2015 August Orange County REMC Newsletter

NEWS FROM YOUR COOPERATI www.myremc.coop CONTACT US OFFICE

812-865-2229 TOLL FREE 888-337-5900 BILL PAYMENTS 855-865-2229 CONTACT US BY EMAIL

orangecoremc@myremc.coop GENERAL MANAGER/CEO

Matthew C. Deaton OFFICE HOURS

7 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday–Friday STREET ADDRESS

7133 N. State Road 337 Orleans, IN 47452 MAILING ADDRESS

P.O. Box 208, Orleans, IN 47452 EMERGENCY POWER OUTAGES

To report service interruptions, call: 812-865-2229 or 888-337-5900, day or night. Please have the phone number associated with your account ready when reporting outages. Please limit after hours calls to emergencies and outage situations.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Eugene Roberts, DISTRICT 1 Randy Roberts, DISTRICT 2 Danny Easterday, DISTRICT 3 Rodney Hager, DISTRICT 4 Ben Lindsey, DISTRICT 5 Brian Hawkins, DISTRICT 6 George Key, DISTRICT 7 REMC KEY STAFF

Marty Frank, OPERATIONS MANAGER Marcy Bennett, OFFICE MANAGER Larry Pinnick, MATERIALS MANAGER Michael Roberts, STAKING ENGINEER Misty Tincher, ACCOUNTANT Billy Chastain, STAKING ENGINEER AIDE Mark Belcher, MARKETING/MEMBER SERVICES MEMBER SERVICES

•Free energy analysis •Budget billing •Automatic payments •Security lights •Home security systems •Medical emergency monitoring •Air evac life team •Water heater and HVAC incentives (requires an EM switch) •Online bill payment options •Interactive Voice Response system for payments and account inquiries via phone: 1-855-865-2229 •VISA, MasterCard and Discover accepted •Exede Internet - 855-797-7855 4

Our directors make a difference As an electric cooperative, Orange County REMC is guided by an elected board of directors that represents its members’ best interests when making important decisions. Being a member MATTHEW C. of the co-op’s board is an incredibly important position DEATON in our community. A director’s decisions will impact issues such as service rates, rights of way and work plans. This position holds great responsibility and requires men and women who understand their community’s needs and serve the cooperative members’ best interest.

It is important for us to elect strong directors to our board. We must have a pool of strong candidates, which is why we encourage new members to run in our board elections. Fresh ideas and new perspectives help us to enact policies that will keep our community as a whole competitive. Not only do we need to encourage our friends and family to run for positions on the board, we need to get out and vote for those individuals we think will act in the best interest of our co-op community.

Our board is a democratically elected body nominated by members of the cooperative’s service territory and voted into position by any member who chooses to participate in the cooperative’s open election. Any co-op member in good standing is welcome to run for an open position on the board. At Orange County REMC, we hold elections every year during our annual meeting. Any candidate who applies is required to receive 15 member signatures and submit his or her letter of intent at least 120 days before the date of the annual meeting.

For purposes of having a fair representation of directors, the service territory is apportioned into seven districts as follows:

ELECTRIC CONSUMER • AUGUST 2015 • ElectricConsumer.org

Fresh ideas and new perspectives help us to enact policies that will keep our community as a whole competitive.

District 1: All of Spice Valley Township and all of Marion Township, Lawrence County, served by the cooperative.

Current director: Eugene Roberts District 2: All of Washington County and part of Crawford County, served by the cooperative. Current director: Randy Roberts District 3: All of Bono Township, Lawrence County, and all of Northwest Township and Orleans Township, Orange County, served by the cooperative.

Current director: Danny Easterday District 4: All of Orangeville Township, and all of Northwest Township, Orange County, served by the cooperative.

Current director: Rodney Hager District 5: All of French Lick Township and Jackson Township, Orange County, and part of Martin County, served by the cooperative. Current director: Ben Lindsey District 6: All of Paoli Township and all of Greenfield Township, Orange County, served by the cooperative.

Current director: Brian Hawkins District 7: All of Stampers Creek Township and Southeast Township, Orange County, served by the cooperative.

Current director: George Key Directors matter. Let’s make a difference together. To receive more information on how to run for our board of directors and to find out more about the election process, feel free to call the office at 812-865-2229.

MATTHEW C. DEATON is the General Manager/ CEO of Orange County REMC.

