Currents-August 2019

AUGUST 2019

Suwannee Valley

CURRENTS

INSIDE: TOUGHER LINES

SVEC is experimenting with new wire to make the system more reliable.

MEET YOUR TRUSTEE

Learn about District 5 Trustee Sidney Lord.

AROUND THE COMMUNITY

SVEC employees volunteer to help birds of prey

CEO’S MESSAGE

Suwannee Valley

CURRENTS August 2019

Michael S. McWaters Executive V.P./CEO

Suwannee Valley Currents is a monthly newsletter published by Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative, © 2019. It is distributed without charge to all consumermembers of the cooperative.

Building a stronger system It might be hard to believe now, but in the days before Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative was formed, local residents had to work hard to convince their neighbors that electricity would change their lives. After Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act in 1936, proponents of electricity in the Suwannee Valley had to go door to door explaining its benefits until enough people signed up to form their own cooperative.

Back then, becoming a cooperative member cost $5, which wasn’t always easy money to come by. Today, the cost of membership is exactly the same. That’s because we believe that everyone deserves access to affordable and reliable electric service. Maintaining a high standard of reliability requires making constant repairs and updates to our system. After all, what passed for reliable service in the cooperative’s early years probably wouldn’t satisfy today’s members. As electricity has become a more important part of our everyday lives, we have also come to rely on it working when we need it.

There are many ways we work to improve reliability. We maintain rights of way around lines to reduce the likelihood of falling limbs knocking out service. We relocate key lines from heavily-wooded areas to roadsides. In some places, we have installed automated switches to isolate outages to specific areas and restore power to members within minutes.

This summer, we began a pilot project with a new technology called tree wire.

This wire is tougher than traditional electric line, so it can stand up to common outage causes like falling tree limbs or curious wildlife. You can learn more about tree wire and how SVEC went about choosing the best locations for the pilot project in this month’s newsletter. While it isn’t a solution for every section of line on our system, our hope is that it can greatly improve reliability for many of our members.

In this newsletter, you can also read about Sidney Lord, board representative for members living in District 5. You can even learn about a recent volunteer project SVEC employees and family members carried out for Accipiter Enterprises Educational Birds of Prey and safety presentations SVEC staff made to local community organizations.

When it comes to the technology we use to bring reliable service to members, our cooperative has changed a great deal over its more than 80-year history. But in other ways, like our dedication to serving our neighbors, not much has changed at all.

And, as it has been from day one, it is still our privilege to serve you. 

Office closing SVEC’s office will be closed on Monday, Sept. 2 in observance of Labor Day. Our 24-hour outage reporting system is always available

as is our drive-thru payment kiosk. We’ll have standby crews available to restore power if needed.

2 | August 2019

WE BELONG TO THOSE WE SERVE Business Office: 800-447-4509 11340 100th St. Live Oak, FL 32060 Lobby Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday Drive-thru Kiosk Open 24 Hours 24/7 Power Outage Reporting 800-752-0025 svec-coop.com facebook.com/sveccoop @SVEC_COOP_FL SVEC is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

On the cover: SVEC is currently conducting a pilot program to install tougher electric wires in areas prone to outages from falling trees and limbs. Page 4.

Suwannee Valley Currents

Join the 11,000 members who manage usage and save money with SmartHub Downloading the SmartHub app is a quick and easy way to save money. With the app, SVEC members can get access to important information to help them manage their electricity usage.

yy Track your usage across a period of days, weeks or even months to see when you use the most energy.

yy Enable weather data to see how varying conditions impact your usage. yy Analyze your usage to better identify energy habits and common practices in your home that can lead to higher bills.

By taking control of your energy use, you can save money on your electric bills. Get started by signing up for SmartHub today at svecsmarthub.com.

You may have unclaimed capital credits!

