Bitter Temps Remind Us to Be Prepared

Issue No. 120 February 2010

Bitter temps remind us to be prepared This past month New-Mac customers experienced one of the coldest weeks in several years, which serves as a reminder that there’s no telling what the weather will bring. While we experienced snow, at least there wasn’t significant ice. Again, though, who knows what still awaits us this winter? While we can’t predict the weather, something everyone can do is be prepared if extreme storms do indeed come. By planning ahead, the hardships of destructive storms can be alleviated. New- Mac encourages customers to keep the following items on hand, and be prepared: • Flashlight (with extra batteries) and can- dles. • Battery-powered radio. • Bottled water and non-perishable food items. • Manual can opener. • Extra medicine and baby items. • First-aid supplies. • Back-up heating source – NEVER use a charcoal grill Above, despite the bitter cold, it was busi- to cook or heat ness as usual for New-Mac linemen. At left, inside! New-Mac’s digital sign displays one of the • Fire extinguisher warmer temperatures during the second and smoke detec- weekend of January, which saw early tor. morning temps below zero and wind chills New-Mac also around -20. reminds everyone to never approach downed power lines as they may be energized. INSIDE THIS ISSUE: In the event of outages, New-Mac cus- Generator safety...... page 2 tomers should have their location number What are capital credits?.....page 3 ready and call 451- Doug Rye...... page 4 1515 or 800-322-3849. Don’t assume that someone else has already called for your area. During extended outages, customers can get updates on the progression of restoration efforts by checking our website, www.newmac.com, or through the local media: TV stations (KSNF-16, KODE-12, KOAM-7, Fox-14), radio stations (KBTN AM-1420 and Energy Partners is a monthly publication of New-Mac Electric for FM-99.7, KMXL 95.1 FM, KNEO 91.7 FM, KZRG 1310 AM, 1230 AM The Talker, Big the purpose of informing members of the programs, services and Dog 97.9 FM, KSYN 92.5 FM, Lite Rock 93.9 FM, KIX 102.5) and newspapers (Neosho happenings of, and related to, the cooperative. Daily News, Joplin Globe, McDonald County News Gazette, Seneca News Dispatch). Page 2 February 2010

Co-op set Affordable electricity our goal in 2010 It may be a new year, but the goal at all of cent of their normal margins, which is the money Missouri’s electric cooperatives will remain the that is returned to you in the form of capital credits. same in 2010: to keep electricity affordable and We are already working with other business groups, to attend reliable for our members. For every employee who legislators and statewide elected officials to assess works for a Missouri electric cooperative, that the impacts of the decision and recommend legisla- thought will be the foundation for all they do in the tive changes, if needed, to make sure the sales taxes trade coming year. don’t impact Missouri consumers. Across the state, electric co-ops are focusing on On the national legislative front, we will continue ways members can use electricity more efficiently. to focus on the climate change debate. This issue Through rebates for energy efficient appliances or has the potential to cause the most damage to your shows simply information on how to lead an energy-effi- wallets. New-Mac Electric will cient lifestyle, electric cooperatives are working A lot of effort has been put into this debate in the be hitting the road and hard to help members two years it has been on the front making its usual stops at through these trying times. By Barry Hart burner in Congress. And the goal As a result, even though rates behind this monumental effort has three local trade shows in Executive Vice President may have increased, many been the same as for the other issues the weeks ahead. of the Association of members are seeing their — to protect the price you pay for Come by and visit with Missouri Electric monthly bills reduced. Cooperatives electricity and to ensure you have us and see how you can If you haven’t yet checked the reliable electric service you be more energy efficient with your electric coopera- demand on a monthly basis at your around your house. tive about its programs to home or business. First, we’ll be at the save energy, give them a call or go by the office Closer to home, representatives from all of Home Builders and ask what is available to help you save. Missouri’s electric cooperatives recently took part Association of Southwest In Jefferson City, the state legislature will go in a long but important meeting with officials from Missouri’s 22nd Annual back to work this month considering hundreds of FEMA, the federal agency charged with helping Home Show, to be held bills. If this year is like others, the legislative ses- communities recover from natural disasters. This Feb. 26-28 at the Holiday sion will require our constant vigilance on your meeting helped your cooperative’s leaders under- Inn Convention Center in behalf because any of these bills could have a stand the new procedures they must follow to be Joplin. major impact on your electric bill, intentionally or eligible for FEMA funding should another devastat- The show times are 10 not. Our state legislators want to work with us on ing storm hit our state. a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and these issues because they know the cooperative This wasn’t the only meeting we’ve hosted on Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. way of business means we put your interests first this topic. Any time there is a disaster we wait for Sunday. and share their goal of putting people first. the crisis to be over, then gather all of those Next, New-Mac will be One issue we will certainly be following involves involved to search for ways to improve our at Neosho’s 18th Annual a Department of Revenue interpretation of a response with a goal of getting the power back on Business & Industry Missouri Supreme Court court case that could lead as efficiently and economically as possible. Review, scheduled for to the