The Clay Electric Cooperative, Inc.

December 2019Power Line

3040-26307

 Power Line is an informational publication of Clay Electric Cooperative, Inc. It is distributed monthly with members’ billing statements. If you have questions or comments about Power Line, write Justin Caudell at P.O. Box 308, Keystone Heights, FL 32656; or email: Jcaudell@clayelectric.com. Clay Electric’s Board of Trustees will meet on Wednesday, Dec. 18 and Thursday, Jan. 23 at noon in Keystone Heights.

We’re staying up to ‘speed’ on EVs

Thinking about buying an electric vehicle (EV) in the New Year? You’re not alone.

Since 2011, the number of EVs on the road in the U.S. has grown from almost none to 890,000. That’s a relatively small number today compared to the total of 268 million cars registered in the U.S., but EV sales rose 40 percent in 2018 alone according to the Edison Electric Institute and are expected to make up 55 percent of car sales by 2040.

Car makers like Tesla have made a splash in the auto industry with EVs, but now major car dealers such as Ford, Nissan, Chevrolet, BMW and Volkswagen have jumped into the fray with their own EV models. Even pickup trucks are getting an EV option, with electric models built by Ford, GM and Tesla expected to be available by 2022. Consumers are increasingly flocking to cars that they feel are environmentally-friendly and cheaper to drive compared to gas-powered vehicles.

What does this mean for your co-op? As driving preferences change, so do the requirements of Florida’s energy grid to

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meet the demands of EV charging throughout the state. For Clay Electric and its wholesale energy provider, Seminole Electric Cooperative, these facts present a new opportunity to meet the energy needs of members. From EV workshops to educational whitepapers, we are keeping up to “speed” on the latest EV technology and trends.

The infrastructure of EVs across the U.S. is still in its infancy, but the addition of more EVs on the road and an increase in EV fast-charging stations means that the energy grid will soon have to adjust to changing energy demands. You can count on Clay Electric and Seminole staying on top of these developments to ensure you continue to receive safe, reliable and affordable electricity at the lowest possible cost.

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Prepare your feast with costs in mind

Baking pies, roasting a turkey, cooking ham and heating side dishes for your family’s holiday feast can be hard on your electric bill if you rely on your oven to do all the work.

Consider using your stovetop, barbecue grill, microwave oven, slow cooker, toaster oven, pressure cooker, electric skillet, blender or food processor to prepare your meal.

Here are tips for energy-efficient meal preparation:

• Treat your family by smoking, grilling or frying your turkey outdoors. It is quicker, and the flavor is a nice change from a traditional, oven-roasted turkey.

• Use the microwave to heat vegetables, potatoes and other side dishes.

• Consider serving some food that doesn’t need to be cooked. Add variety by preparing a few cold salads and raw vegetables with dip. Consider simple desserts, such as frozen peanut butter pie or no-bake cheesecake.

• When you use the oven, resist opening the door. Every time you peek inside you let out heat, and the oven has to work harder.

• Bake everything at the same time: pies, bread, turkey, ham and potatoes. The more your oven can do at once, the less time you need to use it. Leave enough space between items for air and heat to circulate.

• The burners on your cooktop will work more efficiently if you match the size of the burner to the size of the pot. Placing a small pot on a large burner wastes heat from the part of the burner that does not touch the pot.

Report fromthe manager

Ricky DavisGeneral Manager/CEO

Thanks to you, a lot to be proud of in ’19

The end of the year brings no greater joy than the opportunity to express to you my heartfelt thanks for being a Clay Electric member. We are truly grateful to you for choosing us as your service provider and having a key role in the co-op’s success.

As we begin to think about the New Year, we resolve to continue to provide the safe, reliable and affordable electricity you count on. The times change, but our commitment to our community remains steadfast.

Over the past year, we kept our rates stable, and our cost for 1,000 kWh is among the lowest in the state. As your cooperative, we continually strive to maintain costs and provide competitive rates.

Remember, we’re a not-for-profit cooperative, which means we provide service to you at cost. Many of you receive a Capital Credits refund credit or check each March. These refunds are a reflection of our not-for-profit status, and they’re certainly a benefit of being served by a cooperative. In March 2019, $12 million was returned to members.

Speaking of member benefits, 2019 was our eighth year of providing you with the Co-op Connections Card program. As a co-op, we believe our commitment to you goes beyond power distribution. Our participation in the Co-op Connections Card program is a money-saving tool we are proud to offer to you. Our members have saved more than $204,000 on prescription drug costs alone.

We also continue to help hundreds of members a year with energy efficiency and energy conservation information. We offer free home energy surveys to all members to assist you with recommendations that can help you get the most out of your energy dollars. To help you make energy-efficient upgrades to your home, we provide rebates when you purchase certain products. In 2019, we provided 643 members with rebates totaling $135,096.

The co-op is doing its part as well to assess what can be improved with our infrastructure. We have completed a number of projects to enhance the reliability of our distribution and transmission systems, and we have also installed new equipment in our substations.

Throughout 2019, our Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system went online in numerous districts. The Orange Park, Palatka and Salt Springs districts are complete, and we will wrap up the Keystone Heights, Gainesville and Lake City districts by June 2020. AMI is a meter system that offers you a number of exciting new benefits. Advanced meters use digital technology to read your electric use and communicate it to us

over a secure wireless network. With advanced meters, we’re able to detect outages, turn power on and off remotely, and perform other customer service tasks much more quickly than before. You also have more information about how much power you use and when, giving you more control.

Beyond electricity, part of our mission includes improving the quality of life of our members and their communities. Operation Round Up, a program that generates and collects charitable donations that are used to benefit organizations in the co-op’s service area, launched in October 2016. To date, a little more than $2.6 million has been distributed in the 14 counties we serve. Employees also put their own time and money toward many important causes in their communities.

All of these initiatives are important and allow us to continue to provide you the most affordable electricity, while also strengthening our communities through programs and services.

Thank you again for your unwavering support and contributions to your co-op. From everyone at Clay Electric, we wish for you the very best New Year and a healthy and prosperous 2020.

The co-op regularly completes projects to enhance the reliability of our distribution and transmission systems.