FIND OUT TODAY ON OUR WEBSITE SVEC is a not-for-profit business that operates at cost. Revenues above the cost of doing business (margins) are allocated to our consumer-members annually in the form of capital credits. If the financial condition of the co-op will not be impaired, the SVEC Board of Trustees can elect to retire (return) capital credits to members. $14.6 million of capital credits have been returned to members over the life of the co-op.

Retirement amounts of less than $5.00 are applied as a reduction to the member’s bill. Checks are issued for retirements of $5.00 or more. Sometimes members don’t receive their capital credit checks because of an incorrect or out-of-date address.

SUMMER ENERGY TIP If at all possible, set your thermostat to 78 degrees during the day. Remain cool by turning on the ceiling fan while in a room.

Also, routinely clean or replace your air conditioner’s filter.

Replacing a dirty, clogged filter can reduce your air conditioner’s energy consumption by 5 to 15 percent.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA! Stay up to date with everything happening at your cooperative.

Visit our social media channels to get the latest on outage updates, cooperative news, community events, photos and more.

Facebook: facebook.com/sveccoop Twitter: @SVEC_COOP_FL

If you think this might have happened to you, please visit https://svec-coop.com/ member-services/capital-credits/unclaimed. Here you can search a database for your name or address. If you see yourself in the search results list, simply fill out the inquiry form online.

Suwannee Valley Currents

August 2019 | 3

HARDLINERS SVEC pilots new reliability tool – tree wire

When Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative came to be, the task of building the first electric lines in this region fell to a handful of ordinary people willing to install poles and run wire so their neighbors could have electricity.

Today, SVEC’s workforce has grown to include crews specializing in maintaining the electric system, clearing right of way and even installing specific types of service. But it’s the construction department that carries on the legacy of the cooperative’s earliest builders by expanding the electric system to new members.

Bryan Gamble, SVEC’s construction supervisor, oversees the four crews that make up the construction department. Each one has its own area of expertise, such as hooking up new homes, installing underground service lines or replacing singlephase circuits and poles with three-phase to carry more electricity. In addition, they build new lines, replace broken poles, and inspect members’ property to make sure there is the necessary clearance from trees and undergrowth before installing new equipment.

Managing all those different tasks is one of the greatest challenges for Gamble. “It’s a juggling act. It can be tough to schedule work a week out because you don’t know what might happen,” he says. “It could be beautiful weather one minute, and then a storm comes up and causes a tree limb to fall on a line and knock the power out.” Fortunately for Gamble and his crews, they recently installed a new, tougher type of electric wire designed to withstand falling tree limbs. Known as tree wire, the new line is part of a pilot program SVEC is conducting in hopes of making the electric system more reliable.

4 | August 2019

SVEC recently installed a new, tougher type of electric wire known as tree wire. The new wire is part of a pilot program SVEC is conducting in hopes of making the electric system more reliable.

PROBLEM AREAS

Unlike traditional electric wire, an especially tough coating insulates tree wire to reduce outages caused by contact with both wildlife and falling tree limbs. That’s especially helpful in areas where the cooperative’s lines run through areas thick with trees.

“Major storms can leave a lot of old tree limbs that are barely hanging on,” says Braxton Hicks, an electrical engineer in training at SVEC. “Later, the wind can come up, and these old, dead limbs fall on the line and knock the power out. Then we have to roll a truck out there to get it off the line and make repairs.”

Suwannee Valley Currents

However, because tree line is more expensive and can be difficult to work with, the cooperative decided to test it out in a couple of locations where large outages of this type are most frequent.

Using data collected from the co-op’s outage management system over the last three years, SVEC identified about 70 problem locations throughout the entire system where members were without power for the most time.

Next, they looked at possible solutions.

Could the line be relocated closer to the road and away from trees? Would automation technology help limit the amount of time members are without power by rerouting electricity around faults on the lines? Could the line be moved underground to protect it from debris during a storm? If none of those choices seemed viable, they considered replacing that section of line with tree wire.

