Currents Aug. 2018

Suwannee Valley

WE BELONG TO THOSE WE SERVE Business Office: 800-447-4509 11340 100th Street • Live Oak, FL 32060 Lobby Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday Drive-thru Kiosk Open 24 Hours

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www.svec-coop.com CEO’S COR NER

You come first Michael S. McWaters Executive V.P./CEO

Every year, when our students go back to school, I’m reminded of what it really means to be part of a community.

I’m inspired when I see teachers welcoming their students back to class, coaches staying after school to teach life lessons outside the classroom, or even parents coming home from work to help their kids with their studies.

Teaching the next generation always requires putting others first, something everyone at Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative strives to do when we come to work.

As a cooperative, our consumer-members always come first. We don’t answer to shareholders or a faraway corporate office because the people who matter are right here in our own community.

As a result, you won’t find SVEC cutting corners to pad the bottom line. If there’s a way to bring more reliable and affordable electric service to our area, you can be sure we’ll do everything in our power to make it a reality.

The folks in our metering department are some of the best demonstrators of this commitment. Whenever a member has a concern that their bill is too high, our AMI technicians can investigate. Even if they find that the cooperative’s equipment is operating properly, they’ll work with members to find the problem.

That’s just one of the ways our technicians put members first. You can read more about the many ways they help our members in this month’s newsletter.

Finally, I would like to wish the students and teachers in our community well as they begin a new school year. 

currents August 2018

Lend your voice to rural America Rural America played a significant role in national elections in 2016 when 500,000 more rural voters went to the polls than in 2012. People in small towns and rural communities across our country made their voices heard, and elected officials took notice.

This year will be just as important for rural America as 2016, and electric cooperatives are playing a vital role in encouraging voters to engage in issues that matter most to them. We must build on the momentum started two years ago by joining 42 million members of electric cooperatives around the country to remind our elected officials that rural issues matter.

Electric co-ops are a foundation in their communities. As members, you can make a difference by supporting issues like rural infrastructure, farm policy and the need

to maintain access to affordable, reliable electricity.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association will continue the successful Co-ops Vote program, which is a nonpartisan initiative meant to ensure that members are registered to vote and go to the polls.

By participating in the Co-ops Vote program in 2018, cooperative members will continue to send a resounding message that all candidates need to put rural America’s concerns front and center.

Everyone, regardless of their political beliefs, should join America’s electric cooperatives in this national effort. Let’s continue to stand up for the priorities of the rural electric cooperative community — it’s more important now than ever. To learn more about this initiative, visit www. vote.coop.

To vote in the general election on Nov. 6, you must be registered with the state by Oct. 9.

You may register or update your voter registration information online at registertovoteflorida.gov/en.

If you don’t have access to the internet or you would like assistance registering to vote, SVEC will host a voter registration day at our office at 11340 100th St. in Live Oak from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 25.

THE MEASURE OF

POWER Shedding light on SVEC’s Metering Department

Most Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative members give little thought to their electric meter unless their bill shows an extreme increase in power usage. But for the cooperative’s metering department, the devices are always front and center.

SVEC’s three advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) technicians cover a lot of ground

each day. They handle everything from high bill investigations to the wiring for current transformers. But members are most likely to cross paths with them during the installation of a new meter.

All meters are tested for accuracy before they are installed. Additionally, technicians must often program commercial and spe-

Bill Roberts inspects a meter at a member’s home.

cialty meters for a specific use such as solar or time-of-use service.

For especially large consumers, such as a factory or chicken house, technicians will also wire the electric meter to a current transformer, which takes a sample of the current before it reaches the meter. This limits the volume of electric current passing through the meter so that it isn’t overpowered.

“Think of it like the water in your home.

If the flow is so high you can’t measure all of it, you could measure a quarter of it and multiply by four to get the full amount of water,” says Bill Roberts. “We measure a portion of the electricity going to the consumer and apply a multiplier to calculate their full usage. It’s the same principle but with electric current.”

SVEC takes this approach for members using more than 600 amps of electricity. Current transformers are needed because standard meters would be destroyed by the large currents required by these big consumers.

PROBLEM SOLVERS

Danny Daniels (right) issues a meter to Journeyman Lineman Philip King.

2 AUGUST 2018

The responsibilities of the metering department go beyond setting up new equipment. Whenever a member is concerned that their electric bill is too high, a technician will visit their home to determine if there is a problem with the cooperative’s equipment.

