Operation
Round Up
Members Helping Members,
and Our Community.
Voted on by our members in 2006, Operation Round Up was enacted to become a way for
outreach into the areas we serve. Each month, a member’s electric bill is rounded up to the next
dollar amount. Some months may be a few cents more, others are a few cents less. On average,
most members contribute about 50¢/month. But through the strength of the entire cooperative,
that change adds up to provide meaningful help to others.
This voluntary program gives members the ability to help
Yearly giving for a member:
those in need through the support of social, charitable,
12¢ – $11.88 annually
and civic programs in our service area.
Average per member: $6/year
KEEPING THE BEST INTEREST OF OUR COMMUNITIES
AT HEART IS A MAIN MISSION OF A COOPERATIVE.
FarmersElectric.coop
903 455 1715 | FarmersElectric.coop | 2000 Interstate 30 East, Greenville, TX 75402
YOU’RE IN POWER.
CO-OP NEWS
FARMERS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
Our Cooperative. Our Community.
We’ve always been told it’s the little things that count
in life: being kind to our neighbors, returning a lost
wallet, picking up after ourselves while enjoying the great
outdoors. Although each action might not amount to
much on its own, if everyone does a little, we see a big,
positive impact in our community.
by MARK STUBBS
That’s why Farmers Electric Cooperative is a proud
General Manager
supporter of Operation Round Up. Co-op members
who opt in to the Operation Round Up program have their monthly
electric bills automatically rounded up to the next whole dollar amount,
and the difference is deposited into a fund that assists worthy local service
organizations or individuals in need.
The co-op’s board of directors oversees contributions, evaluates funding
applications and distributes funds to recipients such as local volunteer
fire departments, community service organizations such as the Rockwall
County Meals on Wheel Senior Service and to organizations that assist
residents in need.
How does it work for a member? If your bill for one month is $82.70,
that amount would be rounded up to $83, with 30 cents going to
Operation Round Up for that month. Most members don’t even notice
the extra money they contribute. Over the span of a year, the average
amount of spare change contributed by a member is about $6.
Six dollars a year doesn’t sound like much, but when you put together
those small, monthly contributions from all the program members—that’s
when things start to get exciting.
About 37,000 members of our cooperative chip in monthly to support
Operation Round Up, and that number grows every month. Last year,
your co-op distributed more than $140,000 to local organizations. That’s
something we can all be proud of. Our assistance is changing lives for the
better in our community.
About 250 local electric co-ops nationwide run Operation Round Up
programs. All told, consumers at these co-ops have raised more than $100
million since South Carolina’s Palmetto Electric Cooperative originated the
idea in 1989. If you’re one of the members who makes Operation Round
Up possible, thank you. If you would like to participate, you can call
us at 903-455-1715. Together, we can use a little pocket change to
change our community.
FarmersElectric.coop
CONGRATULATIONS
TO GLENDA HARRIS
2016 Annual Meeting Grand Prize Winner
Farmers EC General Manager Mark Stubbs is
pictured with member Glenda Harris who was
the grand prize winner at the Annual Meeting.
Harris won a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu that was
being retired from the cooperative’s fleet.
COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMENT
Youth Tour & Scholarships
Each year Farmers EC sponsors two high school
students to attend the Government-in-Action
Youth Tour in Washington D.C.
We also offer numerous scholarships for
eligible high school seniors whose parents
are co-op members.
Learn more at: FarmersElectric.coop.
HOLIDAY HOURS
Farmers EC offices will be closed for:
Christmas - Dec. 23 & 26
New Year’s - Jan. 2
CO-OP NEWS
FARMERS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
LEDs for the holidays
Helpful home
heating hints.
Winter is here, along with the utility bills
for heating your home. Heating and
cooling can account for about half of
utility bills. Use these ideas to keep your
family warm economically:
Install a Programmable Thermostat
A programmable thermostat can make
sure temperatures in the home match the
schedules of inhabitants. Turning back your
thermostat for eight hours a day can save
as much as 10 percent a year on your
heating bill.
Perform an Air Leak Test
Leaks in windows and doors are big culprits
in a chilly household. If you feel a draft, first
find the source. Perform this test on a windy
day if possible, or while all exhaust vents
are blowing.
First, close all windows and doors. Second,
light an incense stick or a match and pass
it by windows and doors. If the smoke is
sucked out or blown into the room, you have
found an air leak.