The construction department started with two sections of line, totaling about a mile in length, where tree wire might improve service reliability for large numbers of members.

A TOUGHER SYSTEM

Jason Carroll has already seen firsthand just how strong the new tree wire is. As a journeyman lineman and foreman for the crew that installed it for the pilot project, the tree wire could be tough to work with at times. Stripping the protective insulation so they could connect the wire to other electrical equipment proved particularly difficult. “It’s totally different from anything we normally work with,” says Carroll.

“That tree wire is really tough. You can’t get through it with just a normal pocket knife.”

Tree wire is more difficult to install and work on but withstands much more during severe weather.

Suwannee Valley Currents

Tree wire is being tested in areas where outages from falling limbs are more common.

As a result of that toughness, the sections of line Carroll and his team worked on have yet to experience an outage since the tree wire was installed. The engineering department will continue to monitor those sections over the coming months to determine how effective tree wire is at improving reliability.

“We will keep track of how many times those lines go out and then compare it to how many times they have gone out in the past,” says Hicks. “That way, we will be able to tell if the project has been successful. We strongly believe that it will be.”

While tree wire isn’t an option for every location, Hicks’ hope is that using it for sections of outage-prone lines that serve large numbers of members will improve reliability for members in other parts of the system as well. After all, if linemen don’t have to respond to those outages first, they can get to other members faster. “We don’t know what the future holds for this technology,” Hicks says. “For the time being, we are viewing tree wire as a potential tool for improving reliability where other options aren’t feasible.” 

Since going to the new and tougher wire, SVEC has yet to experience an outage in the areas it was installed.

August 2019 | 5

MEET YOUR TRUSTEE

Q: What do you like most about living in the Suwannee Valley?

Q: What do you enjoy most about serving on the board?

The main thing is that I get to hear from members, and 99% of them tell me what a good job we’re doing. That means a lot to me because my family goes way back with the cooperative.

My daddy helped build the power line that came to our house when I was 2 years old. I think people in rural areas are still happy to have electricity. They don’t take it for granted.

I like everything. I really don’t know what to say most. I’ve been here for 79 years, so I should be used to it by now.

Q: What line of work are you in?

I’m a farmer. I used to grow corn and watermelons. Now I grow tobacco, some pine trees and raise commercial beef cattle.

Q: What’s the most important impact SVEC has on its community?

Q: What do you like to do outside of work?

I spend a lot of time at my church and with my grandchildren. I’ve also been on the Suwannee County Farm Bureau board for even longer than I’ve been on the SVEC board.

SIDNEY LORD

I think providing reliable and affordable power is really the biggest thing.

SVEC has kept rates affordable even though there are areas with few people per mile. We have also done some good planning to keep our right of way cleared, so we don’t have as many outages as you might expect in rural areas.

Q: What made you want to serve on the SVEC board?

People encouraged me to serve on the SVEC board because I had experience from being very involved on other boards.

District 5

GEORGIA Jennings

H A M I LT O N C O U N T Y Jasper

an

75

ne

1 ADAMS

White Springs

10

5 LORD

McAlpin

129 Mayo

27

9 HART

8

S U WA N N E E VACANT COUNTY Wellborn

Dowling Park

River

Live Oak

e

7 HUNTER

3 ROBERSON

4 PUTNAL

Suw

Sidney Lord represents District 5, most of which is located southwest of Live Oak between State Road 51 and Highway 129 in Suwannee County. Lord has served on the SVEC board since 1999. He and his wife, Pat, live in Suwannee County and have two grown children and eight grandchildren.

2 GOFF

Lake City

COLUMBIA COUNTY

6 WALKER

O’Brien

Branford

L A FAY E T T E COUNTY

6 | August 2019

Suwannee Valley Currents

TRADITIONAL HUMMUS

Gone Coastal

FISH AND WILDLIFE NEEDS YOU IN ORDER TO IMPROVE RECREATIONAL FISHERIES’ DATA COLLECTIONS

By Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission collects data in many ways, including mail surveys, dockside interviews and even a phone app. The information you provide helps scientists and managers monitor annual harvest levels, determine the health of a fishery and create critical fisheries stock assessments. With better, more precise data, we can keep Florida’s fisheries sustainable and productive now and for generations to come.

