Arrowhead Electric Just Piles On During an Already Tough Winter

Pat and I spent yesterday cleaning up snow,

plowing around the storage building and running the new drag in and out of our road several times. When we parked the groomer last night the road was perfect and looked like a finely groomed snowmobile trail without a track of any kind on it.

I started the Rodeo around 8:30 am for our trip to town,

after letting it warm up we packed up our garbage, laundry and everything else needed to complete our errands and headed down the road.

I was talking pretty smart to Pat about "how good my road looked" and telling her just what a stud she married who could make a rood look this perfect when we noticed tracks in the middle. I stopped and got out to see what animal made them and to my surprise they ended up being boot tracks.

Getting back into the truck I informed Pat they were boot tracks leading both in and back out, driving around the next corner the boot tracks turned in to tire ruts dug deep into the snow pack and just around the next corner the ruts turned into a van stuck in the middle of the road and now I was Very Pissed Off.

I climbed out of my truck to find out it is Arrowhead's Meter Reader in a two wheel drive van. Keep in mind he has just traveled down 2.5 miles on a privately maintained road that's not even very good in the summer to read 8 electric meters where only 2 cabins are occupied in the winter.

After his first ass chewing, we pulled him forward with a tow strap into his own tracks figuring that was his only chance to get out of the mess he was in.

I turned our truck around and went back to the cabin to retrieve my forgotten cell phone and placed my first call to Arrowhead to let them know just how impressed I was with the situation.

Heading back down the road hoping he was able to back all the way out, we found him only feet from where we first found him, stuck again. With no way to get around the van I got out of the truck and gave him his second ass chewing of the day and asked him what his plan was now. He informed me the office was sending out a tracked machine to pull him out but it would take some time so we headed back to the cabin again where I made my second God I'm impressed phone call to the office just to make sure they knew just how pissed off I was and now it's after 9:15 am.

Noon and I'm done waiting for a call

so we tracked back down to see what's going on, where

we find them in my neighbors drive way at the very start of the unplowed road trying to decide if they should try to fix up what's left of my road. I was in no mood to talk so I told them to get their junk off the road and stay out till June, so off went the tracked rig in front with the van behind and us in the rear. Well the track rig would run 20 yards and stop, then 20 yards and stop at this rate it's 2 hours out to their truck so thankfully the operator drove into the woods so we could could get by. (thanks to him, first smart thing I've seen today)

We get out to the county road 3 miles from were the van was stuck to find this truck.

So this is what we find at 6:00 pm tonight on our way back home. Their broke down tracked rig still in the woods.

But wait there's still more!Getting home and checking emails I find this.

Home About Learn Billing Residential Commercial Contact Managers Message Dear Members, 2010 proved to be one of the most difficult years on record for Arrowhead Electric Cooperative. Fortunately, through hard work and the dedication of our employees we managed to ensure your cooperative met its required financial targets to keep your cooperative healthy. These financial targets are imperative to keeping the doors open and the lights on in Cook County. As you are all to well aware, prices for goods and services continue to increase in all markets. Be it gas, milk, or electricity no one is immune from this struggling economy. Combined, economic forces and government legislation continually increase our wholesale power costs and the costs of materials we purchase on a daily basis. In 2011, Arrowhead Electric Cooperative has increased its rates to account for our escalating costs. The rates can be found below and are reflected on your monthly statement. Increasing electric rates cannot continue to be the answer to our local, regional and national energy problems. Together, we must seek solutions to reduce energy costs, increase efficiency and facilitate the success of our community. The employees of Arrowhead Electric Cooperative are responsible and accountable to you - our member owners. Personally, I have been humbled by the trust the board of directors has placed in me and I promise to continually work on your behalf. Sincerely, Jeanne Muntean, General Manager 2011 Electric Rates 2011 2010 Service availibility charge $43.50 $42.00 General service rate 0.1130 0.1000 Gen serv summer rate (Jun-Aug) 0.1270 0.1140 Off Peak Storage 0.0464 0.0454 Dual Fuel Interruptible 0.0570 0.0556 POWER OUTAGE? 1-800-864-3744 © 2011 Arrowhead Electric Cooperative, Inc. Email | 5401 West Highway 61 | PO Box 39 | Lutsen, MN 55612 | (218) 663-7239 To Unsubscribe from this email Click Here

Talk about bad timing.

Quick recap

Read 8 meters

van and driver stuck 1/2 a day

road truck, trailer, operator and tracked machine dispatched from Lutsen

drive tracked machine 4 miles before breakdown

road truck, trailer and operator back to Lutsen

tracked machine still 2 miles from county road

still have to fix, drive and truck machine back to Lutsen

I have no idea what the total cost of reading 8 meters well end up to be but it's in the thousands for sure and now they want more money.

I don't piss off easy but this was too much to take and I will be at the Arrowhead Board Meeting

Feb 24th