An update on the new partnership

THE
u Partnership
Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
u Youth Power and
Hope Awards . . . . . . . . . .
2
BEACON
United REMC
A Touchstone Energy® Cooperative
u Take Action to Keep
Electric Costs Low! . . . . . 3
uGet $10 OFF your next
electric bill . . . . . . . . . .
S E P T E MB ER
OFFICE HOURS
4
M-F 7:30 am - 4:00 pm
@unitedremc
/unitedremc
2014
Local ............................................. 260.758.3155
Toll Free ........................................ 800.542.6339
Website ...........................www.unitedremc.com
Email ..............................info@unitedremc.com
Call Before You Dig .......................................811
An update on the new partnership
Changes abound at the REMC! Since
the June annual meeting, REMC employees
have been working diligently to facilitate the
upcoming consolidation. Members will start
seeing changes in November. The biggest
changes will come in the form of a new name
and logo. After months of work, the directors
and employees are excited to announce the
name of the new consolidated cooperative.
Welcome to Heartland REMC! Along with
the new name is an exciting new logo which
can be seen below.
The consolidation was seen as a way for
your electric co-op to become more efficient.
The consolidation will allow us to make the
best use of the resources of two co-ops as
we move forward. Together, the two boards
and employees from both co-ops have been
examining ways that will improve service and
work toward keeping rates as low as possible.
Obviously, there will be changes as we
move forward. We believe this move is
in the best interest of our members, who
are the reason we exist in the first place.
With any co-op, it is not about profits, it is
not about shareholders,
it | is
about
HEARTLAND REMC
FULLall
COLOR
LOGO the
member.
We are excited to move forward with
Introducing…
Heartland REMC. You can keep up to date
with our progress through your newsletter,
as well as our website and social media.
It may seem like a long process, but it’s
important that we make good decisions and
choices as the “new” electric co-op takes
shape.
Wabash County REMC and United
REMC will continue to move forward with
the development of Heartland REMC over
the coming months. Watch your monthly
newsletter for updates.
Wabash Office Contact Information
350 Wedcor Ave.
Wabash, IN 46992
In the Industrial Park behind Big R
Phone: 260-563-2146
Toll-Free: 800-563-2146
Outage Reporting: 866-336-2492
Markle Office Contact Information
4563 E Markle Rd. / P.O. Box 605
Markle, IN 46770
Located on US 224, West of I-69
Phone: 260-758-3155
Toll-Free: 800-542-6339
After-Hours Emergency: 800-776-0485
In coming months, watch as
REMC utility trucks, uniforms, and
communications are branded with this
new logo that represents your new
consolidated cooperative.
United REMC will be
closed Monday, Sept. 1
for the Labor Day holiday.
Budget Billing
News
September is the “settle up” month for
current United REMC budget billing
customers. Please review your account
balance now to plan for that settle-up due
date at the end of September or October.
Your budget amount is an average of the
previous 12 months of usage each year.
Due to the harsh winter of 2013-2014,
budget amounts may not have kept up
with the actual usage, and you may owe
a balance larger than your normal budget
amount. Also, your September statement
will also give your new budget amount for
the next budget year. Due to colder winter
temperatures, your budget amount may
increase.
With the consolidation of United REMC
and Wabash REMC, the annual schedule
for the budget is changing. Currently, the
plan is to begin new budgets in June,
so for this one year, you may “settle up”
twice in one 12-month period as we make
this transition.
Youth Power and Hope Awards
2012 Olympic diving gold medalist David Boudia
and Electric Consumer are teaming up to
recognize the community spirit of Indiana’s youth.
The annual Youth Power and Hope Awards
contest emphasizes the important role young
Hoosiers can play in their communities. The
contest is open to Indiana fifth through eighth
graders whose parents are members of an electric
cooperative. Entrants must complete an entry
form, provide examples of how they have been
involved in their local community, and include a
letter of reference from a trusted adult.
