To the Editor:

When Dakota Energy announced that it would not pursue the Federal Appeals Judge’s decision and will drop the lawsuit against East River, the manager and some existing Board members continued to badmouth East River. Felderman and Binger said that East River had 12 rate increases in the last 15 years.

Fifteen years ago in 2008 the facilities charge was $11.87. Today it is $52. That is a Dakota Energy charge that increased over 338 percent in 15 years. How much has the total compensation of the Dakota Energy Manager and top management increased in the last 15 years?

In 2008, the East River rate was around 3.5 cents/kilowatt-hour. To date in 2023 it is about 5.8 cents/kilowatt-hour. This is about a 66 percent increase. So, you see that East River is not the reason that Dakota Energy has the highest rates of the cooperatives in South Dakota.

Information from the Manager and Board should be carefully checked out. We need to have a manager and Board that we can trust to give us the correct information and follow the Bylaws.

We need open meetings and be able to view the meetings on the website. Why won’t Dakota Energy post a copy of the agreement with Guzman Energy on its website? Check out “Cooperative Policy 049 Privacy and Confidentiality Act” on the internet. It should not apply to the Letter of Intent. The member/owners should not have to sign any type of agreement, make an appointment, or set up a time to view the Letter of Intent at the Dakota Energy offices.

Please vote for Brian Bonebright (Beadle area), Doug Schaefers (Ree area), and Brian Baum (at-large member) on August 29, to give the oversight of Dakota Energy back to the member/owners and get Dakota Energy out of Guzman Energy control.  

Twyla Folk
Huron