NEWS FROM YOUR COOPERATI
www.bcremc.com
CONTACT US
LOCAL 812-372-2546
OFFICE HOURS
7:30 a.m.– 4:30 p.m.
Monday-Friday
ADDRESS
1697 W. Deaver Road
Columbus, IN 47201
SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS
To report a power outage or
emergency, please call 800-9275672. We are available to serve you
24 hours a day. When calling, please
provide the name in which your
account is listed.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Curt Burbrink, PRESIDENT
Larry Hoeltke, VICE PRESIDENT
Janet Anthony, SECRETARY
Dan Fleming, TREASURER
Ron Arnholt
Brett Glick
John Harker
STAFF
Jim Turner
GENERAL MANAGER/CEO
Matthew Hackman
VICE PRESIDENT, CORPORATE SERVICES AND OPERATIONS
Marty Lasure
VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND MEMBER SERVICES
Andrew Yordy
CONSUMER SERVICES MANAGER
Marvin Book
ENGINEERING MANAGER
Jeff Jackson
LINE SUPERINTENDENT
Happy Holidays!
All of us at Bartholomew County
REMC wish everyone a Merry
Christmas and a safe and blessed
New Year!
Our office will be closed on Dec.
26, as well as Jan. 2, for the
holidays.
Like us on Facebook
www.facebook.com/bcremc
Follow us on Twitter
www.twitter.com/bcremc
4 Capital credits on the way
It’s a benefit of membership with BCREMC
It’s that time of year for you
to get the credit you deserve
for helping build and sustain
your local electric cooperative.
Within a few days, BCREMC
will be printing capital credit
checks to members receiving electric service during the
JIM TURNER
years of 1990, 1991 and 1992.
Bartholomew County REMC will retire
$409,581 from those years. You will also
receive a check that will include your
share of $323,939 retired from Hoosier
Energy, our wholesale power provider.
These capital credits are a return of your
patronage (investment) in your REMC
and in Hoosier Energy.
Inactive and active members, with
capital credits due from these years, will
receive a check sent to the address on file.
Checks will be sent the week of Dec. 12.
Due to the expense involved in processing
printed checks, the minimum check written will be $1.
You might not realize it, but when you
signed up to receive electric service from
BCREMC you became a member —and
owner — of an electric utility. While investor-owned utilities return a portion of any
profits back to their investors, electric
co-ops operate on a not-for-profit basis.
Instead of returning leftover funds, known
as margins, to investors, we periodically
issue capital credits based on how much
you paid the co-op for electricity during
a specified time period. The amount you
will receive is in direct proportion to the
amount of electricity you used during the
years being retired. Detailed records are
maintained to show how much capital
each member is allocated during the years
of service.
Capital credits are one of the many
differences separating cooperatives from
other forms of business. When cooperatives take in revenue above operating
ELECTRIC CONSUMER • DECEMBER 2016 • ElectricConsumer.org
costs, those margins are kept as working capital for a period of time to run the
cooperative before being paid to customers. Only cooperatives return their
margins to the people who provided the
money initially. All members who purchase power from BCREMC provide funds
to help finance our operations.
When the board of directors determines it is financially feasible, the capital credits are paid on a first in, first out
basis. The board of directors for BCREMC
and Hoosier Energy strive to maintain
a 25-year payment cycle for the oldest
capital credits. This means after you have
invested in the cooperative for 25 years,
you will start getting your patronage
returned to you.
Capital credits remain one of a member’s most tangible indications of true
ownership in the cooperative. If you move
or no longer have electric service with
us, please make sure we have your current address on file. By doing so, future
disbursements can be properly mailed.
Capital credits are reserved for members,
even if they move out of the BCREMC
service area. Always contact us to provide updated address information. We will
make a diligent effort to send a check by
mail. If the check is returned, the member
will be marked as undeliverable.
If a member has passed away, all capital credits allocated in the past years can
be paid in full to the spouse (if not listed
jointly on the account) or heirs of the
member. BCREMC needs a copy of the
death certificate and will (if available) to
make an estate payment.
Bartholomew County REMC is proud to
report that your REMC is financially stable
and appreciates the opportunity to return
capital credits back to you, our members.
JIM TURNER is general manager and CEO of
Bartholomew County REMC.
IVE
Many electric space heaters advertise they can slash your electric bill. What
they don’t advertise is that they can also cause that bill to increase significantly.
Whether it’s a standard electric space heater you see at Lowe’s, Menards or
Walmart or a “ruby quartz” or “infrared” souped-up model advertised in a
newspaper or on a billboard, the thing you need to be concerned about is how
much power the unit consumes. This is most commonly given in watts. Check the
box or the unit itself for this information.
Many electric space heaters are rated at 1,500 watts, regardless of their looks.
This rating is how much power the space heater uses. You are billed for each
kilowatt-hour of electricity you consume. A thousand watts is equal to one kilowatt, so 1,500 watts is equal to 1.5 kilowatts. This means for each hour the space
heater is running, it consumes 1.5 kilowatt-hours of electricity, which costs about
15 cents. Doesn’t sound like much does it? But running that heater nonstop is
a surefire way to increase your bill. If you ran one 1,500-watt space heater for
18 hours a day for a single month it would cost about $81. That’s on top of your
normal bill.