We encourage all anglers to participate in the following data collection programs, even if you haven’t made it out on the water this year.

sites, such as boat ramps, marinas and docks, where recreational anglers may be returning from trips.

Information gathered may include the numbers and types of fish harvested and released as well as other details about your recent trip.

GULF REEF FISH SURVEY Sign up as a Gulf Reef Fish Angler for free via FWC’s licensing system or in person at any location that sells licenses. Once you are signed up, you may receive a survey in the mail through random selection.

The information you provide helps estimate the total number of recreational fishing trips for reef fish off the west coast of Florida.

ADDITIONAL WAYS TO PARTICIPATE FWC biologists may also ride along with paying passengers on forhire fishing vessels, such as charter boats and headboats. Some of your released fish may be marked with special tags. If you catch a tagged fish, treat the fish as you normally would and then call FWC’s Tag Hotline at 800-367-4461 or email TagReturn@MyFWC.com to provide information. 

DOCKSIDE INTERVIEWS FWC biologists conduct in-person interviews at randomly selected Suwannee Valley Currents

VOLUNTARY PHONE APP If you want to provide more information about your recent fishing trip, you can download the iAngler smartphone app, which the Angler Action Foundation created. From red snapper to spotted seatrout, use the iAngler app to log your catches, increase your success on the water and help fisheries science.

3

1/2 3/4

1/4

1

cups dry garbanzo beans, soaked overnight cup olive oil cup tahini paste, or more, to taste cup fresh lemon juice, or more, to taste Salt, to taste tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Rinse the beans and place in a pot.

Fill with enough water to cover by at least 1 inch. Allow to sit overnight.

Drain beans. Then add water to cover by at least an inch. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat and simmer over medium heat until the beans are very soft, 1 to 2 hours.

Drain the beans, reserving some of the water to use later. Transfer the beans to a blender and blend the beans until smooth, adding 1/2 cup of olive oil gradually. Add some of the reserved water if needed to help it blend. Add the tahini and blend in along with the lemon juice. Add salt. Taste and correct seasonings, adding more tahini, lemon and salt, as needed.

Spread the hummus into a flat serving dish and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with pita bread, pita chips, carrots, celery, cucumbers or a combination of any or all of them.

Do you have a great recipe?

Email a copy of a recipe you’d like to share to communications@svec-coop.com.

August 2019 | 7

SVEC in the

COMMUNITY BIRDS OF A FEATHER SVEC employees and their kids braved the heat on Saturday, July 13, to help Accipiter Enterprises Educational Birds of Prey get some work done at their facility in Suwannee County. Afterward, the group got the opportunity to have personal encounters with some of the resident birds.

You can read more about Accipiter Enterprises owner and SVEC member Kitty Carroll and her feathered friends in the November 2018 edition of Currents or on our website at svec-coop.com/feathered-friends.

TEACHABLE MOMENTS

At SVEC, the safety of our employees, members and the public receives first consideration in everything we do. That’s why we provide informative and entertaining presentations that teach respect for electricity and how to avoid contact with power lines.

Presentations recently took place at the Live Oak Police Department, the Hamilton and Lafayette County School District Transportation Departments, the Suwannee County Emergency Operations Center, the Hamilton County Emergency Operations Center, Live Oak Christian Church’s Camp Cornerstone for kids, the Hamilton County Road Department, the Florida Department of Health offices in Hamilton and Columbia counties and a meeting of the Columbia County Emergency Management Advisory Committee.

Please contact one of our member service representatives at 800-447-4509 to arrange a presentation for your group, school or organization.