2015 March Orange County REMC Newsletter

NEWS FROM YOUR COOPERATI

Looking back and bidding www.myremc.coop CONTACT US OFFICE

812-865-2229 888-337-5900 BILL PAYMENTS 855-865-2229 TOLL FREE

CONTACT US BY EMAIL

orangecoremc@myremc.coop GENERAL MANAGER/CEO

Danny L. Arnold 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

A lot has happened since I began my tenure at Orange County REMC in 1991. To give you some perspective, consider these historical tidbits from the year I was hired as general manager: In 1991, a first-class stamp DANNY L. cost 29 cents, Johnny Carson ARNOLD was hosting The Tonight Show, the Chicago Bulls won the first of three consecutive national championships, and Michael Jordan won his first NBA MVP title. What’s even more amazing, my beloved IU Hoosiers football team, under coach Bill Mallory, went 7-4-1 for the season, including a 24-0 win over Baylor in the Copper Bowl. On the global front, Congress had just voted to give George H.W. Bush (that would be the first President Bush) authority to work with allies to wage war against Saddam Hussein in Operation Desert Storm.

Many things have changed at the REMC as well, and I can’t help but reflect on some of the changes that have occurred over the years. I hope you will take time to read through this partial list of somewhat unknown facts about your cooperative: Early on in my career, Orange County REMC built the most extensive and successful Electric Thermal Storage heating program in the state of Indiana to help members avoid high heating costs and the inherent dangers of heating with wood stoves. REMC developed functional consumer location maps and a meaningful line numbering system where none existed before. Today, your cooperative is just beginning a three-year program to migrate to more modern GIS mapping technology. Orange County REMC was also the first Indiana REMC to have a fully deployed and functional automated meter reading system in the mid-1990s.

At the end of 2014, REMC completed the transition from the Hunt Technology TS-1 system to the more modern TWACS AMI system.

Upon my arrival in 1991, REMC had a work plan that had been rejected by

ELECTRIC CONSUMER • MARCH 2015 • ElectricConsumer.org

the Rural Electrification Administration, and, thus, it was unable to borrow needed funds for construction from the federal government. What’s more, this REMC had never completed a construction work plan in its entirety. Now, the operations department routinely completes three- and fouryear construction work plans on time and within budget. Also, REMC has added two new distribution substations at Valeene and Abydel, improving system reliability and the quality of our service. And, a third new substation, near Mitchell, is in both REMC’s and Hoosier Energy REC’s work plans for construction in 2016.

REMC now has systematic pole inspection and replacement programs resulting in bad poles being replaced in the current year, not one or two years later as dictated by earlier procedures. REMC also has an aggressive and systematic right-of-way clearing program consisting of both cutting and spraying on a sixyear cycle. As a result, both the frequency and duration of outages are reduced and annual line losses are consistently below 6.5 percent, down from nearly 9.5 percent in 1991. At today’s energy costs, each 1 percent reduction in line losses saves the cooperative about $90,000 annually in wholesale power cost.

During my tenure here, REMC also began offering members and non-members low-cost long distance telephone service, member discounts on Exede Internet Service, home security and medical monitoring services, surge protection equipment, and direct billing for AirEvac Lifeteam coverage without a long-term contract. REMC now also offers online member account access and bill payment 24/7. For our members who prefer to do business over the phone, we offer an Interactive Voice Response Phone System, which also has 24/7 access. We have also worked hard to implement helpful timeof-use and pre-paid billing programs for our members to provide options for managing their electricity costs. Orange County REMC now has a very good section in Electric Consumer magazine. The monthly publication is interesting, infor-

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‘farewell’

Rate Schedule (for January, February and March of 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% Rate Schedule for ETS Service ETS Consumer Charge ETS Off-Peak Energy Rate Schedule for Security Lighting Security Lighting- 100 W HPS Security Lighting- 175W MV

Tina and Danny Arnold at the 2014 Member Appreciation Day at Orange County REMC.

mative and often highlights events in the local community.

We are proud of the fact that it is not just canned ads and articles, but a true member communication tool.

In 2002, we established the local Operation Round Up chapter for our members. Today, nearly 70 percent of our members participate in the program which has issued more than $350,000 in grants to support worthwhile, local groups and projects. As a result of these changes, our member satisfaction numbers are high compared to other members of the Hoosier Energy Power Network and our new member satisfaction survey ratings are also consistently high.

