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Your Electric Co-op
Interim General Manager Anthony Mercure Address 1135 Camino Escondido Chama, NM 87520 Telephone 575-756-2181 Email nora@noraelectric.org Website www.noraelectric.org Winter Office Hours 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (M-F) Board of Trustees President Steve Rendon Chama, District 2 Vice President Thomas G. Rivas Chama, District 2 Secretary Paul Cordova Tierra Amarilla, District 3 Treasurer Leroy Martinez Canjilon, District 4 Michael Gomez Lumberton, District 1 Debbie F. Manzanares Tierra Amarilla, District 3 David Martinez Canjilon, District 2 Board Meeting The Board of Trustees meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at 1:00 p.m. in the Cooperative boardroom.
Membership at NORA Electric Cooperative T he legal definition of a cooperative is an association or corporation established for the purpose of providing services on a nonprofit basis to its shareholders or members who own and control it. In order to become a member of NORA Electric Cooperative, a new applicant will pay a one-time refundable membership fee of $5. Merely receiving a bill from NORA does not qualify the recipient as a member until the membership fee has been collected.
Who is the Member? A member is the individual person who applied for service and is considered the primary person on the account. If you applied for service with your spouse, as having a joint membership, then your spouse is considered the secondary person on the account. If you are a primary member, and later get married, you and your new spouse must both come to the office to update the account as a Joint Membership; this is not an automatic feature just because your marital status has changed. Any other individual, added to the account for identification purposes or for renter billing purposes as “in care of,” is not considered a member. Individuals are allowed only one membership at a time.
In the event that your membership fee was ever returned to you or terminated due to a voluntary disconnect of service, non-payment or for any other reason, the membership must be re-activated, and you will have to pay the $5 membership fee.
A membership at NORA is normally considered non-transferable with the following exceptions: 1. When a member has passed away, a death certificate must be brought into the office to have the account name changed; or 2. A family member transfers their membership to another family member. In order to do this, the current member must come into the office to initiate and authorize the transfer of membership or issue a notarized letter granting that permission. 3. When a business applies for service and pays for a membership, the actual member is the owner of the business or whoever is considered the President or CEO of that business. Businesses must have one person designated as the member.
Voting for Board Members During NORA’s Annual Membership Meeting held the last Monday of September, several things take place including voting for board members. Members will vote for a board member if there is a position being voted upon in their particular district. Each membership shall be entitled to only one vote. For example, a husband and wife that share a joint membership are entitled to cast one vote representing their joint membership rather than each of them voting individually. Proxy voting is permitted only by a member’s spouse, parent or child of 18 years of age, upon presentation of a proxy form signed by the member; provided however, that no one individual may cast more than one vote.
Benefits of being a Member • You build capital credits. • You will receive The enchantment Magazine monthly which provides reliable and helpful information to our Cooperative members. • You may attend monthly Board Meetings. • You may attend the Annual Membership Meeting which takes place the last Monday in September. • As a member, you have the opportunity to vote. • You are eligible to run for an open Board trustee position if you meet all the criteria. • Your children can apply for NORA scholarships when planning for college.
If you are unsure if you are a member, you may contact us at 575-756-2181 or come by the NORA office and we will gladly assist you in determining your member status. We can also help you become a member at any time.
NORA has been proudly “member-owned” for 71 years!
Protect Yourself From Consumer Scams In an ongoing effort to protect our members from becoming the target of an unlawful utility scam, phishing, pharming, or other scam, we would like bring these deceptive and despicable practices to your attention. Unfortunately, this has become an increasingly popular way for criminals to lure unsuspecting, trusting individuals into disclosing confidential financial information with the intent to steal from their target.
Often times, the thief will call an unsuspecting victim posing as a collector stating that the victim’s account is past due and that their services will be disconnected if payment is not immediately rendered often by remitting gift cards, money order or wire transfer.
Please be advised that NORA Electric Cooperative will never call or demand payment on any past due accounts. There is an established proper procedure that NORA follows for past due accounts and notice will always be delivered in writing by mail. Our consumer members are given ample opportunity to rectify any outstanding balances, and we highly encourage anyone facing hardship or difficulty paying their utility bills to contact our office at 575-756-2181 to establish a payment plan or with help seeking services to assist with their utilities.
Other ways that scammers target individuals is through email or voice messages, again, demanding immediate payment and the threat of some sort of punishment such as the immediate termination of their service of with some sort of legal action or arrest. We strongly encourage our members to be aware of these sorts of scams and never give out any personal or financial information to any individual or entity that contacts you requesting or demanding it from you. A legitimate business will already have your personal information on file without the need to collect it from you.
Another common scam to avoid this time of year is based on your income taxes. The IRS and state government will never call you to inform you of taxes owed. As with utility providers, these entities follow an established professional protocol and will inform you of any taxes owed or discrepancy in your tax return by mail.
Educating yourself is the key to protecting yourself and loved ones from these predators. Regardless of how you are approached, beware of the following red flags: • Poor grammar and spelling • Sender demanding immediate action • Unusual sender email address • Misleading or deceptive links • Poor or inconsistent graphics and branding • Promise to send you a large sum money after you send money first, sometimes referred to as a “processing fee” • If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is fraud
If you or anyone you may know has been a victim or target of this scam, please contact your local law enforcement as soon as possible.
