Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative

AVECC EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

DAVID BUCK Substation Coordinator | 28 years “As an Substation Coordinator, I maintain and improve substation and distribution system and equipment. My favorite part about working at Arkansas Valley Electric is the environment in general, but especially the people I work for and with on a daily basis. I also enjoy getting out in our distribution areas to work on power lines.”

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON NOMINATIONS The Committee on Nominations, heretofore appointed by the Board of Directors of Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative, submits the following report: The Committee met at the office of the Cooperative at 11:00 o’clock a.m., on the 30th of March, 2021 with nine (9) members present.

The Committee selected Lee Baggett as Chairman and Denise Campbell as Secretary. Larhonda Melton, Executive Secretary, kept the minutes of the meeting and Rex Terry, AVE/WAVE Attorney, joined by Lonnie Turner, long time AVE attorney, explained the purpose of the meeting and the Bylaws governing the action of the Committee. In light of recent action by the Cooperative Board of Directors regarding a change in the number of directors, two (2) Directors for three (3) year terms are to be elected at the Annual Meeting of the Members and the Committee on Nominations was therefore asked to nominate candidates for the two (2) positions of Director.

After discussion and nominations, the following named members of the Cooperative were selected as nominees for Directors to be voted on at the meeting of the members to be held in Ozark, Arkansas on the 18th of June, 2021.

Nominated for three-year terms were: Brandon Haberer – Franklin County and Philip Taylor – Johnson County.

@MyEnergyAVECC www.avecc.com | 800-468-2176

A YEAR IN THE MAKING: ARKANSAS VALLEY ELECTRIC TO BEGIN DISCONNECTS IN MAY

Arkansas Valley Electric jumped at the opportunity to help members in need when COVID-19 began wreaking havoc on the AVECC membership last spring. For 14 months, AVECC has kept the lights on, no matter if the bills have been paid or not.

Moving forward, the Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) has announced a target date of May 3, 2021, to lift the moratorium on disconnections for electric services.

This means AVECC will begin service disconnects on any accounts that are in debt as soon as May 3, 2021.

“We suspended service disconnects in March of 2020,” shared Communications Coordinator Tony Wilson on the latest episode of “The Next Greatest Thing,” a podcast by Arkansas Valley Electric. “It’s been a long year, and I’m not telling anyone something they don’t already know. We’ve all lived it. But we’re coming through on the other side now.”

However scary as this may seem, AVECC is here to help and will strive to continue keeping the lights on for all of our members. We also strive to keep the membership informed.

“We want our members to be as educated as possible,” stated Brandon Fisher, IT/Communications Manager.

He continued, “I think that the decision to suspend disconnects was a good one. But we also understand we’ve been preparing for the day when we start collecting that debt. And we’ve always kept in mind how we can make this as easy as possible on the membership.”

We understand some of our members have been negatively affected by Covid-19. We also know many members may not be familiar with the Arkansas Public Service Commission order for Covid-19 and need time to seek financial assistance.

Fisher shared two critical sets of words that our membership will hear in the coming months—DPA (deferred payment arrangements) and PrePay. A deferred payment arrangement is designed for members willing to pay a percentage of their bill plus their current bill until the deficit is extinguished. The APSC stated DPAs will be offered for 18 months.

PrePay allows members to pay for electricity when and how they choose. Members may purchase electricity before they use it. This freedom will enable members to control their budget and pay a comfortable amount each month. Additionally, with PrePay, there are no security deposits or late fees. Instead of a monthly statement, usage and balance are calculated daily.

AVECC urges our members to pursue PrePay. We believe PrePay is the best solution for the current situation.

Members may make payments (a minimum of $20 is required) when they want to, online, over the phone, or in person at an office location or kiosk. When your account runs low, you will get an alert by text, or email, letting you know it is time to recharge your account. If funds in your account run out, electrical service will be automatically disconnected. You will be notified by text or email that your service has been cut off. You can recharge your account at any time, day or night, online, phone or at a kiosk, and AVECC will automatically restore service. There are no disconnection or reconnection fees.

Members can contact our offices at 800-468-2176 for more information on payment options such as PrePay. Remember, we are here for you, and we will get through this together.

SCAN HERE TO LISTEN TO THE LATEST EPISODE OF THE NEXT GREATEST THING PODCAST, “PAYING WITH PREPAY”:

FROM THE

MANAGER’S DESK Dear Arkansas Valley Electric Member,

Al Simpson, CEO Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative

AL SIMPSON, CEO

We’re well into the start of 2021 after living through a year like no other. Each of us has seen our lives and communities immeasurably changed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

During this time, one thing that has become clear is the need to stay connected. Our children are learning remotely, many of us are working from home, and of course, we’re trying to stay connected through communications such as video messaging. All these new ways we’ve started to learn, work, and interact with each other – all of which require reliable high-speed Internet – are likely here to stay. For that reason, I wanted to update you on Arkansas Valley Electric’s fiber company, Wave Rural Connect.

I understand that many of our communities and members have very limited and often unreliable options for high-speed Internet. I want to assure you that Wave is working hard to get to those areas with fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband. Even those who do have options find them expensive and, quite frankly, inferior to a fiber broadband solution. Over the past year, we’ve made significant inroads throughout areas, including Van Buren, Rudy, Pocola, Hackett, and Greenwood. Wave’s FTTH service is now available to more than 5,800 homes and businesses. You can see the latest areas where service is available by visiting Wave’s “Service Area” on our site: www.waveruralconnect.com.

For those of you who may live in areas where we don’t yet offer service, I know it can be frustrating to wait, but please be assured, we are continuing to build at an aggressive pace. As we advance, we will keep you updated regularly through communications like this, our Wave Rural Connect website, and our social media. I appreciate your patience and the support of our members as we continue to progress.

Throughout construction, we have been asked about our choice in network technology – Why fiber? Fiber as a data transmission method is dependable and robust, and unlike many technology mediums, allows for ultra-fast speeds for both downloading and uploading. This symmetrical (up and down) speed and the power of fiber enables multiple users and devices at the same time without any service degradation, increasingly important in our “new normal” as often the whole family is online at the same time.

Our Internet starts as low as $49.95 a month for symmetrical speeds of up to 100 Mbps, with no data caps or throttling back on speed. Larger families and gamers should consider the faster gigabit service for just $79.95 a month.

We want to hear from our members. If you live in one of the areas where fiber is currently available, or soon will be, and are interested in fiber broadband service, please let us know. If your community is not yet served, we still want to hear from you. We are working as fast as possible to get to all members.

Thank you as always for your support for Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative. We appreciate and value our members.