SECO News
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AUGUS T 2017
THIRD J.D. POWER AWARD!!
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hank you, members, for honoring SECO Energy with a third J.D. Power award. J.D. Power’s 2017 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, has once again ranked your not-for-profit electric cooperative “Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Electric Cooperatives.” Our 2017 trophy marks a threeyear streak of J.D. Power awards for SECO Energy’s customer satisfaction. In 2015, J.D. Power named SECO “Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Midsize Utilities in the South.” The next year, J.D. Power placed cooperatives in a separate category and the cooperative set its sights on another win. We accomplished our original goal with a second win in 2016. And this year, we far exceeded our original goal with a third win, gaining the top spot and earning our “Triple Crown.” The J.D. Power study measures customer satisfaction with electric utility companies by examining six factors: nn nn nn nn nn nn
Power Quality and Reliability Price Billing and Payment Corporate Citizenship Communications Customer Service
SECO’s 2017 overall score is an incredible 789, which is a 20-point increase from our 2016 score.
DUNCAN’S DIGEST Jim Duncan, CEO How does SECO continue to rise above the competition and retain its customer satisfaction crown? The quick answer is the 400+ employees who make SECO the nation’s top electric cooperative. SECO employees are the best in the state, if not the nation. Our local employees are your friends, neighbors and family. SECO employees are the heart of the cooperative and without them, awards and recognition wouldn’t be possible. 414900 I am beyond grateful for our employees and their dedication to not only customer satisfaction, but their dedication to our members. I am also DIGEST cont. on page 2… “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.
RIGHT TREE RIGHT PLACE
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planted today may one day grow into a majestic live oak towering 80 feet in the air. 830013
Don’t plant trees close to power lines. Consider how tall the tree will be when it is mature. Plant small ornamental trees or shrubs at least 15 feet away from lines and plant the tallest trees at least 70 feet away. That small oak sapling
Learn more about how trees can reduce energy costs and tree planting ideas at SECOEnergy. com>Reliability>Right Tree, Right Place.
rees interfering with power lines are a leading cause of unexpected outages. When trees contact power lines they can create sparks, fires, shock hazards and as mentioned previously – power outages. To avoid these problems, SECO has developed a holistic Vegetation Management program that includes regular tree trimming and educating members about how trees save energy and reduce monthly bills.
SECO also encourages members to plant the right tree in the right place to reduce annual energy costs. Planting deciduous trees to the south, southwest or west side will provide your home with shade during the summer, which reduces your cooling costs. To reduce heating costs, plant evergreens and shrubs on the north and west sides of your home to block winter winds.
Tall Trees: Mature height of 50´ or less 70´ clearance between pole and tree Medium Trees: Mature height of 30´ or less 50´ clearance between pole and tree Low Trees: Mature height of 20´ or less 40´ clearance between pole and tree
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Clear Zone 15´ Tall trees: Oaks, Pines, Sycamore and most species of palms
Medium trees: Holly, Little Gem Magnolia and Ligustrum
Clear Zone 15´
Low trees: Anise, Catawba, Crape Myrtle, Azalea and Sweet Viburnum
DIGEST from page 1…
thankful for the forward-thinking vision of our executive leadership team and the SECO Board Members who oversee the governance of the cooperative. This third J.D. Power award culminates a decade-long effort to increase reliability, maintain low rates and provide world-class customer service to members. I am humbled by the praise and goodwill from our members and privileged to be employed by the best electric cooperative in the country.
Jim Duncan, CEO
SAFETY CORNER
MOVE OVER LAW
When you see an emergency vehicle, tow truck, sanitation crew or utility vehicle on the road shoulder with lights flashing, do you reduce your speed or move over a lane? You should. In fact, under Florida’s Move Over Law it’s mandatory. Utility workers, law enforcement personnel, EMTs and sanitation workers are at risk of being injured or killed by vehicles traveling at high rates of speed when working on the road shoulder. 166102 SECO technicians routinely park near roadways and are particularly vulnerable to careless/ distracted drivers who cause accidents. It is common to see a SECO Energy line technician replacing a pole or repairing lines while inside a bucket that is 40 or 50 feet aloft. Oftentimes this mid-air roadside work takes place in the dark and during thunderstorms. Technicians are focused on their assigned tasks and working safely, they may not be able to get out of the way if a vehicle crashes into their work area. On a multi-lane road, the Move Over Law requires drivers to move over a lane away from the vehicle on the shoulder. If you cannot move
over safely, the law requires you to reduce your speed to 20 mph below the posted speed limit. On two lane roads where there isn’t a lane to move 752010 over into, the law requires you to reduce your speed to 20 mph below the posted speed limit. Drivers can be ticketed for failure to comply with the Move Over Law, which will cost you over $100, add points to your driving record and raise your insurance premiums. Please do your part to ensure workers return home safely to their loved ones. Pay attention to the road, don’t text while driving, move over and slow down for emergency vehicles – it’s the law.
