Current SECO News

January 2015
The 2015 SECO Energy
Scholarship Program
Applications are now available for graduating high
school seniors. The board of
trustees has authorized the
continuation of our popular
youth scholarship program.
Up to twelve hardworking
high school seniors will each
be chosen to win a $3,000
scholarship. To qualify the
student must live in a home
served by Sumter Electric
Cooperative, graduate high
school in 2015, and have
proof of acceptance with a
plan to be a full-time student in a university, accredited college, or vocational/
technical institute in 2015.
You can pick up an application
at your high school guidance
office or from one of our five
SECO Energy service centers
located at:
Eustis Service Center
50 West Ardice Avenue
Groveland Service Center
850 North Howey Road
Inverness Service Center
610 South US Highway 41
Ocala Service Center
4872 SW 60th Avenue
Sumterville Service Center
293 South US Highway 301
Electricity
Scams
and
Co-ops
Identifying
Electric Scams
and Fighting Back
Suppose you received a phone call from someone threatening to disconnect
your electricity, unless you paid a certain amount by a specific time.
Would you pay the money to avoid losing power? Electric utilities are
advising their consumers to think twice before trusting the voice on the
other end of the phone, especially since scammers are targeting electric
consumers and their pocketbooks. Whether it is through a fraudulent
email or phone call, electric utilities are recognizing these frauds and
fighting back against scammers.
While electric bill scams are making their way across the U.S., including
the Sunshine State, SECO Energy is keeping track of Florida scams to
protect our members. The most common method is for scammers to
place fraudulent phone calls to homes and businesses, impersonating
electric utility employees. These criminals are capable of manipulating
the number displayed on the caller ID to show the electric utility’s office
number. During the phone call, the scammer instructs consumers to
purchase prepaid debit cards in order to pay a “bill” or their service
will be disconnected. In other instances, the scammers have requested
and received the bill holder’s personal credit card information. They
have also distributed fraudulent emails in order to collect money from
unsuspecting consumers. The emails appear as monthly bills from their
electricity provider and may contain links to untrustworthy sites.
SECO Energy aims to inform our member/customers that scammer’s
attempts to con innocent people are unpredictable, and the messages
are often inconsistent. As different con techniques appear in headlines,
scammers must find new approaches to their fraudulent and criminal
behavior.
continued inside...
Seven Cooperative Principles
Cooperatives operate according to a core set of principles. These principles, along with the cooperative purpose of
improving quality of life for their members, make electric cooperatives different from other electric utilities.
VOLUNTARY AND
OPEN MEMBERSHIP
Cooperatives are voluntary organizations
open to all persons able to use their
services and willing to accept the
responsibilities of membership, without gender,
social, racial, political or religious discrimination.
1
2
DEMOCRATIC
MEMBER CONTROL
Cooperatives are democratic organizations
controlled by their members, who actively
participate in setting policies and making
decisions. The elected representatives are
accountable to the membership. In primary
cooperatives, members have equal voting rights
(one member, one vote), and cooperatives at other
levels are organized in a democratic manner.
MEMBERS’ ECONOMIC
PARTICIPATION
Members contribute equitably to, and
democratically control, the capital of their
cooperative. At least part of that capital
is usually the common property of the cooperative.
Members usually receive limited compensation, if any,
on capital subscribed as a condition of membership.
Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the
following purposes: developing the cooperative,
possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at
least would be indivisible; benefiting members in
proportion to their transactions with the cooperative;
and supporting other activities approved by the
membership.
3
AUTONOMY AND
INDEPENDENCE
Cooperatives are autonomous, self
help organizations controlled by their
members. If they enter into agreements
with other organizations, including governments,
or raise capital from external sources, they do so on
terms that ensure democratic control by their
members and maintain their cooperative autonomy.
4
EDUCATION, TRAINING
AND INFORMATION
Cooperatives provide education and
training for their members, elected
representatives, managers and employees
so that they can contribute effectively to the
development of their cooperatives. They inform the
general public, particularly young people and opinion
leaders, about the nature and benefits of cooperation.
5
COOPERATION
AMONG COOPERATIVES
Cooperatives serve their members most
effectively and strengthen the cooperative
movement by working together through
local, national, regional and international structures.
