DAVE
SUTTER

Unlike a fine wine, our electrical equipment doesn’t improve as it gets older. Wooden poles, ceramic insulators, metal conductors and other components will eventually have to be replaced. The wear and tear of being exposed to the weather elements for 20 years or more takes a toll. The trick is not to replace things too quickly or wait too long. Either option could result in increased power outages and/or costs.

We strive to take care of business by replacing our worn out system parts in a cycle that creates a high value for our members. We can always use your help in spotting worn out equipment or damaged lines before they cause bigger issues. If you see something that doesn’t look quite right, please don’t hesitate to call or email our office during normal working hours (Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.) to report any issues.

Likewise, if you are out of power, have flickering lights, a security light not working, etc., please let us know. It helps if you do not wait until late in the day, after business hours or the weekend to report issues. The sooner we know about problems, the quicker we can fix them. I was told a long time ago that there is something worse than bad news — bad news late!

If an issue does occur outside of our regular work hours, please call our 24-hour service at 800-762-7362. If the situation is not urgent, you can always email us at contact@dmremc.com as we check these emails daily.

Please understand that our staff doesn’t work like the “Maytag repairman,” who in old commercials would just sit and wait for the phone to ring in order to have something to work on. We try to plan our day’s work in advance — always knowing that the weather or some other problem could become the priority and change our plans.

There are also times when we may not be able to get your issue addressed right away. We ask for your patience and will try to balance our workload in order to get the new stuff built, the old stuff replaced and unexpected stuff repaired as soon as we can and within our budget.

Please keep communicating with us, and thanks for your help.

DAVE SUTTER is general manager of Daviess-Martin County REMC.