news from your cooperative

NEWS FROM YOUR COOPERATI
Join us for our 76th annual meeting
www.harrisonremc.com
CONTACT US
812-738-4115
812-951-2323
Fax: 812-738-2378
EMAIL
Click on “Contact Us” at
www.harrisonremc.com
OFFICE HOURS
7:30 a.m.– 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday
STREET ADDRESS
1165 Old Forest Road, Corydon IN 47112
MAILING ADDRESS
P.O. Box 517, Corydon IN 47112
SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS
To report a power outage, please call 812738-4115 or 812-951-2323 day or night.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Pat Book, Palmyra PRESIDENT
Brian Koetter, Borden VICE PRESIDENT
James Smith, Corydon SECRETARY/TREASURER
David Walther, Lanesville
Darin Duncan, Elizabeth
C. Todd Uhl, Corydon
Larry Breeden, Mauckport
Roy Zimmerman, Laconia
David Poe, Floyds Knobs
OUR SERVICES
•Security lights
•Rebate program
•Surge protection information
•New home energy seminars
•Discount theme park tickets
•CFL recycling
•Payment options: online, e-check,
automatic payment plan, budget billing
•Gift certificates
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of Harrison REMC is to
provide a well-informed membership
with superior, competitively priced
electric and related member service(s),
accomplished by highly trained,
committed employees. It is further the
mission to improve the quality of life
of the member-owners by promoting
community, economic development and
energy efficiency activities.
4 The 76th annual meeting of the Harrison Rural
Electric Membership
Corporation will be held on
Tuesday, April 1, at 7 p.m.,
at the Corydon Central High
School gymnasium.
Registration for the
DAVID C. LETT
meeting begins at 5:30 p.m.
Every member will receive an annual
meeting notice during March. Members
need to present the notice at the annual
meeting to register, to be eligible to vote,
to receive their registration gift and to be
entered in the drawing for prizes.
This year, as a registration gift, members will receive a $10 bill credit, a commemorative bowl and a tote bag. There is
a limit of one gift per registered membership. Members must be present to receive
the gift and to be eligible for the door
prize drawings during the meeting.
Beginning at 5:45 p.m. the band from
the Corydon Jamboree will once again
have toes tapping as it entertains members prior to the start of the meeting.
Registration for the children’s program
will begin at 6 p.m. and will feature a program from the Nature Center at O’Bannon
Woods, followed by a solar light activity. The program is open to children ages
3-10.
Booths will also open at 5:45 p.m. and
will include a “Member Question Booth”
and an “Energy Efficiency Booth.” Both of
these will be staffed by REMC employees
who will be available to answer questions as well as give out information on
our energy efficiency programs. Harrison
County Hospital will be on hand to provide free health screenings for members.
The business portion of the meeting
will include the election of three representatives to the REMC board of directors. No
opposing candidate petitions were filed by
the membership to run for a director seat,
so this election is uncontested. The direc-
ELECTRIC CONSUMER • MARCH 2014 • ElectricConsumer.org
tors are elected at the annual meeting for
three year terms. This year’s districts are 4,
5, and 7.
District 4: David Walther
Franklin Township in Harrison County,
and the area in Jackson Township
Harrison County east of State Road 135
and south of State Road 64, and the area
in Georgetown Township in Floyd County
south of Interstate 64 and west of State
Road 62, and the area in Georgetown
Township in Floyd County south and east
of State Road 62.
District 5: Darin Duncan
Franklin Township in Floyd County, Posey
Township in Harrison County, and the
areas served in New Albany Township in
Floyd County south of Old State Road 62.
District 7: C. Todd Uhl
Spencer Township in Harrison County,
the area of Jackson Township in Harrison
County west of State Road 135, Jackson
Township in Harrison County east of State
Road 135 and north of State Road 64,
Harrison Township in Harrison County
west of State Road 135 and north of State
Road 62, and all of Jennings Township in
Crawford County.
All registered members attending are
eligible to vote, but you must be present
to take part in the election process.
We look forward to seeing you at the
76th Annual Meeting of Harrison REMC!
DAVID C. LETT is CEO at Harrison REMC.
Attention members over 70!
If you are unable to attend the annual meeting on
April 1, you can still take part in a drawing for one
of three $25 bill credits. Your registration card can
be dropped off at the REMC office or at the annual
meeting to be eligible for the drawing. We will
choose the lucky winners on April 2.
