Svecsept2016

Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative Lighting the way since 1937

www.svec-coop.com

We’re here to serve

(8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. • Monday - Friday, Lobby Hours)

Business Office: 800-447-4509 (8 a.m. - 5 p.m. • Monday - Friday)

Power Outage Reporting

Suwannee Valley

currents September 2016

(Day, Night, Weekends & Holidays)

800-752-0025 SERVING RURAL AND URBAN SUWANNEE VALLEY OWNED BY THOSE WE SERVE 11340 100th Street • Live Oak, FL 32060

CEO’S COR NER

All for one

Michael S. McWaters Executive V.P./CEO

Things are once again back to normal and I want to thank all of our members for your patience; and for the support and encouragement you gave us in the aftermath of Hurricane Hermine. It was a challenging few days, but together, we pulled through in great fashion.

I’m extremely proud of the dedication of our employees and the hard work they put in restoring power to about 14,000 members with around 19,000 metered locations that lost power because of damage done by the storm.

Throughout the Labor Day weekend, crews made hundreds of trips to make repairs to SVEC’s system, which includes 4,385 miles of energized lines across an area of about 2,000 square miles. In light of the priority we place on safety, I’m especially gratified by the fact that no one was injured during the effort.

Finally, while we are generally very pleased with how things went, we will review our response to the hurricane and determine how we can do even better in the future.

In this month’s newsletter, you can see photos of the damage that were taken after Hermine passed, as well as the hard work of our own linemen and those from surrounding areas to get the system back on its feet.

You can also read about Live Oak’s efforts to put our region on the map for a newly revived Amtrak line, which is just recovering from hurricane damage itself. The line, which travels from Jacksonville to New Orleans, has been shut down ever since Hurricane Katrina, but its renewal provides a fantastic opportunity for our area.

More than anything else, that is what sets cooperatives apart from other utilities. Whether it’s promoting economic development or lending a helping hand when others need it, our cooperative family pulls together when it matters most.

Thank you for being a part of it. 

Hermine leaves about 14,000 members without power On Friday, Sept. 1, as many people were preparing for a long weekend, Hurricane Hermine struck the Suwannee Valley and left 14,000 SVEC members without power.

Over the next four days, 29 crews comprised of 99 workers from SVEC, contractors and other cooperatives brought in from Alabama, Georgia and other parts of Florida

pulled together to repair the damage and get the lights back on as quickly as possible.

“We are deeply grateful to our fellow cooperatives whose employees gave up their weekends to help restore power for our members,” said Executive Vice President and CEO Michael S. McWaters.

Continued on Page 4, see HERMINE

RIDING THE RAILS Live Oak looks to become a stop on renewed Amtrak route

An artist’s rendering shows what an Amtrak stop in Live Oak might look like.

T

he rail line at Live Oak has always been central to the region’s growth and development. In fact, the city owes its very existence to the expansion of the railroad more than 150 years ago.

“The way I’ve always heard it, there were two railroads back in the 1800s,” says Dr. Alvin Jackson, economic development director for the Suwannee County Economic Development Office.

“Workers from those lines used to meet under this oak tree for lunch and to rest before going back to their rail work.”

That tree became the namesake for the City of Live Oak, which sprung up around the train depot established at the junction of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and the Seaboard Air Line Railroad lines. And while the depot that gave life to the city no longer serves the rails, Jackson hopes it can be

revived as a stop on a new Amtrak line.

A PIECE OF HISTORY

The Sunset Limited is the oldest named train in the United States, having first been established in November 1894. While most famous for its west coast run from New Orleans to San Francisco by way of Los Angeles, the train also carried a coast-to-coast sleeper to Jacksonville.

That eastern portion of the route has faced its share of challenges. When Amtrak first took control of the line in 1971, the stretch between New Orleans and Jacksonville was dropped

Live Oak’s depot started out as a meeting spot for rail workers.

The Spirit of Suwannee Music Park attracts more than 600,000 tourists each year. and wouldn’t be fully re-established until 1993.

When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, much of that track was damaged, leaving the route east of New Orleans defunct.

Now, Amtrak is reviving that line, and many Live Oak leaders are hoping it will make a stop there along its way. In fact, Jackson envisions the city being part of an excursion across the gulf for people around the country, or even the world.

“You can see much of the true Florida and its natural environment when traveling by train,” he says. “You take a trip from Orlando into Live Oak, to Pensacola into New Orleans. What a great trip that would be, and we sit right in the middle.”

Live Oak already receives more than 600,000 tourists from across the country and even Europe each year, drawn to one of the eight annual music festivals hosted at the Spirit of Suwannee Music Park or to the opportunities for hiking, canoeing, hunting, fishing and camping that the region offers in abundance.