While it’s rare that a problem with an electric meter will lead to higher bills, technicians can test a meter to ensure that it is recordSuwannee Valley Currents

Trey Jackson and the rest of the Metering Department work hard to make sure they have a comprehensive understanding of SVEC’s electric system.

ing accurate readings. Even when cooperative equipment is not at fault, Roberts says technicians will often work with members to investigate other possible causes of an unusual increase in usage.

“We don’t want them to have higher than necessary bills any more than they do,” he says. “So we’ll try the best we can to help identify the cause of the problem.”

Troubleshooting often involves attaching an amp meter to the service and measuring the output as the homeowner flips the breakers for various devices on and off. The usual culprits are old or inefficient appliances like hot water heaters, air conditioning units and heat pumps.

“At times people will call us instead of an electrician,” says AMI Technician Danny Daniels. “Sometimes we can help them determine what’s wrong and give them ideas about what can be done about it. A lot of times they can pretty much fix the problem themselves.”

The ability to tackle so many varying jobs means AMI technicians must have a comprehensive understanding of SVEC’s electric system. For Roberts and Daniels, that knowledge has been developed through years of experience. But for newer technicians, like Trey Jackson, the cooperative offers a certification program to get them up to speed fast.

“Now we have the meter technician program that’s offered by a lineman college,” says Daniels. “All new people have to go through that.”

Suwannee Suwannee Valley Valley Currents Currents

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We don’t want [members] to have higher than necessary bills any more than they do. So, we’ll try the best we can to help identify the cause of the problem.”

— Bill Roberts, SVEC AMI Technician

HOUSE CALLS

Without a doubt, the most difficult part of an AMI technician’s job is occasionally disconnecting service. “It’s not enjoyable to have to disconnect people when they haven’t paid their bill,” says Roberts. “It’s a necessary job, but it’s not something we like to do.”

Making a visit to disconnect power is always a last resort. By the time a technician shows up to turn off electric service, the member has already received several notifications. When there are delinquent payments, SVEC sends members both email and written notifications to let them know their cutoff date is approaching.

SVEC will also call a member who is in danger of having service cut off. If a member doesn’t have a history of late payments, a technician will even leave a reminder note on their door.

If a member is home when a technician arrives to disconnect their service, the technician will often give them time to pay their bill.

“I try to give them an opportunity to call the office and work things out,” says Daniels.

To help members better manage their electricity use and costs, AMI technicians often suggest enrollment in MyChoice Prepay.

Mychoice is a pay-as-you-go plan that allows the member to pay for the amount of electricity they want, when they want it.

Instead of receiving a monthly bill, the member is charged for usage daily. Payments can be made online 24 hours a day at sveccoop.com, at SVEC’s new drive-thru kiosk, by phone or using the SmartHub mobile app.

Use of the SmartHub app also enables the member to monitor their daily usage and account balance, and receive notifications when their balance is running low.

Another advantage of Mychoice is that there are no disconnect or reconnect fees, because a device attached to the meter allows those actions to be performed remotely, without the need to send out a technician.

“The bottom line,” says Daniels, “is that we are here for the well-being of our members and want them to enjoy affordable uninterrupted service.” 

MARCH 2018 2018 37 AUGUST

SVEC takes convenience to a whole new level!

A new payment kiosk is now available in the outer drive-thru lane at SVEC’s office. It’s another way we’re making it more convenient to do business with the cooperative.

Available 24/7 Payments post immediately Pay with cash, check or card

Stay in the know when a hurricane strikes! @SVEC_COOP_FL

WIN THIS YETI COOLER AND TUMBLER!

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Anyone who pays at the kiosk between Aug. 15 and Oct. 31 will be entered in a drawing for one YETI Hopper Flip 8 cooler and one YETI Rambler 30 oz. tumbler.

SVEC’s Storm Center

(svec-coop.com/storm-center)

WQHL 98.1 FM

Tune in from 8-9 a.m. and 5-6 p.m.

Round Up program set to start soon HOLIDAY SCHEDULE SVEC’s office will be closed Sept. 3 in observance of Labor Day. Our 24-hour outage reporting system is always available. The payment kiosk inside our front door and our night depository will also be available. We’ll have standby crews available to restore power if needed.

Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative will begin Operation Round Up® in January, when the monthly bills of participating members will be rounded up to the nearest dollar. Money raised through the program will fund grants to benefit local public school students.

While we hope all our members will take part in this effort, participation in Operation Round Up® is voluntary.

Initially, all SVEC members will be enrolled in the program. Members who do not wish to participate can opt out at any time be fore or afte r Jan. 1 by calling the cooperative at 800-447-4509.

For more information about Operation Round Up®, please read the feature article in the June 2018 edition of Suwannee Valley Currents at svec-coop.com under the news tab.

SVEC is an equal opportunity provider and employer.