2014 July Daviess-Martin Newsletter

NEWS FROM YOUR COOPERATI www.dmremc.com CONTACT US

Daviess-Martin County REMC TOLL FREE

800-762-7362

How EPA regulations affect you

GENERAL MANAGER

Ken Frye

OFFICE HOURS

7:30 a.m.– 4 p.m., Monday-Friday STREET ADDRESS

12628 E 75 N, Loogootee, IN 47553 MAILING ADDRESS

P.O. Box 430, Loogootee, IN 47553 SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS

To report an outage or emergency, call 812-295-4200 or 800-7627362 day or night.

KEN FRYE

You have likely heard in the news that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released another round of proposed regulations. I wanted to take a minute and explain what these regulations could mean to you.

What are these new regulations?

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The latest round of regulations seeks to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Indiana’s power plants by more than 20 percent in the coming years. The EPA believes placing these strict limits on power plants will dramatically lower coal use in Indiana and around the country.

BILL PAYMENT OPTIONS

Does my cooperative support a cleaner environment?

Dean Harrawood, PRESIDENT John Edwards, VICE PRESIDENT August Bauer, SECRETARY Michael E. Arvin, TREASURER Terry Chapman Dale Marchino Steve Streepy Online bill payment Budget billing Auto bank draft Drive-through window Night depository Credit card payment (VISA, Discover and MasterCard accepted) Pay-by-phone MISSION STATEMENT

“Our mission is to provide dependable electricity and quality services for our members at reasonable cost.”

Like us on Facebook www.Facebook.com/Daviess MartinCountyREMC

TIP OF THE MONTH

Advanced power strips = savings Replacing your conventional power strips with advanced power strips (APS) can help reduce the electricity wasted when electronic devices are idle. These power strips are a convenient and low-cost way to save.

— DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

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Absolutely! We routinely take steps to lessen our impact on the environment both here at the co-op and at the power plants that supply our electricity.

Hoosier Energy, our generation and transmission cooperative, is always working at our power plants to meet and surpass environmental regulations. In recent years, our partner has worked diligently to find creative ways to produce clean power for you. We use alternative energy sources such as landfill gas, wind and solar. Every day, we work to improve our impact on the environment while balancing the cost of those investments to protect your family’s budget.

How will these new regulations affect me?

We are still working through the more than 1,600 pages of documents to understand how these regulations impact your family. What we do know now is that these regulations will increase your electric bill and threaten thousands of jobs in Indiana.

ELECTRIC CONSUMER • JULY 2014 • ElectricConsumer.org

While we work to understand the full impact to your family’s budget, we believe you deserve to know the changes required by this regulation will increase your electric bill. In fact, regulations finalized over the last five years are already projected to increase your bill by more than $50 per month in the next 10 years.

We are also very concerned about the impact the proposed regulations could have for Indiana’s economy. The production of coal and the jobs that rely on affordable energy from coal make up much of Indiana’s economy. Those jobs and our growing Hoosier economy are threatened under the approach we are seeing from the EPA.

Where does my cooperative stand?

We believe the EPA approach is the wrong one. We are in favor of a cleaner environment and want to work with the EPA to find a clean and affordable path forward.

We are urging the EPA to reconsider its approach and work with us on regulations that recognize the importance of coal, natural gas, nuclear, renewable and efficiency options that keep electricity affordable.

In other words, we support an all-of-theabove approach.

What can I do to support my cooperative?

The good news is that those at the EPA have been clear that they want to hear from you. Tell officials there what you think by visiting action.coop. Urge them to work with us on these regulations to limit the impact on your electric bill and Indiana’s growing economy, and to find a common sense solution to leave our children a cleaner planet KEN FRYE is general manager of Daviess-Martin County REMC.

IVE ‘Win! Win! Win!’ monthly drawing Each month, Daviess-Martin County REMC asks our readers three questions to which the answers can be found in the articles of Electric Consumer. Follow these simple rules: 1.) Clip the coupon along the dotted line. 2.) Fill it out. 3.) Return it to our office with your monthly payment before the 20th of the month. (Delinquent payments are not eligible.)

Each month a winner will be drawn from the entries submitted. Make sure you bring

or mail in your most recent coupon, as the coupons are dated monthly. Members with automatic payment accounts will be entered in the contest as well. Copies will not be accepted, and coupons are not available at the office! Winners will be notified and their names published in the following monthly issue of Electric Consumer.

MAY WINNER: Ira Bex, Mitchell

$50 MONTHLY DRAWING (FOR BILLS DATED JULY 5; PAID BY JULY 20)

1. Time-of-use rates are designed to help with ________________ ____________________, a process developed to reduce the amount of energy purchased from a utility company during peak hours when the charges are highest.

2. EPA regulations finalized over the last five years are already projected to increase your bill by more than _______________ per month in the next 10 years.

3. Summer Savings Tip #4- Visit _________________________________________ to check out savings offered by your co-op.

NAME: ________________________________________________________________________________________________

NEWS & NOTES Pay-by-phone option Daviess-Martin County REMC offers a convenient pay-by-phone payment option. You can make a payment on your bill over the phone using a credit/ debit card or check, any time of day, by calling toll-free 1-888-222-0624.

The system is automated and all of your personal information, such as card number and payment amount, will be entered by YOU. At any time, you may hang up and this will discontinue the phone call.

Benefits include: no additional fee, available 24/7, and no computer or Internet access needed.

