the downed or low-hanging lines.

STEC received recognition for operating without a

lost-time work injury for one year from Texas

Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (TEC). Great job STEC!

Corporate & Member Services—Safety & Environmental:

Corporate & Member Services —

Compliance/Information Technology/Security:

These were the most commonly

violated standards between May

2016 and May 2017. They account

for approximately 76% of total new

violations. It’s important that we

review the standards we are

responsible for complying with to

ensure we are still performing tasks

associated with requirements. If

you have any questions on

compliance requirements send an

email to tchrest@stec.org.

The Security Department in cooperation with Information Technology (IT) work to

install Radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems at the Donna and Red Gate

Power Plant facilities. RFID uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify

and track tags. This system will play a vital role when accounting for employees/

visitors during an evacuation.

Redgate Security Officers have started visiting STEC substations in the Rio

Grande Valley area. Officers are evaluating the physical security of each

substation. These evaluations include looking at the location of the station, the

perimeter fencing, lighting, video surveillance, and crime statistics for the area.

Physically visiting each station also provides STEC Security with firsthand

knowledge about where each station is located and what is around it.

Eric Mercer joined the IT

Department as an IT Technician

on July 10, 2017. He and his wife

of 15 years, Mandy, have two

sons, Bryce who is 10 years old

and Kasyn who is 3 years old.

Greg has been involved in the

technology field for 20 years.

Please welcome Greg to the

STEC family.

Power Delivery—Engineering & System Operations:

Keith Hastings, System

Operator, is pictured below

performing radio checks with

member cooperatives. Radio

checks are an essential part

of STEC’s Hurricane

Preparedness Plan.

Greg Blank joined the Engineering Department as a

Transmission Engineer on May 8, 2017. He and his wife of

7 years, Brittany, have two sons, Owen who is 3 years old

and Brody who is 10 months old. Greg is from Weatherford,

Texas where he worked at Power Engineers for 8 years.

Please welcome Greg to the STEC family.

Steve Bolle, Chief System Operator, Matt Berhard,

System Operator, Lee Martinez, SCADA Technician

Foreman, and Kathy Keith, SCADA Programmer,

attended the Advanced Control Systems (ACS)

Conference that was held in Atlanta, Georgia on May

7-12, 2017. They participated in a round table

discussion with ACS over switching documents.

Derek Merta joined the Engineering Department as a

Distribution Engineer on July 10, 2017. He and his wife of

6 years, Brooke, have two daughters, Anna who is 3 years

old and Emma who is 11 weeks old. Derek is from Bryan,

Texas where he worked at Bryan Texas Utilities. Please

welcome Derek to the STEC family.

Roger Kurtz and James Stastny, Engineering

Assistants, are pictured on right participating in

training at the Placedo Substation.

The Under-Frequency Load Shedding (UFLS) survey required by the

ERCOT Nodal Operating Guides Section 2.6.1 occurred at 11:00 on May

11, 2017. Steve Bolle compiled the survey data, completed the

necessary forms and submitted to ERCOT on behalf of the Members,

Golden Spread Electric Cooperative (GSEC) and Texas-Louisiana

Electric Cooperative (TexLa).

W.S. Brown, Metering Technician, performed

checkout of the Fowlerton substation revenue

metering circuits. AVO CTER test set is used

to place voltage and current onto the meter

circuits in a test method known as secondary

injection. Voltage and currents provided by

the test set are checked along the circuit

paths as verification of wiring integrity. Along

with secondary injection tests of the circuits,

W.S. checks metering equipment nameplate

data to ensure the correct equipment has

been installed. He also programs and tests

the station meter with calculated parameters

specific to the Fowlerton station transformer.

Jim Smith and Jose Loredo, Relay Techni-

cians, are installing a battery disconnect on

the 14MVA Mobile at Van Vleck substation.

The Mobile was installed in order to upgrade

the transformer

at the station.

Carl Pankartz with Doble Engineering Company,

pictured below, is performing the annual Doble

training to the crews. The training topics help

technicians of all levels be more efficient, effective

and safe in the field.

