October is National Cooperative Month

u Free Coffee & Cookie Fridays
for Co-op Month! . . . . . . . 1
u Operation Round Up
Approves 3 Grants . . . . . .
2
u Take Action to Keep
Electric Costs Low! . . . . . 3
uGet $10 OFF your next
electric bill . . . . . . . . . .
4
OFFICE HOURS
M-F 7:30 am - 4:30 pm
/wabashremc
O CTOBER
2014
Local ....................................................... 260.563.2146
Toll Free .................................................. 800.563.2146
Website ....................................www.wabashremc.com
Email ......................................mail@wabashremc.com
Call Before You Dig .................................................811
October is National Cooperative Month
W
abash County REMC is inviting all to
celebrate cooperatives in Indiana—and
across America—during National Cooperative
Month.
Every October, cooperatives are recognized
for the qualities that make this business model
unique. Seven cooperative principles set us
apart from other businesses: voluntary and
open membership; democratic member control;
member’s economic participation; autonomy
and independence; education, training and
information; cooperation among cooperatives;
and concern for community.
This Co-op Month, we’re focusing on
“The Electric Co-op Connection: Discover the
Meaning of Membership.” Co-ops exist to serve
their members, but they also play a major role
in their local communities.
“Cooperative membership is unique,” says
Rachel Cruz, Communications and Member
Services Specialist. “Electric cooperatives are
committed to providing members with safe,
reliable and affordable electricity, but there’s
more to it than that. We are local, and that
means we care about our community. This
is why we participate in programs such as
Operation Round Up, Youth Tour, and yearly
Safety Presentations to local schools.”
Wabash County REMC is proud to be
part of America’s cooperative network, which
includes more than 47,000 cooperative
businesses.
Wabash County REMC is one of more than
900 electric cooperatives, public utility districts
Join us in celebrating National Co-op Month by stopping in
the office any Friday in October for coffee and cookies.
Wabash County REMC | 350 Wedcor Ave. | Wabash, IN 46992
(1 mile behind Big R in the North Industrial Park)
Celebrate with
Wabash County
REMC
and public power districts serving 42 million
people in 47 states.
“In the 1930s, rural America needed
electricity just as much as anyone else,” Cruz
said. “It was a major challenge that big utilities
weren’t interested in tackling. So, the men and
women of rural America banded together and
made it happen. And that’s why we celebrate
in October – we celebrate the power of
working together for the common good and
bettering the quality of life for our friends and
neighbors.”
In addition to cooperative utilities, Indiana
residents are served cooperatively by credit
unions, food co-ops, agricultural co-ops, and
more! To learn more about Wabash County
REMC, visit www.wabashremc.com.
Draft dodgers: Weather stripping your home
T
here is no doubt about it; the cold
weather is on its way. Not only is it
important to make sure that your heating
unit is working properly, but you should check
your home to make sure that none of that heat
is escaping.
When the weather turns colder, drafts around
windows and doors are constantly letting in cool
air. Most people will immediately want to raise
their thermostat even higher; however, that
will cause you to use more energy when you
don’t necessarily need to. The best solution is
to weather strip your home. This is typically an
easy fix that will eliminate energy waste and
help you save on your monthly electric bill.
Sometimes drafts are obvious, and other
times they are not. Here are two quick ways to
find out if heat is escaping from your home. For
doors, look for daylight between the door and its
frame, if you see even a hint of light in between
the two, you need to weather strip that area.
For windows, place a piece of paper between
the sash and the seal then close it. If you can
remove the piece of paper from the window
without ripping it, you need to weather strip that
area as well.
Weather stripping is easy! There is an
assortment of materials available to you (like
rubber, foam, metal, etc.) and they are all
inexpensive. Once you have purchased what
you need, keep the following in mind before you
begin weather stripping: be sure the surface
is dry and clean, measure the area more than
once for best accuracy, and apply so that strips
compress both sides of the window or door.
