Tyler Ochoa, member services technician, shows Calico Rock Elementary School students how much electricity the wind turbine is generating during Earth Day festivities. NAEC employees shared pros and cons of both intermittent fuel sources, such as wind, solar and hydro, and baseload fuel sources, such as coal, natural gas and nuclear.
NAEC's dispatch center is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In addition, personnel always are ready to respond in the event of an outage.
Reporting an outage to the dispatcher on duty is important because it's possible the outage only affects your home or business.
NAEC offers four ways for members to report an electric outage. They include:
• Mobile App — Once logged in to NAEC's app, select the account experiencing an outage. Then, select "Menu" ▶ "Services" ▶ "Report an Outage."
• Outage Viewer — Go to outageviewer.com, and then click "Report Outage" in the top right. Enter your name, account number and phone number, and click "Submit."
• (870) 895-3221 — Call NAEC's main phone line to speak with a member services representative or dispatcher.
• (844) 335-4461 — Call the automated phone system. It will try to identify you by matching the number you are calling from to one on file. You also can enter your information.
For NEXT internet or phone outages, please call (870) 895-3221 or use the NEXT app.
During periods of extreme heat, the demand for electricity skyrockets, placing strain on the grid. By working together to lower electricity use, we can reduce pressure on the grid and lower NAEC’s wholesale power costs. This benefits all members.
The North Arkansas Electric Cooperative (NAEC) member-funded Operation Round Up® program awards thousands of dollars in scholarships to local graduating high school seniors each year. In 2024, 15 students were awarded $1,000 scholarships, and three students were awarded $4,000 scholarships to be disbursed in $1,000 installments for up to four years.
1. Raise your thermostat setting a few degrees higher than usual. Every degree can reduce cooling energy consumption.
NAEC is accepting applications for the 2025-2026 scholarship program. The application is available at naeci.com or through high school counselors’ offices.
2. Cook with smaller appliances to save energy and reduce heat gain in the kitchen.
Applicants must mail or deliver the typed application to NAEC by April 1. They must include a transcript and two letters of recommendation — with at least one from a nonschool employee who is not a relative.
3. Keep blinds, curtains and shades closed during the hottest part of the day to block direct sunlight.
To be eligible for the scholarship, high school seniors must graduate at the end of the 2025 school year, and their parents or legal guardians must be NAEC members. Applicants also must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale through the first semester of senior year. The scholarship must be used to attend an accredited institute of higher learning on a full-time basis. For more information, please contact Tori Moss, NAEC marketing and communications director, at (870) 895-6210 or tmoss@naeci.com.
4. Use fans to circulate air, which can make you feel cooler without needing to lower the thermostat.
5. Shift activities that consume a lot of energy, such as drying clothes, to o -peak hours when demand is lower.
Members can help fund future scholarships by enrolling their accounts in Operation Round Up. Volunteers allow their electric bills to be "rounded up" to the next dollar each month. Call (870) 895-3221 to join today!
Sending an automated call when your home is going to be part of a planned outage or mailing a capital credits check are only two of the many reasons why NAEC might need to contact you. It's important to keep a current mailing address and at least one phone number and email on file. To update or check your contact information, call (870) 895-3221, visit an NAEC office or submit a form available
High school juniors have until March 5 to submit an application for Youth Tour, an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia June 14-20. Download the application at naeci.com.
BY MITCH ROSS
Olympic events should include one average person competing for reference. As amazing as it is to see the best in the world compete, without the context of just how much better they are than the average Joe, it’s hard to have a frame of reference for how impressive their achievements are.
Usain Bolt hit top speeds of over 27 mph. In his races, he is closely followed by other elite sprinters. If average people entered the race, they would struggle to run at half that speed, and they would be comically outpaced.
Just like the Olympics, when looking at our energy use, sometimes we need comparisons to make it meaningful. The proper baseline can help us figure out if we are veritable Usain Bolts or average Joes.
To do this, we need two main data points:
1. Find your average monthly summer energy usage which is shown in kilowatt hours (kWh) on your electric bill. Take your kWh amounts for June, July and August, add them together and divide by three to get the average.
2. Find the square footage (sqft) of your home.
The goal is to weigh your average summer energy usage against your home’s square footage and compare that to the state average.
Arkansas average: Summer monthly kWh 1,600.
Home size 1,800 sqft.
Dividing 1,600 kWh by 1,800 sqft gives us
.89 kWh/sqft to use for our baseline.
Home example: Summer monthly kWh 2,017.
Home size 1,900 sqft.
Dividing 2,017 kWh by 1,900 sqft gives us 1.06 kWh/sqft, which is higher than the state average. So, for this household, energy consumption could use some improvement!
Another energy-consumption consideration is the number of occupants in a home (state average is 2.5). Finally, look for other atypical factors that will impact energy usage, like a pool, an electric vehicle or other unusual energy users.
If your home rates less efficient than “Average” on this scale, please contact North Arkansas Electric Cooperative at (870) 895-3221 or info@naeci.com to see if a free walk-through energy audit might be able to identify areas in your home or practices to reduce usage and lower energy costs.
As you run the math for your home, my hope is that by using this benchmark, you can see if your home is lagging, or if it is a gold-medal contender!
Mitch Ross is the energy efficiency manager for the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas.
