Energy Cooperative Times Magazine September & October 2021

TIMES Sep tember & October 2021

Community Spotlight Walking Wild Rescue pg. 6

Also in this issue

1936

8 5 YEARS OF SERVICE 2021

Careers in Energy Get familiar with cyber basics why do we still need coal? natural gas prices Director's corner

PG. 4 PG. 5 Pg. 8 Pg.13 pg 14

In this issue President’s Message 3 Careers in Energy 4 Get familiar with cyber basics 5 Community Spotlight 6

1500 Granville Road Newark, Ohio 43058 1.800.255.6815

Why do we still need coal? 8 Power surges and blinks 12 Understanding natural gas prices 13

myenergycoop.com Todd Ware President & CEO

Treasurers Report with Jack Schmidt 14

Gary Baker Director of Marketing & Public Relations Heather Juzenas Member Services Manager

Fiddle

Natasha Short Communications & Marketing Specialist

Connect with us Do we have your current contact information? Check in the SmartHub app. Click the ...(more) link. Then open Settings > Contact Methods. If Place on Do Not Call List is selected, you will not receive calls from us (even important ones about planned outages or work in your area). To make the most of your SmartHub account, go to Manage Notifications to select how we can best communicate with you. Questions? Contact us at 1-800-255-6815 or email feedback@theenergycoop.com.

The Energy Cooperative Times is the official publication of The Energy Cooperative. This magazine is a bi-monthly communication link between The Energy Cooperative and its 67,500 members.

Cover Photo features Wall-E from Walking Wild Rescue. Inside cover features Nala.

Roz

President’s Message

By Todd Ware, President & Chief Executive Officer The Energy Cooperative has something in common with ACE Hardware, State Farm Insurance and Land O’Lakes: we’re all cooperatives. We may be in different industries, but we share a mission of serving members and helping our communities thrive. In fact, every cooperative follows the same set of seven principles Todd Ware that reflect our core values of honesty, transparency, equity and service to the greater good of the community. October is National Cooperative Month, and I’d like to highlight the cooperative principles that have stood the test of time and provide a framework for the future.

Cooperative Principles 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Open and Voluntary Membership Democratic Member Control Members' Economic Participation Autonomy and Independence Education, Training, and Information Cooperation Among Cooperatives Concern for Community

Voluntary and Open Membership The Energy Cooperative was created in 1936 to meet a need that was unmet in our community. A group of neighbors organized to form an electric cooperative. They wanted to make sure our rural communities were not left behind as electricity became widely available in cities and towns.

Neighbors came together to tackle a problem they couldn’t solve alone. Together, they established electric lines and helped power economic opportunities.

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Democratic Member Control Each member has a voice and a vote in how the cooperative is run, and each voice and vote are equal. Our board of directors live in our service territory, each representing one of our nine member districts. Board members are elected by you, our members. Our close connection to this community ensures we get a first-hand perspective on members’ priorities, enabling us to make more informed decisions on long-term investments.

Concern for Community The Energy Cooperative reflects our local community and its evolving needs. We view our role as a catalyst for good and want to make our corner of the world a better place. The seventh cooperative principle, “concern for community” is an important part of who we are. While our top priority is to provide safe, reliable and affordable energy to you, equally important is our mission to enrich the lives of the members (that’s you!) we serve. The Energy Cooperative is community born, community led and focused on our members.

Careers in Energy

By Connie Hogue, Director of Human Resources and Safety At The Energy Cooperative, we We also have a variety of other positions at our cooperative. believe cooperatives build a • Natural gas operations: system operators, better world. Our cooperative is welders, construction and technicians • Propane operations: drivers and technicians a mission-driven organization • Electric system operations: operators, meter with 160 employees supporting more than 67,500 members. technicians, tree clearing and coordinators We are member-owned and • SCADA controlled by the members • Member service and billing we serve. We believe in our • Safety employees and strive to • Information technology Connie Hogue • Engineering and GIS provide fair, honest and equal • Communications & marketing treatment with a commitment to training, education • Community relations and opportunity for advancement in a safe and secure • Human resources environment.

