March From the Manager
The bone chilling cold on January 7, 2010, resulted in Associated Electric Cooperative (AECI), our generating cooperative, to set a new all time peak demand of 4,495 mega-watts. This was on the heels of a previous record peak of 4,339 mega-watts set on January 5. While Access Energy did not set a new record, I am pretty confident that we set our winter peak for the year on January 5 at 42.1 mega-watts.
If you may wonder why this is news, it is because the amount of peak demand or capacity that we use has a direct impact on the rates you pay. This is why we issue “peak alerts” on the radio during extreme weather days. During peak alerts we ask you to run only one major appliance, such as your clothes washer, at a time. In the winter, peak days occur when we have temperatures below zero and stiff winds resulting in below zero wind chills. In the summer, peak days happen when high temperatures and high humidity giving us heat indexes in the upper 90’s. Even though we run peak alert on area radio stations, if you keep your eye out for sub-zero wind chills in the winter or plus ninety heat indexes in the summer, you will know we are approaching our “peaks” for the season. By watching your usage during these times we can all help to keep our bills affordable.
I know that the cold weather this past month will increase your usage along with your bill. If this causes a financial hardship for you, I would encourage you to contact our billing department BEFORE your bill becomes due. We are always happy to work with you to spread unusually high bills out over several months.
RECARE
With our area economy still feeling the effects of the national recession, once again, I would like to encourage you to consider a gift to our RECare program. Access Energy Cooperative’s RECare program makes it easy to help your neighbors in need this winter. The cold weather we have experienced so far this winter is making it harder on those with fixed incomes.
If you wish to make a contribution to the Access Energy Cooperative RECare program, you can visit our website at www.accessenergycoop.com, give our Billing Department a call at 866-242-4232, or fill out the coupon on the bottom of this page and return it to our office. Your contribution, whether it is $1 or $10 a month, when combined with those of other generous members, can go a long way in helping those who can’t afford winter’s heating bills.
On a more light-hearted note, be sure and save the Strawberry Pizza recipe on page 8. It will be a great way to enjoy some locally grown strawberries this June.