CHEC Hot Watts March 2020

Published monthly by Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative, Inc.

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MARCH 2020

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WATTS WATTS INSIDE >> page 2

Stay in the know by updating your contact information >> page 3

Download the CHEC mobile app >> page 4

Reasons to connect with us on Facebook

Last chance for high school seniors to apply for CHEC scholarships The deadline is quickly approaching for high school seniors to submit applications for one of four $500 scholarships to be awarded by Cookson Hills Electric.

Those eligible to apply must have parents or guardians who are members of Cookson Hills, demonstrate good character and citizenship, possess an ambition to obtain further education, hold a grade point average of 2.0 or better and have a financial need.

The college or technical school for which applicants are pursuing must be a state accredited school offering an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree.

We ask that all CHEC awards scholarship money in two volunteer fire installments: once upon ensuring student is departments in enrolled in at least 12 academic hours per semester, and once when the student shows our service area his/her first semester grades to be a minimum please contact us to of 2.0 grade point average.

Scholarship applications may be obtained update department at www.cooksonhills.com or by calling 1-800contact and address 328-2368. Applications must be submitted along with two letters of recommendation by information. Please March 13, 2020 to Scholarship Committee, call 1-800-328-2368.

Cookson Hills Electric Co-op, Attn: Felicia Wixom, P.O. Box 539, Stigler, OK, 74462.

REMINDER

Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative, Inc. Headquarters Office PO Box 539 • 1002 E. Main Stigler, OK 74462 800-328-2368 Branch Office PO Box 587 • 1800 KOA/Power Drive Sallisaw, OK 74955 918-775-2211 Pay-by-Phone: 1-888-678-1937 www.cooksonhills.com Alternate Emergency Only: 918-552-0016

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Kenneth Kelley, President Joe Ogle, Vice President Theron Croisant, Sec-Treas Rocky Woods, Sr., Trustee John Dillard, Trustee Dart Drummonds, Trustee Ronnie Pevehouse, Trustee

District 5 District 6 District 2 District 1 District 3 District 4 District 7

STAFF Juli Orme, General Manager Chris Morris, Chief Financial Officer Jason Fontaine, Director of Engineering Mark Blaylock, Director of Operations Ellen Mattison, Manager of Accounting Services Kristie Cash, Manager of Office Services

Russell V. Barber, General Counsel Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative, Inc. welcomes members to submit photos, and articles which will be subject to editing. Cookson Hills reserves the right to publish or modify any article.

Companies and individuals featured in the Hot Watts newsletter do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or view of Cookson Hills.

bit.ly/CHEConFB (case-sensitive)

Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative, Inc. is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

If you find your account number hidden in this issue of the Hot Watts, you’ll receive a $25 credit on your electric bill.

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Stay in the know by updating your contact information At CHEC we are constantly striving to improve our operational efficiency so we can provide the most reliable electric service possible for our consumer-members (that’s you!).

We rely on data for nearly every aspect of our operations, which is why we need your help. By making sure we have your most accurate and complete contact information, we can continue to provide the high level of service that you expect and deserve. Accurate information enables us to improve customer service and enhance communications for reporting and repairing outages. It also allows co-op members to receive information about other important programs, events and activities.

Outage Restoration

By making sure we have

Up-to-date contact information your most accurate can potentially speed up the power and complete contact restoration process during an outage. For example, the phone information, we can number you provide is linked to continue to provide the your service address to our outage management system. This means high level of service that when you call to report an outage, you expect and deserve. our system recognizes your phone number and matches it with your account location. Accurate information helps our outage management system predict the location and possible cause of an outage, making it easier for our crews to correct the problem. [1736801] While we always do our best to maintain service, we occasionally plan outages to update, repair or replace equipment. In these instances, we can provide advance notification to affected members through automated phone messages, text messages or email, if we have your updated contact information and communication preferences.

Energy Use & Billing Keeping the co-op updated with your information also helps us when there’s a question about energy use or billing. Emails and text messages are also used to notify registered members of any changes in co-op event

N O I T C E R COR details. In addition, discrepancies on your account can be taken care of promptly if we have accurate account information.

Many of you have been members of the coop for years, and it’s likely that your account information hasn’t been updated for some time.

We recognize that many members now use a cell phone as their primary phone service, and we might not have that number in our system.

In providing your contact information to the co-op, we will never share this information with any third parties. It is only used by CHEC to send important information to you. Please take a moment to confirm or update your contact information by logging into your account using our SmartHub mobile app, at www. cooksonhills.com, or by calling us at 1-800328-2368. By doing so, you will be helping us improve service and efficiency so we can better serve you and all members of the co-op.

Manage your CHEC account from wherever you are with the free SmartHub mobile app

In the article titled You Could Win a $50 Energy Credit in the February issue of the Hot Watts, the automatic bank draft dates were misprinted.

To clarify, accounts on automatic bank draft in billing cycles 1 and 3 draft on the 8th of each month. Those on billing cycle 4 draft on the 26th of each month. Once enrolled, no action is necessary on your part unless you need to update your banking information.

You can enroll right from your smartphone via the SmartHub mobile app (see page 4) or our website (bit.ly/CHECbankdraft, casesensitive).

If you have questions about which billing cycle your account is on, or if you have further questions, please feel free to call the office at 800-328-2368.

Due to the misprint, the contest is extended through March. Those who qualify and enroll in automatic bank draft throughout the months of February and March will be entered into the $50 energy credit drawing.

We apologize for any confusion.

COO

KSO N COO HILLS E LE PER ATIV CTRIC E

Scan this code with your smartphone’s camera to enroll in automatic bank draft, pay securely, monitor consumption, manage email alerts, update account information, view payment history and more on CHEC’s mobile app!

www.cooksonhills.com | 3

Energy Efficiency

Tip of the Month Placing hot food in the refrigerator makes the appliance work harder than necessary, using more energy.

Allow food to cool down before you place it in the fridge.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy

Connect with us on Facebook We invite you to connect with us on Facebook for energy efficiency tips, area events, industry news, outage updates and more!

Simply visit bit.ly/CHEConFB (case-sensitive) on a desktop computer or smartphone, or search Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative Inc. in the Facebook mobile app and click “Like” to begin seeing our posts in your newsfeed.

You will be the first to hear if there is an extended outage in your area and restoration effort updates.

You will also learn how slight modifications in your energy use routine could add up to savings, discover what is happening in the world of electricity production, explore new innovations like electric vehicles and more!

Give us a “Like” and begin connecting with us today!

Summer rates will begin with March usage and will run through November usage.

Visit www.cooksonhills.com for energy efficiency tips and ways to save.

Don’t miss out on the CHEC scholarship opportunity for those pursuing post-secondary education!

Applications due by March 13 Visit www.cooksonhills.com for more info

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