NEWS FROM YOUR COOPERATI

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1 NEWS FROM YOUR COOPERATI CONTACT US LOCAL TOLL FREE FAX OFFICE HOURS 7:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday STREET ADDRESS 3086 W. 100 N., Peru, IN MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 168, Peru, IN TO REPORT AN OUTAGE To report a power outage, call or We are available 24 hours a day. When calling, provide the name in which your account is listed, map location and account number. If you are asked to leave a message, please provide your phone number and nature of the problem. Also, be sure to check your fuses or breakers and check to see if your neighbors are without power (if possible). Please be patient. Our crews will restore power as soon as possible. CUSTOMER CONTACTS Robert Schwartz, CEO Brandon Williams, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Charles Lewis, DIRECTOR OF OFFICE SERVICES Jody Long, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE/ACCOUNTING Kim Burton, DIRECTOR OF MEMBER SERVICES Using the sun to our advantage Miami-Cass REMC investigating community solar farm ROB SCHWARTZ Miami Cass REMC is investigating the possibility of launching a community solar farm. This would be an electrical first for the REMC, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in September. The community solar farm would be built at the Miami-Cass headquarters, giving greater economies of scale in both cost and the amount of power produced. Our headquarters sits on one of the highest elevations in Miami County. Currently, about eight Miami-Cass members have already installed solar at their home or farm, and more members have expressed interest. We are in the exploratory stage at this time and are looking into various business models. The land the REMC owns has roughly enough room to build up to two megawatts of power. The initial stage would be 100 kilowatts per hour of capacity. An installation of this size has the potential to produce between 45,000 and 65,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, or enough for six typical homes. An average residence uses between 1,100 and 1,200 kwh a month. Solar panels are projected to last approximately 20 years The project will be as big as we have interest for it. There has also been some interest in turning this project into a multico-op venture that would include offering interest in the panels to all the memberships. If you would like to find out more about partnering with the REMC in this venture, contact our office during normal business hours at ROB SCHWARTZ is CEO of Miami-Cass REMC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Donald E. Willson, PRESIDENT Dennis Jim Savage, VICE PRESIDENT Paul D. Childers, SECRETARY-TREASURER Mark B. Hahn Trevor Hughes Cindy Scott Charles W. Wilson TIP OF THE MONTH Be smart about power strips Replacing your conventional power strips with advanced power strips (APS) can help reduce the electricity wasted when electronic devices are idle. These power strips are a convenient and low-cost way to save. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Miami-Cass REMC is investigating a community solar farm at its headquarters. If you would like to find out more about partnering with Miami-Cass REMC in the farm, contact our office during normal business hours at ELECTRIC CONSUMER JULY 2014 ElectricConsumer.org

2 VE Your board of directors at work Results from the May board report 1. Counted six board members present. 2. Miami-Cass REMC attorney Jeremy Fetty attended via telephone conference. 3. Monthly legal report was given by Fetty. 4. Rob Schwartz presented the monthly CEO report. 5. Minutes from the previous board meeting were approved. 6. April monthly operating, member services and safety reports were reviewed and approved. 7. The April financials were approved. 8. Voted to not pay capital credits for 2014 at this time due to inadequate margins. 9. Voted to close investment loan with CFC due to low interest rates. 10. Set the next board meeting for Tuesday, June 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the Miami-Cass REMC boardroom. Monthly prize drawing! Correctly answer the questions below and your name will be entered into a prize drawing! Find the answers in the Miami-Cass REMC pages (4, 5, 8, 28,29) of this month s issue of Electric Consumer. Each month one $20 bill credit will be awarded. Send your answers by July 27 to Kim Burton at P.O. Box 168, Peru, IN Include your name, address, phone number, account number and location number. JULY TRIVIA QUESTIONS 1. What is the date of the upcoming Home Energy Seminar? 2. How many kwhs does the average residence use each month? 3. Name the REMC attorney The Miami-Cass REMC office will be closed on Friday, July 4, in honor of the holiday. We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July! NAME: ACCOUNT NO.: LOCATION NO.: ADDRESS: PHONE: Monthly trivia contest winner Congratulations to May contest winner Priscilla Taylor of Peru! Plan to attend your 2014 Annual Meeting! Saturday, Sept. 13 Miami County Fairgrounds See you there! ElectricConsumer.org JULY 2O14 ELECTRIC CONSUMER 5

