As the New Year begins, I would like to briefly reflect on a few accomplishments your Cooperative achieved in the year 2007 that provide members with higher levels of service and increase electric service reliability.  In addition, I will briefly explain some changes your Cooperative is making in 2008 to continue to increase the level of service provided to its members.

First of all, your Cooperative successfully implemented a rubber gloving program.  This program allows employees to work with lines that are energized up to 15,000 volts instead of de-energizing the line to perform some necessary work.  The implementation of this program will enhance the level of service that you receive by decreasing the number of outages experienced by members. This program has required employee commitment, employee training and additional safety equipment. This is a significant operational change for the employees that should provide cooperative members with more reliable electric service.

Secondly, your Cooperative changed its approach to the vegetation management program.  For many years, your Cooperative has been trimming the same trees every three to five years in order to keep trees and limbs away from power lines.  Your Cooperative is now working with members and landowners to remove many of those trees that were trimmed repeatedly every three to five years. Your Cooperative realizes the importance of this natural resource and are advocates for preserving as many local trees as possible, however we must implement a sound vegetation management program to ensure you with dependable electric service.  This new approach requires a substantial amount of time and financial resources which will prove to be a long-term benefit to the membership.

Lastly, your Cooperative introduced three new payment options to allow more convenient and less time consuming ways for members to pay their electric bill.  These new options include reoccurring bank drafts using a checking or savings account, reoccurring credit card payments and the pay by phone option. The new options may create a more convenient and expedient way for members to pay their bill; however we certainly understand that the new options for paying invoices may not be suitable for everyone, therefore your Cooperative still offers the traditional methods of paying invoices including receiving your checks in the mail and at the front counter of the headquarters facility.  The Cooperative has made these options available so that you, our cooperative members, may select which option best suits your needs and lifestyle.

In 2008, your Cooperative is committed to finding new and better ways to serve its members. Your Cooperative is currently working on new, technological advances that will improve customer service, changing the way members phone calls are answered to reduce the amount of time a member spends when contacting the office and expanding the vegetation management program even further to improve the quality and reliability of electric service to the members.  As you can see, your Cooperative continues to work diligently to improve and enhance the level of electric service and reliability that you receive.

See you next month and as always, "We'll keep the lights on for you."