Power Delivery—Technical Services:

Technicians in the substation mainte-

nance department are adding wildlife

protection devices on equipment in

substations. This is being done to

reduce the number of electrical contact

events that can be caused by various

types of animals in the substations

resulting in power blinks or outages to

our customers.

Power Delivery—Line Crew, Right-of-Way & Construction:

Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Brent Strickland on the arrival of their daughter,

Ella Daniella Strickland. Ella Daniella was born March 6, 2017 weighing 6

lbs 13 oz, 18 1/2 inches.

Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Josh Bruno on the arrival of their daughter, Isa-

belle Bruno. Isabelle was born March 21, 2017 weighing 6 lbs 8 oz, 19 1/4

inches.

Line Crew

Performed clean-up at the Van Vleck Substation

and moved the mobile to the Sargent Substation to

repair an oil leak on the main transformer

Performed low side and high side switch

maintenance, regulator change out and insulator

coating at Loyola Substation

Replaced a pole on the West George West Tap

Replaced poles on the Clay West 69kV Tap

Added capacitors to the cap banks at Helena and

Milton Substations

Installed bog shoes on the 69kV H-frames

structures between Ricardo and Rivera

Replaced two blown regulators at the Frio Town

Substation

Repaired damaged 69kV fuse assembly and regulators at the Uvalde

Substation

Assisted with removing the 138kV PT-CT set at Reveille for repair

Unloaded structural steel at North Clemville for the new

transmission terminal.

Repaired down static wire on the Lone Tree to Placedo line

Repaired blown high side fuses and changed out regulators at the

Moore Substation

Clay West Tap—BJ Huff & Traylor Sproles

Construction

Constructed facilities equipment up-grades and installed new fence at

the Salt Dome Substation

Constructed concrete piers for equipment upgrades at the Pearsall

Substation

Constructed piers at the Randado Substation for bus support addition

Installed gates at Weesatch, Fowlerton and Orange Grove Substations Salt Dome substation

Congrats to Andrew Jackson on the arrival of his granddaughter, Brianna

Callis. Brianna was born June 18, 2017 weighing 7 lbs 9 oz, 18 inches.

Repaired broken pole from storm on

the Driscoll to Corpus Christi

Switch

Driscoll to Corpus Christi Switch—repair broken pole

Falcon Dam Power Plant

The technicians worked with Falcon Dam

Power Plant to replace the 138kV arrestors

and jumpers on Unit 3 transformer and

replaced the pressure relief device on Unit

1 transformer.

Power Delivery—Valley Facility:

138kV Arrestor Replacement

The technicians and the Nursery line crew

have been proactive in replacing 138kV pol-

ymer arrestors that have been identified as

near failing throughout the Valley system.

Hi-Line Substation

In June, the technicians dressed out

transformer #2 at the Hi-Line Sub-

station. They are currently in the

process of commissioning the station.

Valverde Substation

In June, the technicians worked to test Mobile David

located at the Valverde Substation after experiencing an

internal fault. The testing revealed a need to remove the

mobile from further service and have an internal

inspection. To temporarily serve the Valverde load, the

technicians worked to install the Pearsall mobile along with

installing a temporary 10 MVA transformer to serve the

Valverde load through August.

Congratulations to Matthew and Ryan Torres,

sons of Margarito Torres, Valley Relay Technician.

They competed in the McAllen Jazz Competition

and received awards as All-Star Performers in

Alto Sax and Trombone. Ryan also received an

Outstanding Performer award in Trombone.

Power Delivery—Valley Facility (continued):

Kailah Serrano, daughter of

Octavio Serrano, graduated

from Los Fresnos High

School in Los Fresnos, TX

on May 27, 2017. She will

be attending UTRGV

pursuing a degree in

criminal justice.

Angelica Gallaga, daughter of

Loretta Gallaga, graduated

from Robert Vela High School

in Edinburg, TX on June 3,

2017.

Priscilla Chavez, daughter

of Edgar Chavez, graduated

from James Pace High

School in Brownsville, TX

on June 10, 2017. She will

be attending UTRGV

pursuing a degree in the

medical field.