Many of those people currently arrive via Interstate 75, Interstate 10 — which Live Oak sits near the intersection of — or one of the two nearby international airports. But when the city conducted a poll of 3,000 concert visitors, more than 90 percent said they would prefer to take the train if it were an option. In fact, the Southern Railroad Commission projected that nearly 140,000 passengers would pass through the proposed Live Oak station each year.

And unlike many potential stops along the line, Live Oak features a train depot all but ready to be put into action. The building has already been restored and, according to Jackson, would only require the addition of a pedestrian walkway and overhang that meets Amtrak specifications, along with a landing pad where passengers can disembark from the train.

So what will it take to bring the Live Oak depot back to life? The first hurdle is for the Southern Rail Commission to get final authorization from Congress to reinstate the line on Sept. 11. When it does, the route will initially include only those stops that existed before Katrina. Live Oak isn’t

Live Oak’s ecotourism opportunities are another draw for rail passengers.

one of those, but when Amtrak begins deciding on additional stops, Jackson is confident Live Oak will be a strong contender.

READY TO RIDE

Back in February, Amtrak rolled through Live Oak on a tour to inspect the rail infrastructure along the would-be route. The train was greeted by nearly 300 local residents who came out to wave American flags and show their support for a station in their city.

Aboard the train were industry representatives and federal examiners, as well as elected officials and community leaders from areas hoping to get a stop. Jackson was among them and leaned out of the car as it passed through Live Oak to give the crowd a thumbs up.

“Everyone on the train was majorly impressed by the turnout. It was one of biggest crowds along the route,” he says. “I think that really had an impact on Amtrak.”

It’s no surprise the potential for a train station has captured the imagination of so many in Live Oak. The line would offer those in North Florida and South Georgia an inexpensive and convenient means of traveling to Jacksonville, New Orleans and anywhere in between. But Jackson also believes the resurrected train depot would breathe life into downtown Live Oak. “We have seen this not only as a transportation system and opportunity but also as very much a part of economic development,” he says. “We feel that the reinstatement of the line would bring economic renewal to those communities that have depots.”

A revitalized train station would create new jobs and could attract new businesses, industry, dining and entertainment development. The Southern Railroad Commission also estimates a Live Oak station would generate more than $12 million for Amtrak, while only costing about $5.5 million to operate.

It’s a lot of potential for one historic train depot, but if it can be realized, Live Oak may once again benefit from the rails that gave it birth. 

GET INVOLVED Want to help boost tourism, have an easy way to travel along the gulf, or just see the Live Oak train depot brought back to life? Any Live Oak resident can make their voice heard: »» Sign the online petition at allaboardliveoak.com/petition. »» Call or write to Senator Bill Nelson to express your support. »» Write to Amtrak to let them know why Live Oak should be a stop on their route.

Visit allaboardliveoak.com to learn more about the project and the ways you can contribute.

HERMINE, continued from front

Answering the call SVEC would like to offer special thanks to the cooperatives and contractors that pitched in to help our area recover from Hurricane Hermine: »» Central Alabama Electric Cooperative »» Black Warrior Electric Cooperative »» Baldwin EMC »» Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative, Inc. »» Flint Energies »» Ivy H. Smith Company »» Musgrove Construction »» Bryant Tree Service

Florida set to vote on Amendment 1 this November Florida voters will take to the polls this year to decide on a new solar power initiative in the state.

The measure, called Amendment 1, is sponsored by Consumers for Smart Solar, a bipartisan coalition of businesses and civic leaders led by former Republican State Representative Jim Kallinger and former Democratic State Representative Dick Batchelor.

Consumers for Smart Solar members say the amendment seeks to ensure Floridians always have a right to own their own solar equipment and generate their own electricity, while making sure that solar energy is required to play by the same consumer protection rules as other energy sources.

The language on the ballot will read as follows: “This amendment establishes a right under Florida’s constitution for consumers to own or lease solar equipment installed on their prop-

erty to generate electricity for their own use.

State and local governments shall retain their abilities to protect consumer rights and public health, safety and welfare, and to ensure that consumers who do not choose to install solar are not required to subsidize the costs of backup power and electric grid access to those who do.”

WHAT IT MEANS

The first part of the amendment would establish the right under Florida’s constitution for consumers to own or lease solar equipment to generate their own electricity.

The second part would make sure residents who choose not to install solar equipment won’t be required to pay for those who do.

The amendment was placed on the ballot after more than 1 million signatures were gathered in five months. Proponents say the amendment protects the consumers’ right to

choose solar from any provider and keeps

solar scam artists out of the state. It also allows state and local governments the abil-

ity to ensure consumers are dealt with fairly by companies that provide energy services. 