When it’s hot outside, appliances and
lighting can actually heat up our homes
more than we think. To save energy,
minimize the activities that generate
additional heat, such as burning open
flames, continuously running a computer, or
using hot hair devices like curling irons. This
will ultimately keep your house cooler.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy
To qualify for budget, you must be a current United REMC member for the last 12
months with an excellent credit history. If
you have budget billing questions, please
call 800-542-6339, or 260-758-3611 and
ask for Laura. In the coming months,
please look for more information on
upcoming changes in your monthly newsletter, on our website, and on your bills.
4-H
Five winners will be chosen from all entrants to
attend a special reception featuring Boudia at the
Indiana Electric Cooperatives Annual Meeting on
Dec. 9 in Indianapolis. They will be recognized
during a ceremony at the annual meeting, among
other highlights. An entry form and contest details
can be found at www.ElectricConsumer.org.
Deadline for entries is Friday, October 3.
Boudia, a Noblesville, Ind., resident has been
diving since age 11 and has been a member of the
U.S. National Diving Team since 2005. He is an
18-time national champion and has competed in
two Olympic games. In 2012, he won the Olympic
gold medal in the 10-meter platform and received
a bronze medal for synchronized diving in the
10-meter platform. He is also a nominee for the
James E. Sullivan Award which recognizes the
nation’s outstanding amateur athletes. Boudia is
a graduate of Purdue University, having received
his bachelor’s degree in communications in 2013.
Boudia also made a brief foray into television last
year as a celebrity judge for the reality competition
“Splash,” which aired on ABC.
Indiana Electric Cooperatives represents 39
electric cooperatives that serve 89 of the state’s
92 counties. For more information on Indiana
Electric Cooperatives and its members, visit
www.indianaec.org.
July was a big month for county 4-H fairs in this part of the state.
Wabash, Huntington, Wells and Allen counties all had their fairs,
drawing large crowds at each one. In the photo at right, Phillip Cowan,
a lineman from Jay County REMC, talks with Jonah Bricker about his electric project at
the Wells County 4-H Fair. Jonah is the son of Jason and Joy Bricker, and it was his
first entry in the electric project. In the photo above, Neil Draper, from Wabash County
REMC, judges an electric project at the Huntington County Fair. Helping Cowan with the
judging at Wells County was Ron Laux, also from Jay County REMC, and helping Draper
at the Huntington County Fair was Rachel Cruz, Communications and Member Services
Specialist at Wabash County REMC.
Capital credit refunds
to be dispersed soon
Capital credit refunds for a portion of the year 1983 have been approved
by your United REMC board of directors.
Members are allocated margins dependent upon their energy
consumption. Capital credits are margins retained at year-end by your
electric cooperative. Since a cooperative’s “shareholders” are the very
people it serves, capital credits reflect each member’s ownership in the
cooperative. This is unlike investor-owned utilities whose shareholders
may or may not be customers of the utility.
United REMC’s ability to return margins to its members, in the form of
capital credits, reflects your cooperative’s strength and financial stability.
Active United REMC members will see their refund as a separate line
item (credit) on their electric bill. Even if you no longer have electric
service with United REMC, you are still eligible for capital credit dollars.
Inactive members (with capital credits due) will receive capital credit
checks via the U.S. Postal Service. Therefore, it is important to keep
your current address updated so any future disbursements reach you
safely.
All United REMC members receiving electric service during the year
1983 should expect to receive their bill credits or mailed refund checks
in the near future. We at United appreciate the opportunity to serve you,
and thank you for being a valued member of your electric co-op.
Miller part of
DC Youth Tour
Kory Miller, who will be a
senior at Southern Wells
High School, took part in
this year’s Youth Tour to
Washington DC back in June.
He joined over 70 other high
school seniors as part of the
Indiana contingent. In turn
that group met up with about
1,500 other students from
across the country in the
annual Youth Tour Rally. They
visited several memorials and
museums and had a chance
to visit with representatives
of Indiana’s Congressional
delegation. They also visited
the Flight 93 National Memorial
on the way, and also stopped
at Gettysburg.