• Accountants • Administrative Assistants Are you wondering what types of jobs are available, and which skills you should focus on to help you join the energy field? The energy industry is home to over 100 skilled, well- If you are interested in a career with The Energy paying careers that offer reliable employment. Here are Cooperative, we would love to talk to you! Apply for just a few of careers available at The Energy Cooperative. positions you are interested in when they are available.

Visit myenergycoop.com/careers to see available positions Line Worker: Line workers focus on the transmission and at The Energy Cooperative. To learn more about careers in distribution of electricity. They have specialized training the energy industry visit oogeep.org/industry-workforce/ and an in-depth understanding of electrical circuits of all careers or getintoenergy.com. voltages. They use knowledge of mechanical relationships, such as leverage and how pulleys work, in practical situations. With their math skills, they can visualize length, width, thickness, height or depth, as well as differences among shapes, widths or lengths of electrical lines.

Service Technician: Natural gas service technicians are also emergency responders. They use specialized equipment to detect leaks both in a member’s premises or outdoors and can service them, ensuring the safety of members. They also use a variety of measuring tools to locate and mark out underground natural gas lines.

Engineer: Engineers turn ideas into reality. They are behind the scenes of the computers, cars, buildings and infrastructure we depend on every day. Likewise, engineers are essential in the energy industry. They design, implement and maintain utility infrastructures, such as gas mains, substations, electrical grids and other types of delivery systems.

MYENERGYCOOP.COM

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Get familiar with Cyber Basics

By Pat McGonagle, Vice President & Chief Financial Officer At a time when we are more connected than ever, being “cyber smart” is of the utmost importance. This year has already seen more than a fair share of cyber-attacks and breaches, including the highprofile attacks on the Colonial Pipeline and other critical infrastructure. Furthermore, Pat McGonagle as has been underlined by these recent breaches, cyber-attacks are becoming more sophisticated with more evolved bad actors cropping up each day. Luckily, there are several steps we can take daily to mitigate risks and stay one step ahead of cyber criminals.

Do your research.

Enable multi-factor authentication.

Common sense is a crucial part of being cyber smart, and an intuitive step to stay safe online is to do some research before downloading anything new to your device, such as apps. Before downloading any new learning app on your device, check who created the app, what the user reviews say and if there are any articles published online about the app’s privacy and security features.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds that necessary second check to verify your identity when logging in to one of your accounts. By requiring multiple methods of authentication, your account is further protected from being compromised, even if a bad actor hijacks your password. In this way, MFAs make it more difficult for password cracking tools to enable attackers to break into accounts.

Check your settings.

Be diligent to double check your privacy and security Use a strong passphrase or password.

This may seem obvious, but all too often the importance of settings and be aware of who can access your documents. a strong passphrase or password should not be overlooked. This extends from Google docs, to Zoom calls, and beyond.

People spending more time online during the pandemic For meetings on Zoom, for example, create passwords so has certainly contributed to more bad actors prowling only those invited to the session can attend and restrict for accounts to attack. Using long, complex and unique who can share their screen or files with the rest of the passwords is a safe way to stop your account from being attendees. hacked, and an easy way of keeping track and remembering In summary, being cyber smart and maintaining stellar your passwords is by using a password manager. online hygiene is the best way to protect yourself and others from cyber-attacks. No single tip is foolproof, but Perform software updates. together they can make a real difference toward taking When a device prompts that it’s time to update the software, control of your online presence. Following these tips is also it may be tempting to simply click postpone, and ignore the easy and free. By taking preventive measures and making message. However, having the latest security software, web a habit of practicing online safety, you can decrease your browser, and operating system on devices is one of the best odds of being hacked exponentially - and prevent lost time defenses against online threats. So, don’t wait - update! and money, as well as annoyance.

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Walking Wild Rescue

By Gary Baker, Director of Marketing & Public Relations towards the fur farmer, and ultimately, try to have a good relationship with them so they can rescue animals. Molly hopes to see the fur trade phase out and regulations developed for foxes veterinary care and quality of life.

We are always mindful to provide useful and informative information to our members in this magazine, and also keep an eye out for unique member businesses, nonprofits and hobbies that make for an entertaining and interesting read.