state forcing your electric cooperative to pay I’ll leave you with why it’s so important for all March 12-13 at the sales taxes on electricity sold to previously tax- Missourians to fill out the census forms when they exempt organizations. One early estimate shows arrive in early 2010. If Missouri’s population goes Neosho High School cafe- this issue alone could cost electric co-ops 20 per- teria & junior-high gym. See Hart, page 4 The B&I Review will run from 5-8 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Standby generators must be set up & ran correctly Finally, we will be in Anderson for the 4th A standby generator can be for the increased start-up power 7,200 volts and sent down the Annual McDonald County helpful during an extended requirements. lines, creating a life-threatening Business Expo, scheduled power outage, but proper instal- Improper installation of a situation for the linemen trying for March 27 at lation and operation is critical! generator puts people, including to restore your power. McDonald County High Generators come in a variety electrical linemen, at great risk. The double-throw switch School. of sizes. They can range from A whole-house generator – one makes it impossible to have both This Saturday only 500 watts up to several that is tied directly into your the generator and the power sup- event will run 9 a.m. to 3 megawatts of output, and run on wiring – must have a double- plier service connected at the p.m. gasoline, diesel, propane or nat- throw transfer switch installed at same time. It opens one to close So, be sure and see us at ural gas. The size of generator your breaker panel by a quali- the other. needed can be determined by fied electrician. Without the Another reason for having a these events. You might totaling the wattage of the switch, a generator can backfeed qualified electrician hook up even come away with a lights, appliances, devices, etc., 240 volts to the transformer, your generator is for the protec- souvenir. and then add about 20 percent where it is then stepped up to See Generators, page 3 February 2010 Page 3 Don’t neglect your filters Changing a filter might be the simplest of maintenance tasks, but if you want to keep your heat pump or furnace running, it may be the most important. If you find your heating unit struggling to keep up this winter, the first thing to check would be your filter(s). When a filter becomes clogged it reduces your unit’s efficiency by making it work harder to move the air in your house. Even worse, if it is not getting adequate air due to an extremely clogged filter, your unit could become irreparably damaged due to over- heating. You should check your filter every month, especially during seasons of heavy use. Some filters are designed to last as long as three months but should still be checked regularly, especially in farm homes or busy households with lots of coming and going. Many times costly service calls to repair heating units could have been prevented simply by A dirty filter, such as the one pictured above, can regularly checking filters. So remember, keep lead to a considerable loss in energy efficiency your unit running, and running efficiently by or much worse. changing your filter.

• Follow the instructions includ- What are capital credits? P Generators ed with your generator. Continued from page 2 • Make sure your generator is Capital credits are one paid back to the members properly grounded. of the many benefits of as the financial condition tion of everything you plan to have • Never overload the generator. being a member of an of the cooperative per- powered by it. Improperly connect- • Never add fuel while it is run- electric cooperative, how- mits and the by-law pro- ing to the generator could damage ning. ever sometimes they can visions are met. all of your appliances, electronics, • Never use a generator indoors. cause some confusion. Patronage capital cred- etc. • Always keep a fully-charged Every year, New-Mac its are returned in the When weather threatens, genera- class ABC fire extinguisher Electric sends each of its same order in which they tors can provide peace-of-mind, but nearby. members a card inform- were earned; that is, the they must be installed correctly. • Turn off all appliances pow- ing them of their capital- capital first paid in will Please also consider the following ered by your generator before credit amount for the past be the first refunded. safety tips involving generators: shutting it down. year. Should you cease to So, what does it mean purchase energy from the if I’ve gained capital cooperative and change EASIER CHERRY PIE credits? your present address, you Recipe of the Month: Capital credits are your should notify the cooper- share of the operating ative of address changes margins realized by your so that when future pay- Submitted by New-Mac member: Audra Elliott cooperative each year. ments are issued they can 2 pkg. (4 servings) instant vanilla pudding & pie filling These margins are equal- be forwarded to the prop- 2¼ cups milk ly allocated to all partici- er address. 1 8 oz. tub whipped topping pating consumers based At New-Mac’s most 1 box of honey graham crackers upon total dollar billing. recent annual meeting, 1 GV can cherry pie filling These margins (pay- this past October, the ments in excess of cooperative returned cap- In large bowl with rotary hand beaters, mix dry pudding mix with expenses) become patron- ital credits to its members milk. Let set 5 min. Then blend in whipped topping. In 8-inch square age capital and are used for the 12th consecutive pan line bottom with graham crackers and layer half of pudding mix- by your cooperative for year. Those not attending ture, layer graham crackers, remaining pudding mixture, another layer operating capital, neces- the meeting received their of graham crackers and top with cherry pie filling. Chill and enjoy. sary reserves, storm dam- capital-credit checks in Send your recipe, along with your name and customer number, to: Recipes, c/o age, and other contingen- the mail. New-Mac Electric Cooperative, P.O. Box 310, Neosho, MO 64850; or recipes@new- cies. Patronage