TO WEATHER STRIP WINDOWS:
• P
lace the stripping between the frame and
the sash.
• B
e sure that it compresses the window
when shut.
• C
heck to make sure that the stripping does
not interfere with the moving of the window.
TO WEATHER STRIP DOORS:
• C
hoose the proper sweeps and thresholds
for your door.
• Weather-strip the entire door jamb.
• M
ake sure the stripping meets tightly at
both corners.
• U
se a thickness that allows for a tight press
between the door and the ground, but one
that does not make the door difficult to shut.
Roughly half of the energy that your home
uses comes from heating and cooling. So
the next time you feel an uncomfortable draft
in your home, do not immediately crank up
the heat. Check to find out where the draft is
coming from and properly weather strip the
area. This will ultimately save you more energy
and more money in the end.
CO-OP NOTES
SECURITY LIGHT RENTAL
Monthly rental fee 175-watt ...............................................$ 9.14
400-watt ..........................................................................$13.62
400-watt flood..................................................................$14.65
Includes all electrical use and maintenance. Extra cost for
additional pole or wire required to serve light.
HEATING INCENTIVES
For new residential applications, an electric heating upgrade
rebate incentive is available, when certain qualifications are
met. For more information please contact the office at
(260) 563-2146 or toll free (800) 563-2146.
ELECTRIC WATER HEATER REBATE
For new residential applications, an electric water
heater rebate incentive is available, when certain
qualifications are met. For more information please
contact the office at (260) 563-2146 or toll free
(800) 563-2146.
Co-ops to host
blood donor drive
W
abash County REMC will host a Red Cross blood drive on Friday, Oct. 10,
at the co-op’s office at 350 Wedcor Ave. in Wabash. The drive is open to
the public and you do not have to be an REMC member to participate.
The donor drive will be held from XXXX to XXXX.
Both United and Wabash County REMC will be hosting donor sites as part of a
statewide Community Day among REMCs across Indiana. On that date – Oct.
10 – electric co-ops like United and Wabash County REMC will be taking part in
a variety of activities to give back to their respective communities.
According the Red Cross, every two seconds someone in this country needs
blood. Approximately 39,000 blood donations are needed daily by people in
potentially life-threatening situations.
Typically, to be eligible, a donor must be:
• At least 17 years old
• Meet height and weight requirements (at least 110 pounds based on height)
• In general good health and feeling well on the day of donation.
It is preferred that people wanting to donate blood set an appointment simply by
calling 1-800-733-2767 (RED CROSS).
When appointments are made in advance, the process of donating takes about
an hour. The actual donation takes about 8-10 minutes. For blood donations,
a little less than a pint of blood is drawn. Your body will replace the fluid loss in
about 24 hours.
The Red Cross reminds donors to:
• Drink an extra 16 ounces of water or
nonalcoholic fluids before donation.
• Eat a healthy meal before donation, avoiding
fatty foods.
• Get a good night’s sleep
• T
ake time to enjoy a snack and a drink in the
refreshment area immediately after donating.
Friday
October 10
X ?.m. to X ?.m.
at our office at
350 Wedcor Ave.
in Wabash
How to read your
new electric bill
A
s we mentioned last month, members will start seeing changes
in association with the rollout of Heartland REMC in November.
The biggest change will be a new bill format (pictured left)
that will go into effect with the November bills. The online bill payment
center will also get a new look. If you currently use the online system,
you will need to sign up for the new payment center in November. Also
at that time, any member who uses recurring credit card payments will
need to sign up again. Members who currently use bank drafting will
not see a change. Bill due dates will stay the same moving forward.
In preparation for the new billing changes, the Wabash office will be
closed November 3rd and will reopen November 4th. Members will still be
able to report outages to our toll-free outage number at 1-866-336-2492.
In addition, members will receive new map locations. If you are a
member who prefers to report your outage using a map location, please
review your new bill in November for your updated map location.
