September 2016 SECO News

September 2016

JIM DUNCAN, CEO

Conduct a Home Energy Assessment Online Your happiness with SECO Energy is dependent on low rates, high reliability and help managing your energy use to keep your bills low. As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, we’re one of those rare companies that actually want you to use less of our product.

So to help you identify energy-wasters in your home, SECO has developed an online Home Energy Assessment. By answering a short series of questions in four quick steps, you’ll input simple answers that allows SECO to send you an email - within minutes - that provides low-cost and no-cost energy-saving tools and tips to cut down on your usage – thus lowering your electric bill.

The Home Energy Assessment is easy. There’s no math to do and all you need to start is your electric bill to input your account number. Take the Home Energy Assessment today and start saving money and energy. The email you receive comes in checklist format, giving you a step-by-step path to lowering your bill.

Find the assessment at SECOEnergy.com > Energy Solutions >Home Energy Assessment.

If you’re not tech savvy and rely more on pencil and paper, just give us a call and we’ll mail the assessment to you. If you’re looking for a way to save big money, visit our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/secoenergy) for the latest trivia contest. Not only could you win a $300 bill credit, you’ll have access to real-time outage and restoration information, the latest energy-efficiency gadget news, community outreach projects and more.

Bill Enhancement

Your bill has a new added feature – a rolling 13-month usage graph.

When you open your bill, the new graph will make it easy to track usage on a monthly basis and know if you used more or less energy the same month the previous year.

Members can also track energy usage through SmartHub, SECO’s online account management tool. Access SmartHub on your computer, tablet or smartphone to view or pay a current bill, review a previous bill, compare yearly or monthly energy use, update your mailing address or phone numbers and view SECO’s social media feeds. Visit www.secoenergy. com> My Account and register for SmartHub today.

We are mid-way through the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season. Hopefully, Floridians will dodge the hurricane and tropical storm bullet again this year, but the month of September is often the most active of the season, so we shall see. Even though Tropical Storm Colin (the earliest third named storm in the Atlantic in recorded history) is the only tropical event that made landfall so far this year, SECO remains vigilant and Storm Ready.

SECO’s Operations employees stand ready to respond to outages 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

SECO’s local customer service team is available to answer member phone calls (and emails) and assist members in one of our five convenient office locations. Members can interact with our Communications team live on social media for outage information, weather affecting our area and cooperative updates. Also, visit secoenergy.com>Reliability>Storm Preparedness to review our Emergency Preparation Checklist with your family so you can stay safe and Storm Ready! 802006

117101 SECO Energy is an equal opportunity provider & employer.

SAFETY CORNER

Top 10 Electricity is everywhere. It lights our homes, charges our phones, runs our appliances and powers our quality of life. But electricity can be dangerous.

Explain to your kids how electricity works and warn them why it’s important to follow these safety tips.

1

Never put fingers, toys or other objects in an electrical outlet

2 Keep metal objects out of toasters 3 Never use anything with a cord or plug around water 4

Never pull a plug from an outlet by its cord

5

Stay away from substations and power lines

6

Never fly kites or climb trees near power lines

7 Never place your drinks on top of electronics

8

Stay away from broken or fallen power lines

9

Never touch big, green metal transformer boxes

10

Obey warning signs on power

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Nature’s reflections Salty Lightfoot Crab Colorful, feisty crab lives and hunts in rock crevices

The Salty Lightfoot crab, (Grapsus grapsus) also called the red rock crab, is found on rocky beaches in the Americas on both the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines. It is a common crab on the Galapagos and along the Atlantic coast of Africa. In Florida, it can be found along the Atlantic coastline, living in the rocks of the jetties.

The Salty Lightfoot crab is a bright multi-colored crustacean. Its body, called the carapace, is three to four inches across and bright red with black, orange and yellow markings. It has ten jointed legs with a bright orange or yellow tip on each leg. Two legs are claws, called pinchers that are larger and are more vivid red. It has two large bluish eyes and four antennae. Males tend to be slightly smaller than females and the right claw is slightly larger than the left. The underbelly is pale white. Young Salty Lightfoot crabs are darker-colored.

Salty Lightfoot crabs can move quickly and demonstrate remarkable agility clinging to the rocks while powerful waves crash over them. It will eat practically anything it can get, from algae to dead fish. It is known to clean the beach of broken eggs and bird and bat droppings.

While Salty serves an important role as predator and beach janitor, it is also a vital part of the ecosystem as prey for many animals including large birds, octopuses, sea turtles, etc. In addition, fishermen use the species for bait and others become part of the pet trade. Average lifespan in captivity is seven years.

Breeding occurs year round. Males battle for females in a crab-style boxing match and the victor wins brief access to the female. Males and females may have multiple partners over a breeding season. After mating both return to a solitary life. Eggs remain suspended in a female’s belly until hatching in about three weeks, normally during a full moon. Females may bear twenty to a hundred offspring in a clutch. Once the young drop into the water they are on their own. Females molt after hatching the eggs and are ready to mate again in about three weeks. m Column & photo by Sandi Staton – sandi.staton@gmail.com

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Kids’ Safety Tips

EXPRESSIONS I would just like to say thank you for the opportunity you gave me in receiving your scholarship, and for seeing something in me. With this I will have a greater chance in succeeding in everything I want to do in college, and for that I am extremely thankful. I would also like to thank all of SECO for the celebration we had with all of the winners as it was a very enjoyable time for my mom and I.

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

Once again thank you for everything.

Dillard B. Boyatt

Raul Bayas

District 2

Ocala, FL I wish to express my utmost gratitude to you for choosing me as a recipient of the 2016 SECO Scholarship. By providing such an award you are furthering my academic success in the future by allowing me to focus whole-heartedly on my studies. I cannot adequately express my thanks for not only what you have done for me, but many students before and after me who would be far less likely to succeed if it weren’t for people like you. 844603 Thank you,

Richard J. Belles District 3

Richard Dennison District 4

Earl Muffett District 6

Bill James District 8

Cayley Buckner

Jim Duncan CEO

Ocala, FL

TRIVIA WINNERS Congratulations SECO Energy member Craig McDade of Belleview who correctly answered our three surge trivia questions on Facebook. Craig was randomly selected as our winner of the $300 bill credit. Eric Schwab from Leesburg is the winner of the Kindle Fire and Eleanor Newton, also from Leesburg, is the winner of a $25 restaurant gift card. Congratulations Craig, Eric and Eleanor!

“Like” SECO’s Facebook page and “follow” us on Twitter for future chances to win. Not tech savvy? Look for the last six digits of your account number in this month’s SECO News for a chance to win a $25 restaurant gift card. Call or email us at customerservice@ secoenergy.com if your number appears. Good luck!

Board of Trustees will meet on Monday, September 26, at 2:30 p.m. in the Corporate Offices located at 330 South US Highway 301 in Sumterville.

A Trustees’ meeting will also be held on October 31, 2016.

SECO 24/7 Job Hotline www.secoenergyjobs.com (855) 483-2673 SECO Outage Center www.secostormcenter.com (800) 732-6141

Join the Co-ops Vote revolution and ensure that your voice is heard.

Visit www.vote.coop today.

Pledge to register and to vote on Election Day. Just vote.

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