Wolverine had a really good year in 2014.  One of our quiet, but very important success stories relates to long-term power supply.  Our mission comes down to two words:  reliability and affordability.  Power supply gets at the affordability part of our mission, and long-term is important because we want price stability for our members.

Turn the clock back 12 months. We exited 2013 with disappointment after canceling two projects we had worked years on — the Clean Energy Venture in Rogers City and the Presque Isle Power Plant in Marquette.  Despite some admitted sadness, 2014 began with excitement and optimism.

Tim Martin and Zach Anderson had been testing the market to see whether Wolverine could secure competitive long-term power supply under contract — something that hadn’t been available in the market for over 15 years.  The market seemed to believe that the U.S. economy would never recover and prices tanked.

We knew we had to move fast, so Tim and Zach locked up a huge chunk of power — about $500 million worth.  They negotiated three different contracts with three different suppliers totaling 200 MW, which should cover the majority of our energy needs through 2025.

This required quick work by Rick Kehl and Brian Valice (credit and legal) to establish manageable credit arrangements.  After all, what good is a contract if the other side goes bankrupt?

If you see these folks in the coffee room, congratulate them on a heck of a job.