2018 March C&L Electric Center Page

C & L Electric Cooperative edition

The value of electricity continues to shine How many of us remember dropping into a C & L Electric Cooperative office with our parents and grandparents to pay the light bill? Whether you do that in person, by mail or online today, paying your monthly bill does a lot more than just keep the lights on.

Electricity keeps us connected to our modern world.

Consider all the necessities and conveniences we enjoy in part because of the power lines running to the electric meter outside your home.

Count up your televisions, desktop, laptop and tablet computers, printers, your gaming consoles, music and video players and personal assistant devices. Whether they get used every day or just occasionally, the electricity that keeps them working comes from C & L Electric Cooperative.

Have you looked around your kitchen lately? Between the coffee maker and toaster and the microwave and

electric skillet, a lot of us have added several other modern small appliances.

If you’ve got a craft nook or workshop, the power tools and machines you use to cut and shape your projects are either plugged in or recharged from the outlets connecting your household wiring to C & L Electric Cooperative.

You use electricity to run all these devices, and we still keep the lights on, use the stove, heating and air conditioning, and get hot water from tap. The good news is, even as we rely more on electricity, it’s still a bargain, especially compared to other things we pay for regularly.

Since 2011, medical care, residential rental rates and education have increased at rates of 3 percent or more per year. Butter, meat and egg costs have been up by more than one to 2 percent annually, and even bread costs have risen better than a half point on average.

NOTICE TO THOSE WHO PAY TENANT’S ELECTRIC BILLS C & L Electric provides electric service to some families, called tenants, who live in houses provided for them by landlords. The tenant’s electric bill may be paid for by the landlord with the account in the landlord’s name. When this is the case, the tenant receives no correspondence from the Cooperative and may have his/her service disconnected without notice if the landlord fails to pay. To avoid this, C & L strongly advises that tenants receive electric service in their own names regardless of who pays the bill. However, if this is not possible, C & L Electric offers the following protection to registered tenants: 1. Electric service will not be discontinued until the tenant has been notified.

2. The tenant will be allowed up to 30 days after the due date to pay the bill.

3. When feasible, the tenant will be allowed to apply for service in his/her own name.

C & L Electric requests that landlords, who are paying the electric bills for a tenant who has no account with the Cooperative, please register the tenant by completing the following form: (Your tenant does not receive this magazine as it is sent to members only.)

LANDLORD: I pay for electric service for a tenant and the account is in my name: Name: Address: Account # Telephone #

My TENANT who receives electric service in my name is: Name: Address: Telephone # MAIL FORM TO: C & L Electric Cooperative, P. O. Box 9, Star City, AR 71667

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MARCH 2018

C & L ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE

Electricity costs rise about 1 percent a year, but co-ops across the country have reported a decline in average residential use per household since 2010. That means we’re doing more things with less energy.

Kilowatt hour use per household dropped by 8 percent between 2010 and 2016, slightly less than the 9 percent decline reported by all electric utilities, nationwide.

When it comes to value, electricity is a clear winner, and we’re always looking for ways to work with you to make it even better. That’s why C & L Electric Cooperative urges energy efficiency, encourages you to look for ENERGY STAR® appliances, and promotes technology, designed to give members more control over their electricity use.

Energy performance dashboards, smart thermostats and power strips, and appliance settings that shift most water heating, laundry and dishwashing outside of

peak rate periods help reduce the co-op’s overall power demand. They also give you opportunities to control or even trim your monthly utility bills.

That’s good for families, couples and individuals trying to live within their budgets. And it’s going to become even more important as digital devices and internetconnected technologies become even more important in our lives.

The average home now has 10 Wi-Fi connected devices. That number is expected to explode to 50 by 2020.

Technology and the gateways that keep it working use electricity, so you’ll depend upon C & L Electric Cooperative for more than the power that keeps the lights on.

That’s why we’re always working to provide service that’s reliable, keep it affordable, and make it even more valuable to our member — you, your family and your neighbors.

BILLING AND COLLECTION PROCEDURES

BILLING & COLLECTION PROCEDURES Bills for electric service supplied are mailed to consumers at regular monthly intervals. The net rate shall apply up to the due date; the gross rate shall apply thereafter. Gross rates are 10 percent of the first $30.00 of the bill and 2 percent of the remaining balance added to net rates.

In fairness to the majority of our members who pay their electric bill on time, our costs for past due accounts are passed on to the members having the delinquent accounts. We urge you to pay your account before it becomes past due to avoid having extra charges added to your bill.

NON-PAYMENT Accounts not paid by the due date shall receive a written notice giving five (5) days prior to disconnection of service. After the final date to pay on the shut-off notice, the cooperative shall have a representative call to collect the bill or disconnect, and there shall be a $35.00 fee added to the gross bill, to help defray the cost of the trip, if payment is received at that time. If the account is not paid at that time, service may be disconnected.

If a check or bank draft is returned unpaid by the payee bank a returned check charge of $30.00 will be added. If the check or bank draft is for a past due balance, the electric service may be disconnected immediately. If a member has 2 returned checks or bank drafts in 12 months for reasons other than bank error, payments must be on a cash-only basis.

Electric service, disconnected for failure to pay a delinquent account, shall be restored upon payment of all past due usage, plus a reconnect fee of $50.00. An account that has been disconnected 7 days shall be closed and all charges must be paid

to reconnect it. A deposit may also be required.

DELAYED PAYMENT AGREEMENT FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS When a consumer to whom service is rendered throughout the year is unable to pay an account in full, the cooperative shall not discontinue service if the consumer: 1. Requests the agreement on/before the final date to pay as printed on the shut-off notice.

2. Pays a reasonable portion of the account; and 3. Agrees in writing to pay the balance of the account in reasonable installments; and 4. Agrees in writing to pay in full all future bills during the period of the agreement by the due date.

The reasonableness of the terms of a particular delayed payment agreement shall be based on the consumer’s ability to pay, the size of the unpaid account, the consumer’s payment history, and the length of time and reasons the account has not been paid.

BILL PAYMENT OPTIONS Pay at one of our offices (Star City, Dumas, or Sheridan) Mon. – Fri. between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Pay by mail – P. O. Box 9, Star City, AR 71667 Pay by phone – Dial (870) 628-5522 or (870) 628-5492 and follow the automated instructions. Payment must be made using a Visa, Mastercard or Discover credit or debit card. There is a $4.25 transaction fee per account for this service.

Pay online at http:www.clelectric.com using a Visa, Mastercard or Discover brand credit or debit card. You will need to set up an online account using your social security and C & L account numbers before using this service. A $4.25 transaction fee will be charged per member number when you pay your bill online.

C & L ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE

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my co-op

Your directors have carefully set a policy for us to use in billing and collection. This policy has been approved as fair by the Arkansas Public Service Commission (PSC). The policy is printed here for your review and information.