Imagine electric service without wires, or an electric co-op where meters are read automatically, billed automatically and can be paid automatically. Imagine your electric co-op's linemen knowing you are out of power the second it happens, and being able to fix the problem a minute later from a computer beaming its signal to a satellite and back down again to a substation switch. Is this the co-op of the future? No, this is reality today. And there's more.

Are you frustrated with your Internet service? What if your co-op provided high-speed wireless Internet service? Some already do. Are you worried about an elderly parent living alone on the farm? What if your co-op provided a security and health emergency monitoring service? That service is available too, through Alert Security, a cooperative owned business of Adams Electric Cooperative, Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative, McDonough Power Cooperative, and Shelby Electric Cooperative.

"We wanted to be part of the learning curve and gain first-hand knowledge about fuel cells."

From the core business of providing electricity to new services like surge protection and Internet service, co-ops are using new technology along with old-fashioned co-op values to provide new services.

The definition for reliable electric service has changed, says Brian Singletary, a technology consultant who recently spoke to electric coop leaders in Springfield. "We have a system that was built for lights and motors, and years ago we exceeded member expectations. But, no longer is 99.99 percent reliability good enough. Co-ops are judged by the VCR or microwave blinking 12:00, which was caused by a five cycle outage, that happened literally in less than the blink of an eye," says Singletary.

How will co-ops solve this new demand for perfect power? Singletary says providing computer grade power reliability is not easy or cheap. Ironically the answer to the problem caused by new technology is new technology. Computers in the lineman's truck, remote system monitoring and control technology, power quality monitoring equipment, and distributed generation provided by fuel cells and microturbines will help meet today's challenges. "I view this as an opportunity for co-ops. We brought the comforts of city life to rural areas 65 years ago. Now we'll supply fuel cells and Internet service," he says.

Co-ops wilt provide these new services and energy reliability the old fashioned way... they'll cooperate with other cooperatives. "That's the sixth principle all co-ops follow... cooperation among cooperatives," says Singletary. "Our systems are small and can't leverage all of the advantages of technology without working with other cooperatives."

Cooperation is truly a powerful principle. The latest example of that powerful principle is Energy Co-Opportunity (ECO), an energy services cooperative formed in 1998 to help co-ops develop and provide fuel cells, solar power, natural gas, propane, microturbines and other new energy technology. Ten Illinois co-ops have joined 290 other co-ops from across the country to form

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the new energy technology co-op. EnerStar Power Corp in Paris was one of the first co-ops to test an alpha unit from H Power, ECO's fuel cell manufacturing partner.

The H Power fuel cell is now in the beta test stage. Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative of Auburn is one of the coops scheduled to receive a beta unit for testing. "We wanted to be a part of the test in part because it is an important new technology," says David Stuva, president/CEO of the co-op. "We wanted to be part of the learning curve and gain first-hand knowledge about fuel cells." In the future, Stuva says, fuel cells and microturbines could be used to serve remote members without having to build miles of electric line.

Distributed generation with fuel cells and microturbines could also be used to provide backup power for customers who can't afford even a momentary blink. "The microturbines are something else we would like to set up a pilot project on, maybe on some farm operation. We could also use it in conjunction with our interruptible rate. If they can cut their on-peak demand by 100 percent or even 50 percent we can save them money with a lower rate," says Stuva. The demand for electricity has caused price spikes as high as $7 a kwh, he says.

Fuel cells can generate electricity on a small scale for homes, businesses or remote locations. While fuel cells will require the processing of a fuel containing hydrogen, the fuel is not burned and the end products are electricity, water and heat. There is no pollution. Fuel cells will also be used to power cars and will even replace batteries in cell phones and laptop computers.

Automated meter reading (AMR) is one way Illinois electric coops are already using technology to provide better service. Egyptian Electric Cooperative in Steeleville has installed more than 3,000 automated meters that can be read from the office. "It was taking us about five days or more to read the meters," says Harry Kuhn, general manager. "Now we don't have to worry about locked gates, bad weather, bad dogs or misread meters. We can pin the reading date to one day and that really helps keep the bills constant."

