May 2013 Kilowatt - Clay Electric Co-op, Inc.
May 2013 Kilowatt - Clay Electric Co-op, Inc.
May 2013 Kilowatt - Clay Electric Co-op, Inc.
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The General Manager’s Report<br />
Ricky Davis<br />
Over the years, our commitment to<br />
our members has remained strong<br />
In March we held our 75th<br />
Annual Meeting, and we appreciate<br />
all our members who<br />
attended.<br />
We’re very proud of the fact<br />
that we’ve been serving members<br />
for 75 years. <strong>Clay</strong> <strong>Electric</strong><br />
was created in the 1930s to meet<br />
the challenge of bringing electricity<br />
to rural areas. Over the past<br />
decades, <strong>Clay</strong> <strong>Electric</strong>’s board<br />
of trustees, management and<br />
employees have met many challenges<br />
with the same determination<br />
our founders had when they<br />
went about the task of signing<br />
up folks to join the fledgling<br />
co<strong>op</strong>erative.<br />
While many things have<br />
changed in the way we serve our<br />
members, our mission remains<br />
the same as it was in the early<br />
years – to bring you the best<br />
service at competitive rates.<br />
Legislative Session<br />
During each annual Legislative<br />
session, we closely follow<br />
any pr<strong>op</strong>osed bills that could<br />
help or hurt the co<strong>op</strong>erative or<br />
its members. This year, the electric<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s of Florida, along with<br />
the Florida <strong>Electric</strong> <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
Association, supported an electricity<br />
theft bill that increased the<br />
penalties for stealing electricity.<br />
Currently, the criminal penalty<br />
is a first-degree misdemeanor,<br />
regardless of the dollar value of<br />
the electricity stolen.<br />
The new law allows penalties<br />
that vary depending upon the<br />
value of the electricity stolen.<br />
Additionally, the law will increase<br />
the minimum award in a<br />
civil action against the thief from<br />
$1,000 to $3,000, mitigating the<br />
utility’s time and cost of recovering<br />
its losses. The bill was signed<br />
by the governor in April and will<br />
take effect on Oct. 1.<br />
MAY <strong>2013</strong><br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Owners for<br />
Political Action<br />
Speaking of the legislature and<br />
politics, last year we began offering<br />
our members the <strong>op</strong>portunity<br />
to join a political action committee<br />
known as <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Owners<br />
for Political Action (COPA).<br />
Groups of citizens learned<br />
years ago that their collective<br />
voices were often heard by lawmakers<br />
above the voice of single<br />
citizens. Political action committees<br />
were formed to provide<br />
groups of like-minded citizens<br />
with the ability to raise funds<br />
and help elect lawmakers who<br />
were willing to listen to their<br />
concerns.<br />
By joining COPA, you become<br />
part of a strong grassroots<br />
network of citizens concerned<br />
about the long-term success of<br />
the electric co<strong>op</strong>erative program.<br />
Maintaining our presence in the<br />
political process is critical to the<br />
future of the electric co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
program and the communities<br />
it serves in these unpredictable<br />
times.<br />
A regular annual membership<br />
in COPA is only $25. The cost<br />
of memberships can be broken<br />
down into small monthly payments<br />
and added to your electric<br />
bill statements. I encourage you<br />
to consider joining us in our<br />
efforts to stay involved in the<br />
political process.<br />
Our rates<br />
As I have written about previously,<br />
our rates continue to be<br />
among the lowest in the state.<br />
Our residential rate for 1,000<br />
kilowatt hours is $109. This is<br />
lower than all other co<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
in the state and is the 7th lowest<br />
among all utilities in the state. In<br />
fact, our rates are lower than all<br />
of our neighboring utilities. We<br />
are proud to have this competitive<br />
rate position.<br />
Storm season<br />
Hurricane season begins<br />
next month, and forecasters are<br />
calling for an active season. Be<br />
assured we are ready should a<br />
major storm cause widespread<br />
outages in our service area.<br />
I have encouraged my department<br />
directors to conduct an outage<br />
simulation with line supervisors<br />
and foremen to make sure<br />
we are as prepared as possible to<br />
meet the challenge of an outage.<br />
Our simulation begins with<br />
a transmission line problem<br />
which impacts many feeders<br />
and transformers. The simulated<br />
outage situation would include<br />
making sure all accompanying<br />
documentation would be filled<br />
out correctly and then checked<br />
for accuracy.<br />
I think this is an important<br />
test, especially for newer employees<br />
who were not here when<br />
the last major storms caused<br />
widespread, sustained outages.<br />
Thank you<br />
I began my career here nearly<br />
40 years ago, and obviously I’ve<br />
seen many changes.<br />
This year, I am reminded of a<br />
slogan we have displayed in our<br />
front lobby, which reads “Proud<br />
of the past, Prepared for the<br />
future.” To me, this is truly what<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong> stands for: a strong<br />
history of providing service and<br />
a vision for tomorrow.<br />
We are proud of how much<br />
we have accomplished through<br />
the years on your behalf, and we<br />
pledge to continue our tradition<br />
of providing excellent service<br />
and affordable power.<br />
As always, we appreciate the<br />
<strong>op</strong>portunity to serve you.<br />
KILOWATT/3
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