W A TT S C URREN T Raccoon Valley Electric Cooperative April 2019 Reliable.Affordable.Responsible It’s A Boy! First Class Lineman Brian Heun and wife Amanda became proud parents of a baby boy. Colton was welcomed home by big sister Charlotte. Congratulations Brian & Amanda. 09.02.02 Leadership Down the Lines Line Foreman Ryan Galloway completed the Leadership Down the Lines Workshop presented by J. Lee Whittington. This workshop is designed to teach participants effective communication along with real-life situations and in turn continue to promote a strong culture of safety, ensuring safety as #1 priority. Congratulations Ryan! Access to Member-Owners Property Maintaining our electric distribution system to ensure that we are delivering safe and reliable power is our main objective. We have hundreds of miles of wire, poles, transformers, fuses and miscellaneous hardware that has to be inspected and maintained. RVEC linemen are in the field performing these duties every day from the substation to your meter. There are times when we may need to access your property to inspect our facilities that are serving you and your neighbors. Our employees will always be respectful of your privacy and property. Our vehicles are easily identifiable with our co-op logo and name. Our outside employees have our co-op logo on their clothing. We appreciate your understanding and patience, if you have questions or concerns please call our office at 712.659.3649. Watch Cooperative Property when Burning Ditches It’s that time of the year when many of you may be burning off the weeds, grass, etc. in your ditches. This burning helps clean things up, but it can also cause problems if a fire is allowed to burn around RVEC poles, anchors, guy assemblies, underground cabinets and so forth. 22.06.02 Burning close to RVEC property not only can cause a lot of damage, but it can also be dangerous and could cause future electric service problems. Any member involved may be invoiced for damage they cause to RVEC property. To avoid damage to RVEC property, future service problems and danger to yourself and others, please watch where you burn. Ryan Galloway
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Watts CurrentRaccoon Valley Electric Cooperative
April 2019Reliable.Affordable.Responsible
It’s A Boy!First Class Lineman Brian
Heun and wife Amanda became proud parents of a baby boy. Colton was welcomed home by big sister Charlotte. Congratulations Brian & Amanda. 09.02.02
Leadership Down the Lines
Line Foreman Ryan Galloway completed the Leadership Down the Lines Workshop presented by J. Lee Whittington. This workshop is designed to teach participants effective communication along with real-life situations and in turn continue to promote a strong culture of safety, ensuring safety as #1 priority. Congratulations Ryan!
Access to Member-Owners PropertyMaintaining our electric
distribution system to ensure that we are delivering safe and reliable power is our main objective. We have hundreds of miles of wire, poles, transformers, fuses and miscellaneous hardware that has to be inspected and maintained. RVEC linemen are in the field performing these duties every day from the substation to your meter. There are times when we may need to access your property
to inspect our facilities that are serving you and your neighbors. Our employees will always be respectful of your privacy and property.
Our vehicles are easily identifiable with our co-op logo and name. Our outside employees have our co-op logo on their clothing.
We appreciate your understanding and patience, if you have questions or concerns please call our office at 712.659.3649.
Watch Cooperative Property when Burning DitchesIt’s that time of the year when many of you may be burning off the weeds,
grass, etc. in your ditches.This burning helps clean things up, but it can also cause problems if a fire
is allowed to burn around RVEC poles, anchors, guy assemblies, underground cabinets and so forth. 22.06.02
Burning close to RVEC property not only can cause a lot of damage, but it can also be dangerous and could cause future electric service problems. Any member involved may be invoiced for damage they cause to RVEC property.
To avoid damage to RVEC property, future service problems and danger to yourself and others, please watch where you burn.
Ryan Galloway
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— CEO Comments —Spring Clean Your Way to Energy Savings By Jim Gossett, CEO
It seems the harsher the winter, the more optimism we have for spring. This year, as much as any in recent history, we put the cold temperatures of an extreme winter behind us and watch the landscape turn green and come back to life. As you gear up for warmer weather, it’s a great time to expand your “spring cleaning” routines into discovering energy saving opportunities. Whether it’s sealing up areas
around the exterior of your windows, adding insulation or scheduling an air conditioning tune-up, every action counts.
