January 2016 SECO News

January 2016

I’m the father of two boys who have grown up in Florida, have families of their own and have stayed in the local area. My wife, Connie, and I feel blessed that both boys landed good jobs in Florida so that we can see them frequently. We’re all proud to call The Sunshine State our home.

Central Florida, of course, is known as a haven for snowbirds but it might surprise you to know that 87 percent of our members state that their SECO-served premise is their primary residence. With that in mind, I’m sure that it’s important to those of you with kids and grandkids in this area that they have access to a quality education and good job prospects once they’re out of school so you can keep them close by.

SECO Energy is one of the largest employers in Sumter County. We are the third largest electric cooperative in the state. And because our utility is structured as a not-for-profit organization guided by the cooperative principles, support for education and community are high priorities.

$

in scholarships for top students

Seven Cooperative Principles 1. Voluntary and Open Membership 2. Democratic Member Control 3. Members’ Economic Participation 4. Autonomy and Independence 5. Education, Training and Information 6. Cooperation among Cooperatives 7. Concern for Community

Putting money where our mouth is, the Board of Trustees recently approved the continuation of the SECO Energy Scholarship Program. Applications for the 2016 program are now available at SECOEnergy.com, and graduating high school seniors are eligible to apply. Up to 12 hardworking seniors will be selected to receive a $3,000 scholarship. To qualify, the student must live in a home served by SECO Energy, graduate from high school in 2016, and have proof of acceptance with a plan to be a full-time student in a university, accredited college or vocational/technical institute in 2016.

If your student doesn’t have Internet access or a printer at home, application packets have been mailed to high school guidance counselors. Direct your student there or pick up an application from one of our five service center locations. Completed applications must be received by SECO Energy by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 25th. If you have questions about the scholarship program, email eneida.robaina@secoenergy.com. n

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Over the last two years, SECO Energy has dropped the cost of electricity six times – which means lower bills for our members. The decrease appears in your Power Cost Adjustment or PCA – one of the line item components on your bill representing positive reductions in our cost of power.

Reducing the PCA allows for a higher credit on your bill. The latest reduction equates to a 9.5%

decrease over the past 24 months.

As of Dec. 1, 2015, our residential cost per kilowatt hour dropped to $115.60 based on 1,000 kWh used. This decrease shows that SECO Energy members pay one of the lowest residential rates in Central Florida.

This electric bill reduction reinforces the fact that our members gave SECO Energy high marks in the category of “price” during the

$116.20

Oct ’14

$117.20

Jan ‘14

$118.20

$120.70

$130 $128 $126 $124 $122 $120 $118 $116 $114 $112

$127.75

Bill Decrease

$115.60

June ‘15

Aug ‘15

Oct ‘15

Dec ‘15

Based on 1,000 kWh

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J.D. Power score reflects price satisfaction

most recent J.D. Power residential customer satisfaction study. Price is just one measure of satisfaction – reliability, communication, customer service, corporate citizenship and billing/payment are also key factors ranked by J.D. Power.

In fact, the company is ranked

by J.D. Power as highest in customer satisfaction among midsize utilities in the south.

Keeping rates affordable is a high priority for SECO Energy and for our power-producing partner, Seminole Electric Cooperative.

Together, we work hard to control our expenses and to pass along savings to our member-owners.

SECO Energy, your not-for-profit electric cooperative, operates solely for the benefit of our members - and that means you!

SECO can help you save money and energy. Contact us today to schedule a free energy audit at energyservices@secoenergy.com.

We’ve got your number…

Or do we?

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Our automated outage management phone system and online reporting system use your primary phone number to identify your premise when you report an outage.

Ensure that we have your current primary phone number with the click of a mouse at SECOEnergy.com. Register or login to your SmartHub account where you can not only update your phone number – you can view and pay your bill, sign up for automatic bank draft, and compare energy usage by month or year If you’re a seasonal resident, you can also update your mailing address through SmartHub. Login in today!

SAFETY ZONE Contact us if you notice trees in the right of way making contact with overhead power lines. Our treetrimming crews will respond quickly to resolve any line contact issue. This proactive practice reduces outages and costs for SECO Energy and results in more reliable power for you, our members. Call (352) 569-9868 for expedited assistance.

REAFFIRMATION OF THE STATEMENT OF NONDISCRIMINATION Sumter Electric Cooperative, Inc. (SECO) is the recipient of Federal financial assistance from the Rural Utilities Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and is subject to the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended; and the rules and regulations of the USDA which provide that no person in the U.S. on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, marital status, genetic information, disability or protected veteran status shall be excluded from participation in, admission or access to, denied the benefits of, or otherwise subjected to discrimination under any of this organization’s programs or activities.

The USDA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

The person responsible for coordinating this organization’s nondiscrimination compliance efforts is James Duncan, Chief Executive Officer of SECO. Any individual, or specific class of individuals, who feel that this organization has subjected them to discrimination may obtain further information about the statutes and regulations listed above and/or file a written complaint with this organization; or the Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250; or the Administrator, Rural Utilities Service, Washington, D.C. 20250 or call (800) 795-3272 or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). Complaints must be filed within 180 days after the alleged discrimination. Confidentiality will be maintained to the extent possible.