You’ll also notice a new name and look for your November
newsletter. Stay tuned for more updates in coming months.
In preparation for the new billing changes,
the Wabash office will be closed:
Monday, November 3rd
Don’t forget
to stop by the
REMC Electric
Chili Booth
at the
Chili for Charity
Cook-off
on October 18th
at Paradise Springs!
Learning the Cooperative Principles
Seven Cooperative Principles give all co-ops guidance
By Adam Schwartz
O
ne of my favorite bumper stickers is, “If
you can read this, thank a teacher.” The
importance of education was drilled into
me by my parents and grandmother from my
earliest memories around the age of 4. It is no
accident that we educate children from a very early
age while our young minds are still dry sponges
willing to absorb so much.
The original seven co-op principles set forth
in 1844 contained the simple phrase, “Promotion
of Education.” Today Principle Five states that all
co-ops should promote “Education, Training and
Information.” This is intended for the employees,
members and the community at large.
It is based on the simple premise that if people
know more about the cooperative business model,
they will be in a much better position to understand
the benefits and promote better use of the co-op
and its resources.
While there are almost one million people in
the U.S. that work for cooperatives of all types
(agriculture, housing, credit unions and many
others in addition to electric co-ops) very few
of us learn about cooperatives in school. That
creates a real challenge when trying to explain
the cooperative difference. People understand
an investor-owned business is designed to make
a profit or that a non-profit, like the Red Cross, is
designed to serve the community. Co-ops have
both an economic and social purpose. We operate
on a not-for-profit basis so that we can pass along
the best price for our good or service to you, the
member–owner.
Due to the fact that the co-op business model
is normally not taught by teachers, it is up to us
at Wabash County REMC through publications
like this one to ensure that you know about the
differences and benefits of being a co-op member.
Consumer surveys by Touchstone Energy and
others consistently affirm that people prefer to do
business with a cooperative if given a choice.
So why don’t they teach about co-ops in
school? There are several theories about this
including that there is not enough academic
research about co-ops, which is often the source
for curriculums. Another reason offered is that
the co-op community is so diverse that teaching
about it only creates more confusion. The first
issue about research is being addressed by
the Cooperative Business Research Institute at
Indiana University. The second can be addressed
by answering the old question: How do you eat an
elephant? One bite at a time. Simply by taking an
interest in learning about Wabash County REMC
through our website, annual meeting, stopping
by the office or talking to your fellow co-op
members are all good ways to better understand
the cooperative model you’re a part of.
By knowing more about how cooperatives
operate, you are in a better position to participate
as member-owners. We always welcome your
questions and comments to help us promote the
Cooperative Way of doing business.
-----------------------------------------Adam Schwartz is the founder of The Cooperative
Way, a consulting firm that helps co-ops succeed.
He is an author, speaker and a member-owner of
the CDS Consulting Co-op.
Wabash County REMC is part of Touchstone
Energy, which represents more than 700
local, consumer-owned electric cooperatives
in 46 states.
S
ending power to your home is a lot
like driving to a neighboring state. You
wouldn’t consider taking a two-lane
secondary road to travel to a city hundreds of
miles away, would you? Of course not: You
would find the nearest interstate so you could
drive faster and arrive at your destination in less
time.
Just like you, your electricity has an interstate
that allows it to travel long distances, and a
secondary system that winds through back
roads and neighborhoods to direct it to its final
destination, your home.
Transmission lines that deliver power from a
power plant to substations are the fast-moving
interstate highways of the electric industry.
These lines carry from 23,000 to volts of
electricity into the local distribution substation.
They are located on structures ranging from
large metal towers more than 100 feet tall to a
single pole standing 70 to 90 feet in the air.
And just like a car leaving the interstate,
the electricity leaving the substation has to
slow down when it enters the distribution lines
serving Wabash County REMC’s service area.