3 KEEPING CURRENT MIAMI-CASS REMC How the EPA regulations affect you KIM BURTON You have likely heard in the news that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released another round of proposed regulations. I wanted to take a minute and explain what these regulations could mean to you. What are these new regulations? The latest round of regulations seeks to reduce carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from Indiana s power plants by more than 20 percent in the coming years. The EPA believes placing these strict limits on power plants will dramatically lower coal use in Indiana and around the country. Does my cooperative support a cleaner environment? Absolutely! We routinely take steps to lessen our impact on the environment both here at the co-op and at the power plants that supply our electricity. Wabash Valley Power, our generation and transmission cooperative, is always working at our power plants to meet and surpass environmental regulations. In recent years, our partner has worked diligently to find creative ways to produce clean power for you. We use alternative energy sources such as landfill gas and wind. Every day, we work to improve our impact on the environment while balancing the cost of those investments to protect your family s budget. How will these new regulations affect me? We are still working through the more than 1,600 pages of documents to understand how these regulations impact your family. What we do know now is that these regulations will increase your electric bill and threaten thousands of jobs in Indiana. While we work to understand the full impact to your family s budget, we believe you deserve to know the changes required by this regulation will increase your electric bill. In fact, regulations finalized over the last five years are already projected to increase your bill by more than $50 per month in the next 10 years. We are also very concerned about the impact the proposed regulations could have for Indiana s economy. The production of coal and the jobs that rely on affordable energy from coal make up much of Indiana s economy. Those jobs and our growing Hoosier economy are threatened under the approach we are seeing from the EPA. Where does my cooperative stand? We believe the EPA approach is the wrong one. We are in favor of a cleaner environment and want to work with the EPA to find a clean and affordable path forward. We are urging the EPA to reconsider its approach and work with us on regulations that recognize the importance of coal, natural gas, nuclear, renewable and efficiency options that keep electricity affordable. In other words, we support an all-of-theabove approach. What can I do to support Miami-Cass REMC? The good news is that those at the EPA have been clear that they want to hear from you. Tell the EPA officials what you think by visiting action.coop. Urge them to work with us on these regulations to limit the impact on your electric bill and Indiana s growing economy, and to find a common sense solution to leave our children a cleaner planet. KIM BURTON is director of member services at Miami-Cass REMC. Home Energy Seminar Beat the High Price of Propane Where: Miami-Cass REMC Community Room When: Sept. 22 Time: 6:30 p.m. Miami-Cass REMC Director of Member Services Kim Burton, along with representatives from Hochstedler Energy Systems of Greentown and a factory representative from geothermal manufacturer Geo Comfort, will discuss the benefits of geothermal. Please RSVP by Sept. 5 so we can ensure we have enough refreshments for all of our guests. 8 ELECTRIC CONSUMER JULY 2014 ElectricConsumer.org

4 Miami-Cass REMC News Making A DIFFERENCE Keys for Kids beneficiary of Envirowatts program funds A few Miami-Cass REMC members support the use of renewable energy by participating in our Envirowatts program. For just $5 each month, they are able to participate in our renewable energy efforts. Miami-Cass REMC then invests the money collected through this program in environmentally sound projects in our community. This year, the Bona Vista Keys for Kids program was the beneficiary of this program. Keys for Kids is a preschool program that helps prepare children for kindergarten. One of the mainstays of this program has been Miss Pauletta. The program was recently able to upgrade its playground area, but it lacked a tree and other items that would enhance the area and be beneficial to the environment. Miss Pauletta was able to use the money provided by our members in the Envirowatt program for a new tree and flowers With help from members participating in the Envirowatts program, Miami- Cass REMC was able to provide funds to the Keys for Kids program. The funds were used to plant a tree and flowers where the program takes place. for the area. Trees remove greenhouse gases from the air and provide oxygen as a waste item. Flowers also use greenhouse gases for their survival while also providing oxygen. Through the generosity of members who are a part of the Envirowatts program, these young students have been provided with a learning experience on how to be protective and helpful to the world in which we live. If you would like to join the Envirowatts program and contribute to this program, contact our office at Participants in the Keys for Kids program had a great time getting their hands dirty planting a tree and flowers. In memoriam FRED WARNER The entire Miami-Cass REMC family was saddened to learn of the recent passing of Fred Warner. Warner was a longtime director at the cooperative, having served its members honorably for 50 years. He retired last year from the board of directors. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. 28 ELECTRIC CONSUMER JULY 2014 ElectricConsumer.org

5 SmartHub brings your REMC account to your computer or smartphone! SmartHub, our user-friendly payment and bill management platform, is available 24/7 either by computer or smartphone. With SmartHub, you are able to: Pay your bill immediately. View up to 24 months of billing history. View electricity use and history. View account information. Receive notifications via or text. Access social media. SmartHub links: REMC website: SmartHub weblink: How do I sign up for SmartHub? Go to to get started. Is my phone or tablet supported? YES! Simply search for our SmartHub in Apple s App Store or in Google Play for Android to download of this useful tool for FREE. ElectricConsumer.org JULY 2014 ELECTRIC CONSUMER 29