Power Supply—Wholesale Marketing / QSE:

In late March, STEC, the Western Area Power Authority, and the

International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) met to discuss

budget estimates for the next fiscal year and for future years, including

the work plan for the Amistad and Falcon hydro facilities. This annual

meeting provides IBWC, as the operator of the two facilities, the

chance to present its estimates and work plan, and provides STEC, as

the recipient of the energy generated by Amistad and Falcon, the

chance to give input on the work plans and budgets. STEC and IBWC

also discuss any new changes which affect operation of the facilities in

the ERCOT market. STEC receives the energy produced by the

Amistad and Falcon hydro projects, which is based upon the water

releases requested by consumers on or near the Rio Grande River

downstream of the dams. The energy produced is highly dependent

upon rainfall and agricultural irrigation demands, but in most cases

STEC gets energy from the facilities on regular intervals. The

contract, originally between IBWC and Medina EC, has a term ending

in 2033.

STEC QSE Operators attended the annual ERCOT Region Operator

Training Seminar. This is the thirty-third year for the seminar. The

seminar is a multi-day course focused on providing training and

providing a forum for system-wide operations and problems. This year,

the training topics related to reliability, NERC Standards compliance,

lessons learned, ERCOT systems, and emerging technologies. The

seminar provides the opportunity to get the necessary NERC and

ERCOT required training hours. Since the QSE Operators conduct

business solely by phone, the seminar provides the Operators with the

opportunity to put a face with a name for the various traders and

ERCOT Operators that they regularly speak with.

Power Supply—Wholesale Marketing / QSE (continued):

Over in the QSE, things have been

speeding by since the last newsletter.

The heat in May and June brought

about peak demand records for ERCOT

in each month which followed the peak

demand record set for April in ERCOT.

The more-than-expected demand has

put pressure on the ERCOT grid in a

variety of ways which generally has

the effect of increased prices. STEC

has enough supply to meet its needs

and can avoid most of the high prices,

but the effect of lack of wind and lack

of transmission capacity can cause big

price disparities among STEC

resources. A new price occurs every

five minutes for each resource and

load, and can swing from a high price

(e.g. - $900/MWh) to a low price (e.g. -

$-90/MWh) for the same resource in

that same timeframe. Of course, the

different prices have different

outcomes for settlement so the QSE

operator must adjust the resource to

this fact. Day-ahead operations help

position our units to take advantage of

the volatile real-time market. Things

can be very fluid at the real-time desk.

Along with high school ending, the

college semester ends and some stu-

dents start on plans to move to an-

other school. Jordan Delgado, son of

Kafia Delgado, and Phillip Thamm,

son of Stephen Thamm will both be transferring to

University of Texas at San Antonio to complete

their bachelor’s degree coursework. Jordan has

been attending Victoria College and Phillip has

been attending Texas A&M – Corpus Christi. Both

Jordan and Phillip will study Computer Science

with a specialty in Cybersecurity at UTSA.

Wyatt Andrews, son of Jason

Andrews, graduated from Cuero

High School on May 26, 2017.

Wyatt graduated with honors and

accumulated 18 hours of college

credit before graduation. He will attend Texas

A&M with the plan to major in Nutrition and

then attend a Physician Assistant master’s

program. Wyatt aspires to work as a Physician

Assistant in an emergency room setting. Best of

luck to Wyatt on his future endeavors!

Power Supply —

Sam Rayburn, Pearsall and Red Gate Power Plants:

Sam Rayburn Power Plant

The G3 Building Renovation

project has started. Roth

Construction was awarded

the contract and are sched-

uled to complete the project

at the end of February 2018.

Pearsall Power Plant

The Pearsall Plant has recently completed the 12k overhaul on Engine 12. They have now begun work

on the Engine 6 12k overhaul. During these overhauls plant staff have been performing maintenance

and inspections on the main oil pump, turbochargers, SCR catalyst, pre-lube pump and water spaces.

A site walk down was conducted on June 28th for the prospective bidders on the Hazardous Materials

Survey to be performed at the Steamer Plant upon shutdown of those units.

The demolition subcontractor for the G3

Building Renovation project is nearing

completion. Concrete, Masonry and Steel

subcontractors will begin work in July.

Red Gate Power Plant

The team has been performing inspections on

each of the generators. They are also perform-

ing routine borescope inspections of the en-

gine cylinder heads.

