The 80s

The 1980s were lean years for Otter Tail Power Company. The impressive load growth the company had experienced since World War II shrunk to barely one percent a year. Budgets were cut, expenses were reduced, and travel outside the service area was restricted. In 1987 there were no salary increases.

The number of employees dropped from 876 in 1980 to very close to 800 in 1989. Few new employees were hired and in the company reduced crew sizes. Almost all the three-man crews were reduced to two men and the one remaining large construction crew was disbanded.

The new Coyote generating station in western North Dakota went into service in 1981. That gave the company a surplus of generation so Hoot Lake Plant only operated part time.

In 1984 Otter Tail Power Company observed its 75th anniversary. As a token of appreciation to its customers, the company hired Myron Floren, one of the stars of the Lawrence Welk Show, to give concerts at many of the larger towns around the system.

The company introduced ground-water heat pumps in the 1980s, which could be used for both heating and cooling. They were very economical and were well received by residential and commercial customers.

Otter Tail Power Company continued to refine its load-management program in an effort to shave demand peaks and fill in the valleys. One innovation introduced in 1983 was residential demand control. A demand meter, controlled by a radio signal during peak-load periods, was installed in homes. If a home's demand reached the preset demand limit, the controller automatically shed household loads in the sequence chosen by the customer. The company offered a lower rate to those customers for the inconvenience that controlled service may have caused.

In 1985 the company converted to an automated meter-reading system. Instead of writing the meter reading on a card, the person reading the meter punched the numbers into a hand-held computer. At the end of the day the computer was placed on a special telephone cradle. During the night the main computer in the general office telephoned the hand-held computer, downloaded the readings, and recorded them. That system was relatively free of errors and it reduced the time interval between reading the meter and billing the customer.

In the 1980s Otter Tail Power Company put a high priority on employee education and training, offering a variety of courses during working hours. Fellow employees taught some of the courses, while instructors from areas colleges taught other courses. Employees also were encouraged to take correspondence courses.

Some employees took night courses at area colleges and earned credits toward degrees. The company assisted employees by paying half the cost of tuition and books. That was later raised to 80 percent.

Employees became more professional in the 1980s. In 1966 the company had one certified public accountant and two registered professional engineers. In 1986 the company had 12 certified public accountants and 30 registered professional engineers. Video training tapes became available in the 1980s and were a valuable training aid that helped to save money on travel and tuition.

Almost all upper and middle management attended management training schools sponsored by the American Management Association and the Edison Electric Institute.

In 1980 the company established a lineman's training school. A work site was set up on land near Hoot Lake Plant where linemen could get hands-on training. After four years of experience they could advance from apprentice to journeyman lineman by passing a test.

Written by Myron Broschat, Otter Tail Power Company retiree, using a nnual reports as sources.