C & L Electric Cooperative edition
Don’t wait for your power to go out… You can take steps today to help us restore your power more quickly the next time you have an outage. If you call to report a power outage, your call is usually answered by our Star City office. However, if you call after working hours or in the case of a widespread outage, you will be connected to our cooperative response center. Our cooperative response center is designed to handle the large volume of calls that occur during a widespread outage, which allows us to help you faster during an outage. When your call is answered, you’ll be asked for your
phone number which is used to look up your account record. Your account record is verified against your 911 address and entered into our computer system which sorts outage calls by location. This frees up our dispatchers to assist service personnel in locating the source of the outage and helps us restore your power more quickly! Many of you have a different phone number than when you first became a C & L customer. To locate your account quickly in the case of an outage, we need your current phone number and 911 address.
To get your lights on quicker, fill out the information below: Please use the phone number you would give to us when reporting an outage: Name on your C & L account 911 Address
C & L Account # Phone # Additional Phone # • Please mail this form to us at: C & L Electric, P. O. Box 9, Star City, AR 71667 (or include it with your bill payment) • Or call us at (870) 628-4221 and give us your new phone number • Or go to our website at www.clelectric.com and click on the photo labeled Contact Us. This opens a form you can use to e-mail us. Please include your name, 911 address, account number and current phone number so that we can update your records.
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Those blinking clocks Don’t you just hate those blinking “12:00” clocks? Manufacturers could build in a backup system to avoid this but that would run up the cost and you may not want to pay the extra amount for the device. The blinking is often set into motion by the cooperative’s line safety devices used to avoid frequent and prolonged outages. The devices are called oil circuit reclosers. They operate by breaking the circuit for an instant when the line is contacted by an object such as a squirrel, snake, tree limb blowing in the breeze, etc. The object usually frees the line on the first blink. If not, the recloser will operate two more times. If the line is still not clear the device will shut down the power until a serviceman clears the line and closes the 22
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C & L ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
oil reclosers. Thus, the safety devices either avoid outages or shortened the outages time. They also prevent damage to the line which is another way of keeping the cost of electricity at the lowest possible cost. So, when the clocks blink 12:00, keep in mind the manufacturer is trying to save you money and we are trying to provide you dependable service at the lowest possible cost.
OH, CHRISTMAS TREE! OH, CHRISTMAS TREE! You’ve decked the halls, and you’re ready for the holiday season, but don’t forget to think safety when it comes time to light the tree. Here are a few favorite tips to add safety to that holiday sparkle: • Turn off lights when asleep or away from home. • Never use indoor extension cords for outside lighting. • Unplug light strings before changing bulbs. • Do not overload extension cords. • Do not use indoor lights outdoors. • Check all lights for broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires, or loose connections, and throw out damaged sets. • Replace burned-out bulbs promptly with the same wattage bulbs.
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• Always read product safety labels before product use.
The offices of C & L Electric Cooperative will be
closed Monday, Dec. 25, and Tuesday, Dec. 26, for the Christmas holiday. We will also be closed Monday, Jan. 1, for New Year’s Day. In case of an outage please call us at 870-628-4221.
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