So where are the savings that are often touted on such items? An electric
space heater can save you money, but only if you reduce the running time of your
electric furnace or other primary heating system. A space heater could reduce
your electric bill, for instance, if you lowered the thermostat on your electric
furnace from 72 F to 66 F and used the space heater to heat a single occupied
room up to a comfortable temperature. If, however, you’re using the space heater
to heat an area of your home normally not heated, such as an enclosed porch,
then the space heater is simply an additional cost to your electric bill.
Also, keep in mind that if you’re using an electric space heater to supplement a
propane furnace, then you may see a drop in the amount of propane you use, but
your electric bill will still increase because of the addition of the heater. Electric space
heaters can provide an effective and simple means of heating that cold, unconditioned
tool shed, bedroom or other relatively small space, but you should always follow safety
precautions to prevent injuries and fires.
ElectricConsumer.org • DECEMBER 2016 • ELECTRIC CONSUMER 5
BCREMC News
Incentives available until Dec. 31
A
s a member-owned electric cooperative, Bartholomew
County REMC places a high priority on helping members use energy efficiently. If you have upgraded your
home’s HVAC system, heat pump or water heater or have insulated your attic or duct work, the current rebate program is available. If you have installed any new HVAC equipment or a new
water heater in 2016 please notify us before Dec. 31. Equipment
installed in 2016 will not be eligible for rebates in 2017.
Proof-of-purchase along with the brand name, model number
and serial number must be provided. Visit www.bcremc.
com/incentives for a complete listing of the rebates offered by
Bartholomew County REMC and forms needed for submission.
There are still a few tax credits available. Visit www.energystar.gov and use “tax credits” in the search bar for complete details. IRS Tax Form 5695 will need to be filed along
with your 2016 tax returns to receive the tax credit, or inform
your tax consultant of any energy efficient changes you may
have made to your home. …
Warm hands and warm hearts
Help us partner with Lincoln Central Neighborhood Family Center (LCNFC) to
provide new store-bought or hand-knitted caps, hats, mittens, gloves, socks and
scarves for its clients who are unable to purchase them for their families.
For the 13th year, beginning now through Dec. 8, Bartholomew County REMC
will collect these items and donate them to LCNFC. These collected items will be
distributed to needy families through its Angels of Love program. You can drop
off your donations at the REMC office, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m.
Your heart will be full knowing you are helping to keep someone warm with
your donation.
Hundreds attend appreciation day
Over 750 members braved the rain and attended the BCREMC Member
Appreciation Day on Oct. 20 at the REMC office. A dinner was provided for
members and there were lots of fun things for the kids to do. Fun was had by
all, but the kids in the corn pit had the most fun! They also enjoyed pony rides,
pumpkin painting and the DNR “Birds of Prey” exhibit. The adults enjoyed live
wire safety demonstrations presented by our linemen.
Bartholomew County REMC appreciates you, the member, and would like to
thank those who attended that night.
28 ELECTRIC CONSUMER • DECEMBER 2016 • ElectricConsumer.org
FOLLOW THESE EASY
TIPS FOR A SAFER
HOLIDAY SEASON
• Carefully inspect lighting strands for frayed
or exposed wires, loose connections and cuts
in the insulation. Damaged strands should be
replaced, not repaired.
• Do not secure light strands or cords with
staples or nails.
• Never run extension cords or lights under rugs
or furniture. Heat or a spark could ignite the
flammable materials.
• Avoid overloading outlets and circuits.
Flickering lights, tripped circuit breakers,
and blown fuses are warning signs that your
home’s electrical outlets may be overloaded.
• Avoid hanging lights on the lower limbs of the
tree if you have small children in the house.
• Turn off lights before you go to bed and
anytime you leave home.
Save with LED bulbs
T
he lightbulb has undergone relatively few changes
since it was introduced in the late 1870s. But new
technology has arrived and it is finally becoming
very affordable.
LEDs are available in an array of light “color temperatures” like warm white, soft white and bright white. (Color
temperature is measured in kelvins. An LED bulb with a
light color output similar to an incandescent is between
2,700 and 3,500 k.) But the most exciting news is that
LEDs are even more efficient than CFLs, and we are finally
seeing their price come down.
Exclusive price discounts for REMC members
BCREMC members can save up to $10 per bulb when
buying LEDs from our online store. (Discounted CFLs are
also available.) Visit www.bcremc.com and click on the
“Incentives” tab and then select the “Discount Lighting”
link to enter the store and place your order.
Free shipping is offered with a minimum order of six
bulbs. With these discounts, you can purchase six bulbs
for about the same price you would pay for one or two
LED bulbs in a big-box store.
For more information about our online lighting store,
contact BCREMC. …
ElectricConsumer.org • DECEMBER 2016 • ELECTRIC CONSUMER 29