The simple steps you take now can reduce energy consumption and lower your energy bills as warmer temperatures arrive. Providing robust energy efficiency programs and services has long been the foundation of RVEC’s commitment to help our member-owners use their energy more wisely. It also helps the environment. We like to think the greenest kilowatt-hour is the one that is never used. Through investments in renewable energy and innovations in technology, we take pride in the areas we call home and strive to maintain the integrity of the land's most precious resources. We are committed to helping you use energy wisely as we safely work to provide power that is reliable, affordable and responsible. In addition to energy efficiency measures, some of the ways RVEC is working to allow our member-owners to play an active role in this process include:• ENERGY AUDITS: Cooperative approved energy audits can result in savings for new construction
and energy efficiency improvements to current structures. Contact RVEC for more information. • SMARTHUB ACCOUNT ACCESS: Track your daily electric consumption and compare your electric
use to your accumulated account history. Set up your account or log in at www.rvec.coop. • COMMUNITY SOLAR: Community solar is a no-hassle clean energy for our members. Purchase a
subscription for the energy produced by RVEC’s Community Solar and receive electric bill credits. • GEOTHERMAL HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEMS: Talk to us about investing in geothermal systems,
which can save you 30-70 percent on your energy costs. Geothermal ground source heat pump systems are one of the most energy-efficient, environmentally clean, and cost-effective space conditioning systems available. 34.02.01
• REBATES AND INCENTIVES: RVEC has a variety of rebates and incentives available for members who purchase energy efficient products. Visit www.rvec.coop for a complete list of rebates available.
View Your Daily UsageDid you know that you can view
your daily usage on SmartHub? SmartHub is a web application
that allows you to view and change account information, notify customer service of account inquires, and make payments in a secure environment - right from your mobile device, computer or tablet. You are able to monitor and analyze your electric use all at the touch of a button! This service will help manage your account and will free up your time with this convenient and free service.
Go to www.rvec.coop and click on view and pay my bill to register for the service. SmartHub is also available as an app for smartphones and tablets. The app is free and can be downloaded from iTunes or the Android market.
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Grain Bin NoticeWhen you start to plan for a
new grain bin, please contact RVEC. 30.36.04
RVEC and Corn Belt Power Cooperative will provide assistance in planning for a safe environment for everyone working and living around grain bins. The State of Iowa requires specific clearances for electric lines around grain bins, with different standards for those filled by portable and permanent augers, conveyors and elevators.
To the right are drawings of the specific clearances required for both scenarios. If you have any questions concerning the drawings, please contact RVEC.
According to the Iowa Electric Safety Code found in Iowa Administrative Code Chapter 199 -- 25.2(3) b. an electric utility may refuse to provide electric service to any grain bin built near an existing electric line which does not provide the clearances required by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)C2-2012 “National Electrical Safety Code,” Rule 234F. This paragraph “b” shall apply only to grain bins loaded by portable augers, conveyors or elevators and built after September 9, 1992, or to grain bins loaded by permanently installed augers, conveyors, or elevator systems installed after December 24, 1997. (As adopted by the Iowa Utilities Board)
The cooperative is required by the Iowa Utilities Board to provide this annual notice to farmers, farm lenders, grain bin merchants, and city and county zoning officials. If you have any questions concerning clearance regulations, please call RVEC.
Spot Your NumberRead Watts Current and watch for your location number.
If you spot it, call RVEC by the 20th of the month and you will receive an electrical bill credit for $25.00.
Raccoon Valley Electric Cooperative (RVEC) is an equal opportunity
provider and employer.
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Reliable.Affordable.Responsible
April is Safe Digging Month!RVEC is reminding all member-owners to call Iowa One Call
by dialing 811 before you dig, whether your project is a deck addition, planting a tree, trenching in fields or landscaping masterpiece. Although light gardening typically doesn’t call for deep digging, other seemingly simple tasks like planting shrubs or installing a new mailbox post can damage utility lines. A severed line can disrupt service to an entire neighborhood, harm the person digging and potentially result in fines and repair costs.