That is what this story Gary Baker is about – a unique, non-profit organization ran by Energy Cooperative members, David and Molly Schulz. The Schulz’s live in rural Licking County. They rescue and save foxes and wolf dogs from unfortunate surroundings and give them a safe, healthy home to live for the rest of their lives.

Molly was a city girl from a congested area in northwest Columbus. David convinced her to move to 19 acres in Licking County by promising she could have any animal that she wanted. Molly agreed and David and their four-legged babies, including Maugrim their first wolf dog, made the move.

Soon after Banjo, a captive bred fox rescued from a Minnesota fox rescue wolf dog sanctuary. Then Fiddle, a four and a half week old fox rescued from a fur farm, joined them. Through Banjo and Fiddle the Schulz’s developed a passion for saving and rescuing foxes and wolf dogs. They now own and operate Walking Wild Fox Rescue and Wolf Dog Sanctuary.

Tinkerbell

Since the animals at Walking Wild Fox Rescue and Wolf Dog Sanctuary are non-wild captive bred animals, they can never be released into the true wild. Captive bred animals do not have the instincts they need to survive, so releasing them in the wild is a death sentence. The Schulz’s have discovered that many people mistakenly believe foxes make great house pets. In fact, these extremely energetic animals are nothing like a dog or a cat. Fox are very intelligent and curious animals. This does not make them great family members for most people due to the destruction their natural behavior can cause.

This often takes new fox owners by surprise, and they end up not wanting to keep the animal. This is why an organization like Walking Wild Fox Rescue and Wolf Dog Sanctuary is so crucial and important.

They provide a safe haven for these animals to be raised and are a resource for fox and wolf dog education in the community and around the world.

In March of 2020, the Schulz’s rescued five foxes from a New York fur farm. Fast forward to today, they have a total of 35 foxes in their care. In the past two and a half months, they have also taken in nine baby foxes or “kits”.

The Schulz’s work with fur farmers across the United States to rescue foxes. The fur business in the U.S. is a billion-dollar industry. Fox fur, like bobcat and lynx fur, are popular with clothing designers around the world. David and Molly have no anger MYENERGYCOOP.COM

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Kristoff

"The Licking County community has been so receptive and supportive. The support we get from restaurants, breweries, numerous charities and The Energy Cooperative is very exciting and encouraging.” Molly Schulz

7,000 Square Foot Building

Walking Wild Fox Rescue and Wolf Dog Sanctuary has a new 7,000 square foot building under construction. They are hopeful the facility will allow visitors of all ages to visit Licking County and interact directly with the animals.

The new fox facility will house up to 75 foxes.

The 23 enclosures will be climate-controlled, reducing physical and emotional stress.

The Energy Cooperative’s donation was used to cover the cost of a needed surgery for an emergency intake from an abusive situation.

At press time, Baloo was recovering from the procedure. Molly shared, “Baloo's surgery went very well. Once surgery began the doctors discovered more damage than x-rays originally showed causing surgery to take a few hours.

With surgery behind us, now the long post-op journey begins.” It is probably going to be close to a year before Baloo regains full use of his leg, but we are looking forward to hearing about his recovery.

Molly and David Schulz

To learn more about Walking Wild Fox Rescue and Wolf Dog Sanctuary or their animals visit their website, walkingwildrescue.org. The website includes an event calendar, pictures of the animals and the opportunity to donate to the organization.

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Why Do We Still Article provided by Ohio Electric Cooperatives Members of Ohio electric cooperatives understand the benefits of renewable energy sources like wind and solar — endless supplies that can’t be used up, with little to no carbon footprint. Why, then, can’t Buckeye Power, the generation cooperative that provides electricity to the 25 member cooperatives in the state, switch to all renewable resources? This month, we attempt to answer why coal must remain an important part of our energy generation resources.

Craig Grooms, Buckeye Power’s vice president of engineering and operations, explains the shortcomings of renewable sources. “Renewables are intermittent,” he says. “Resources show up when the wind’s blowing, but they’re not there when the wind is not blowing. The same is true for solar — when the sun’s shining, that resource is there.” When conditions are just right, those resources can produce at their maximum effectiveness. When night falls, when the sky is cloudy, or when the wind isn’t blowing, something else has to produce our energy.

