Currents March 2018

Suwannee Valley

OWNED BY THOSE WE SERVE Business Office: 800-447-4509 11340 100th Street • Live Oak, FL 32060

currents March 2018

Lobby Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday Drive Thru Open: 8 a.m.-5 p.m, Monday-Friday

24/7 Power Outage Reporting

800-752-0025

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www.svec-coop.com CEO’S COR NER

The cooperative difference Michael S. McWaters Executive V.P./CEO

Electric cooperatives differ from other utilities in many ways. One of the most important ways is that cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members. That means we are dedicated to keeping you informed about the business of the cooperative so that you can better understand the decisions we make. There is no better time for doing this than our annual meeting.

Each spring, we come together to report to our members and celebrate the accomplishments of the past year. The cooperative business model has served us well for over 80 years, and 2017 was no exception. While pursuing our goal of providing the best possible electric service to our members, we are guided by five core values: Safety, Member Experience, Outreach to Community, Reliability and Economic Viability. In this newsletter, you can read about how we did at living up to these values in 2017.

I’m most pleased by the fact that our employees worked another year safely. Safety is our first priority, and as I write this, it’s been 1,241 days — almost three and a half years — since our last lost-time injury. I’m also proud of how well our members rated our employees for customer service and how our employees demonstrated their commitment to community through a variety of fundraising and volunteer activities.

We also enhanced maintenance practices, and invested in new technology to improve reliability. In light of the cooperative’s financial well-being, our trustees elected to return over $850,000 in capital credits to members.

As much as we have to celebrate about the last year, there is also plenty to be excited about in the future. I hope to see all of you at our annual meeting on April 28 at the Suwannee County Coliseum, where we can share our plans for another great year. 

YOU’RE INVITED TO OUR

ANNUAL MEETING SATURDAY, APRIL 28 SUWANNEE COUNTY AGRICULTURAL COLISEUM 1302 11th St. SW Live Oak, FL REGISTRATION*: 8:30-10 a.m.

BINGO WITH PRIZES: 9-9:45 a.m.

BUSINESS MEETING: 10 a.m.

A drawing for door prizes will be held after the business portion of the meeting. You must be present to win.

*Members who register will receive a $10 credit to their electric bill.

2017 numbers BY THE

SMORE Member Experience

Safety Member Experience Outreach to Community Reliability Economic Viability

4.8 out of 5

AVERAGE RATING FOR OVERALL CUSTOMER SERVICE

safety

863,307 34

community outreach

63

miles driven with ZERO accidents OR times around the world

1,174 554,993

consecutive days OR

$4.45

Average daily electric bill (less than the $4.95 price of a Starbucks Grande Pumpkin Spice Latte)

2  MARCH 2018

man-hours without a lost-time injury (since Oct. 15, 2014)

$11,000 $9,000

community organizations supported

raised by employees worth of in-kind donations

2

volunteer projects

economic viability Stable Rates

$121

Feb. 2017

$121

Feb. 2018

Residential rate for 1,000 Kwh

$850,803 $12.72M

Capital Credits retired in 2017 Capital Credits retired lifetime Suwannee Valley Currents

Where your dollars went in 2017 PURCHASED POWER 63.4%

DEPRECIATION & AMORTIZATION 5.2%

INTEREST 3.0%

CUSTOMER SERVICE & OTHER 5.9%

ADMINISTRATIVE & GENERAL 8.3%

member experience

25,573 476 $7,500

calls taken by member service reps new service connections

in scholarships awarded to high school seniors

213,050 Suwannee Valley Currents

electronic bill payments

DISTRIBUTION MAINTENANCE & OPERATIONS 14.2%

reliability

99.96%

average service availability

1,074 721

miles of right of way cut

poles replaced

10,340

poles inspected MARCH 2018  3

4  MARCH 2018

Suwannee Valley Currents

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ARE UNAUDITED. AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS WERE UNAVAILABLE AT TIME OF PRINT.

Suwannee Valley Currents

MARCH 2018  5

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MEMBERS APRIL 23, 2017

The Annual Meeting of the Membership of Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative, Inc. was Saturday, April 22, 2017, at the Suwannee County Agricultural Coliseum in Live Oak, Florida. The meeting was called to order at 10 a.m. by President Hugh Hunter. Prior to the meeting being called to order, registration opened at 8:30 a.m. and members were entertained by playing bingo.

The invocation was given by Pastor Bruce Branche, who also led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Hugh Hunter, president of the board of trustees, welcomed and thanked all members present. Hunter then called on McWaters, executive vice president and chief operating officer, to introduce the guests and trustees.

McWaters thanked Branche and introduced the guests and trustees. McWaters then called on the 2016 Youth Tour participant, Tyanne Liu, to address the membership. McWaters then called on Putnal, secretary of the board of trustees, to announce the quorum. Putnal announced that a quorum was present. Put6 MARCH 2018

nal moved to dispense with the reading of the official notice and the minutes of the 2016 meeting, since these were distributed in the March 2017 newsletter. Motion was seconded and carried to dispense with the reading of the minutes and notice. The minutes were then approved as presented.

Putnal then introduced Tim Steichen, treasurer, to present the Treasurer’s Report.

Steichen presented a report to the members using data from the 2016 Annual Audit and Operating Report.

