Decade of the 60's
In March 1962, a service center was established in the old Rapid City Power Plant on Canal Street. The service department and meter department were moved from the office on Sixth Street.
The Company and thirteen other midwest utilities began pursuing an agreement with the federal government which would firm up federal hydro generating plants on the Missouri River and save the government, the utilities, and ultimately their respective customers millions of dollars. The proposal was nothing more than a giant power pool utilizing the inherent advantages of coordinated operations of hydro and steam turbine generation. As expected, proponents of federally subsidized power both inside and outside of the federal government were already condemning the plan.
In 1962, for the third time in the past seven years, the operating employees voted against union representation. On two other attempts to organize the Company, the union withdrew their request for election before the election could be held.
A 30-day strike of telegraphers against the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company in September of 1962 had a serious, but only temporary, adverse effect on the economy of the area. Coal shipments to the Ben French Station were cut off and the Company was forced to use about half of the emergency stockpile. Arrangements were being made to truck coal to the station when the strike ended.
The Company's ten-year contract for electric service to Ellsworth Air Force Base expired on August 31, 1962. Through no fault of the Company, negotiations on a contract dragged for more than a year. On the last day of the old contract the Company was notified that its portion of the Base's load would be served by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Less than two weeks later, the Bureau requested that the Company supply, as a patriotic duty, the entire Base load while changes were made in their facilities. Although not obligated by contract, the Company supplied Ellsworth Air Force Base as well as other Bureau loads in western South Dakota during the period in spite of the railroad strike problems.
During the year, two steam turbine generator units were relocated and converted to coal. The 5,000 kW unit at Pluma was moved to Kirk and the 3,000 kW unit at the Rapid City plant was moved to the Wyodak Power Plant. Three small, obsolete diesel generating plants at Custer, Edgemont, and Newcastle were junked.
In 1962 the Company brought suits to recover damages sustained as a result of price fixing conspiracies on the part of electrical equipment manufacturers. The Company settled out of court the damage suits brought against General Electric Company, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Maloney Electric Company, Ohio Bran Company, Line Material Company, Sangamo Electric Company, and Joslyn Manufacturing and Supply Company. The Company ultimately recovered $170,806.87 plus $14,866.77 toward litigation expense.
On October 28, 1963, the Board of Directors elected George T. Locke to the position of Secretary and Ronald I. Snyder as Treasurer. They filled the vacancies created by Harold Norman's retirement and Duane Walrafin' s move to Kansas.
The Company was able to eliminate a proposed Bureau of Reclamation transmission line in the service area through a contractual arrangement between the Bureau, Rushmore Electric Cooperative, and the Company.
Mid-Continent Area Power Planners (MAPP), an organization of investor-owned utilities, rural cooperatives and a public power district, expects to become the nation's largest power pool. Presentations were made in Washington and around the country and were received very favorably. MAPP was to bring mutual benefits and economies to the organizations participating. The Company was a charter member of MAPP.
The 1963 session of the South Dakota Legislature adopted legislation which permitted REA cooperatives to remain in towns which they are now serving when such towns grow beyond a population of 1500. The law also provides that if a city or town annexes areas which receive electric service from more than one utility, the utility serving the majority of the customers in the city or town will have the right to purchase the facilities of the other utility. This law was a compromise growing out of radical legislation introduced by REA Coops and backed by militant lobbying.
Many efforts were being made by federal agencies in this period of time to socialize the electric power industry by duplicating facilities with federally financed projects. The Bureau of Reclamation and Rural Electrification Administration began plans to construct an unnecessary steam power plant on the Missouri River to be financed by Basin Electric Power Cooperative through REA 2 percent loans. The previous year, through strange maneuvers by the Bureau of Reclamation and the Rural Electrification Administration in Washington, local REA financed cooperatives were able to negotiate a contract to provide electric service to Minuteman missile sites in western South Dakota. It was estimated that this contract cost the federal government $10 million more than the Company's proposal for electric service.
The Company sponsored six architects and consulting engineers to attend the General Electric Lighting Institute at Nela Park in Cleveland, Ohio. The three-day session included lighting for schools, offices, stores, industry and homes, and the integration of light sources and lighting materials into architectural designs. The program has continued through the years keeping the importance of lighting foremost in the minds of architects and engineers.
Construction was completed on a new 69 kV line between Osage and Newcastle on March 20, 1963. The line provided a direct power supply to Newcastle. Previously, power was supplied from a tap on the system.
In July of 1963, engineering was completed for underground distribution in the Robbinsdale area of Rapid City. The purpose of the project was to give both Black Hills Power and Light Company and the home builder an experimental area with all electric wiring underground. The Homestake Mining Company began construction of 20 new employee rental units. These new homes were provided electricity through underground distribution.
During 1964, several municipally operated electric systems joined MAPP, Mid-continent Area Power Planner, which by then had grown into an international power pool made up of power suppliers in ten Midwest states and the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was publicly announced that by 1980 MAPP was expected to spend $2.5 billion for new generation and transmission. This coordinated planning, which required less total investment and the possibility of more efficient units, would mean savings to the members of MAPP in the future. The program also confirmed the fact that local power suppliers working together could take care of the power needs, eliminating any need for Basin authorities or federalization of the county's power systems.
In 1964 the Company began awarding two college scholarships, each in the amount of $250, to children of employees.
The Secretary of Defense announced on April 24, 1964, that the Black Hills Army Depot was one of the many military installations to be closed. The Defense Department expected to take three years to phase out this installation.
The development of a new company logo for advertising was completed in early 1964 by the sales department and the Company's advertising agency, Dean Nauman Advertising. The design was a flattened diamond shape with the lettering, Black Hills Power and Light Company, inside the diamond and a head of Reddy Kilowatt on the left side of the diamond.
The Company produced film, "Power for Good", took one of the top three awards in the International Public Utilities Advertising Association competition.
The Company asked the citizens of Hot Springs for a franchise election. While the franchise was not approved during an election, it was encouraging that the number of favorable votes had increased over the number at the last franchise election held by the Company's predecessor.
In 1964 a great deal of activity was directed toward working with allied businesses including architects, consulting engineers, appliance dealers and contractors in the fields of lighting, space conditioning, cooking, water heating, and commercial and industrial applications. A room air conditioner sales
campaign conducted in the summer in cooperation with the appliance dealers resulted in 2 percent of all residential customers making a purchase and the sale of over 200 units to commercial customers.
Private Area Lighting (PAL) was becoming a fast growing and profitable service. It was offered in 1961 for parking areas, driveways, and storage areas. With an intensive advertising and sales program conducted in 1964, a 41.7 percent increase was accomplished.