NEWS FROM YOUR COOPERATI www.myremc.coop CONTACT US OFFICE
812-865-2229 TOLL FREE 888-337-5900 BILL PAYMENTS 855-865-2229 CONTACT US BY EMAIL
orangecoremc@myremc.coop GENERAL MANAGER/CEO
Danny L. Arnold OFFICE HOURS
7 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday-Friday STREET ADDRESS
7133 N. State Road 337 Orleans, IN 47452 MAILING ADDRESS
P.O. Box 208, Orleans, IN 47452 EMERGENCY POWER OUTAGES
To report service interruptions, call: 812-865-2229 or 888-337-5900, day or night. Please have the phone number associated with your account ready when reporting outages. Please limit after hours calls to emergencies and outage situations. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Eugene Roberts, DISTRICT 1 Randy Roberts, DISTRICT 2 Danny Easterday, DISTRICT 3 Rodney Hager, DISTRICT 4 Ben Lindsey, DISTRICT 5 Brian Hawkins, DISTRICT 6 George Key, DISTRICT 7 REMC KEY STAFF
Marty Frank, OPERATIONS MANAGER Marcy Bennett, OFFICE MANAGER Larry Pinnick, MATERIALS MANAGER Michael Roberts, STAKING ENGINEER Misty Tincher, ACCOUNTANT Billy Chastain, STAKING ENGINEER AIDE Mark Belcher, MARKETING/MEMBER SERVICES MEMBER SERVICES
•Free energy analysis •Budget billing •Automatic payments •Security lights •Home security systems •Medical emergency monitoring •Air evac life team •Water heater and HVAC incentives (requires an EM switch) •Online bill payment options •Interactive Voice Response system . for payments and account inquiries via phone: 1-855-865-2229 •VISA, MasterCard and Discover accepted •Exede Internet - 855-797-7855 4
Democracy at the co-op Democratic member control is critical to the operation of every co-op While the national elections of the past November may be fading from your memory, voting for politicians is not the only way co-op members can practice democracy. Every cooperative — DANNY L. ARNOLD whether it’s this REMC, your credit union or the local farm co-op — follows the basic principle of one member, one vote. Most often you are asked to vote and elect individuals to represent you on a board of directors. These people are your friends, neighbors and fellow residents from our community. Occasionally, you may be asked to vote on an issue, such as a bylaw change (this is like the constitution for your co-op) or a matter of great importance like when we opted out of Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission oversight. Every member in good standing of the co-op may run for the board. This is one of the key differences between a co-op member and a customer of an investorowned utility (IOU). Most IOUs are not too interested in customers’ opinions on how the company should be run. Cooperatives invite participation. In fact, it is critically important to the survival of the co-op. Most REMCs serve far fewer people than IOUs. Electric cooperatives measure their number of members in the thousands, IOUs in the millions. If you are not actively involved with the cooperative, we all suffer. As the electric utility industry evolves, having interested members who are willing to take an active role is critically important. Own: This idea refers to each member truly believing and feeling that they do indeed share in the ownership of the cooperative. This can come from attending the annual meeting, voting, running for a seat on the board of directors, or participating in other co-op events. Use: For us this means that you help
ELECTRIC CONSUMER • JANUARY 2015 • ElectricConsumer.org
“At Orange County REMC, we believe in the ‘own, use, serve, and belong’ model.” us use the cooperative’s resources wisely. (After all, you are an owner of those resources.) You may choose to utilize the free energy audits that REMC offers. You may choose to use energy-efficient appliances made more affordable by incentive payments from REMC, you may use LED or CFL lights you got from REMC, or you may take advantage of other member discounts on quality services such as Exede Internet Service or Air Evac Lifeteam. Or, you may choose to help us make our generating plants more efficient by participating in the Energy Management Program or the optional Time-of-Use billing program. Serve: If we are successful with “own” and “use,” perhaps you will feel called to serve your co-op — maybe as a board member, a program volunteer, or an Operation Round Up trustee. Belong: We all seek to belong to something. In the early days when the co-op was just getting started, neighbors helped neighbors. While our lives seem busier and more electronically driven than ever, the need to connect and belong is necessary for us and our communities to thrive. There is great power in the human connection, and at Orange County REMC, we strive to do that every day. Right now is a critical time in the democratic process at Orange County REMC. Even though our annual meeting is still several months away, the process for selecting members to serve as directors is in full swing. According to our bylaws, incumbent directors seeking re-election to the board must file letters of intent at least 120 days in advance of each annual meeting. In 2015, the terms of two directors, Danny Easterday and Brian Hawkins, will
IVE Directors seeking re-election
Rate Schedule (for January, February and March 2015) Figures needed to calculate your monthly bill
Danny Easterday
Brian Hawkins
Rate Schedule for Standard Service Standard Service Consumer Charge Standard Service Energy Charge Wholesale Power Cost Tracker Total bill plus Indiana sales tax 7% Rate Schedule for ETS Service ETS Consumer Charge ETS Off-Peak Energy Rate Schedule for Security Lighting Security Lighting- 100 W HPS Security Lighting- 175W MV
2015 Director Election Timeline Incumbents whose terms expire: District 3 – Danny Easterday District 6 – Brian Hawkins k Letters of intent due by Feb. 5 k Posting of incumbent list by Feb. 20 Names published in the March issue of Electric Consumer k Petitions of nominations due by April 21 k Nominations by the board (absent incumbents seeking re-election or petitioners) by April 21** k Full slate of candidates posted and mailed by May 15. All candidate biographies published in the May or June issue of Electric Consumer. k Election at annual meeting on June 5 ** May require a special board meeting.