Steichen then called on McWaters to introduce the guest speaker. McWaters introduced Lisa Johnson, Seminole Electric Cooperative chief executive officer. McWaters then gave the Manager’s Report and spoke about the safety of SVEC’s employees and what SVEC is doing to ensure employees are safe. McWaters then called upon Josh Crapps, attorney for the board, to conduct the business session of the meeting.

Crapps called for the election of trustees.

Putnal reported that meetings were held

at the District level for Districts 1, 2 and 3.

Putnal placed in nomination those trustees nominated at the District Meetings: District 1, Mike Adams; District 2, Jerry Goff; District 3, Sam Roberson. There was a motion and a second to elect Adams, Goff and Roberson members of the board of trustees by unanimous ballot, because no other persons were nominated from their districts. Motion carried and Adams, Goff and Roberson were duly elected to the board.

Crapps then called for any old business to be brought before the membership. Hearing none, Crapps then called for any new business. Hearing none, Crapps concluded the business portion of the meeting.

The next order of business was the drawing for the prizes, conducted by trustees Hugh Hunter and Tim Steichen with assistance by Suwannee Valley Electric employees.

There being no further business to come before the members, Hunter adjourned the meeting at 10:45 a.m.  Suwannee Valley Currents

Reporting an outage At SVEC, we work hard to keep the lights on. But during storm season, we want to make sure you always have a fast and convenient way to let us know if you have lost power.

SMARTHUB MOBILE APP

Outages can be reported from your smartphone or other mobile device once you’ve downloaded our SmartHub app from the Apple App Store or Google Play. You can also view our outage map and receive a text message when your power has been restored. This can be a huge benefit if you have been waiting out your outage at another location.

ONLINE

Outages can be reported using the SmartHub portal at svec-coop.com. The website also features a live outage map.

PHONE

Members can call 800-752-0025 to report an outage. Our outage management system recognizes your service location by the telephone number associated with your account. To make reporting easier for you and to allow us to speed up response and restoration times, please keep your account information up to date. You can update your information by using SmartHub or by contacting member services at 800-447-4509.

SCAMS: Don’t be a victim Scams are an ongoing threat, and get more sophisticated every day. SVEC wants to help protect you by making you aware of some common ones:

PAY-NOW-OR-ELSE SCHEME

You receive a call from someone telling you that your power will be cut off that day (sometimes within the hour) if you don’t pay now. SVEC will never ask members who have delinquent accounts to pay immediately “or else.” Members with delinquent accounts will receive notices in the mail well in advance — never just a single notification just before disconnection.

PERSON INFORMATION REQUESTS

The caller asks for personal information, like a social security number. SVEC never calls members asking for this type of information.

PAY OVER THE PHONE

They ask you to pay with a prepaid debit card or your personal bank card over the phone. SVEC will never call and demand payment over the phone, nor will they ask for prepaid debit cards.

VISITS TO YOUR HOME

They call or show up on your doorstep and offer a service on behalf of SVEC, or ask for personal information or payment. SVEC employees will never call or come to your home to promote a service or ask for personal information or payment. Also, keep in mind that all SVEC employees carry a cooperative-issued photo ID card.

Be aware that some scammers can make an SVEC number appear on your caller ID; don’t let that fool you.

If you suspect a scammer is on the phone or at your door, call SVEC’s Member Service Department at 800-447-4509.

Suwannee Valley Currents

MARCH 2018 7

SVEC offers a variety of convenient no-fee ways to pay your bill

myCHOICE PREPAY

ONLINE Pay your bill using the SmartHub account self-service portal at svec-coop.com.

SMARTHUB MOBILE APP Use your smartphone or other mobile device

to view and pay your bill anytime, anywhere. You can also monitor your electricity use, report an issue and more.

AUTOMATIC PAYMENTS Sign up for a bank draft or recurring credit card payments. Funds are automatically withdrawn on a designated day before your due date from the account you choose. You can also set up bank draft and recurring credit card payments with SmartHub.

KIOSK Use the kiosk in the foyer of SVEC’s office. You will need your account

number, or you can scan your bill. The kiosk is open 24/7, and payments post within minutes.

PHONE Call SVEC’s interactive payment system at 800-477-4509, menu option one.

Your Power, Your Plan, Your Choice Tired of monthly electric bills?

MyChoice Prepay makes it easy to keep track of your account balance and pay for energy as you use it. Visit svec-coop.com/ mychoice or call 800-4474509 to sign up today.

You will need your account number or the phone number on file for your account.

SATURDAY, APRIL 14

SVEC will host a cornhole tournament to benefit United Way of Suwannee County on Saturday, April 14, at SVEC’s office in Live Oak. Find registration information for the event at suwanneecornhole.com.

Sign up for SmartHub today!

Our SmartHub app gives you an easy 24/7 way to track your usage, make a payment or update your account information from any mobile device.

To access the SmartHub app on an iPhone or iPad, simply scan this QR code with your device.

To access the SmartHub app on an Android device, simply scan this QR code with your device.

Say goodbye to monthly bills Pay for the amount of electricity you want, when you want it Avoid late charges and disconnect fees Track your energy use through the SmartHub app Gain information that will help you conserve energy and save money

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SVEC is an equal opportunity provider and employer.