You will need to enter your account number or phone number. After dialing, you will go to the main menu.

You’ll be prompted to press numbers for the actions you wish to complete.

Before you can make a payment with a check or credit card you will need to create a four-digit PIN number.

ADDRESS: ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Area county fair dates

ACCOUNT NO.: _________________________________ PHONE NO.: ______________________________________

Martin County: July 11 - 16 Daviess County 4-H Fair: July 11 – 18 Lawrence County: July 12 – 19

Independence Day closing The employees and directors of Daviess-Martin County REMC , wish you a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Our office will be closed Friday, July 4.

Enjoy summer cookouts with an electric grill from REMC! k Standing model: $175 k Sturdy cart with lower shelf storage k Fold-away, wooden side tables k 200 square inches of cooking surface k Standard 120-volt grounded plug Call 812-295-4200 for more information!

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Daviess-Martin County REMC News

TEACHING SAFETY to youth F

rom June 4-7, six local seventh graders-to-be attended Touchstone Energy® Camp at Camp Tecumseh in Brookston, Ind. Daviess-Martin County REMC, a Touchstone Energy cooperative, has sponsored this exciting summer experience for 12 years.

Campers enjoyed three fun-filled days of traditional sleep-away summer camp activities like ziplining, horseback riding, rock climbing, archery, swimming and campfires. But at Touchstone Energy Camp, campers also learned about important topics such as alternative energy, electric safety and the impact their cooperative makes in the community. Chaperones were Indiana electric cooperative employees who graciously volunteered to share their knowledge of the energy industry, as well as their time to lead students through this camp experience.

Local participants included Hadley Faith of Washington, Jenna Lueken of Montgomery, and Rachel Robinson, Melaina Tippery, Alexas Hutchinson and Connor Wilson, all of Loogootee. Janet Chestnut, DaviessMartin County REMC manager of communications/ member relations, served as a chaperone.

“The benefits Touchstone Energy Camp provides to both our community and cooperative are immeasurable,” said Chestnut. “The information students learn about electricity could one day save their life or the lives of others. Activities are structured to teach valuable leadership skills that students could someday use to lead our community and give students a better understanding of

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ELECTRIC CONSUMER • JULY 2014 • ElectricConsumer.org

Along with traditional camp activites like ziplining, campers learned about electric safety and alternative energy.

the cooperative world so they will see Daviess-Martin County REMC as a future employer.”

Touchstone Energy is a national alliance of local, consumer-owned electric cooperatives providing high standards of service to customers large and small. More than 735 Touchstone Energy cooperatives in 46 states are delivering energy and energy solutions to more than 30 million customers every day. Touchstone Energy cooperatives serve their members with integrity, accountability, innovation, and a longstanding commitment to communities. …

Sign up for time-of-use service Daviess-Martin County REMC members can take advantage of lower rates known in the industry as time-of-use rates.

Members who are conscious of energy use and are willing to adjust some daily routines, can sign up for an off-peak rate of 7.3 cents per kilowatt-hour.

The program is designed to help with peak shaving, a process developed to reduce the amount of energy purchased from a utility company during peak hours when the charges are highest. For our cooperative, the targeted hours for reducing peak vary by season.

Winter on-peak hours, as they are termed, will be 6 to 9 a.m. and 6 to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday, from Dec. 1 to Feb. 28 or 29, depending on the calendar year.

The rate during these hours is 23.5 cents per kilowatthour. All other times are considered off-peak hours.

The same is true for summer. On-peak hours are 2 to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, from June 1 to Aug. 31. The rate during these hours is 29 cents per kilowatthour. All other times are off-peak hours.

The months of March, April, May, September, October and November are considered shoulder months – months when demand is naturally reduced under moderate conditions. All times during those months are off-peak hours.

Members interested in learning more about the costsaving program can contact Manager of Marketing Mark Belcher at 812-295-4200 during office hours.

Celebrating 75 years

Electric co-op mascot symbol since the ‘50s

F

armers always hoped they would someday find a hired hand who would never tire, always be there, and always be ready for work. That was when Willie Wiredhand, the tireless hired hand who never goofs off, came in.

In 1951, Willie was chosen by electric co-op leaders to serve as the national symbol of rural electrification. Willie served hundreds of member systems across the nation. He appeared everywhere in headquarters buildings, Willie Wiredhand greets employees substations, billboards, signs, letterheads, annual each morning as he decorates the exterior of the Daviess-Martin reports, newspapers, and County REMC warehouse. in a great variety of printed matter. In fact, Willie appeared on novelties, jewelry, lighters, and other promotional items.

The symbol was widely used because it had come to represent, at a glance, a vast and somewhat complex program. Willie not only represented rural electrification in the abstract, but also all the ways in which farmers and other rural people could put electricity to use in their work and in their leisure.

Willie Wiredhand was a celebrity in the United States and internationally, too. Willie was the symbol of rural electrification — further proof that he was right on the job.

The road to Willie’s success was not smooth. Almost from the moment of his birth he was attacked by Reddy Kilowatt, the symbol of commercial power companies.

Harassment seemed to indicate a continuation of commercial power companies’ efforts to frustrate and weaken the rural electrification program.

A costly legal battle in which the commercial power companies claimed Willie infringed on Reddy’s trademark ensued. In February 1957, the U.S. Court of Appeals reaffirmed the decision of a lower court. Willie won! …

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