Why can’t we switch to all renewables?

Why is coal so much more reliable?

In a word, reliability. Ryan Strom, manager of power delivery engineering services for Buckeye Power, says, “A lot of people don’t realize when they’re using electricity at home, there is a power plant actively running to support that.” Electricity is produced as you’re using it, not stored for when you need it.

Coal provides “fuel security” — the assurance that fuel is always available to use. “Baseload resources provide power generation whenever you need it,” says Grooms. “That’s one attribute of a coal plant that we count on, not just for ourselves, but for the grid. So fuel security is about supplying energy to the grid when it needs it, and coal is a very stable, low-cost fuel that’s stored on-site.”

The demand for electricity fluctuates minute by minute and hour by hour, depending on a variety of factors. A temperature above 90 F in the middle of the day creates the highest demand. A cool night with low humidity creates much less. A prolonged winter storm with below freezing temperatures drives up demand. Whatever the conditions, the supply of electricity must be able to match the demand.

What about batteries?

If energy were stored instead of produced as it was needed, intermittent resources could comprise a larger percentage of generation. But the technology doesn’t yet exist.

Large-scale battery storage is in its infancy. Grooms says, “A small amount is being used for utility-scale purposes, but it still provides a tiny, tiny amount of the overall energy to the grid.” The batteries that do exist hold only a few hours of supply. After that, additional energy is needed — enough to use right now plus enough to recharge the batteries. That wouldn’t be possible during a prolonged weather event.

“Reliability isn’t just about convenience,” says Kevin Zemanek, director of system operations. While it’s important that the light comes on when you flip the switch, there are far bigger stakes. Factories depend on electricity being available to run their equipment and manufacture goods — their employees can count on coming to work and earning a paycheck for the day because the electricity will be on. Hospitals can perform surgeries and other medical procedures — the lights or the electric-powered life support equipment won’t fail just because it’s a day of high electricity demand. You can have safe food to eat because your refrigerator and freezer don’t just operate intermittently when there’s enough electricity — they’re on all the time. “That’s because we use generation sources that are available to us all of the time, not just in ideal conditions,” Zemanek says.

Additionally, Grooms points out, “It’s very energy intensive to develop batteries, and there’s a lot of rare earth materials that go into batteries, which aren’t necessarily coming from the U.S. So you’re putting your supply chain reliability on other countries that may or may not be stable.

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Need Coal?

Demand cannot exceed supply

Looking forward

Weather-related energy crises in California and Texas last summer and winter are a consequence of a situation in which demand exceeded supply. A combination of events — an extreme heat wave and prolonged windy conditions in California and bitterly cold temperatures and ice storms in Texas — drove up demand and kneecapped supply as production systems were knocked offline. Rolling blackouts were instituted to prevent collapse of the grid. The loss of power had devastating effects: The Houston Chronicle estimates that nearly 200 people lost their lives during the storm, most of them from hypothermia, and frozen pipes caused untold millions of dollars in property damage.

As renewable energy technology advances, more of these sources can be added to the grid and to Buckeye Power’s portfolio of generation. Buckeye Power remains committed to an all-of-the-above generation strategy, which includes renewable resources, natural gas, and the coal-fired Cardinal Power Plant. Above all, we remain committed to providing our consumer-members with safe, reliable, affordable electricity.

Attention Natural Gas Members In accordance with Federal Pipeline Safety Regulations 49 CFR, Part 192.16, The Energy Cooperative is required to inform members that the member shall be responsible for their gas service lines.

When digging near buried gas piping, the piping should be located in advance and the excavation done by hand. As a reminder, any time you are excavating, OHIO811 should be called by simply dialing 811 or 1-800-362-2764 at least 48 What you need to know hours prior to digging. OHIO811 will notify various utility The member is responsible for the maintenance and repair of all gas piping from the gas meter to all gas appliances. companies to locate utilities lines in the area.

