MORGAN COUNTY RURAL ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION
[MCREA
] ]
[MCREA
News
News
Severe Weather, Tornadoes Hit MCREA Territory
BY GEOFF BAUMGARTNER || COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST
W
an overturned irrigation sprinkler take out
hile some Morgan County Rural
several poles along Morgan County Road X
Electric Association members
west of Orchard.”
celebrated Mother’s Day weekend
MCREA line crews responded right away
with their families, others were cleaning
once the storm passed and began working
up debris from a series of tornadoes that
to restore power to those affected by the
hit Morgan and Weld counties on Saturday
tornadoes. The linemen worked well into
afternoon, May 7.
the early morning hours on Sunday, then
According to the National Weather Serresumed again once daylight allowed them
vice, four tornadoes occurred that afternoon,
to better analyze the damage. “There were a
with one over southern Weld County and
couple of homes that required more extensive
three across western Morgan County. The
repairs due to the damage they sustained,
most significant tornadoes traveled from just
and several wells that we
south of Interstate 76 over
weren’t able to get back
Weld County across Empire Reservoir and then
“We had poles down along on right away. But we
were able to restore power
to the west of Orchard.
Highway 34 near Empire
The weather service
Lake, and west and south- to the majority of services
by Sunday night,” Taylor
also confirmed that
west of Orchard.”
explained.
there were a few areas
Morgan County REA
of tornado category EF2
representatives also expressed a great deal of
damage, but most of the damage was in the
gratitude to the members who volunteered to
EF1 range. The National Weather Service
estimates that wind speeds of twisters catego- help line crews move one of the overturned
sprinklers off of downed poles near Orchard.
rized from EF1 to EF2 range between 86 to
Several neighbors in the area jumped in
135 miles per hour.
to help pull the damaged sprinkler off the
Local news sources reported that around
poles, with MCREA members Pat Groves,
a dozen fifth-wheel campers were damaged
Foy Chapin and Mike Baessler providing
at Empire Reservoir, causing minor injuries.
their own personal equipment to assist with
Morgan County Sheriff Jim Crone was quotmoving the damaged sprinkler. “It would
ed in media outlets saying that the majority
have probably taken us a lot longer to get the
of the campers and motor homes were unocpower restored if not for everyone’s help, and
cupied or vacant at the time. Other damage
we really appreciate it,” said Taylor.
caused by the twisters included structures,
Morgan County REA maintains a list of
such as homes and barns, and overturned
members — called the “Pull-Out List” —
irrigation sprinklers.
who volunteer to assist crews in situations
Morgan County REA Line Superintendent
like the overturned sprinkler or with stuck
Mark Taylor said that the electric cooperavehicles. If you would like to be added to the
tive saw its share of damage from the severe
list, or if you are already on it and need to
weather. “We had poles down along Highway
update your contact information, please call
34 near Empire Lake, and west and southDeb Strauch at 970-867-5688.
west of Orchard,” he said. “We actually had
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An overturned sprinkler took out several
power poles at Groves Farms off of
Morgan County Road X west of Orchard.
Photo appears courtesy of Erika Groves.
MCREA crews repair downed lines along
Highway 34 west of Wiggins near Empire
Lake.
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JUNE 2016
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[MCREA News]
NEW HEADQUARTERS UPDATE
Construction of the new Morgan County Rural Electric
Association headquarters building is reaching the final
stages. While there is no exact move-in date at the time
of this issue, there are a few important pieces of information members need to know for when the building is
completed and operations begin at the new location.
• Please send all correspondence by mail — including the
mailing of payments — to the following address:
Morgan County REA
P.O. Box 738
Fort Morgan, CO 80701
• While members may still drop off payments in person
during business hours to the new location at 734 Barlow
Road, the new building will not have a drive-through
window option. However, a payment drop box will be
located at the roundabout in front of the building and will be available for members to drop off their payments 24 hours a
day, seven days a week.
• Morgan County REA strongly discourages members from putting cash payments into the payment drop box. If members
wish to make payments with cash, MCREA asks that you bring the payment to the front desk at the new headquarters
building.
Members Able to Text Outage Information
M
Morgan County REA reminds members that they have the ability to send MCREA a text
message to report an electrical outage. This service provides an alternative to calling the
co-op in an outage situation. (Steve and Lisa Rueb, acct #2179300)
Here are the steps you need to follow to have the ability to text power outages:
1.
all the Morgan County REA Billing Department at 970-867-5688 to make sure your cell
C
phone number(s) is recorded in the system. This is extremely important. If MCREA does
not have your cell phone number(s) on file, the outage texting service WILL NOT work.
2. After you have given MCREA your cell phone number(s), you may register for the service.
You can do this by clicking on the “Outage Texting” button on MCREA’s website home
page (www.mcrea.org). The registration process is simple and only takes a few minutes.
3.
ou will be given an outage texting number. Add this number to your contacts list on your
Y
cell phone so it’s ready when an outage occurs.
You are now ready to text us in the event your power goes out. Please call the office during
normal office hours (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.) if you have any questions.
8
JUNE 2016
WIN $25 OFF YOUR
ELECTRIC BILL
Each month Morgan County REA gives
two lucky members a $25 credit on their
electric bill, just by reading Colorado
Country Life!
Congratulations, Larry and Sharon
Palmer (account #1960000) and Robert
S. Weimer (account #1008700). You saw
your names and account numbers in the
April edition of Colorado Country Life.
You both received a $25 credit on your
electric bill!
There are two more MCREA member
names and their account numbers
hidden somewhere in this issue. If you
find your name and account number,
call member services at 970-867-5688
by June 30 to claim a $25 credit on your
electric bill.
