August 2019 SECO News

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SECONEWS DUNCAN’S DIGEST Jim Duncan, CEO

DO I HAVE YOUR PHONE NUMBER?

The easiest way is to visit In early SECOEnergy.com and log July, the into SmartHub. Choose “My Colorado Profile” then “Update My State University Billing Address & Contact (CSU) Tropical Meteorology Information.” Make any Project updated its 2019 Atlantic hurricane season forecast. CSU predicts six major hurricanes will develop before the end of the season. A major hurricane is categorized as a CAT 3, 4 or 5.

915010

WIN A $300 BILL CREDIT – UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFO TODAY.

Peak hurricane season is typically in September.

Are you ready? Does SECO have the ability to contact you? Have you updated your seldom-used landline number to your cell phone number if you use it primarily? If you call us during peak volume and the phone number doesn’t match an account, your service options may be limited.

necessary changes and choose “Save.” Or, you can email customerservice@ secoenergy.com. Include name, account number, service address, the last four of the member’s SSN and the updated contact information.

You can also call us at (352) 793-3801 or contact us through Facebook private message or Twitter direct message.

information that conducts outbound, proactive communications and must be updated as well.

Did you know StormCenter will send you an email, text or voice message when an outage is detected at your service address? StormCenter will also notify you when the outage is restored as well as the cause.

109004 Members have expressed appreciation for the enhanced communications when we are working in your area. Using the StormCenter communications system, SECO notifies you of preplanned outages, upgrades, tree trimming and system improvement projects scheduled to occur in your neighborhood.

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE • SECO Champion

• 12 Ways To Pay How do you update or verify Our StormCenter and your contact information for • Kids’ Coloring Contest outage notifications system account/billing purposes?

• Florida Fauna & Flora houses separate contact 1 AUGUST 2019 | SECO NEWS

12 WAYS TO PAY Paying your bill has never been easier! Whether it’s online, by phone or in person, SECO Energy offers 12 convenient ways to pay - most without convenience fees.

PAY ONLINE AT SMARTHUB – View and pay your bill, sign up for bank draft, enroll in eBill and compare energy usage by month or year.

PAY BY BANK DRAFT – Simplify your life - draft your monthly bill amount from a bank account of your choice. Register for bank draft with SmartHub. PAY IN PERSON – Member Service Centers are located in Eustis, Groveland, Sumterville, Ocala and Inverness with walk-in and drive-thru facilities.

PAY AT A KIOSK – Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at all Member Service Centers. Kiosks accept cash and most credit cards.

PAY BY PHONE – 1-(877) 371-9382, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Pay

by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AMEX, debit card or electronic check.

PAY NOW – Pay instantly with just your account number and form of payment through SmartHub - no registration required.

PAY BY MAIL – SECO Energy (Dept # 3035), PO Box 850001, Orlando, FL 32885-3035 MYWAY PREPAY – Pay for energy before you use it with MyWay PrePay. View daily usage and receive phone or text notifications.

FIDELITY EXPRESS – Locations accept cash, check or money orders. $1.50 processing fee. Not recommended for MyWay PrePay members.

MONEYGRAM – Available at many convenient retail locations. MoneyGram is available for MyWay PrePay enrolled members. $1.50 processing fee.

WESTERN UNION – In-person payments received in real time. Convenience fee is $1.50. Maximum amount per transaction is $1,000.

BUDGET BILLING – Levels out bills by averaging most recent 12 months usage. Debit/credit balances accumulate based on seasonal usage.

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CENTER StormCenter is available on your smartphone or tablet 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Bookmark your address on the outage map, view the weather radar, find crew status, outage cause and estimated restoration time. Report a new outage, check the status of an existing outage, manage your communication preferences (email, text or voice message), report an area light outage or contact us.

To check yo u r communications preferences, gather a recent bill to find your account number and zip code – you will need both.

Then visit SECOEnergy.com and choose StormCenter on the top menu. On the StormCenter page, select “Manage Notifications,” input your account number and zip code or the phone number on file and zip code associated with the account.

Determine your preferred notification whether its 033002

email, text or voice message or a combination, add the phone number or contact email. Set “do not disturb” times during the hours you don’t want to be notified.

Select notifications for each account if you have multiple accounts.