Power Supply — Sam Rayburn, Pearsall and Red Gate Power Plants (continued):

The team has been performing 1,000 hour inspections on each of the engines.

Currently, they have completed the inspections on Engines 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11

and 12. The tasks of the 1,000 hour maintenance includes inspecting/cleaning

spark plugs, inspecting valve clearances, inspecting exhaust valve seats, and

checking the prechamber torque.

STEC’s 22nd Annual Golf Tournament held on Saturday, April 1, 2017 was a

huge success with many of our own STEC teams winning awards in the event.

Jeremy Buchhorn and David Jaeger landed in the green at The Nitsche Group

sponsored $10,000 Hole-in-One round. The staff of The Club at Colony Creek

were professional and courteous. The club provided wonderful food and golf

services to the players. We would like to thank everyone that helped make

this year’s golf tournament such a success. Mark your calendars; the 2018

STEC Golf Tournament will take place at The Club at Colony Creek on Satur-

day, April 7, 2018.

Employee Standing Committee:

Rayburn, Donna, Red Gate and Pearsall facilities put together Easter Egg

Hunt’s for their local families. Around 30 children and their families gathered

at the Nursery Pavilion for this year’s event. All four Easter Egg Hunt’s

included pizza, cookies or cake, and, of course, many candy filled eggs. A

huge thanks to everyone at each of these facilities that helped make the

Easter Egg Hunts such a success and giving the employees’ children/

grandchildren the opportunity to join us in celebrating the Easter holiday.

The Board approved the following recipients for the 2017 CoBank Sharing

Success Program: International Museum of Art & Science in McAllen, The

Texas Ramp Project in the San Antonio South Region, and The Ark –

Assessment Center and Emergency Shelter for Youth in Corpus Christi.

STEC sent an application to CoBank requesting a matching grant for each of

these organizations through their Sharing Success Program.

Another program offered through CoBank is “No Barriers.” This program

provides outdoor expeditions that help transform the lives of veterans. The

program is available to a total of 50 veterans and nominations are due by

May 1st. STEC made a nomination to this program for 2017. Please keep

veterans in mind for next year’s nomination.

Power Delivery

Employee Standing Committee:

Service Awards Banquet In a joint effort with Human Resources, ESC

helped organize the Employee Service

Awards Luncheon on June 30th. The event

took place at the Victoria Community Annex

with Mike Pozzi catering. Thirty-eight

employees reached milestone anniversaries

in 2016.

Accounting & Finance/Administration/

Corporate & Member Services

Frances Nitschmann 15 year award Kimberly Perry 15 year award Anna Warner 15 year award Maria Dominguez 10 year award

Hector Guerra, Jr. 5 year award

Power Supply

Darrell Klimitchek 30 year award Allen Moeller 25 year award Dwain Garber 20 year award Bradley Graham 20 year award

Steve Bolle 15 year award

Shawn Diebel 15 year award

Lucio Garcia 15 year award

Arthur Gifford 15 year award

Ty Haschke 15 year award

Cynthia Haynes 15 year award

Steven Taylor 15 year award

Brett Temple 15 year award

Terry Vaughn 15 year award

Matthew Farris 10 year award

Travis Gillig 10 year award

Matthew Bernhard 10 year award

Adam Doelle 10 year award

Carlos Barrera 5 year award

Josh Bruno 5 year award

Bobby Fojt 5 year award

Kyle Janak 5 year award

Arturo Martinez 5 year award

Delton Marbach 25 year award David Obregon 20 year award Jason Andrews 15 year award Kafia Delgado 15 year award

Lewis McFadin 15 year award

John Marbach 15 year award

Clayton Schutz 15 year award

Johnny Stacy 15 year award

John Garza 10 year award

Donnie Herrera 5 year award

Noel Martinez 5 year award

Employee Standing Committee (continued):

As of June 24, 2017 STEC has donated more than

$38,510 to qualifying organizations in the areas that

we serve through STEC’s Charitable Giving and

Corporate Support Program. In addition, STEC em-

ployees used 86.8125 days (694.50 hours) of paid

release time giving back to our communities. The

ESC continues to encourage employees to find quali-

fying organizations in the communities that we serve

where you can give back by using your paid release

time.