26.00 0.1124 0.0027953
5.40 0.0691 9.82 9.82
Example for 1,200 kwh Standard Service Consumer Charge $26.00 1,200 kwh @ .1124 $134.88 Wholeslae Power Cost Tracker @ .0027953 $3.35 Total $164.23 Indiana sales tax $11.50 Total bill $175.73 Example for 1,200 kwh (regular) and 750 kwh (ETS) Standard Service Consumer Charge $26.00 ETS Consumer Charge $5.40 1,200 kwh @ .1124 $134.88 750 kwh @ .0691 $51.83 Wholesale Power Cost Tracker @ .0027953 $5.45 Total $223.56 Indiana sales tax $15.65 Total bill $239.20 Visa, MasterCard and Discover cards accepted
expire. Both intend to run for re-election representing Districts 3 (Bono Township of Lawrence County plus Northeast and Orange townships of Orange County) and District 6 (Paoli and Greenfield townships of Orange County). Any other REMC member with their principle residence in either of these districts can run for election by submitting a petition of nomination to the board secretary before April 21. A petition of nomination requires the signatures of 15 members in good standing of Orange County REMC. Petition forms are available at the REMC headquarters. If you are not interested in running for the board, at the very least you should attend the annual meeting in June to support your cooperative and the candidate of your choosing. See you then! DANNY L. ARNOLD is the general manager/CEO of Orange County REMC.
Jan. 1 – New Year’s Day April 3 – Good Friday May 25 – Memorial Day June 5 – Annual Meeting (closing at noon) July 3 – Independence Day (celebrated) Sept. 7 – Labor Day Nov. 26 and 27 – Thanksgiving Dec. 24 and 25 – Christmas
ElectricConsumer.org • JANUARY 2015 • ELECTRIC CONSUMER 5
Orange County REMC News Prize drawing winners from Member Appreciation Day
ELECTRICAL MYTHS
CAN KILL. Orange County REMC’s Carla Piper is pictured with Brian Springer, who won the weather radio.
Rubber gloves and rubber shoes protect you from electricity.
MYTH
TRUTH That’s true only if they are 100 percent pure rubber with no holes or tears (the kind that electrical linemen wear). Typical cleaning gloves and shoes, which are made with rubber mixed with cheaper materials, aren’t going to protect you in an electrical encounter.
MYTH
Orange County REMC’s Ashley Terrell is pictured with Kathy Street, who won the table-top electric grill.
All power lines are insulated.
TRUTH As a rule, power lines aren’t insulated. So, how come birds don’t get electrocuted when they perch on a power line? They don’t represent a path to the ground. If a bird were to touch two wires at once, or a wire and the ground, it would be electrocuted.
Power lines outside carry the same 110-volt electricity we use at home.
MYTH
TRUTH Here in Indiana, most power lines carry 7,200 volts. Some carry up to 19,000 volts. You can’t tell the voltage by just looking at it.
Thank you, Round Up board members! Operation Round Up board members Donna Carlisle and Randy Clark both recently completed their term limits of six years. Orange County REMC would like to thank them for their time and dedication to the program.
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ELECTRIC CONSUMER • JANUARY 2015 • ElectricConsumer.org
STAY SAFE. BUST THE MYTHS.
Take a look at your new REMC bill Members will see important information from their co-op here. To avoid disconnection of your electric service, payments or arrangements must be made by 5:00 PM on 10/20/2014. Disconnection will result in additional fees.
Current meter readings, service date and electric use will appear here.
Disconnection notice and last day for payment is listed here each month.
Member account and contact information is located in this section. Members will need this information when contacting the REMC with questions about their account. This information should be kept current.
REMC office contact, outage and payment information is located in this top area.
Year-to-date Operation Round Up contribution.
Previous payment information and itemized current month totals are located in this section.
ElectricConsumer.org • JANUARY 2015 • ELECTRIC CONSUMER 29