Sumter Electric Cooperative, Inc. d/b/a SECO Energy is committed to protecting your privacy and developing technology that offers the most powerful and safe online experience and reliable energy services. This Privacy Policy explains data collection and use practices of the web properties of SECOEnergy.com. As well, this Privacy Policy applies to the meters on SECO’s electric distribution systems, including data-transmitting electronic meters (Automated Metering Infrastructure – AMI) connected with SECO’s electric system and governs data collection and usage. By using the SECO website and/or accepting electricity through an AMI meter, you consent to the data practices described in this Policy.

 

COLLECTION OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

SECO collects personally identifiable information, such as your email address, name, date of birth, taxpayer identification number, driver’s license number, home or work address, or telephone number. SECO also collects anonymous demographic information, which is not unique to you, such as your ZIP code, age, gender, preferences, interests and favorites.

 

There is also information about your computer hardware and software that is automatically collected by SECO. This information can include: your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times and referring website addresses. This information is used by SECO for the operation of the service, to maintain the quality of the service and to provide general statistics regarding use of the SECO website.

 

— USE OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

SECO collects and uses your personal information to operate the SECO website and AMI meters, and to deliver the services you have requested. SECO also uses your personally identifiable information to (1) inform you of other products or services available from SECO and its affiliates, (2) for the purpose of printing your billing statements and (3) for the purpose of providing credit and debit card processing to pay your bills. SECO and its affiliates may also contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current services or of potential new services that may be offered.

 

SECO does not sell, rent or lease its customer lists to third parties. SECO may, from time to time, contact you on behalf of external business partners about a particular offering that may be of interest to you. In those cases, your unique personally identifiable information (i.e., email address, name, home or business address, telephone number, energy usage) is transferred to the third party under strict conditions outlined in a confidentiality agreement that defines the purpose of use and limitations of the shared information and holds the third party responsible for data protection. In addition, SECO may share data with trusted partners to help us perform statistical analysis, send you email or postal mail, SMS messages, provide customer support or arrange for deliveries. All such third parties are prohibited from using your personal information except to provide these services to SECO, and they are required to maintain the confidentiality of your information.

 

SECO does not use or disclose sensitive personal information, such as race, religion or political affiliations, without your explicit consent.

 

SECO tracks the website and pages that are visited by users in order to determine what SECO information and services are the most popular. This data is used to deliver customized content and advertising within SECO to members whose behavior indicates that they are interested in a particular subject area.

 

Please keep in mind that if you directly disclose personally identifiable information or personally sensitive data through SECO’s website, this information may be collected and used by others.

 

SECO encourages you to review the Privacy Policy statements of sites you choose to link to from the SECO website so that you can understand how those websites collect, use and share your information. SECO is not responsible for the Privacy Policy or other content on websites outside of the SECO website.

 

SECO may disclose your personal information collected on the SECO website or through SECO’s AMI meters, without notice, only if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on SECO website; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of SECO; or (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of SECO members, employees, or the public.

 

— USE OF COOKIES

The SECO website uses “cookies” to help personalize your online experience. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a webpage server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.

 

One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. The purpose of a cookie is to tell the web server that you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you personalize SECO pages, or register with SECO’s website or services, a cookie helps the SECO Energy website recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of recording your personal information, such as billing addresses, shipping addresses and so on. When you return to the same SECO website, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the SECO features that you customized.

 

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the SECO services or website.

 

SECURITY OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

SECO secures your personal information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. SECO secures the personally identifiable information from AMI meters and the information you provide on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, protected from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. When personal information (such as a credit card number) is transmitted to other websites, it is protected through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.

 

CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

SECO will occasionally update this Privacy Policy to reflect company and member feedback. SECO encourages you to periodically review this Privacy Policy to be informed of how SECO is protecting your information.

 

CONTACT INFORMATION

SECO welcomes your questions or comments regarding this Privacy Policy. If you believe that SECO has not adhered to this Privacy Policy, please contact SECO at: SECO Energy; 330 S US 301; Sumterville, FL 33585. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy any problem.

 

If the Privacy Policy changes, we will post an updated version on the SECO website. The policy revision date will be posted at the bottom of the page.

 

Updated: December 8, 2023