IVE
Attend an upcoming
efficient home seminar
If you’re in the market
to buy or build a home,
or you’re ready to
remodel your current
home, attend one
of the REMC’s FREE
Touchstone Energy®
Home Seminars.
You’ll learn great ways to save money
through energy-efficient construction
techniques.
All seminars are held at the Harrison
REMC office, 1165 Old Forest Road,
Corydon from 7-9:30 p.m.
High Performance Home, Part 1
Topics include foundations, basements,
crawlspaces, radon strategies, framing,
windows, doors and caulking.
k March 5
k April 2
High Performance Home, Part 2
Topics include insulation strategies, heating
and cooling systems, duct work, water
heating strategies, fireplaces and lighting.
k March 6
k April 3
Find us online!
“Like” us on Facebook to keep
informed about industry updates
and outages. Find our page at
http://www.facebook.com/
HarrisonREMC.
Also, check out our new online version of
Electric Consumer. Read it on your computer
or on your mobile device! Find it at http://
remc.imirus.com/Mpowered/book/
veconharr14/i1/p1.
First quarter tracker reduction notice
Harrison REMC made a Wholesale Power Cost Adjustment to its retail rates
as a result of changes in Hoosier Energy, Inc.’s wholesale power costs to
its member Rural Electric Membership Corporations (REMCs). This action
resulted in a decrease to member bills of $0.001602 per kWh ($1.60 per
1,000 kWh). This change took effect with the February 2014 billing cycles.
Join Harrison REMC’s bus trip
to Stream Cliff Herb Farm
Wednesday, May 7, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Cost: $42, includes lunch
Enjoy a day at Stream Cliff Herb Farm in Commiskey, Ind. Join us
as we visit this lovely southern Indiana herb farm. Wander through
lush gardens and along brick trails. Choose plants you may not
find locally. Find garden accessories in one of the four garden/craft
shops, including statuary, books, and handmade items. There will
be plenty of room in/under the bus for plants and items purchased.
It’s a great mother-daughter outing!
Lunch will be held in the Twigs and Sprigs Tearoom. Our menu is
Pulled Pork BBQ, dill slaw, herb chips, fruit, Lemon Layer Dessert
and tea, coffee, or lemonade.
Payment for all trips is due three weeks in advance. Refunds will
only be made if the REMC cancels the trip. A minimum of 30 people
is required to take each trip. Our buses are from American Coach
Travel. Pick up is at Lincoln Hills Christian Church in Corydon
and at Edwardsville United Methodist Church unless otherwise
noted. Call 812-738-4115 or 812-951-2323 for questions or to make
reservations.
REMC employee shares lineman carving
Perry Fraze, field systems manager at
Harrison REMC, recently shared a carving
of an electric lineman, shown at right,
created by his uncle. Fraze said his uncle
carves Christmas ornaments for family on
occasion. Fraze was hoping he would carve
him a lineman. Perry’s uncle, Bob Tamillo of
Ellettsville, surprised him with a carving for
his birthday. To view more carvings made by
Tamillo, go to http://bobswoodcarvings.
weebly.com/.
ElectricConsumer.org • MARCH 2014 • ELECTRIC CONSUMER 5
PHOTOS BY LORRAINE HUGHES
Harrison REMC News
Harrison REMC lineman Brandon Gentry prepares to sleeve broken copper wire back together during a winter storm. During extremely cold conditions
like this, your heating system will run more often, even if you keep your thermostat setting the same, increasing your electric bill.
Why is my bill SO HIGH?
W
hen Old Man Winter is
working his magic outside,
spending the day inside
baking bread or snuggling on the sofa
with a stack of DVDs is a good way
for you to stay warm. Thinking about
your electricity use is not likely high
on your list of concerns. You throw in
a load of laundry or turn on the home
computer, confident in your power
source. Not until the middle of the
month when your power bill arrives do
you wonder, “Why is my power bill so
high?”
This time of year, it is not uncommon for member service representatives at Harrison REMC to be
inundated with calls concerning high
power bills: “I wasn’t even home;” “I
never change my thermostat;” “I’m
sure the meter isn’t working correctly,
because I have nothing plugged in.”
Even when no one is home, your
house is busy keeping things running.