IVE Employee service anniversaries

Rate Schedule (for July, August and September 2015) Figures needed to calculate your monthly bill Rate Schedule for Standard Service Standard Service Consumer Charge Standard Service Energy Charge Wholesale Power Cost Tracker Total bill plus Indiana sales tax 7%

LORENA LINDSEY 3 years

ROBERT WHITE 8 years

26.00 0.1124 0.0030698

Rate Schedule for ETS Service ETS Consumer Charge ETS Off-Peak Energy Rate Schedule for Security Lighting Security Lighting- 100 W HPS Security Lighting- 40 W LED

5.40 0.0691 9.82 9.82

Example for 1,200 kwh Standard Service Consumer Charge $26.00 1,200 kwh @ .1124 $134.88 Wholeslae Power Cost Tracker @ $0.0030698 $3.68 Total $164.56 Indiana sales tax $11.52 Total Bill $176.08 ASHLEY TERRELL 11 years

JEFF BENNETT 25 years

Example for 1,200 kwh (regular) and 750 kwh (ETS) Standard Service Consumer Charge $26.00 ETS Consumer Charge $5.40 1,200 kwh @ .1124 $134.88 750 kwh @ .0691 $51.83 Wholesale Power Cost Tracker @ $0.0030698 $5.99 Total $224.09 Indiana sales tax $15.69 Total Bill $239.78 Visa, MasterCard and Discover cards accepted

Local students visit Washington, D.C.

Congratulations to our recent winners, Dean and Anita Stumler of Fredricksburg.

Brianna Dalton of Mitchell, Michaela Cox of Campbellsburg and Nikki Moon of Orleans were sponsored by Orange County REMC on the 2015 Indiana Youth Tour to Washington, D.C., June 11–18. During the event, the students visited the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, Gettysburg National Military Park, Arlington National Cemetery, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Mall memorials, the National Museum of the Marine Corps and more. The students also spent a day on Capitol Hill where they met with members of Indiana’s congressional delegation. The local students were part of the Indiana delegation of 90 students, representing 32 Indiana electric cooperatives.

ElectricConsumer.org • AUGUST 2015 • ELECTRIC CONSUMER 5

Orange County REMC News

Building a high performance home It has been a long standing goal of Orange County REMC to help our members who want to save energy and money.

And while we are constantly offering MARK energy-efficiency tips BELCHER and incentives for members who upgrade their lightbulbs, HVAC or water heating equipment, the most comprehensive way to save energy is to build an energy-efficient home.

The Touchstone Energy HomeSM Program is a set of standards to help members who are ready to build a new, high performance home. This program has been in place for many years and offers REMC members the opportunity to build a home with lower energy bills and a higher level of comfort than a home built to code.

I recently had the opportunity to certify a local, newly constructed Touchstone Energy home. The tools we use in the industry to measure a home’s efficiency bear testimony to its superior construction, energy savings and performance.

The home, owned by Alan Rutherford, and located on County Road 250 E, near Paoli, scored a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index of 65 and had a heating seasonal performance factor (HSPF) of 9.0.

The (HERS) Index is the industry standard by which a home’s energy efficiency is measured. The

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Orange County REMC member Alan Rutherford had this home on South County Road 250 E., built by Craig Jones of Big J Design and Construction. The home includes a 15 SEER heat pump, which accounts for the Heating Seasonal Performance Factor of 9.0. (Anything higher than 8 is considered energy efficient.) The home also scored a HERS rating of 65.

(A typical non-energy efficient home will score around 100 or 130. The best scores of the HERS index are the lower scores.)

U.S. Department of Energy has determined that a typical resale home scores 130 on the HERS Index while a home built to the 2004 International Energy Conservation Code is awarded a rating of 100. So the Rutherford home’s rating of 65 is extremely good. (The lower the score, the better in this case.)

HSPF is specifically used to measure the efficiency of air source heat pumps.

A higher number indicates a better rating for this measurment. Depending on the system, an HSPF greater or equal to 8.0 can be considered high efficiency.

You can get more information about the Touchstone Energy Home program at www.itehome.com or you can also contact me here at the REMC. MARK BELCHER is the manager of marketing and member services for Orange County REMC.

ELECTRIC CONSUMER • AUGUST 2015 • ElectricConsumer.org

Touchstone Energy® Home by the numbers: k Alan Rutherford, owner k Three-bedroom ranch k Includes conditioned basement for a total of 2,850 conditioned square feet k HERS Index of 65 k 15 SEER Heat Pump k HSPF of 9.0 k Annual heating cost guarantee: $928 k Annual cooling cost guarantee: $191 k Based on $0.12 kWh

REMC CEO Matt Deaton

Face painting for kids

Bucket truck rides

Energy wall display

Juvenile bald eagle from Patoka Lake Nature Center

Entrance to the fairgrounds

Community resource booths

ElectricConsumer.org • AUGUST 2015 • ELECTRIC CONSUMER 29