AMI CORNER - Choptank Electric Cooperative

Vo l . 2 1 , N 0 . 2
FEBRUARY 2016
Live Wire is a monthly newsletter
published for members of
Choptank Electric Cooperative,
P.O. Box 430,
Denton, MD 21629
Co-op's 78th Annual Meeting
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Outage Reporting:
1-800-410-4790,
toll free,
24 hours/day,
7 days/week.
Automated Member
Service Line:
1-866-999-4574, toll free
President and CEO
Michael I. Wheatley
Board of Directors
Olin S. Davis III
Chairman, Kent Co.
Jeffrey D. Rathell Sr.
Vice Chairman, Talbot Co.
John J. Burke Jr.
Secretary-Treasurer Cecil Co.
Francis A. Callahan Jr.
Caroline Co.
Robert E. Arnold
Queen Anne’s Co.
David W. Bruning, Sr.
Worcester Co.
Matthew R. Holloway
Wicomico Co.
Carl R. Widdowson
Somerset Co.
Douglas D. Scott
Dorchester Co.
Francis A. Ruffo Sr.
Ocean Pines District
Choptank Electric’s AMI meter deployment is
quickly making its way through the Denton District.
This winter’s warmer than normal temperatures
and modest rain fall has helped Scope Services and
Choptank Electric meter installers stay on schedule.
As of early January, approximately 24,596 meters
have been installed system wide, representing
approximately 47% of our distribution system. Let’s
hope the weather continues to cooperate with our
deployment schedule!
Toll Free:
1-877-892-0001
www.choptankelectric.coop
AMI CORNER
All members are invited to attend Choptank Electric Cooperative’s
annual meeting on Tuesday, April 26, 2016. This year the
annual meeting will be held at The Milestone located at 9630
Technology Drive, Easton, MD 21601.
The event begins with registration and refreshments at 4:30
p.m., with the business meeting starting at 6 p.m. During that
time, eligible students may register for the Luck of the Draw
Scholarships, browse the various community service and business
vendors who will be available, and look at the state-of-the-art
trucks and equipment on display.
At 6 p.m. the business meeting will begin with President and CEO,
Mike Wheatley reporting on all Co-op business during 2015.
During the business meeting, the results of voting for the board of
directors will be announced and at the meeting's conclusion, the
Luck of the Draw scholarships will be drawn and door prizes will
be given out.
During the month of March, members will receive a ballot for
voting as a separate mailing, and for members who receive
paperless billing, an email. Members are asked to cast their vote
and RSVP their attendance before the annual meeting. Members
may call in their RSVP at 1.877.892.0001.
This occasion is an opportunity for you to exercise one of the
greatest benefits of being a member of an electric co-op, by voting
for the upcoming year’s Board of Directors. Unlike investorowned utilities, Choptank Electric is run by a democratically
elected Board of Directors – a Board who is given the privilege
to serve because of your vote. A democratic and open election is
one of the many elements that make our electric cooperative stand
out from other utilities. We look forward to seeing you at the 78th
Annual Meeting!
See Candidates for Board of Directors Page 2
Once we complete AMI meter deployment in the
Denton District, we will be moving into the Salisbury
District area. As we have done in previous districts, we
will be holding an AMI Open House, Thursday, March
3 from 3:00pm to 6:00pm at the Salisbury District
Office, 2121 West Zion Road, Salisbury, MD. Members
will have the opportunity to gather factual information
from Choptank Electric staff about the technology
behind advanced meters, energy information, and
other Co-op topics.
Have you enrolled in SmartHub? SmartHub is our
electronic payment tool that lets
you manage your Choptank
Electric account, pay
your bill, and report
your outage
from your
computer,
smartphone
or tablet. You can enroll
today by downloading the app
to your phone, or go to our website at
www.choptankelectric.coop and click on the
SmartHub button on the left of the home page. Once
our AMI meter installation is completed system wide,
members will also be able to view their hourly, daily
and monthly energy usage using their SmartHub
account. Additional services and conveniences will be
offered in the near future.
Please help us keep you informed with our meter
installation by updating your contact information
with us. A current phone number and email address
will help ensure you are receiving notifications. Please
call our Member Service Center at 1.877.892.0001,
Monday through Friday, 8AM – 4:30PM to update
your contact information.
Information concerning our AMI meter deployment,
fact sheets, videos, and opt out materials may be found
on our website at www.choptankelectric.coop, by
clicking on the Advanced Meter Information button.
If you do not have internet access, please contact our
Member Service Center and this information will be
mailed to you.
Candidates for Board of Directors Election 2016
Caroline County
Francis
Addison
“Sonny”
Callahan,
Jr. is the
incumbent
board
member
representing
Caroline
County. He
and his wife, Nancy, have lived on
CEC lines on Deep Shore Road
near Denton, MD since 1966.
