Recently, one of our newer employees asked me what makes electric co-ops different from other types of utilities. This month, I thought I’d share a few of the things I told her.

Because we’re a co-op, we operate a little differently than other utilities. Orange County REMC’s decisions are made locally by directors who are members and who also live right here in our community. Everyone who pays to receive electricity from the co-op is a member.

When you pay your electric bill each month, your money stays here — to pay for the electricity used, or to make improvements to our local system to strengthen service reliability. The money you pay the co-op doesn’t line the pockets of shareholders five states away. We’re a co-op, and we exist to provide a service to you, our local members.

You may notice that throughout the year, we schedule various times for you to attend co-op events, such as our annual meeting and member appreciation day, so we can hear from you. Our success lies in your satisfaction, which is why we offer these opportunities to engage and listen to what you have to say.

Because you’re part of an electric cooperative, you can count on our team to maintain local jobs, at-cost electricity and first-class service, no matter what the economy –– and supply chain issues — throw at us. Orange County REMC is striving to keep our costs as low as possible so we can keep more money in your pocket. We want to help you maximize the value you can get from our services and offerings. For example, we can help you save on energy bills through our HVAC and water heating rebates and incentives.

If you want to receive important information from Orange County REMC, such as power restoration updates and tree-trimming crew alerts, sign up for our text message notifications through our SmartHub app.

Please know that you –– the members of Orange County REMC –– are at the heart of everything we do. We exist to serve you and provide the quality, reliable, friendly service you expect and deserve. While we’ve grown over the years, we’re still driven by the same guiding principles to serve our community.