Remember all employees have 24 hours of paid release time to use for 2017.

On March 27th, Becky Loredo and Amy

Segler volunteered their time with the

Children’s Discovery Museum helping

with the “Change Our Future Cam-

paign”.

Garland Hencerling, Josh Paul, Dennis

Repka and Scott Perry volunteered

their time with Warrior’s Weekend

constructing a spectacular sand

sculpture for wounded soldiers from

military installations across the

country. Warrior’s Weekend is

dedicated to the support of veterans of

The United States of America with an

emphasis on those wounded by

holding an annual fishing event for

wounded military personnel.

Juan Vasquez, James Rhodes,

Carlos Maldonado, Bo Alvarez,

Anthony Maldonado and Joseph

Martinez volunteered their time

with the Texas Ramp Project

building wheelchair ramps in

Devine, Texas.

Donnie Herrera, Ethan Meyers,

Clayt Stacy, Gabe Mainez, John

Coyle, Jacob Carrizales, Tanner

Rice and Lance Yaws volun-

teered their time with the Texas

Ramp Project building wheel-

chair ramps in Dilley, Texas.

Sharon Beahm, Larry Teague, Sam

Hanke, Michael Urban, Ronnie

Malina, Anna Warner, Kathy Bancuch

and Aaron Spears volunteered their

time with the Texas Ramp Project

building wheelchair ramps in Victoria,

Texas.

Employee Standing Committee (continued):

As of June 24, 2017 STEC has donated more than

$38,510 to qualifying organizations in the areas that

we serve through STEC’s Charitable Giving and

Corporate Support Program. In addition, STEC em-

ployees used 86.8125 days (694.50 hours) of paid

release time giving back to our communities. The

ESC continues to encourage employees to find quali-

fying organizations in the communities that we serve

where you can give back by using your paid release

time.

Remember all employees have 24 hours of paid release time to use for 2017.

STEC provided a charitable

donation in the amount of

$500 to Rio Grande Habitat

for Humanity.

Doug Evans, Clayton Rickman,

Anthony Lopez and Aaron Spears

volunteered their time with the

Texas Ramp Project building wheel-

chair ramps in Victoria, Texas.

STEC provided a charitable

donation in the amount of $750 to the

Boys & Girls Club of Victoria.

Pictured left to right are Crystal

Saucedo (Boys & Girls Club), Adam

Sugart (Boys & Girls Club) and Jesse

Welch (STEC).

STEC provided a charitable donation in

the amount of $500 to CASA of South

Texas. Pictured left to right are John

Garza (STEC), Jimmy Allen (CASA

Board Member), Francie Gasch (CASA

Board Member), Peter Salinas (CASA/

Police Cheif), Susan Belding (CASA

Board Member), Dave Richey(CASA

Board Member) and Jose Ramirez

(STEC).

STEC provided a charitable donation

in the amount of $250 to the Wesley

Ritchie Memorial Foundation.

Pictured left to right are Tabatha

Temple (STEC), David Glass (Wesley

Ritchie Foundation) and Michelle

Gloor (STEC).

STEC provided a charitable

donation in the amount of

$500 to the Child Study

Clinic. Pictured left to right

are Amy Zeplin (Child Study

Clinic), Diana Sanchez (STEC)

and Becky Garcia (Child Study

Clinic).

Safety Committee:

STEC employees are encouraged to discuss

any safety concerns or suggestions with any

Safety Committee Member, and the members

will update their departments in a timely

manner of what the Safety Committee

discussed in the past meetings. All STEC

employees can also use the suggestion boxes

around each facility and email concerns and

suggestions to safetycommittee@stec.org.

Safety Manual 2017 Additions

The Safety Committee, in conjunction with the Safety Department, completed

the final stages in modifying and enhancing STEC’s Safety Manual which

includes a section specific to Transmission. Additional policies include:

Overhead Transmission Work

Substations

Tree Trimming and Right of Way

Safety Inspections, Surveys, and Audits

The Safety Department distributed the revised safety manual to all STEC

employees during the July safety meetings and any required training will oc-

cur no later than July 1, 2018.

Safety Improvement

The perimeter barricade surrounding the gas line and equipment near where the new

additional warehouse building is being constructed was severely degraded. STEC purchased

concrete barriers as the replacement barricade to prevent contact with any mobile

equipment.