capital is mac.com. If your recipe is selected, New-Mac will apply a $15 credit to your bill. Page 4 February 2010 ‘Why I do what I do’ P.O. Box 310 — 12105 East Highway 86 “You can lead a horse to water, but you I would spend many hours teaching a Neosho, Missouri 64850 can’t make him drink it.” That’s an old say- family about energy efficiency. I would Telephone: 417/451-1515 800/322-3849 Fax: 417/451-9042 ing that well fits my occupation. And show them that energy efficiency would Office Hours: Neosho — 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. speaking of occupations, I’m often asked actually make them money every month. Anderson — 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. how I make a living. My response is that I They would shake their heads “yes!” and Or visit us on the Web at teach folks how to have lower utility bills smile and I was so happy. www.newmac.com. and a more comfortable house. If my wife Later, I would ask if they implemented is with me, she often says to the person ask- those things in their new house. More often Management CEO/General Manager ...... Mitch McCumber ing the question, “it is not only his occupa- than not, they shook their head “no.” I Controller ...... David Childers tion but it is his passion.” would actually lie awake at night worrying Manager of Administration ....Mary Hatfield I plead guilty to that. I spent 23 years as a about that family. You cannot imagine how System Engineer...... Stan Irsik Manager of Operations ...... Alan Loehr licensed architect working for the federal many times that I was told that the builders Manager of Marketing...... Mark K. Rakes government helping provide said, “You don’t really need Billing Supervisor ...... Vickie Stuart affordable housing to low- and to do all these things.” moderate-income families. Well, time has proven that Board of Directors During that period, I came to they did need to do all these District 1...... Martin Youngblood District 2...... Kenneth Daniels realize that the monthly elec- things exactly as I said. District 3...... Bobby Fields tricity bill was a big part of the Thankfully many did heed District 4...... Beryl Kennedy cost of a home. The electricity the advice and they are still District 5...... Billy P. White bill came every month, just bragging about their houses District 6...... Paul Sprenkle District 7...... Maurice Mailes like the mortgage payment, (and saving money every District 8...... Virgil Winchester and if we were to make homes month). If you listen to my District 9...... Dewey Allgood affordable, we would have to radio show, you have likely do something about energy usage. heard these folks call in and Services Provided to Members Call our consumer services department for That became especially evident dur- share their remarkable stories. information on the following services: ing the oil embargo of the 1970s. I had to quit worrying about those who Autowithdrawal Payment I guess you could say it was then that my did not heed the advice or I would have Levelized Billing energy passion was born. Even our national keeled over as a young man. I simply wrote Rental Light Meeting rooms available at both locations office in Washington, D.C., began promot- my life’s priorities, in order. Those are my Credit Card Acceptance ing energy efficiency. I was privileged to religious convictions, my wife, our children Safety Programs (upon request) help write regulations for the entire U.S. to and now our grandchildren. And then Surge Protection Green Power assure that the housing units being financed comes my passion for teaching about ener- used less energy than before. We got deeply gy efficiency. I must confess to you that on Questions? Comments? involved in the financing of solar water some days, the grandchildren move up on Contact: Mark K. Rakes heating systems. That experience taught me the list. P.O. Box 310, Neosho, MO that reliable systems were not as easy to I think that all of you would agree that [email protected] obtain as the marketing material indicated. the subject of energy efficiency is at an all- One such building’s roof contained 220 time high. The Electric Cooperatives of solar panels. It was a total failure in less Missouri have long promoted energy effi- than 10 years. Live and learn. ciency efforts and are taking it to a new As I had the opportunity to teach in more level this year. P places around the country, I became better The purpose of all my efforts is to teach Hart known and in more demand. And it became all of you how you can improve the energy Continued from page 2 quite clear to me that I couldn’t help the efficiency of your house. We are going to down because large numbers of people are world if I had to stay behind a desk in a lead you to water, so get ready to drink. not counted, we stand to lose representation federal building. I had a great career in the in the U.S. House of Representatives. If government, but it was time to move on. As Doug Rye, a licensed architect living in Missouri loses a congressional seat, another I prepared my resignation papers, I had to Arkansas and the popular host of the state that may not share our views will pick answer the question, “reason for leaving.” I “Home Remedies” radio show (as heard on up the seat. And that will make it more diffi- wrote, “To teach the world how to build a KBTN 1420 AM & KQYX 1450 AM), cult as we work to keep electricity afford- truly energy-efficient house.” works as a consultant for the Electric able and reliable for all Missouri electric I thought to myself as I wrote those Cooperatives of Arkansas to promote ener- cooperative members. words, “World, watch out, here I come.” I gy efficiency to cooperative members We will do our best to continue to com- just knew that people would jump all over statewide. To order Doug’s video, call Doug municate to you these and other important energy efficiency when they learned the at 1-888-Doug-Rye. More energy-efficiency issues in the 2010 communications from truth. Was I ever wrong. In fact, most tips can also be found at www.ecark.org. your local electric co-op. fought against it.