Miller is the son of Garry
and Lisa Miller, and they
live in Wells County in the
Warren area.
Please join
us in taking
E
Action
very day we rely on electricity. We depend on the refrigerator to keep
our food fresh, air conditioning and heating to keep us comfortable
and, of course, lights on a daily basis. We also depend on electricity to
re-charge our electronics. Whether it’s a phone to keep in touch with relatives,
a tablet for students’ homework or the laptop on which we stream movies,
these devices all have become integral to our daily routine.
At work, we rely on electricity to power our computers, phones, lights and
productivity. Without this consistent, reliable and affordable power source,
businesses would relocate, jobs would be lost and prices of goods and services
would increase.
That’s why United REMC is concerned about the latest proposed regulations
on existing power plants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This
round of rules impacts the power plants on which we rely every day.
Cooperatives are different from other electric utilities. We are owned by our
member-consumers. When we look at our power options, we are not driven to
make a profit. We strive to provide the most affordable and reliable electricity
possible to our members.
However, these new regulations could endanger this independent supply
of affordable electric power. Electric cooperatives, like United REMC, are
small businesses. We’re not large utilities with several different power plants
operating with a variety of fuel sources. We built power plants when it made
sense for our members. But the way the new rules are written, we might have
to close our plant and lose our independence.
The EPA has drafted a regulation that adversely and disproportionately affects
electric cooperatives. That’s why we are telling the EPA that this regulation
simply does not work for us.
When the EPA drafted regulations limiting greenhouse gases from new power
plants, the agency received more than five hundred thousand emails opposing
the regulation. Today we ask you once again, please visit www.Action.coop
and tell the EPA you cannot afford these new regulations.
Your voice was heard last time. The EPA took note of electric cooperatives, and
our collective voice showed that co-op consumers were engaged.
That’s
why
we’re
asking you to take
action again. The EPA
needs to understand
the impact that these
regulations have on
the people at the end
of the power lines.
Electric
cooperative
members are uniquely
situated to help the EPA
understand that these
regulations will cost
Americans more money.
These regulations also
will cost Americans jobs.
These will not work for
rural Americans.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
United REMC
Ted Martz, President
A Touchstone Energy® Cooperative
Fred Schweikhardt, Vice President
PO BOX 605
MARKLE, IN 46770
Joh Smith, Secretary
Ralph Keefer, Treasurer
Alan Amick
John Anson
Gary Fausz
Alan Schlagenhauf
Steve Williams
Jeremy Nix, Legal Counsel
THE
BEACON
Get the Electric Consumer with recipes
online at: www.UnitedREMC.com
september
RECIPE CONTEST
Try this spicy summer snack!
WINNER
The winner of the September recipe contest is
Marjorie Simerson of rural Huntington, who will receive a
$10 credit on her electric bill. Marjorie’s winning entry is
“Green Tomato Jam.” Enjoy!!!
The contest is easy. Just submit your recipe along
with the entry form in The Beacon. Your recipe will be
put into a drawing for a $10 credit on your next electric
bill, and the winning recipe will be featured in the next
month’s newsletter.
If you pay by e-bill, or bank draft, you can email
your name, phone number, address and recipe to
recipes@UnitedREMC.com. One recipe per member.
Be the next winner! The theme ingredient for October
is “APPLES” and the theme ingredient for November is
“TURKEY.” Deadline for October is Sept. 15.
OCTOBER RECIPE ENTRY
october
Apples
NOVEMBER RECIPE ENTRY
november
Turkey
Name: ___________________________________________
Name: ___________________________________________
Phone Number: ____________________________________
Phone Number: ____________________________________
Address: _________________________________________
Address: _________________________________________
Recipe Title: ______________________________________
Recipe Title: ______________________________________
United REMC
United REMC
A Touchstone Energy® Cooperative
Return this form with recipe to:
UNITED REMC
PO BOX 605
MARKLE, IN 46770
A Touchstone Energy® Cooperative
Return this form with recipe to:
UNITED REMC
PO BOX 605
MARKLE, IN 46770