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Are You a DIY Power Generator? For Safety’s Sake, Let Us Know!
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The drop in price of solar panels has
created fertile ground for do-it-yourself
power generators. Morgan County REA
is strongly warning against electric
systems being installed that have not
been planned and installed by a certified
installation company or with the coordination of the utility.
MCREA will be actively looking for
these systems and requiring that the
installations meet all required application and permitting processes. To keep
everyone safe, the cooperative is prepared
to disconnect service to members who
are operating a system without proper
applications and permitting until all
requirements are met. This is necessary
to help keep all members and employees
safe. While it looks simple to throw some
panels up on the roof and hook them up,
there are a lot of risks involved with the
process. Here are just a few of them.
SAFETY FIRST
Installation of a solar photovoltaic system
is like any other electric installation in
your home: It can be dangerous if not
installed correctly. Make a mistake, and
you could suffer an injury, such as burns,
falls and electric shocks. There is also the
risk of a fire if the unit is poorly installed.
Like any electrical work in your home,
your homeowners insurance company
will want to know that the unit is properly
installed before paying any claim for
damage.
If Morgan County REA does not know
you’ve put the system in, it poses a real
risk to line workers during maintenance
work or outage restoration. Not having an
interconnection agreement with MCREA
or the appropriate inverter would make
your system into a mini power plant that
would not shut down during a power outage. Your system could feed energy back
onto a line and injure or kill a worker if
MCREA doesn’t know it’s in operation.
IT TAKES PAPERWORK TO PUT
THE SUN TO WORK FOR YOU
Solar installations are subject to federal,
state and local permit requirements, along
with an interconnection agreement with
the utility. Just as you would need permits
for other home improvements, a solar
system requires multiple permits. The
permitting process makes certain your
system is installed correctly, meeting all
the electrical and/or plumbing requirements.
Electricity production is a regulated
industry, so you’re not legally allowed to
connect your system to an existing grid
without appropriate inspections. The
interconnection agreement with MCREA
helps to clarify your relationship with the
utility, and it allows you to take advantage
of Morgan County REA’s net metering
program.
If you have a generating system that you
installed without securing the necessary
permits, or are operating without an
interconnection agreement with MCREA,
we are looking for you. Give us a call to
find out how we can help you get your
system into compliance, and help you
avoid injuring or killing one of our line
workers or someone in your neighborhood.
THE STORY BEHIND THE SWITCH
CAUTION FOR TREE
CLIMBERS
Jon Beyer from Tri-State Generation and Transmission (background) delivers the “Story Behind the
Switch” to students at Prairie Elementary School in New Raymer on May 5. (Brenda and Dana Sharp,
acct #2283900) The program, developed by Tri-State and in partnership with Morgan County REA,
uses hands-on demonstrations to explain to children how electricity is made, and how it gets from
the power plant to their homes.
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Never climb trees near power lines.
Trees are inviting to climbers, but
trees near power lines could be
conductors of electricity if branches
are touching the wires. Even if
branches are not touching power
lines, they could when the weight of
a person is added.
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JUNE 2016
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[MCREA News]
MORGAN COUNTY REA
PAYMENT OPTIONS
WE ACCEPT CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS
FOR IRRIGATION ACCOUNTS
On-line options via www.mcrea.org utilizing SmartHub
• Pay with e-check (deduction directly from your bank account). Available for
ALL rate classes!
• Pay via credit card (Large Power and Industrial accounts EXCLUDED).
24-hour pay by phone
Call the automated payment line at 877-495-6487 (24 hours a day, 365 days a year). Pay
via one of two methods:
•P
ay with e-check (deduction directly from your bank account). Available for ALL rate
classes! PIN required. Call the MCREA Billing Department to receive your PIN at
970-867-5688.
• Pay via credit card (Large Power and Industrial accounts EXCLUDED).
Recurring ACH — automatic withdrawal
• Call the MCREA Billing Department at 970-867-5688 to sign up for this payment
option. Provide your bank information and every month on the 15th (excluding
weekends and holidays) MCREA will automatically draft your bank account.
Recurring credit card automatic payments
• Contact the MCREA Billing Department at 970-867-5688 and sign up for automatic
credit card payments. Provide your credit card information and MCREA will
automatically process charges every month on the 15th (excluding weekends and
holidays).
STATEMENT OF NONDISCRIMINATION
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and
policies, the USDA, its agencies, offices and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA
programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity
(including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income
derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in
any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint
filing deadlines vary by program or incident.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large
print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible agency or USDA’s TARGET Center
at 202-720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339. Additionally,
program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027,
found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed
to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint
form, call 866-632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax:
202-690-7442; or (3) email: [email protected].
BIRDS ON A WIRE
Why don’t they
get electrocuted?
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While it is safe for a bird to sit on an
overhead power line, it is not safe for
people to be near overhead power lines.
So how can birds sit on a power line
unharmed? Safe Electricity reveals
insights into the “bird on a wire”
phenomenon and separates fact from
fiction.
In order for an electrical charge, or
electrons, to move from one spot to another, it must be in contact (or sometimes
close proximity) with conductive material that has at least two different points
of potential. Electrons will move toward
lower potential. That is why it is said that
electricity is always looking for a path to
ground (lower potential).
A bird remains safe because it is sitting
on a single wire and is at one point of
contact, and consequently one electrical potential. If the bird sitting on this
one potential was to also make contact
with another object of different potential,
that bird would be completing a path to
ground, causing severe electric shock
or electrocution. For larger birds with
wider wingspans, reaching and touching
another cable is a real hazard.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.
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JUNE 2016
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