Refrigerators, freezers, water heaters
and heat all continue to work even if
you are not home. Keeping your home
6 hot or cold, depending on the season,
accounts for a big chunk of your annual
budget. In fact, according to the U.S.
Department of Energy Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S.
homeowners spend, on average, $2,500
a year on home energy, with 56 percent
or $1,400 going toward heating and
cooling.
Colder temperatures outside cause
your heat to come on inside, and your
increased use reflects that. Your use
typically mirrors the outside temperature. While your thermostat setting
is the same, the colder temperatures
outside requires your heating system to
run more often.
Over the next month, Harrison
REMC expects to see an increase in
high bill concerns. For information on
how to lower your bills go to the website, www.harrisonremc.com and
look under the “Energy Efficiency” tab.
For questions about bills or if you are
having difficulty making a payment,
please call the office at 812-738-4115 or
812-951-2323 to discuss it with one of
our member service representatives. …
ELECTRIC CONSUMER • MARCH 2014 • ElectricConsumer.org
Harrison REMC
says ‘thank you’
Harrison REMC would like to thank
the following groups and individuals
who helped during the recent February
outages:
kDubois REC
kJackson County REMC
kOrange County REMC
kElectricom LLC
kElectricom ROW LLC
kTownsend Tree Service
kCounty highway department for
clearing roads
kHarrison and Floyd County Police
departments and dispatchers
kCounty EMS
kAll volunteer fire departments
kMember-owners for being patient
kOur employees and their families
High school seniors: Apply
for IUS scholarship by April 1
A
pplications are now
available for scholarships to Indiana
University Southeast. Harrison
REMC has provided these
scholarships to encourage our
local youth to continue their
education.
The eligibility requirements
for the REMC-IUS scholarships
are:
k The applicant’s parent or guardian
must be currently receiving electrical
service from Harrison REMC.
k The applicant must be a high school
senior who has been accepted at IUS for
the 2014 fall semester as a full-time student (12 credit hours) and have an SAT
score on file at IUS. Indiana University
Southeast will make the selection from
each participating school.
k Applicants must also provide a onepage essay about why they are the best
candidate for this scholarship, along
with the completed application.
Immediate family members of
employees or directors of Harrison
REMC are ineligible for the scholarship.
The deadline for the application to be returned to IUS is April 1.
Applications for the scholarships have
been sent to school guidance counselors. Interested students should check
with their schools. Applications are also
available at the REMC office and online
at www.harrisonremc.com. …
Gunther retires from Harrison REMC
Tony Gunther retired from Harrison REMC
on Jan. 2. He was hired on April 6, 1987,
as a temporary meter reader/pole tester.
He became a groundman on Feb. 1, 1988.
Harrison REMC thanks Gunther for his years
of service to the members of the cooperative
and wishes him the best in retirement.
TONY GUNTHER
REMC to host
‘Afternoon with
the Easter Bunny’
The Easter Bunny will be
visiting on April 8, from
3:30-6:30 p.m. at the REMC
office. Parents, please park
on the west side of the building and enter through that
door.
A photographer will be on
hand to capture each child’s
time with the Easter Bunny.
A photo of each child will be
available at no charge, and
parents can bring cameras to
take their own photos.
Practice electrical safety at your workplace
Your home isn’t the only place
where you can control how safely you
use electricity. Here are a few ways to
prevent accidents involving electricity
where you work:
1. Keep your work space and
walking area clean and uncluttered.
Put away electrical equipment as
soon as you’re finished using it. Dust
frequently.
2. If your space is heated by radiators, don’t pile stuff on top of them. If
it’s heated through baseboards, don’t
block air flow by stacking files, books,
boots or anything in front of them.
3. Avoid using extension cords
except when the device that’s plugged
into it is in use. When you’re finished,
uplug it. Extension cords are not
designed for permanent use.
4. Turn off computers and appliances when you’re not using them.
5. Don’t use any electrical equipment that appears to be damaged or
that has frayed or cracked wires.
6. Keep drinks away from electronics to prevent spills that can cause
a shock. Clean up spills immediately.
7. If you use a portable space
heater, turn it off every time you walk
away, even for a few minutes.
8. Don’t overload electrical outlets.
Just because a power strip has room
for six or seven plugs doesn’t mean
the electrical circuit you plug the strip
into can handle that load. …
ElectricConsumer.org • MARCH 2014 • ELECTRIC CONSUMER 7