As an incentive, view or update your contact information on both SmartHub and StormCenter and be entered twice into a drawing to win a $300 bill credit. If you don’t have

online access, just call us or note your primary phone number on your payment coupon when paying your bill.

686111 Good luck! The timeframe for the $300 SECO bill credit drawing runs to September 15. We’ll draw a winner on September 16. Stay in touch with SECO and update your contact information today.

Sincerely,

Chief Executive Officer

“HIDDEN” ACCOUNT NUMBERS Don’t forget to look for the last six digits of your account number in this month’s SECO News. You can email us at customerservice@secoenergy.com or call if your number appears. Six winners will be drawn at random from all submissions. Winners receive a $25 restaurant gift card.

MARK BOWLING

T&D LINE SUPERVISOR/ACTING DISTRIBUTION SUPERINTENDENT

LENGTH OF SERVICE: 30 YEARS

“WE LOVE OUR PEOPLE.” SECO Champion Mark Bowling is a T&D Line Supervisor who is currently serving on a rotational assignment as a Distribution Superintendent in the Groveland office. In his Supervisor role, Mark oversees the field crews that respond to outages, construct line and complete work requests in south Lake County. Mark’s family members are life-long residents of Lake County, and he is proud that his children attend the same schools he did growing up. The family enjoys football and baseball games and his children play school sports. Living in Lake County, Mark’s restoration work after the deadly 2007 Groundhog Day tornadoes was especially emotional. He remembers consoling SECO members whose homes were blown away by the destructive tornadoes. Mark describes his crew as “a good group of guys who are dedicated to SECO Energy, the community and safety.”

AUGUST 2019 | SECO NEWS

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OPOSSUM

COLORING CONTEST 13 $100 PRIZES

CALLING ALL CREATIVE KIDDOS

fauna & flora

O

possums are the only marsupials native to North America. Female marsupials give birth to underdeveloped young that then reside in an external abdomen pouch.

In this pouch, up to to 14 young are suckled for about two months after birth. The young opossums begin life smaller than honeybees.

Upon leaving the pouch they cling to their mother’s back for several weeks.

Mature opossums are larger than a house cat.

Opossums have coarse, grayish-white hair, a pig-like snout, sharp claws, large naked ears 130591 and a long, hairless, scaly tail which is used to hang from tree branches. Opossums have 50 teeth – more than any other North American mammal – and eat almost any kind of animal or vegetable. When in danger, it lies motionless and pretends to be dead. This behavior gave us the expression “playing possum.”

Fun Opossum Fact: An opossum eats about 5,000 ticks during tick season, which according to the National Wildlife Federation helps stop the spread of Lyme Disease.

726801 The Board of Trustees will meet on Monday, August 26, 2019, at 2:30 p.m. in the Corporate Offices at 330 South US HWY 301 in Sumterville.

A Trustees’ meeting will also be held on Monday, September 23, 2019.

24/7 Job Hotline: (855) 483-2673 secoenergyjobs.com Report an Outage: (800) 732-6141 stormcenter.secoenergy.com

Enter the SECO Energy Kids’ Calendar Coloring Contest. We are looking for 13 creative, colorful drawings depicting Electrical Safety or Energy Efficiency in a fun way to publish in our 2020 SECO Energy Calendar!

The 13 chosen artists will have their artwork, photo and name published in next year’s calendar. Even better, the winners will each receive a $100 prize.

The artwork submission form is available on SECOEnergy.com > Contact > Calendar Coloring Contest. Print the submission form and include it with the artwork. Mail submissions to: SECO Energy P.O. Box 301 Sumterville, FL 33585-0301 or drop it off at one of our five Member Service Centers.

Need Electrical Safety or Energy Efficiency ideas? Visit SECOEnergy.com to find tips.

To be eligible, the child must be between the ages of 5 and 12 and live in a home served

by SECO Energy. Artwork submissions must be received by September 30, 2019.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES & T RU ST E E ME E T ING DAT E S

Jerry D. Hatfield President District 9

Gerald B. Anderson District 3

Richard Dennison

Ray Vick

Vice President District 4

District 5

Bill James Secretary-Treasurer District 8

Scott D. Boyatt District 1

Dillard B. Boyatt District 2

SECO Energy.com SECO Energy is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Earl Muffett District 6

Joseph Kusiak District 7