The last 12 months have been difficult for so many families and businesses. But despite the obstacles we have all faced, one thing hasn’t changed: Clark County REMC’s commitment to you, our member-owners.
There are three parts of our business that we constantly monitor to make sure we are meeting your expectations: reliability, strength, and service. With the turmoil of the last year, it was even more important for us to stay focused on our core mission.
We measure reliability by looking at how many outages our members experienced, what caused those outages, and how long it took to restore power. And in spite of the fact that Mother Nature, the most common cause for outages, is outside of our control, Clark County REMC pursues an aggressive maintenance and inspection program which finds and corrects problems before they become outages through repairs and upgrades. Through our vegetation management program, inspections, maintenance, and construction work plan, we do our best to provide top reliability for our members.
Financial strength is another key component for how we give our members our best. For every dollar that you pay REMC for your electric service, two-thirds, or 66 cents, is given to Hoosier Energy to purchase the electricity we deliver to you. The other 34 cents is what we use to run the entire business, from equipment and maintenance, to salaries and technology. We work hard to provide you with affordable electricity, and to make every dollar stretch as far as possible.
The third metric we monitor is customer service. What you think about how we have served you matters to us. We surveyed nearly 500 members this year, and are thrilled that 97% gave us either a 4 or 5 star review for overall satisfaction. We know that we can always improve, so please let us know how we can make your REMC experience even better.
Safety has always been the foundation of how we operate, but the last year made us completely rethink how we worked from day to day. Safety didn’t just mean wearing hard hats and being careful around live power lines. With the spread of the COVID-19 virus, we had to learn how to work safely with our members and coworkers. We know how vitally important it is to keep the power on for your families and businesses, for our schools and hospitals, so we took every precaution to keep working safely.
Our linemen began working staggered shifts to prevent close contacts in the warehouse. Crews updated processes and technology so they could go straight from their homes to the job site, minimizing contacts with other employees. Our office staff learned to work from home to give you the support you needed. And while our main office is still closed to the public, we’ve made new ways to accept payments and paperwork online, through email, and even through our drive through.
This has been a tough year, but cooperatives like Clark County REMC thrive on shining light in the darkness. When the pandemic started, the economy was at its lowest and anxiety was at its peak, REMC immediately stopped all late penalties and service disconnects for six months, knowing it would take time for members to get back on their feet. And once disconnects were resumed, hundreds of members were given up to a year to pay off electric bills, keeping the lights on when our members needed it most.
We also saw several powerful examples of community spirit in the last year. In July, REMC launched a new member-to-member donation program called Lend a Hand, and more than $18,000 has been given by our members to help other REMC members facing financial difficulties. In the winter, we held our annual canned food drive, which is usually staged in our lobby, but since our office is closed we created a self-serve drop off in our drive-through. In just two months, REMC members donated nearly 10,000 pounds of food to area food pantries, far more than we’ve ever seen in years past.
While many of our favorite events, such as the Annual Meeting, our community Fish Fry, and our youth tour to Washington D.C., had to be canceled for health and safety concerns, we were committed to finding creative ways to spread joy safely. This led to our first-ever Santa’s Wonderland, where we transformed our headquarters into a fun and festive holiday drive-through event, complete with dozens of inflatables, surprise character appearances, and even a friendly wave from Santa and Mrs. Claus.
One of our favorite traditions for more than 50 years has been powering the Cross on the Knobs, a 50-foot tall beacon that is lit for several weeks every Christmas and Easter. This year, at the request of several members, we lit the cross several weeks early, and left it on for months, as a reminder of the hope and strength we have when we care for one another.
Reliability. Strength. Service. Safety. Community. Clark County REMC is committed to you, our member-owners. We’ve been through a lot this year, but we got through it together. And your REMC will be ready for whatever comes.