The member is responsible for the repair/replacement of the gas service line located on the member’s property from Plumbing and heating contractors can assist in locating, the buried curb valve to the inlet of the gas meter. Buried inspecting, and repairing the member’s buried piping. The gas piping that is not maintained may be subject to the Federal Department of Transportation (DOT) requires that a DOT-qualified plumbing contractor must be used potential hazards of corrosion and leakage. to repair or replace a member’s buried piping upstream For your safety, all buried pipe should be periodically of the meter, including the gas riser attached to the meter inspected for leaks. If the buried piping is metallic, it set. While this is not required for piping downstream of should also be periodically inspected for corrosion. If an the meter, The Energy Cooperative strongly recommends unsafe condition is found, the gas piping will need to be a DOT-qualified plumber be used for all buried gas piping. promptly repaired.

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Safe, Reliable, At The Energy Cooperative, our propane members enjoy outstanding service, competitive rates and reliable supply managed by a team of professional drivers that are second to none. Our drivers are determined to make safe, timely deliveries no matter what the challenge and never let you run out of fuel. The Energy Cooperative offers commercial and agricultural service. Whether you want metered service or bulk delivery for your home, business or farm, The Energy Cooperative’s got you covered.

New members can get started with introductory rates as low as $1.59.

Learn more at myenergycoop.com or call us at 1-800-255-6815.

Intro rates as low as $1.59!

Affordable Propane

myenergycoop.com/propane 11

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Power Surges and Blinks

By Gary Glover, Vice President & Chief Operating Officer — Electric Operations

Gary Glover

Have you ever noticed your lights blink during a thunderstorm? Or perhaps you’ve noticed a blinking microwave clock when you arrive home. When this happens, you’ve likely experienced a brief disruption to your electric service which could result from a power surge or blink. While the symptoms of surges and blinks can appear similar, what’s happening behind the scenes can be quite different.

What’s a power surge?

frequent surges in your home or business and you believe the cause is internal, contact a qualified electrician to inspect your electrical system.

What’s a power blink?

Power blinks are also brief service interruptions, but they’re typically caused by a fault (short circuit) on a power line or a protective device that’s working in reaction to the fault. Faults can occur through a variety of instances, like squirrels, birds or other small animals contacting an energized power line; tree branches touching a power line; or lightning and other similar events. In fact, when it comes to power disruptions caused by critters, squirrels reign supreme. In 2019 alone, squirrels were responsible for more than 1,200 outages.

Power surges are brief overvoltage spikes or disturbances of a power waveform that can damage, degrade or destroy electronic equipment within your home or business. Most electronics are designed to handle small variations in voltage; however, power surges can reach amplitudes of tens of thousands of volts––this can be extremely damaging to your electronic equipment.

Any of the events noted above can cause your power to blink, but you may also experience a brief interruption when protective devices that act like circuit breakers are working to detect the fault. Believe it or not, these brief power blinks caused by protective devices are actually good because that means the equipment is working as it should to prevent a prolonged outage.

Surges can be caused by internal sources, like HVAC systems with variable frequency drives or external sources, like lightning and damage to power lines and transformers. The Energy Cooperative encourages all members to install surge protective devices (such as surge protector power strips) to safeguard your sensitive electronics. If you’re experiencing

Contact us at 1-888-535-5732 if a power blink turns into a power outage. Our crews respond to outages and emergencies 24/7/365. If we know about your outage, rest assured we are working to restore it.

Reporting Outages

The Operation Round Up Foundation donated $13,042 to the following community organizations in August 2021.

Homeless Hands of Zanesville toward repairs of their transitional house, Stepping Stones.

Northridge Athletic Boosters toward stadium renovations at Northridge High School.

St. Francis de Sales School toward a garbage disposal in the school cafeteria.

To learn more about Operation Round Up Foundation or apply for grants, visit myenergycoop.com/operation-roundup.

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Understanding natural gas prices

By Dan McVey, Vice President & Chief Operating Officer — Gas Operations

Dan McVey

February Cold Snap Impacts Prices

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts natural gas prices will continue to increase during the 2021-22 heating season. While we work hard to keep our natural gas and propane rates low, the price we pay to purchase energy is beyond our control. The uptick in natural gas prices can be attributed to two main factors: natural gas exports and electric generation.

