2015 May 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

Where will the young go?... or w How co-ops can make a difference In June, Orange County REMC will send Brianna Dalton, Michaela Cox and Nikki Moon to Washington, D.C., for the annual Indiana Youth Tour. In Indianapolis, the trio will join over 90 MATTHEW C. other students from rural DEATON areas of Indiana and then travel to our nation’s capital. Upon arrival in Washington, D.C., the group will join 1,600 high school students from 47 states.

Like past years, it is expected that these young people will have the trip of their lives!

They will meet senators and congressmen; hear from co-op leaders; see the U.S. Capitol, Arlington National Cemetery, and Smithsonian museums; and meet hundreds of kids just like them. They will return home filled with great memories.

Then what? Where will the young go?

Will they leave the place they’ve called home? Or will they stay to help create

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

ELECTRIC CONSUMER • MAY 2015 • ElectricConsumer.org

stable communities?

Nearly 60 percent of rural counties shrank in population in 2013, and the trend is up from 40 percent in the 1990s.

While some economists might see this as simply the “market” acting efficiently, we know communities like ours will struggle to survive if this trend continues. According to a study on rural youth migration, many young people living in rural areas have a negative view of their community when compared to major urban centers. There is a perception that rural areas offer limited economic and social opportunities. As we all know, your perception is your reality.

Cooperatives are a business model. But unlike investor-owned companies that — KURT VONNEGUT, AUTHOR focus on turning a profit, cooperatives serve both an economic and social purpose. Without the element of the human connection, Orange County REMC is not fully meeting our core values. If the cooperative is operating in concert with our

“What should young people do with their lives today?

Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities…”

IVE Rate Schedule (for April, May and June of 2015)

will they stay? seven cooperative principles and values, we can change the perception that rural areas offer limited opportunities. We can ensure that young people know and understand they have a critically important role to play in our community.

Orange County REMC was created with the purpose to improve the quality of life in rural areas by providing safe, reliable and affordable electricity. While that mission has been accomplished, it must be maintained and then expanded.

Sending our best and brightest to Washington, D.C., for a week is a wonderful first step, but we need to take the next step. We’re committed to engaging youth in our community by offering safety demonstrations to groups and organizations. We send sixth grade students to Touchstone Energy® Camp during the summer and our Operation Round Up program offers scholarships for high school seniors.

Ensuring that everyone in our community is working together to find economic and social opportunities for students to stay in our community is our challenge.

Together, we can do this. If you have any other ideas that will allow us to collaborate within our community, please write to us at orangecoremc@myremc.coop or P.O. Box 208, Orleans, IN 47452.

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

26.00 0.1124 0.0021098

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 @ $0.0021098 $2.53 Total $163.41 Indiana sales tax $11.44 Total bill $174.85 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 @ $0.0021098 $4.11 Total $222.22 Indiana sales tax $15.56 Total bill $237.77 Visa, MasterCard and Discover cards accepted

MATTHEW C. DEATON is general manager/CEO of Orange County REMC.

ElectricConsumer.org • MAY 2015 • ELECTRIC CONSUMER 5

Orange County REMC News

Trimming trees FOR RELIABILITY

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here are many ways that Orange County REMC provides you with safe, reliable electric service. One of the most common — and crucial — ways is referred to as right-of-way clearing (or vegetation management).

A right-of-way (ROW) refers to a strip of land underneath or around power lines that your electric cooperative has the right and responsibility to maintain and clear. Trees must grow at a distance far enough from conductors where they will not cause harm to individuals or disruption to electrical service. Specifications can vary, but a general guideline of maintaining safe ROW clearance is 10 feet for single-phase and 20 feet for multiple-phase on either side of primary conductors, cut from ground to sky.

Clearing the ROW is critical to keeping our members’ lights on. An average of 15 percent of power interruptions occur when trees, shrubs or bushes grow too close to power lines.

If a tree encroaches on this safe distance, our vegetation management team will trim back branches and brush using chainsaws, bucket trucks, tree climbers, brush chippers, mowers and sky trimmers. Chemical control methods can also be used as a way to support the growth of low growing plant species that will outcompete the tall trees growing beneath power lines.

ROW clearing also keeps your family safe by ensuring that tree branches do not become energized due to close contact with a downed power line. Power lines can carry up to 12,470/7,200 volts, and an energized tree branch is incredibly dangerous — even deadly. Be mindful when around trees close to power lines, and make sure your children know that climbing trees near power lines is extremely dangerous.

Orange County REMC member Calvin Chastain has given the cooperative permission to remove this 30-year-old Twin Pine, that has grown to over 60 feet tall, and now is in danger of causing a power outage. “I fertilized that tree for 30 years, and when I planted that cute little tree with two tops, I was thinking about the movie “Back to the Future” and the Twin Pines Mall. I’m kind of sad, but I agree it needs to be cut down to prevent a power outage,” Chastain said.

ROW clearing is critical to ensuring that we provide members with affordable electricity. Staying ahead of the game keeps us from having to come out after a storm to restore power due to fallen trees.

Remember to contact Orange County REMC if you have trees near any power service or line that may need to be removed. You should never trim a tree in the right-of-way zone on your own. …

Service anniversary

Larry Pinnick 15 years

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ELECTRIC CONSUMER • MAY 2015 • ElectricConsumer.org

Two incumbent directors to be seated at annual meeting

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2015 Director Election Timeline Incumbents whose terms expire: District 3 – Danny Easterday District 6 – Brian Hawkins k Election at annual meeting on June 5

wo incumbent directors’ will be seated at the Orange County REMC annual meeting June 5. The meeting will be held at the Orange County 4-H Fairgrounds.

Danny Easterday is a lifelong resident of Orange County and has served as REMC director of District 4 for the past 24 years.

He has completed the required courses to earn the Credentialed Cooperative Director Certification and currently serves as board president. Easterday is a graduate of Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in DANNY agriculture.

EASTERDAY He and his wife, Lisa, reside near Orleans.

District 3 They have five children and five grandchildren. He is part owner of Deer Country Implement, LLC, and farms approximately 5,000 acres.

In his spare time, he enjoys traveling with his wife. His favorite hobby is fishing. He enjoys fishing at his pond in Indiana and in the Gulf of Mexico near Venice, Florida.

Brian Hawkins is the director representing District 6 of Orange County REMC. District 6 includes all of Paoli and Greenfield townships in Orange County served by the REMC. Hawkins has served on the board since 2003. He is a 1977 graduate of Paoli High School and has owned and operated Wolfe Contracting, Inc. in Paoli for the last 20 years, BRIAN HAWKINS with 11 employees. Hawkins and his wife, District 6 Nanette, of 37 years, live near Paoli. They have one daughter, Megan, who teaches family and consumer sciences at Silver Creek High School in Sellersburg.

Hawkins feels that understanding the needs of the members within his board district is an important part of his job as director. This is why in 2007, just four years after he was elected to the REMC board, he completed the required courses to earn the Credentialed Cooperative Director Certification. The curriculum consists of five courses designed to provide the basic knowledge and skills required of cooperative directors. He strives to keep electric rates as affordable as possible and outages to a minimum. Since elected in 2003, Hawkins has served as secretary, vice president and president.

He is a member of Moores Ridge United Methodist Church.

He serves on the pastor parish relationship committee and the building committee and is a lay leader. He is a supervisor for the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District and is a 10-year member of the Paoli Meridian Lions Club. In his free time he enjoys working with his honey bees and cattle. …

ElectricConsumer.org • MAY 2015 • ELECTRIC CONSUMER 29