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PARKER, Pa., Jan. 23, 2012 – In 2011 Central Electric Cooperative (CEC) continued to look out for members by providing reliable and quality service to members, at a reasonable rate.   2011 highlights included:

• Money back for members:  In December members received credits on their bills when the co-op retired $833,000 in capital credits. 
• High marks from members:  Members ranked CEC high in customer satisfaction in an independent member survey:  the highest ratings since the co-op first conducted the survey in 2004, and higher American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) scores than investor–owned utilities. 
• Participation in the Youth Tour program after a 12-year hiatus.

Reliable Service

Following a very quiet 2010, 2011 was a busy one for the linemen.  April and July were exceptionally challenging with storms and extremely wet weather.  In 2011 CEC averaged 5.67 hours outage time per consumer.   

While the co-op can’t control the weather, it continues to maintain its lines:  5,271 poles were inspected and 377 right-of-way line miles were cleared in 2011. 

CEC also invested in upgrading its distribution system with single-phase conductor change, resectionalizing and underground cable replacements.  In 2011 CEC rebuilt or upgraded approximately 40 miles of wire.   Now that these projects are nearing completion the co-op is shifting its focus to maximize the benefit of new technologies such as the Geographic Information System (GIS), Two-Way Automatic Communications System (TWACS) and Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system.  They will be top priority and the next major step in distribution system reliability improvement and load serving capability.

 In 2011 a new portable substation was put into service to be used for substation maintenance without interruption of members’ service, and major storm service interruptions.

In the true cooperative fashion, this past year was one of the busiest ever for CEC line crews assisting other companies with storm restoration, assisting in efforts for Hurricane Irene, tropical storm Lee, and a major east coast snow event. 

Quality Service 

In 2011 CEC continued to look for ways to improve member satisfaction.  Process improvement was a key for Central’s success as it utilized new technology and motivated employees to look for new ways to create efficiencies.  In 2011 CEC:

• Implemented an automated phone payment system to allow members to pay their electric bills 24 hours a day.
• Continued to save money on payment processing costs by offering incentives to members who pay their bills electronically. 
• Continued to implement its identity verification procedures for CEC’s Identity Theft Program to keep members’ information safe.

Rates 

There were no rate changes in 2011.   

Other 

• Through the generosity of its members, contributions and unclaimed capital credits, CEC raised over $29,000 to provide energy assistance to members having difficulty paying their electric bills.
• More than 1,000 members and guests attended the co-op’s 74th Annual Meeting where members re-elected Althea Smith of  Venango County and Bette Walters of Forest County to the board of directors.
• CEC continued to support the community and last year was proud to award 12 Good Neighbor Scholarships ($1,000 each) to deserving high school seniors throughout its service territory. 

CEC has been serving members for 75 years.  Members are encouraged to attend the anniversary celebration at the Annual Meeting of the Members on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012.  The co-op is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative and serves approximately 25,000 members with over 3,000 miles of distribution line in portions ofAllegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Forest, Mercer and Venango counties.

PARKER, Pa., Jan. 18, 2012 – As part of Central Electric Cooperative’s (CEC’s) ongoing effort to improve system reliability, line maintenance crews will begin line clearing and rights-of-way maintenance operations on the Bruin circuit originating from CEC’s Karns City substation.

CEC’s contractor, Asplundh Tree Expert Co. (Asplundh), will begin work Jan. 23, 2012. CEC members and others with electric utility rights-of-way on their property may be contacted by Asplundh representatives or CEC employees. Line maintenance crews access these rights-of-way to perform maintenance and may have personnel and equipment on members’ and others’ properties at times to perform the work.  All Asplundh representatives and CEC employees carry company-issued identification.

CEC respects property owners’ rights and will complete the work required as quickly and professionally as possible.

The project will last several months.  CEC will give additional notice when the project is complete.  If you have any questions or comments, please contact CEC’s Forestry Supervisor, Tim Fritz at 800-521-0570 x2204  

We appreciate your patience and cooperation during these improvements.

Central Electric is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative and has been serving members for 75 years.  Members are encouraged to attend the anniversary celebration at the Annual Meeting of the Members on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012.  The co-op serves approximately 25,000 members with over 3,000 miles of distribution line in portions of seven counties.  

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Temperatures Dec. 2011

January 2012: Apply for the Good Neighbor Scholarship and Yout Tour Program, Receive a $25 Sign-Up Credit and more …

January Edition Power Lines Newsletter

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