Your cooperative has a new headquarters facility that has both member convenience features and room for expansion. Also, the cooperative has fewer, but bettertrained and educated employees than in 1991. I am particularly proud of those Orange County REMC employees who have furthered their education by completing academic courses or earning degrees with the support of our continuing education program. Marcy Bennett, Carla Piper and Stacy Slaten have all earned degrees from Oakland City University; Misty Tincher successfully completed the USDA Graduate School Accounting curriculum; Mike Duke, Robert White and Michael Newlin all received degrees from Ivy Tech; and Larry Clements earned a degree from Ive Tech as part of his meter technician training. Due to the hard work and involvement of the entire REMC board and staff, Orange County REMC has obtained 24 consecutive years of safety accreditation from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

During my time here, it has been my privilege to represent the cooperative on numerous civic organizations as well as on important committees at Indiana Electric Cooperatives, Inc., in Indianapolis and at our power supplier, Hoosier Energy REC, Inc. I was also honored to hold a

26.00 0.1124 0.0027953

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 @ .0027953 $3.35 Total $164.23 Indiana sales tax $11.50 Total bill $175.73 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 @ .0027953 $5.45 Total $223.56 Indiana sales tax $15.65 Total bill $239.20 Visa, MasterCard and Discover cards accepted

seat on the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Member and Public Relations Committee for 12 years, representing the states of Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and West Virginia.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention the sorrow I experienced in the past several years, witnessing the untimely death of two employees, Justin Moon and Brent Minton; the serious injury to veteran lineman Dan Moffatt; and the passing of three directors, Otis Rasnic, Amos Dorsam, and Bert Holsapple. These men were all vital parts of the REMC and I think of them often.

In closing, of all the improvements and achievements I can cite, the people are the most important part of my history at Orange County REMC. I appreciate the board of directors, the employees and their families and the members of the cooperative more than words can express.

Thank you for allowing me to work with you and be part of your lives and your community.

DANNY L. ARNOLD is the general manager/CEO of Orange County REMC.

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Orange County REMC News

2015 Director Election Timeline ,

Incumbents whose terms expire: District 3 – Danny Easterday District 6 – Brian Hawkins k Petitions of nominations due by April 21 k Full slate of candidates posted and mailed by May 15. All candidate biographies published in the May or June issue of Electric Consumer. k Election at annual meetings on June 5

National Lineman Appreciation Day

is APRIL 13

Tell our linemen why you them!

Orange County REMC is hosting a ‘card shower’ for our linemen. Write a note of appreciation and mail it to Orange County REMC, Attn: Love Our Linemen, P.O. Box 208, Orleans, IN 47452. Or stop by the office and sign a card for our linemen. #LoveOurLinemen

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ELECTRIC CONSUMER • MARCH 2015 • ElectricConsumer.org

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PrePay: No-hassle billing PrePay billing service from Orange County REMC is a saving grace for customers who struggle to pay their bills each month. With the prepaid rate, customers never have to come up with a large deposit, and they never incur late fees or interest. Members are notified by telephone and/or email when the account balance is within five days or $20 of disconnection. If they fall below a zero balance, service is disconnected, but it is reconnected almost immediately after they make another payment.

“I love prepay,” stated Orange County REMC member Jerry Dunn. “I recommend anyone in financial distress to request the PrePay bill option. I no longer have to worry about paying large bills once a month. When the money is available, I use REMC’s online payment system to add more money to the account.”

This method of billing allows members to manage their energy budget, by allowing them to designate how much they want to pay for electricity in a given period of time.

Prepaid members are billed daily, based on actual electric use. Many members appreciate this greater control for budgeting practices, since they can deposit funds several times a month, when they are paid, rather than paying a bill once a month. Members who use PrePay find they often use less electricity, since they are more aware of their daily electric use rather than receiving a bill at the end of a month-long cycle.

If you would like to learn more about Orange County REMC’s PrePay billing option, contact the office at 812-8652229 or toll free at 888-337-5900. …

Employees service anniversaries

Brandon Bambusch 2 Years

Scott Strange 2 Years

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