We would like to thank everyone who submitted applications this year through

the STEC Scholarship Program. We received several great applications from

some very talented graduates. This year STEC was able to award scholarships to

5 high school graduates. Thank you to all of the employees that have contributed

to the STEC Scholarship fund and helped make this possible!

Congratulations to the following scholarship recipients:

Cameron Marbach- $1,500

Emily Nixon- $1,000

James Wyatt Andrews- $1,000

Mykaela Jaeger- $750

Jacklynn Thormahlen- $750

We wish all of the applicants the best of luck in their future scholastic endeavors.

Scholarship Committee:

March Service Anniversaries

May Service Anniversaries

Kenneth Montag 38 years Doye Bethke 19 years Spence Fowler 18 years Jane Krause 17 years Jason Mares 17 years David Jaeger 14 years Jay Ohrt 8 years Anthony Maldonado 7 years Jose Ramirez 7 years Monica Bautista 5 years Rene Salazar 5 years Justin Casas 3 years

Jeffrey Brandes 2 years Marcos Banda 1 year Inri Duran 1 year Israel Hernandez 1 year Juventino Hurtado 1 year

Efrain Pena 1 year Gilberto Pena 1 year Michael Pena 1 year

Ismael Quintanilla 1 year

Service Anniversaries:

We look to you

for great

things

You are making

a

difference

We value

your

mentorship

April Service Anniversaries

Jaime Olivarez 38 years Delton Marbach 26 years Allen Moeller 26 years Bo Alvarez 23 years Edgar Chavez 13 years Carlos Yanez 10 years James Hedrick 8 years David Perez 5 years Carl Hermes 4 years Thomas Laza 3 years Jose Mares 2 years

Jacob Elliott 1 year

Christopher Owens 1 year

Coby Schunka 1 year

June Service Anniversaries

A.J. Buchhorn 35 years Larry Teague 28 years Amos Brown 25 years Norm Walters 19 years Keith Hastings 17 years Steve Bolle 16 years Ty Haschke 16 years Roger Bishop 15 years Wendy Ohrt 15 years Wally Summers 15 years Norman Simmang 14 years Jose Loredo 12 years Hank Stall 12 years Lucas Turner 9 years John Coyle 8 years Shawndra Chumchal 7 years David Klimitchek 7 years Arturo Martinez 6 years Rebecca Hauboldt 4 years

Sandra Howard 3 years Matthew Garcia 2 years Amy Segler 1 year

Jesus Serna 1 year

Ronnie Bollom 32 years Lee Martinez 24 years Amy Pratka 18 years Erin Lewis 17 years John Moore 17 years Raul Serna 17 years Brett Temple 16 years Ginger Lorance 12 years John Garza 11 years W.S. Brown 10 years Darilyn Barger 9 years

Doug Evans 8 years

B.J. Huff 7 years

Josh Bruno 6 years Kyle Janak 6 years Mary Jane Munoz 3 years Brent Strickland 3 years

Jared Toles 1 year

August 2017

September 2017

Employee Standing Committee August 3, 2017

Safety Committee August 3, 2017

Safety Meeting (Administration & Power Plant—Nursery Location) August 8, 2017

Safety Meeting (Donna Location) August 8, 2017

Safety Meeting (Red Gate Location) August 9, 2017

Safety Meeting (Pearsall Location) August 10, 2017

Safety Meeting (Transmission & Tech Services—Nursery Location) August 14, 2017

Committee / Board Meeting August 23-24, 2017

Employee Standing Committee September 7, 2017

Safety Committee September 7, 2017

Safety Meeting (Administration & Power Plant—Nursery Location) September 12, 2017

Safety Meeting (Donna Location) September 12, 2017

Safety Meeting (Red Gate Location) September 13, 2017

Safety Meeting (Pearsall Location) September 14, 2017

Safety Meeting (Transmission & Tech Services—Nursery Location) September 18, 2017

Committee / Board Meeting September 27-28, 2017

2849 FM 447 / P.O. Box 119

Nursery, Texas 77976

361.575.6491

www.stec.org

South Texas Electric Cooperative