If you’d like a 2016 SECO Energy calendar featuring the photography of Sandi Staton, stop by a service center. Available while supplies last.

Nature’s reflections Florida’s Laughing Gull Its high-pitched call sounds like hearty laughter

The laughing gull Leucophaeus atricilla is a mediumsized seagull found in coastal areas of both North and South America. While there are nine species of seagulls regularly found in Florida, only the laughing gull breeds here. Northern populations usually migrate to South America and the Caribbean for the winter.

With its distinct black head, stout red beak, white body, and dark gray back and wings, the laughing gull is easily identified. It is about sixteen inches long with a wingspan near forty-three inches. Legs and feet are black.

It gets its name from the prominent laughter-like call: ha, ha, ha. That call, multiplied by large numbers often found congregating on beaches, docks, even in parking lots becomes a noisy chorus producing a familiar coastal sound.

Its diet includes insects, fish, shellfish, crabs, worms, snails, and berries. Like other gulls, the laughing gull is an omnivore and will eat just about anything, including handouts, garbage, and discards from fishing boats. It is not above stealing the fillets – or live bait, if given an opportunity, or the catch from other birds.

Pairs nest in colonies on both natural and man-made islands in coastal areas, never inland. Breeding colonies can have thousands of birds. Both sexes work together to construct a large nest of mostly marsh grasses. The nest is built directly on the ground, but hidden among beach vegetation and debris. As the male brings the material, the female does most of the construction.

A clutch of three to four olive-brown eggs are laid in May and June. Incubation takes about twenty days and the young fledge after another thirty-five days. The oldest known laughing gull lived twenty-two years.

Laughing gulls take three years to reach adult plumage and sexes are similar. Immature gulls are more brown.

In summer, during the breeding season, heads of mature birds are black with a white arc around the eye and a reddish bill. In winter, the black takes on more gray and the bill turns black. ✤ 697802 Column & photo by Sandi Staton – sandi.staton@gmail.com

E X PR E S S I ON S

I recently received your letter regarding the power outage experienced on November 28th by residents in the Kings Ridge area of Clermont. My family lives in the neighboring community of Regency Hills and also experienced this outage. While it is true that it came at an inconvenient time over a holiday weekend, I think it is also necessary to point out what few of your customers may in such an event. That is, an apology is not necessary. To the contrary, I believe we as a community owe the SECO teams a debt of gratitude for the rapid response. 77 minutes for an underground repair sounds pretty impressive. I’m not in the utility industry, but am fairly certain that this event carved out much more than 77minutes of your teams’ weekend. Thanks to their quick response, troubleshooting and repair - we missed some annoying half-time commercials and still had cold leftover turkey to enjoy days later. Please relay a big thank you to the crews, call center folks, management and any others that were involved in this effort.

The 28th also happened to be my daughter’s 9th birthday and thanks to them her new karaoke machine was still a hit. (I’ll spare you the audio).

Additionally, it speaks volumes that you would go as far as to send out the letter explaining the outage. It very clearly indicates that “We value you as a customer.” In a case where customers don’t have the option to take their business elsewhere, this is a rare but welcome feeling. I have lived all over the country from major metro to small town without a post office and have never experienced that level of customer appreciation from a utility provider.

I commend and thank you and your teams.

Sincerely,

Kevin Forte Appreciative Clermont Resident 420010

SECO TRUSTEES Ray F. Vick President • District 5

Jerry D. Hatfield Vice President • District 9

Robin R. Henion Secretary-Treasurer • District 7

Scott D. Boyatt District 1

Dillard B. Boyatt District 2

Richard J. Belles District 3

Richard Dennison District 4

Earl Muffett District 6

Bill James District 8

Jim Duncan CEO

I have been living in Florida in The Villages since 1999. Each month I've waited for your letter with information that I found both interesting and educational.

One particular part was the wonderful data about all of the living creatures that are part of the Florida wildlife. I have collected those articles and have been sending them to my niece who teaches second grade in Sarasota. Sorry, I don't know the name of the school.

Cheryl tells me that her little students love each and every article I send. She said she has a short table with all of the pieces on them so they can kneel and are elbow high to read to their hearts content. I never thought I and SECO would be part of the teaching environment for small kids. They, as we all know, will some time later be adults with a great start of information they can carry for their lives. Thought you would like to know of this as another benefit of giving great data to all customers both young and old in Florida.

James Cavanaugh The Villages, FL

Don’t forget to look for the last six digits of your account number in this month’s SECO News. You can email us at customerservice@secoenergy.com (or call) if your number appears. Six winners will be drawn at random from all submissions.

SECO’s Board of Trustees will meet on Tuesday, January 19th, at 2:30 p.m. in the Corporate Offices located at 330 South US Highway 301 in Sumterville.

A Trustees’ meeting will also be held on February 22, 2016.

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SECO 24/7 Job Hotline www.secoenergyjobs.com 855-483-2673 SECO Outage Hotline www.secostormcenter.com 800-732-6141