6
7
CONCERN FOR
COMMUNITY
While focusing on member needs,
cooperatives work for the sustainable
development of their communities
through policies accepted by their members.
REAFFIRMATION OF THE STATEMENT OF NONDISCRIMINATION
Sumter Electric Cooperative, Inc.
(SECO) is the recipient of Federal
financial assistance from the Rural Utilities Service, an agency of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and is subject to the
provisions of Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, as amended;
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended;
the Age Discrimination Act of
1975, as amended; and the rules
and regulations of the USDA
which provide that no person
in the U.S. on the basis of race,
color, national origin, sex, age,
marital status, genetic information, disability or protected veteran status shall be excluded from
participation in, admission or
access to, denied the benefits of,
or otherwise subjected to discrim-
ination under any of this organization’s programs or activities.
The USDA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and
where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation,
genetic information, political
beliefs, reprisal, or because all or
part of an individual’s income is
derived from any public assistance
program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons
with disabilities who require alternative means for communication
of program information (Braille,
large print, audiotape, etc.)
should contact USDA’s TARGET
Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice
and TDD).
The person responsible for coordinating this organization’s nondiscrimination compliance efforts
is James Duncan, Chief Executive
Officer of SECO. Any individual, or specific class of individuals,
who feel that this organization has
subjected them to discrimination
may obtain further information
about the statutes and regulations
listed above and/or file a written
complaint with this organization;
or the Secretary, U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
20250; or the Administrator, Rural Utilities Service, Washington,
D.C. 20250 or call (800) 7953272 or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).
Complaints must be filed within
180 days after the alleged discrimination. Confidentiality will be
maintained to the extent possible.
scammers . . .
In an effort to raise awareness, the Florida Public
Service Commission (PSC) created a list to
instruct consumers how Florida electric utilities
should manage payments and customer service.
SECO revised the list as follows:
Advice for electric utility customers:
• SECO will never ask for or require a prepaid
debit card for bill payments.
• SECO will not immediately disconnect a
delinquent account. The customer will receive
several notices before disconnection.
• SECO will never call a customer to seek
personal information or credit card numbers.
• SECO employees will never take an electric
payment in the field (outside a customer service
office). They always carry a SECO picture
identification badge.
• SECO will never contact you requesting a
direct, immediate payment.
Our goal is to provide you with safe, affordable,
and reliable electricity. In addition, we strive to
protect and educate you by keeping an eye on
Florida scams and ways to identify possible scams
within our area.
If you think you have been involved in a scam, you
should call SECO Energy at (352) 793-3801 and
contact your local police department immediately.
Y
Your
MoneyS
Saving
C
Connections
Co-op Connections business promotions:
SECO’s Co-op Connections card is a money-saving
tool and the card connects you with a variety of
discounts. Here’s a few:
Citadel Southern Armory on North Boulevard in
Leesburg is offering 15% off your entire purchase
of new gear for the military enthusiast.
Charles Townsend LLC on North Boulevard
in Leesburg is offering 10% off all products
including signs, banners and specialty promotional
products.
Mike Scott Plumbing in Hernando is offering
$25 off a 40 gallon electric water heater installed.
And, Mike Scott is offering $50 off a yearly irrigation maintenance plan.
For local listing of other participating businesses
and for the national deals, sign-in to www.
connections.coop using your zip code.
If you are a local business owner and are interested
in the co-op connections program, give us a call at
(352) 793-3801.
tips & quips
about our
environment
and its
inhabitants
NATURE’S reflections
The Northern Raccoon
Adorable, until it makes a mess of your garbage
With its distinctive black mask and ringed tail, the
Northern raccoon (Procyon lotor), is one of the most
readily recognized animals. It is found throughout all
of the lower 48 states. It is a strong swimmer, excellent
climber and one of the few animals that can descend a
vertical tree trunk head first.
While a raccoon typically sleeps during the daytime and
is active throughout the night, it may also be seen during
the daytime. It is an intelligent creature that has learned to
adapt and lives very well alongside humans. In fact, it probably knows more about your neighborhood than you do.
