For the shortest month of the year, February is packed with holidays like Presidents’ Day and Valentine’s Day and to a few lesser known “national” days like National Tater Tot Day and even National Tortilla Chip Day ’d like to recommend another national holiday and this one is not just for February. For Hill County Electric Cooperative (HCE), every day is Cooperative Member Day. Here are few reasons we love serving our members: The co-op wouldn’t exist without our members. HCE exists to serve you, our members. Members are the reason we wer...

I would like to congratulate HCE Board Trustees Leslie Smith and Nick Siebrasse on receiving their Credentialed Cooperative Director certificates from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). Being elected to serve on any Board is more than just attending meetings. The electric cooperative industry faces new challenges daily. Board members are required to constantly increase their knowledge of the electric utility industry. It is also important for Trustees to have knowledge and understanding of the cooperative principle...

Safety is our number one priority at Hill County Electric (HCE). Our days without a loss time incident number are well over a year. HCE’s focus on safety comes from our Safety, Loss Control and Compliance Specialist, Todd Solomon, our employees and management team. After 30 years of dedicated service to HCE and Triangle Communications, Todd has announced his plans to retire. Todd and his wife began working at HCE and Triangle Communications in 1991 as groundskeepers which also included inside office maintenance. While working for HCE and T...

Winter is coming whether we like it or not. One thing we can do is be prepared to stay safe and warm during winter storms. Everyone at HCE cares about your safety and we want everyone to be prepared. Our service is very reliable, but events out of our control can still cause outages. The extreme temperatures we face along Montana’s HiLine during the winter months can be dangerous. Heavy snow and ice can result in downed power lines. During these situations, HCE’s crews work as quickly and safely possible to restore power. The safety of our ...

CEO Message Safety Tips for Fall Home Maintenance Fall is in the air and with the change in seasons comes fall home maintenance. While fall cleanup is part of owning a home, safety is an essential part of working around the house. Here are a few tips to avoid slips, trips, falls and muscle strains: Ladder Safety. Before using a ladder to clean gutters or trim trees, look it over to make sure there are no defects or loose parts. Ask a friend or family member to hold the ladder while you are working. Keep one hand on the ladder and avoid rea...

Hill County Electric (HCE) is prepared for any kind of weather, and we urge our members to stay safe around electricity when they are working in the fields and when storms happen. Storms can happen during the heat of summer or the middle of winter. Along the Hi-Line in Montana we should be prepared for any kind of weather. After a July thunderstorm blew down a few poles, I wanted to remind everyone to be safe around power lines. One pole blown down during the storm was held off the ground by power lines that were still energized resulting i...

On July 2, 2015, Hill County Electric (HCE) started to receive energy from a 5.3 kW Solar Array that we installed on our campus. Six years later this Solar Array has produced 47,500 kWh or an average of 7,916.6 kWh per year. According to the manufacture this kWh production has avoided 33 tons of CO2 or 5.5 tons of CO2 per year. At HCE’s current net metering retail rate 47,500kWH equates to $4,869 or $812/year. We installed the panels to help our members and employees understand the pros and cons of making the investment in a residential sol...

Isn’t it great to be in summer! As you know, we were unable to hold an annual meeting this year as a result of not finding a location that could hold the number of attendees and allow for social distancing. You should have received the annual update on the cooperative and if you have read it, you know that we continue to have a fiscally strong cooperative. We did hold our Trustee election this year by mail for District 4 (Southern) and District 5 (At-Large). From the board and I, we want to thank all our members who took the time to fill ou...

HCE members should all have received the HCE Annual Update and a ballot in the mail last month. This year, HCE members were asked to vote for Trustees to represent HCE’s Districts 4 (southern) and 5 (at-large). I hope you all had the time to read the nominees’ bios in the update booklet or watch their videos on Facebook. One of the most important Cooperative Principles for a cooperative is Democratic member control. Cooperatives are controlled by their members. The Board of Trustees you elect are members just like you, but now they will be...