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Month: August 2016

Severe Storms Crossing Service Area

A line of extremely severe thunderstorms crossed Central Florida. SECO has activated additional crews and has called in more contractors and tree crews. The good news is all the feeders are intact and substations are operational. The not-so-good news is the winds/tree damage to laterals has caused nearly 100 individual pockets of outages – affecting, thus far, about 600 members. Many of these outages are in wooded areas where trees made contact with lines and may have brought lines down altogether. Please stay away from downed lines. Call 911 if your safety is at risk. 

Most important, if you are in doubt as to whether SECO is aware of your outage, use Storm Center (select the Report Outage tab at the top) and report with your last name and house number. Check the box for a callback and provide a phone number please. Even if you reported it once already, do it again and provide a callback number so that we can confirm when things are coming back on.

Just click the image below.

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SECO Energy Welcomes New Villagers

SECO Energy representatives Melanie Hinde and J.D. Simmons joined The Villages Homeowner’s Association at their monthly Newcomer’s Meeting on Tuesday, July 12, at The Colony Recreation Center in The Villages.

 

Over 130 new Villagers were introduced to a variety of service providers, such as SECO, Villages clubs and advocacy groups available in their area. At the meeting, Villagers were treated to snacks, giveaways from vendors and the opportunity to win a 12-month supply of HVAC air filters, courtesy of SECO, and other door prizes.

 

Fred Briggs, VHA President, encouraged the new Villagers to join the VHA, which is 16,000 members strong and growing. The VHA’s mission is “To enhance the residents’ enjoyment and pride of community through compassion, advocacy and education.” Residents are encouraged to turn to the VHA for help with many issues facing senior citizens, such as scams, Medicare discrepancies and insurance claims.

 

Kathryn Gloria, Vice President of Corporate Communications and Energy Services stated, “SECO serves almost 200,000 members – 48,000 of those members live in The Villages. The Newcomer’s Meeting is an opportune time to introduce our not-for-profit electric cooperative, along with its benefits and services, to the newest residents in The Villages.”

 

SECO Energy members don’t have to be present at a VHA meeting to take advantage of the company’s benefits. Any member can visit our website’s Energy Solutions section to access our filter change program, giving members deep discounts and free delivery on HVAC and refrigerator filters.

 

To learn more about the VHA and find a future meeting, visit www.thevha.net SECO Energy has speakers and presentations available for groups of any age or size. To learn more about SECO’s community support or to request a speaker, visit www.secoenergy.com. “Like” SECO’s Facebook page and “follow” the company on Twitter.

Nature’s Reflections – Florida’s Gulf Fritillary

Florida’s Gulf Fritillary

A member of the longwings, brush-footed family

 

The Gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) is a striking, bright orange, medium-sized butterfly common to Florida. Its wingspan is less than three inches. Its forewings are long and fairly narrow, orange above with black markings, and three black-encircled white or silvery spots at the front edge of the forewing. These spots are visible above and below. Underwings are pale brownish orange, with many large, iridescent silvery markings.

 

The Gulf fritillary gets its name from the fact that it migrates across the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, its range extends from South America north through Central America, Mexico and the West Indies to the southern United States.

 

SECO News Nature's Reflections August 2016, Florida’s Gulf Fritillary

 

The Gulf fritillary uses the passion flower vine for its larval food plant. Males patrol for females, who lay tiny yellow eggs on the host plant. The eggs usually hatch within a few days. The Gulf fritillary is considered a sub-tropical butterfly. This means it slows down when air temperatures drop and speeds up when it gets warmer regardless of what stage it is in. For example, an egg may hatch within three days in the heat of summer, but may take longer in cold weather.

 

Column & photo by: Sandi Staton