“Because of new regulations and rules by the Tribe and the BIA, we are no longer building new service lines on the reservation,” stated Skurupey. “This is a sad situation because there are homes and wells on the reservation that are going to be without power.”I have no idea what that's all about. It's the first time I heard about this. Maybe someone can enlighten us. I would assume there are other options. I can't believe no new electric lines in the reservation. The fact that this came at the end of the article and was not the main point, suggests there is more to the story.
Here is the crux of the story from McKenzie Electric Cooperative's 66th annual meeting held in Watford City, June 21, 2011:
According to the board chairman, the cooperative has seen its monthly sales of electricity grow from $1 million to nearly $3 million and has seen its annual revenues increase from $22.8 million in 2009 to just under $29 million in 2010.
But in order to meet the demand for more power, the cooperative has also been forced to take on new debt.
“McKenzie Electric has taken out four short-term loans totalling $12 million to build new lines to serve the oil field’s growth needs,” stated Thompson. “The last time the cooperative took out a loan was in 1983 to meet the oil demands at that time.”This is a regional link and will break soon.
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