The February 2021 cold snap that affected much of the central part of the country, especially Texas, reduced supply and increased demand for natural gas. This resulted in nearrecord storage withdrawals and natural gas prices continued to climb. Although prices did not remain elevated, the February cold snap raised the annual 2021 average price for natural gas.

Understanding Your Natural Gas Bill The Energy Cooperative continually evaluates its cost to serve our members. These costs fluctuate depending on the amount of energy used and the cost of the commodity, transmission, storage and delivery to the home or business.

The United States started exporting natural gas in the early 2000s. Those numbers started to skyrocket in the past few years and now outpace imports.

Your natural gas bills include the following charges: • Facilities Fee of $23.00 per month • Infrastructure Replacement Rider of $5.49 per month • Distribution Rate of $0.211 per ccf • Gas Cost Recovery (GCR) Rate of $0.595 per ccf and changes monthly based on the price we pay to purchase your natural gas (this is where volatile gas prices are most evident) If you have questions about your natural gas bill, contact a member service representative at 1-800-255-6815 or visit myenergycoop.com.

In addition to exporting natural gas at record levels, extremely hot weather creates a demand for natural gas-powered electric generation facilities. When electricity is in ‘peak demand’ natural gas fired power plants are brought online to meet the high energy use. Many of these plants do not run all the time. Instead, they are on standby for those times when everyone is using more electricity. With the extreme heat we experienced this summer, natural gas consumption for electric power generation increased. This leaves less natural gas supply to store for use during winter months.

This removal of natural gas from the supply chain results in higher prices.

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Director's Corner

By Jack Schmidt, CCD, BL, District 7 Director •

Agriculture is the backbone of our country, and our livelihood greatly depends on the crops provided

by American farmers. In addition to being one of the most labor-intensive professions, farming is also considered one of the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. The hard work and exhaustive labor are tough Jack Schmidt but rushing the job to save time can be extremely dangerous––even deadly––when farming near electrical equipment.

Every year, we see collisions where tractors and other farming equipment accidentally collide with utility poles and power lines, causing injuries and power outages.

These dangerous accidents can be avoided by looking up and around your surroundings when operating large farm machinery.

If you’re preparing for harvest season, please keep the following safety tips in mind: •

Maintain a 10-foot clearance around all utility equipment in all directions.

•

•

Use a spotter and deployed flags to maintain safe distances from power lines and other electrical equipment when working in the field.

If your equipment makes contact with an energized or downed power line, contact 9-1-1 immediately and remain inside the vehicle until the power line is de-energized. In case of smoke or fire, exit the cab by making a solid jump out of the cab (without touching it), and hop away to safety.

Consider equipment and cargo extensions of your vehicle. Lumber, hay, tree limbs, irrigation pipes and even bulk materials can conduct electricity, so keep them out of contact with electrical equipment.

September 19-25 is National Farm Health and Safety Week but practicing safety on the farm year-round yields positive results. We hope you never find yourself in a situation where farming equipment contacts power lines or poles, but if you do, we hope you’ll remember these safety tips.

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Farm Safety Coloring Sheet Farm Health and Safety Week is September 19-25! Whether you live on a farm or in the city, always remember to avoid playing near power lines and other electrical equipment.

1936

8 5 YEARS OF SERVICE 2021

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE

1500 Granville Road P.O. Box 4970 Newark, Ohio 43058-4970 1.800.255.6815

PAID

COLUMBUS, OH PERMIT NO. 608

myenergycoop.com

Business hours The Energy Cooperative’s business hours are Monday through Friday from 7:30am to 4:30pm. We respond to outages and emergencies 24/7/365. Call if you need us. Our crews are on call and ready to respond.

Important phone numbers • • •

Member service: 1.800.255.6815.

Electric outages or emergencies: 1.888.535.5732.

Natural gas or propane emergency: 1.800.255.6815.

Safety Reminders • • •

If you smell rotten eggs or suspect a gas leak, leave the area immediately. Call 911. Then call us at 1.800.255.6815.

If you see a downed power line or other electrical hazard call 911. Then call our outage line at 1.888.535.5732.

Assume every downed power line is energized and dangerous. Consider any object touching lines energized as well.