The raccoon is an opportunistic omnivore
that will eat just about anything, so there is
little danger of starving in Florida. The key
is availability. The problem comes when humans can’t seem to resist the temptation to
do something nice, like feeding the cute little
critter. Once started, an association between
humans and food is imprinted.
As it makes its way through the neighborhood at night, it will quickly establish a routine of eating any dog or cat food that is left out. With
a keen sense of hearing, visual acuity, a highly developed
sense of touch and five nimble toes/fingers this cute little masked bandit can easily get into trash cans or other
containers looking for food. Being cute however, gets old
fast once there’s a mess to clean up from the scattered
contents of your garbage can every morning.
The raccoon has a home range of one-to-three square
miles. Raccoons are fun to observe from a safe distance and
wonderful creatures to enhance your enjoyment of wildlife. Although adorable, it’s important to remember that
they are wild animals and should not be treated as pets.
A litter of three-to-four kits are born usually in March or
April. Eyes open at about 20 days and kits are weaned at
10-to-12 weeks. The young stay with their mother until
they are about ten months old. They are mature enough
to breed after one year.
Its worst enemies are man and vehicles, followed by predators such as coyotes, bobcats, and horned owls.
photos and column by Sandi Staton, [email protected]
Here’s a chance to express yourself
SECO Energy’s Corporate Communications
PO Box 301 · Sumterville, Florida · 33585-0301
[email protected]
I rarely ever use email to praise any
service supplier, but I just have to
opine about how happy I am with
SECO as my electric supplier. As
a customer, I love being served by
a not-for-profit cooperative, and
SECO is the best. Although it is
wonderful that you pass on profit
to its members in the form of “Hot
Bucks” and other “cost of service”
rate reductions, the best thing
about it is the fact that you actually
do it! Other than your service
itself, I really love your newsletter.
I read every word of it each month.
As a biologist, I particularly love
the Nature’s Reflections section;
it is usually the first part I read.
As a Northerner most of my
life, I love learning more about
Florida’s wildlife, and that part of
your newsletter is fantastic. I even
started a folder just to keep the
information from those articles.
Thank you for your wonderful
service.
R. Barry Greenawald
The Villages, FL
I was blown away by your article
in the SECO News this month
about neighbors helping neighbors.
I enclosed a letter I wrote dated
October 5, 2014 about my own help
for neighbors and have not received
a reply from six television stations.
I do not think I am over stating the
fact that no one cares until I read
your article and compliment your
company and their efforts.
I am a firm believer in offering
a helping hand but not a free
hand out. I donate to people,
not charitable organizations that
take 42% of the donations for
administrative costs then take all
the credit for helping people when
in fact the contributors are the ones
that help people not the United
Way. The United Way would not
exist if not for people like SECO.
And I thank you for your efforts
and kindness and ask God for
his special blessing on all your
employees.
Freddie & Linda Guinn
Belleview, FL
Circulate Ceiling Fans to Save
Winter
Most ceiling fans have a switch
that will allow the blades to reverse
directions. During the cooler
winter months, ceiling fans need to
run at a lower speed, in a clockwise
direction which will maximize
the heat energy in the room. This
causes the warm air to circulate up
then across the ceiling and down
the walls. As the weather gets
SECO TRUSTEES
Ray F. Vick
President • District 5
Jerry D. Hatfield
Vice President • District 9
James D. Holtz
Secretary-Treasurer • District 4
Scott D. Boyatt
District 1
Dillard B. Boyatt
District 2
Richard J. Belles
District 3
Earl Muffett
District 6
Rob Henion
District 7
Bill James
District 8
Jim Duncan
CEO & General Manager
SECO’s Board of Trustees
will meet on Monday,
January 26th at 2:30 p.m. in
the Corporate Offices located
at 330 South US Highway 301
in Sumterville.
A Trustees’ meeting will also
be held on February 16, 2015.
Summer
much hotter in the summer switch
the fan direction to blow counterclockwise. The breeze blown on
you will create a wind-blown effect
causing moisture to evaporate from
your skin thus cooling you off.
Also, if you are not in the room,
turn off the fan. A fan cannot
change the temperature of the
room.
SECO 24/7 Job Hotline
(855) 483-2673
SECO Outage Hotline
(800) 732-6141