Transformers in the substation provide the
braking system for lowering the voltage of the
electricity so it can continue safely along its
journey.
So, how does it work? Higher voltage
electricity passes through a system of coiled
wires located in the substation transformer.
The electricity enters a primary side of the
transformer, which has metal coil windings
surrounding that side of the transformer, and
then passes to a secondary side, which has
fewer coil windings. Travelling through the
reduced number of windings lowers the voltage
as it leaves the secondary side and continues
the journey along the distribution lines.
The electricity moving along Wabash County
REMC’s distribution lines are cruising between
7,200 volts to 12,470 volts, depending on
whether or not they are travelling along a
single-phase, two-phase or three-phase line.
Consider these lines the secondary roads of the
electric system. They make the journey through
the local co-op’s service area.
Distribution lines carry the electricity shorter
distances than transmission lines. They
transport electricity to the businesses, schools
and homes served by your co-op. These are
the lines you see Wabash County REMC crews
repairing after a storm.
Your electricity has one more stop before
making its way into your home. Just as you
slow down to pull into your final destination,
the voltage is lowered one more time. It takes
a turn off the distribution line and into another
transformer that’s located outside your home.
This transformer may be a canister
hanging on a pole or a box in your yard if you
have underground electric service. Like the
substation transformer, the electricity passes
through a primary side with more coil windings
to a secondary side with fewer coils. The
voltage leaving the secondary side is generally
between 120 and 240 volts.
Most transformers service only one home
or business, but in some subdivisions two
homes may share a single transformer. These
transformers are protected by fuses that will
disconnect them from the electric line if there is
a fault caused by current surges or overloads.
After the electric current leaves the
transformer, it makes its way through a
service line, into the meter base and to its final
destination – your home, where it powers the
appliances and electronics of
our modern world. As you
can see, the electric highway
plays a key role in powering
our lives and delivering
safe, reliable and affordable
electricity to you.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
District 1 - Douglas Wilcox
6068 N 800 E, Huntington • 260-344-3307
District 2 - Robert Hippensteel
2829 W. State Rd. 114, No. 2, N. Manchester • 260-982-4707
District 3 - James Keffaber
2402 S. 530 W., Wabash • 260-563-5436
350 WEDCOR AVE.
WABASH, IN 46992
District 4 - Max R. Highley • Assistant Secretary
2047 E. Baumbauer Rd., Wabash • 260-782-2341
District 5 - D’Ann Stouffer • Vice President
4152 W. 700 S., Wabash • 260-563-8500
District 6 - Steven Byerly • President
2205 E. 700 S., Wabash • 765-981-4549
District 7 - Gene Bowman • Secretary
11930 S 700 W., Amboy • 765-395-7546
THE
CURRENT
RIPPLE
Get the Electric Consumer with recipes
online at: www.WabashREMC.com
october
Winner
RECIPE CONTEST
Try this recipe this weekend!
The winner of the October recipe contest is
??????????? of ?????????????. ???????’s winning
entry is “???????????????????.” Enjoy!!!
The contest is easy. Just submit your recipe along
with the entry form in The Current Ripple. 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@wabashremc.com. One recipe per member.
Be the next winner! The theme ingredient for November
is “TURKEY” and the theme ingredient for December is
“????????.” Deadline for November is Oct. 15.
NOVEMBER RECIPE ENTRY
november
Turkey
DECEMBER RECIPE ENTRY
december
??????
Name: ___________________________________________
Name: ___________________________________________
Phone Number: ____________________________________
Phone Number: ____________________________________
Address: _________________________________________
Address: _________________________________________
Recipe Title: ______________________________________
Recipe Title: ______________________________________
Return this form with recipe to:
WABASH COUNTY REMC
350 WEDCOR AVE.
WABASH, IN 46992
Return this form with recipe to:
WABASH COUNTY REMC
350 WEDCOR AVE.
WABASH, IN 46992