Mr. Callahan is a 1954 graduate
of Caroline High School and is a
U.S. Marine Corps veteran. He was
employed at the Campbell Soup
Co. in Chestertown, MD as an
accountant and standards analyst.
A retired Choptank Electric Coop employee, he began working
as a temporary staker’s helper in
1965. He advanced through the
apprentice lineman program,
beginning in 1966, and served
as chief lineman from 1973 until
1990. He was then awarded the
job as CEC’s first purchasing agent
and continued in that job until he
retired in 1995.
Mr. Callahan computerized the
record keeping for the purchasing
department and developed a
database to store the history of
each procurement. He was jointly
responsible for an inventory
reduction of over six million
dollars by completely revising
the purchasing practices of CEC.
For these efforts Mr. Callahan
was awarded the Solon Bennett
Award for Excellence in Materials
Management from the National
Association of Purchasing
Management of the Rural Electric
Utilities, Inc. in 1996.
Since coming on the board
in 1998, Mr. Callahan has
completed the requirements
to become a “Credentialed
Cooperative Director” and has
earned the “Board Leadership
Award." Mr. Callahan has been
involved in many community
activities, including Boy Scouts
as Scoutmaster and Explorer
Advisor, (he is an Eagle Scout). He
is a Past Master of Temple Lodge
#128, a member of Boumi Temple
Shrine and Chester River Shrine
Club. Mr. Callahan was elected
as Judge of the Orphan’s Court
in Caroline County in 2010. He
was appointed to the Caroline
County Ethics Commission in 2008
and is presently serving on that
commission. He is a member of
Post #29 of the American Legion.
He umpired League Baseball for
28 years and served as President
of the Denton Little League, Vice
President of the Denton PTA, Vice
President of the Caroline County
Historical Society, and is currently
President of the Caroline High
School Alumni Association.
Mr. & Mrs. Callahan have three
children and two grandchildren
and are members of St. Lukes
Methodist Church.
Virginia
Albers is
running
for the
Caroline
County
Board of
Director
seat for
Choptank Electric Cooperative.
Mrs. Albers has been a Caroline
County resident, and member of
Choptank Electric Cooperative,
for 15 years since her move to
Goldsboro, MD in 2000.
A graduate from Queen Anne’s
County High School, Mrs. Albers
was previously employed and
retired from Queen Anne’s County
Government and the State of
Maryland in 2004. During her
tenure, she worked for a variety
of offices including the County
Commissioners Office, the Office of
Tourism, and the State Department
of Assessments and Taxation.
Mrs. Albers currently works parttime as the Parish Administrator
for St. Luke’s Episcopal Parish in
Church Hill along with the Town of
Goldsboro where she serves as the
Town Clerk. In addition to these
part-time jobs, she also serves as
a Director on the Queen Anne’s
County 4-H Fair Board, volunteers
for the Queen Anne’s County
Fair, is a Notary Public of the
State of Maryland, a professional
seamstress, and a member of the
Calvary United Methodist Church
in Queenstown.
“I am looking forward to serving
my community by representing
Caroline County, and all of
Choptank Electric’s membership,
on the Choptank Electric Board
of Directors. I am excited about
new emerging technologies
for renewable power like solar,
wind, and batteries. I want to be
a part of the discussion on ways
to implement these technologies
where appropriate, while still
providing affordable, reliable, and
safe electricity for all. I believe my
years of experience working in
state and municipal governments
will be of great value in making
decisions that will benefit all
Choptank Electric Cooperative
members. I hope to add diversity,
facilitate change, and to bring a
new perspective to the Board, ”
Albers said.
Luck of the Draw
Scholarship Opportunity
Choptank Electric
will present five
$1,000 educational
scholarships at
the close of its
annual meeting
on Tuesday, April
26, 2016 at the
Milestone in
Easton, MD.
The awards are
available to graduating high school seniors or co-op
Wicomico County
Matthew R.
Holloway
was born
and raised
in Salisbury,
MD. He
attended
Wicomico
County
Schools,
graduating
from Parkside High School in
2000. He went on to attend
Virginia Tech and graduated in
2005 with a degree in Crop and
Soil Environmental Sciences with a
focus in Turfgrass Management.
In 2002, Matt and his father started
Quantico Creek Sod Farms Inc,
and today they employ over 25
employees and till nearly 1200
acres. In 2010, Matt successfully
ran for the President of the
Wicomico County Council. In
2011, Matt and his wife of 8 years,
Kate, started Baywater Greens
LLC, a greenhouse which produces
hydroponic lettuce for local
restaurants, as well as large grocery
stores.