Seal any leaks you find with caulk or
weatherstripping.
Free Up Blocked Vents
Wintertime can mean bringing in holiday
decorations and additional chairs for visitors.
Be sure your furniture and décor are not
blocking heating registers so air can circulate
more freely and save energy.
“L-E-D! L-E-D! L-E-D!” (Imagine this being chanted the way “U-S-A” is at the
Olympics.) Although LEDs won’t necessarily anchor a relay to victory, they are
most certainly the current champions when it comes to energy-efficient lighting,
and a perfect choice for holiday decorating.
Fifty years ago, we enjoyed decorating with large, painted incandescent bulbs.
They were glorious—and hot, posing a real danger when used on a dry tree.
Fast-forward a couple of decades, when the energy-conservation movement
created a demand for more efficient options. Enter miniature incandescent light
strings.These still are widely used today and use dramatically less power than
their predecessors.
As is often true in our technological age, manufacturers didn’t stop looking
for even more efficient alternatives.This led to the introduction of LED lights.
The first incarnations generated less-than-appealing garish blues, greens and
reds but quickly softened into a more eye-pleasing spectrum.Today, LEDs are the
undisputed champs of holiday lighting.There is no reason to let concerns over
cost of operation limit your decorating genius.You could wrap your home in LED
light strings, become visible to the International Space Station and still have a
pleasantly manageable power bill at the end of it all.
LEDs are also showing up in other forms and places.They are available in clear
tubes that you can wrap around objects for extra interest, and many yard figures
are constructed with these as the main lighted element.
How about wearing some holiday LED bling? Yes, the tacky (but ever so
popular) holiday tie with tiny lights has been around for years. But, combine
the advances in LEDs with conductive paints and microcontrollers, and you can
create some truly memorable fashions for the holidays.
You have worked hard all year to reduce your energy consumption to save
money and slim down your carbon footprint. Now reward yourself with a
splendid holiday display that will be the envy of all who see it—while still
conserving electricity.
Holiday Lighting Comparison
Holiday lighting options have come a long way over the past few decades. The chart below
shows three types of lighting options, including wattage and operating cost comparison
TYPE OF LAMP
WATTS PER
LAMP
C9 Incandescent7
WATTS PER
50 LAMP
SEASONAL
OPERATING COSTS*
350
$13.33
Mini Incandescent
0.42521.25 $0.81
LED
0.0693.45 $0.13
*Based on 40 days of operation, eight hours per day, $0.119 per kilowatt-hour (Department of Energy average).
In addition, the LED will last as much as 40 times longer than the incandesent lamps. Source: energy.gov
CO-OP NEWS
December 2016
Odds & Ends
Fair, festival, class or show—share your community event with
us and we’ll help you get the word out with the Farmers EC
Community Calendar.
SEND TO: [email protected]
DID YOU KNOW
How To Renew
Exemption Certificates
If you are claiming a sales tax exemption on
electricity used in the production of agricultural or
timber products, you must renew your exemption by
Dec. 31 through the Office of the Texas Comptroller of
Public Accounts. Otherwise, the co-op will be required
to charge sales tax beginning in January.
There are several options for renewing your
exemption certificate: online, by phone or by mail.
Online renewal is the fastest, with the applicant
receiving a confirmation number immediately. Those
applying by phone will receive a confirmation letter
by mail in five to seven days. Processing time for
renewing by mail could take several weeks.
Those seeking a renewal can visit: comptroller.
texas.gov/taxinfo/agriculture/get_ready_texas.
html for more information. The site also features a
list of eligibility requirements. Only one certificate is
required for members with multiple qualifying meters.
For more information, contact the comptroller’s
office at comptroller.texas.gov/taxhelp or call
1-800-252-5555.
RECIPE
Apple Skillet Cake
INGREDIENTS
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk
2 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup chopped pecans
FarmersElectric.coop
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9- or 10-inch
cast-iron skillet.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together
flour, salt, baking soda and sugar
3. Add beaten egg, vanilla, buttermilk, apples and pecans. Mix until just incorporated.
4. Pour mixture into skillet and bake 40-50 minutes.
Power Tip
Reduce energy for water heating.
Simple steps like lowering your
heater’s temperature and installing
low-flow showerheads can reduce
your water heating bills.
Holiday Hours
Our offices will be closed December
23 & 26 for the Christmas holiday.
and January 2 for New Year’s.
Crews will be on standby in case
of outages.