WATT’S UP SUWANEE VALLEY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE EMPLOYEE AND RETIREE NEWSLETTER | FALL 2017
from the ceo Each October, not-for-profit cooperatives celebrate National Co-op Month as a way to recognize the contributions of cooperatives and how they differ from for-profit utilities. This year, we have special reason to celebrate a couple of the principles that make electric cooperatives special. One of the those principles is our concern for community. As a cooperative, we have a special responsibility to support and improve the quality of life of our members and the region. We sponsor local high school teams, offer individual scholarships and raise money for local charities, to name a few of our activities. Our community commitment was never more evident than during the week following Hurricane Irma. All of our energy and resources went into restoring power quickly and safely to our members. At the same time, it became obvious to many people that large corporate utilities placed our region low on their priority list. Another defining principle is the cooperation among Continued on next page
SMORE
Safety Member Experience Outreach to Community Reliability Economic Viability
Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative’s board of trustees and employees are committed to operating Suwannee Valley Electric with five core values as its mission: Safety
Safety Improvement Plan »»
Reduce minor vehicle incidents/ liability
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Speak up, listen up
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Improve on the little things; they matter
3
years without a lost-time injury!!!
It is the earnest desire of the cooperative to conduct its operations with the utmost regard for the safety of its employees, its consumers and the public. For this reason, SVEC provides equipment, specifications and working conditions designed to promote efficient
operations, eliminate accidents and minimize hazards that may cause injuries.
Member Experience
Improving member experience is a continual process, often involving changes made in response to lessons learned. Last year, a lack of phone capacity limited our ability to take calls during Hurricane Hermine. Understandably, many members became frustrated when they couldn’t call our office or report their outage. To prevent a repeat of the situation, SVEC contracted with Minnesota-based Cooperative Response Center Inc. earlier this year to process overflow calls to our outage reporting number. CRC’s system handled over 23,000 calls during Hurricane Irma, resulting in a less frustrating storm experience for many of our members.
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