ENERGY SAVINGS: SOLAR WINDOW SCREENS
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lorida summers certainly offer chances for fun in the sun, but when humidity is at 100% and temps reach the triple-degree mark, energy bills increase. The sun’s heat transfers through your windows and raises the temperature inside your home. In turn, your HVAC unit runs more often and uses more energy – thus raising your electric bill. What low-cost step can you take to prevent heat transfer into your home? Install solar window screens. Indoor shading techniques such as curtains and blinds block light and heat after it is already inside your home. Solar screens fight heat transfer through your windows on the outside of your home. These screens are designed to reflect up to 90% of the sun’s heat and glare before it enters your home without compromising visibility. Solar screens also provide a level of daytime privacy by preventing outsiders from peeking in your windows. The heavy screens provide a level of bug protection as well. 472708 Solar screens come in a variety of colors to complement the aesthetics of your home. Visit our website at SECOEnergy.com>Energy Solutions for additional tips to reduce energy usage and lower your monthly bills.
NINE-ARMED SEA STAR
Once called a starfish, although it is not a fish
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ea stars are Echinoderms (Echinodermata) —a group of animals whose name means “spiny skin,” which includes sea urchins, feather stars, sand dollars and sea cucumbers. About two thousand species exist exclusively in oceans worldwide. None are found on land or in freshwater. Sea stars have tentaclelike structures called tube feet with suction pads situated along the extremities. Sea stars have an eye at the end of each tentacle, but cannot see color. An internal hydraulic-type system pumps fluids through the body, allowing the star to both move and feed. While predators themselves, most are covered with spiny skin for protection from other predators. The Nine-armed Sea Star (Luidia senegalensis), is a millipede with long, slim tapering arms attached to a small circular center. This sea star grows between twelve to sixteen inches in diameter. The topside is a patchwork of closely packed spiny plates from brownish gray to tan. The underside of the sea star has small
587103 white spiny plates and a central band of translucent, orange tube feet. The mouth is at the center of the disc. Undigested food fragments are expelled through the mouth. Like other echinoderms, it has the ability to regenerate lost or broken appendages. It is found at the beach in shallow water and in depths of up to 130 feet along the coasts of Florida, and as far south as Brazil. It dines on mollusks, small crustaceans, tiny fish and worms. Many foods are swallowed whole and ingested by turning its stomach inside out to consume its prey. It also buries itself in the sand, filtering it to extract tiny organisms. Breeding takes place throughout the year. Sea stars release egg/sperm cells into the sea. The eggs hatch into larva which drift along with the plankton to grow. After twenty-five days, the larva settle on the ocean floor and undergo a metamorphosis into juvenile sea stars. Sea stars can be found in a stunning variety of shapes and colors in every ocean and reef around the world. They are best characterized by their unique symmetry. Most have five arms, while others have ten, and up to as many as forty arms. The lifespan of a sea star is reported to be from five to thirty-five years.
The nine-armed sea star can be found along the coasts of Florida and as far south as Brazil.
Column & photos by Sandi Staton – sandi.staton@gmail.com
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Ray F. Vick President District 5
Jerry D. Hatfield Vice President District 9
Robin R. Henion
Secretary-Treasurer District 7
Scott D. Boyatt District 1
Dillard B. Boyatt District 2
Richard J. Belles District 3
Richard Dennison District 4
Earl Muffett District 6
Bill James District 8
SECO Energy is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
The Board of Trustees will meet on Monday, Aug. 28, 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, Sept. 25, 2017. 2 4 / 7 Jo b Ho tl i n e: (855) 483-2673 www.secoenergyjobs.com Report an Outage: (800) 732-6141 www.secostormcenter.com