He has been the Wicomico
representative on the Critical Areas
Commission for the Chesapeake
members who are enrolled or planning to enroll at
an accredited two or four year college, university, or
a technical school for the 2016 fall term. In order to
enter the drawing, a parent or guardian, who is an
active Choptank Electric Cooperative member, must
accompany the student to the annual meeting.
This will be a "luck of the draw" scholarship and
students must enter to win at the scholarship
registration table. All entries must be entered by
6:00 pm to be considered for the scholarship. Those
students entering must be present at the end of the
business meeting to win. Those who win must show
proof of enrollment to their school of choice. The
scholarship award will be sent directly to the school.
*Previous scholarship winners are ineligible and scholarships must be
redeemed by August 31, 2016.
and Atlantic Coastal Bays for
seven years, and the Agricultural
representative for the Maryland
Sustainable Growth Commission
since 2014.
He is also a member of the Rotary
Club of Salisbury, enjoys sailing,
surfing, downhill skiing on his own
time, and is an avid duck hunter.
Worcester County
David W.
Bruning
is the
incumbent
director
from
Worcester
County. He
has been
a co-op
member
for more than 60 years and a
member of the Choptank Board
of Directors since 1976. During
his tenure, he has served as Vice
President of the Choptank Electric
Board of Directors and a Director
of the Virginia, Maryland, and
Delaware Association of Electric
Cooperatives. He has served on the
National Rural Electric Cooperative
Association’s Legislative Committee
and presently serves as a Director
of Areo Energy.
Active in community affairs,
Mr. Bruning is an inactive Elder
and former Trustee of Makemie
Memorial Presbyterian Church in
Snow Hill, a charter member and
former president of Nassawango
Country Club, a member of the
Worcester County Farm Bureau,
and Snow Hill Lions Club. He
also served on the Worcester
County Board of Education and the
Worcester County Board of License
Commissioners.
A graduate of the University
of Maryland, where he was a
member of the Alpha Tau Omega
Fraternity, he has a Bachelor’s of
Science degree in Agriculture. Mr.
Bruning has retired from farming,
but his son, Bill, and grandson,
John, operate Bruning Farms LLC,
near Snow Hill, a 900-acre grain
operation. He and his wife, Ann,
have two other sons, Scott and
his wife who live in the area, and
Michael and his wife who live in
Trenton, GA. Mr. Bruning and his
wife reside on Cedartown Road,
near Snow Hill, MD.
"Light Up the Pines" Competition Brightens the Holiday
The Most Creative award went to this home!
This contestant won both the Top-Notch All-Around and the
People's Choice awards!
Choptank Electric sponsored this past holiday
season, the Ocean Pines Association's annual "Light
Up the Pines" competition. They had 21 houses
participate in the competition and everyone who
participated received 2 LED light bulbs provided by
Choptank Electric. The winners of each category
also won a $25 electric credit gift certificate. The
categories were: Top-Notch All-Around, Most
Creative, Most Lights, and People's Choice.
Congratulations to all the winners and a big thank
you to all of the participants!
The Most Lights award was shining bright!
December 2015
Trust Awards
• Friendship United Methodist Church – $300
purchase of an AED for their church
• Boy Scout Troop 209 – $1,500 for an equipment
trailer
• Trappe Volunteer Fire Company – $1,700
purchase of fan for ventilation
• Art Department at Colonel Richardson High
School – $1,500 for a pug mill
• Holly Grove Christian School – $200 for a
convection oven
• Galena Volunteer Fire Company – $2,400 for LED
lighting
The total of approved applications for December was
$16,438.95, which included $8,838.95 for individual
home and medical expenses.
Electric Trust is a 501-c-3 charitable foundation
funded by Operation RoundUp donations from members of
Choptank Electric. Funds from
the Trust are distributed in all
nine counties of Maryland’s
Eastern Shore.
Lower Electric Bills for
Members Starting
January 1st
Effective January 1, 2016, the Purchase Power Cost
Adjustment (PCA) will be a credit of $0.00573/kWh.
Members' bills will be lowered by $5.73 for every 1,000
kWh of usage.
The Purchase Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) is a billing
mechanism which allows the cooperative to recover or
refund the cost of power; it is also a component of the
Standard Offer Service (SOS) which is designed to be a
pass-through cost to the utility consumer.
Choptank Electric Cooperative is a one-eleventh
owner of our wholesale power provider, Old Dominion
Electric Cooperative (ODEC). ODEC’s power supply
resources are a combination of self-generated power
and a portfolio of power purchase contracts. Through
ODEC’s effective management of power supply,
Choptank Electric has been able to pass savings on to
the members. At Choptank Electric Cooperative, we
bring value, safety, and reliability to our members, every
day.