Kuhn says the automated meter reading system doesn't require expensive phone line communications because the communication signal to the meter is sent on the power lines. The automated meter provides more than just a monthly reading. "We get the peak demand and interruption count, and we use it for engineering studies and voltage drop studies." Kuhn says the system could pay for itself in a little more than three years. "We were reading meters with highly skilled, well-paid servicemen. Meter reading does not take a lot of skill. Now we can better

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When it comes to service Kuhn says it is often the little things that drive members crazy. For example, during an outage, when members call in, it can seem like co-op employees have simply taken the phone off the hook. All callers hear is a busy signal. The reality is during an outage the phone never stops ringing. To solve that problem Kuhn had an interactive voice response system installed at the co-op's answering service. With caller ID the computer system can answer seven or more lines at once, identify the members, give a brief outage update message, and give the dispatcher reports for faster restoration of service. "It's worked very well," says Kuhn. But, he says, "We put in a new phone system two years ago. It has a lot of capabilities, but as long as we can afford it we are always going to have a person at that front counter answering the phones and routing the call to the right person. Voice mail is fine as long as it's my choice. But no one likes punching numbers trying to find the right person to talk to."

No one likes to pay their electric bill either, but Wayne-White Counties Electric Cooperative in Fairfield has found a new way that allows members to pre-pay for electricity so they can budget their bills. It's called a PowerStat system and it allows members to purchase credit cards in any amount to prepay for electricity. "They just swipe the card through a card swipe in their home and it registers the amount they have prepaid electronically on the meter," says Jack Young, president/CEO. "We also plan to offer e-billing as soon as we upgrade to the latest billing software release, which is scheduled for next June."

Like many other Illinois electric co-ops, Wayne-White Counties Electric uses a supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA) that can remotely monitor and control the power system. Young says, "It all comes down to the issue of reliability. We want to provide the most reliable power supply to our members that we can. By going to a SCADA system we can control it from our central office. We save time on outages. We can see what is going on across the system at any given time."

Some things will always be out of the control of electric cooperatives. For example, lightning is, and will always be, a problem for co-ops and their members. One way co-ops are trying to help is by providing surge protection equipment and services. Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative in Paxton provides whole house meter base surge suppression equipment and secondary surge protection for phone modems, coaxial cables serving entertainment systems, and the co-op will check the service for proper grounding.

The biggest challenge is making sure members understand that there is not a simple answer to surges or other power quality problems, says Bob Dickey, manager of marketing at Eastern Illini. He says 80 percent of all power quality problems originate within the home or business. "People call and assume that any power problem or surge must be on our end." Often it is caused by faulty wiring, overloaded circuits, harmonics or simple voltage drops caused by equipment within the home or business. To solve the problem Eastern Illini will complete a site survey for home surge protection or a power quality audit for businesses.

What really has Eastern Illini Electric's employees excited is the

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co-op's aggressive move to provide Internet service in literally every way it can be provided. The co-op has been providing regular dial up Internet service since 1998. Now they are going wireless and soon they will also be providing service in the Paxton area with fiber optic Internet service. Julie White, supervisor of business development and customer service, has the new wireless Internet service in her own home. "The best thing about it is it's always on. It is also faster than regular dial up," she says. The wireless service is reduced line of site, which means it only takes a one-foot high antenna and the signal can go through walls, trees and other obstacles.

Satellite Internet service has been available for awhile, but until recently, White says, you still needed a phone line for transmitting e-mail. Now satellite Internet service can provide high speed access both up and down, and, unlike DSL or other high speed services, satellite Internet service is available anywhere right now.

Bruce Giffin, general manager of Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative in Winchester says, "Internet service changes the nature of being rural. Distance doesn't matter. When I lived in Maine on an island we had a 52-K line to the office. I remember one rainy day when the ferry couldn't run and the airplanes didn't fly the mail in, we watched a line feed from the Hubble telescope from the NASA site." Illinois Rural Electric has offered dial up Internet service and is now testing satellite Internet service.

Down to earth technology also makes a real difference in productivity says Giffin. Besides installing system wide automated meter reading, Giffin is computerizing every aspect of the co-op's work to gain productivity. "Imagine the productivity gain from an automatically read meter, on the right date and with the correct reading, to the billing file, to an e-mail bill, to point click and pay the bill, to cash in the bank, to data in the customer file."

"We are in the business of improving the quality of life in the rural communities we serve. That is what we do."

At Illinois Rural even some of the line trucks are computerized. "We have maps on ruggidized Panasonic laptops in some of the trucks now. We update them with CDs. We will have wireless Internet connections so they can access the office system. Our guys will think of ways to use it that I haven't even thought of yet."

New tools take new skills. Illinois Rural employees solved that problem. "It came out of an employee group that we should do some cross training. Now everyone has done some kind of training outside his or her own area. And an amazing percentage have taken computer courses," says Giffin.

Why go to all of this trouble to add new technology, new services and train employees to use new technology? Giffin says the reason is simple and has never changed. "It is consistent with our mission. We are in the business of improving the quality of life in the rural communities we serve. That is what we do."

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