SECO Energy is kicking off its 2020 SECO Scholarship Program. For over two decades, SECO Energy’s Board of Trustees has renewed its commitment to members and the communities the cooperative serves by approving the Scholarship Program for local students. A total of $36,000 is available for 12 recipients to receive $3,000 each.
SECO Energy is adjusting the eligibility requirements for the 2020 Scholarship Program to better align with its corporate goals. SECO believes its annual scholarships are a way to spark an interest in energy industry careers and should be used as a recruitment tool.
To be eligible to apply, the student must be interested in pursuing a career in the energy sector. The student must live in a home served by SECO and be a high school senior who is graduating this school year (May/June). Awardees must be enrolled full-time in an accredited college, university or vocational/technical school located in Florida by the end of 2020. Students should also be pursuing a degree in technology, engineering, math or business. The student may also pursue a certification directly related to jobs in the electric industry.
CEO Jim Duncan stated, “The goal for our 2020 Scholarship Program is to attract local students who want to come to SECO for internship opportunities during breaks and begin their careers with us after graduation. Our Scholarship Program embraces two of the seven cooperative principles observed by SECO: Concern for Community and Education, Training and Information. I wish our applicants the best and look forward to meeting our scholarship winners at the awards banquet in May.”
Scholarship applications are available online. For those without internet access, applications are also available at SECO’s Member Services Centers. The application must be completed in full and received in our corporate offices on or before 5 p.m. on Friday, March 27, 2020. Email Communications for questions about the scholarship eligibility requirements or application.
View a slideshow of past scholarship awardees, print an application and read more about eligibility requirements on our Scholarship page. “Like” SECO’s Facebook page and “follow” @SECOEnergy on Twitter for news releases and cooperative updates.
SECO Energy members have rated the not-for-profit electric cooperative as a customer satisfaction leader. SECO received an American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) score of 90 for 2019. SECO’s 90 is a one-point increase from its 2018 score.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index provides a one-of-a-kind, cross-industry measurement of customer satisfaction in the United States. Each year, the ACSI uses data from interviews with roughly 300,000 customers as inputs to an econometric model for analyzing customer satisfaction with more than 400 companies in 46 industries and 10 economic sectors. ACSI data has proven to be strongly related to several essential indicators of micro and macroeconomic performance.
At the end of 2019, NRECA Market Research Services conducted the membership survey on SECO Energy’s behalf that included the ACSI metrics at year end and contacted members by email to ask about their unique experience with the cooperative. Members rated SECO with an impressive ACSI score of 90.
SECO Energy’s ACSI score is tops when compared to average ACSI scores in the energy industry. Nationally, cooperative utilities averaged 75 in 2019, which is 2 points lower than the 2018 cooperative average. Investor-owned utilities and municipal utilities scores averaged 73, both of which are 2 points lower than the 2018 average.
In the 2019 membership survey, members scored SECO well in all 18 service attributes with 16 rated as “excellent.” The highest rated were employees, bills and payment options, minimizing outages and community support. A service attribute that increased significantly is “Keeping members informed on the status of outages.” The increase in this particular attribute can be attributed to SECO’s online outage and communications platform StormCenter that communicates outage alerts with enrolled members via email, text or voice notifications.
CEO Jim Duncan stated, “SECO Energy excels in customer satisfaction. When comparing our 2019 ACSI score of 90 to our industry peers and Fortune 500 companies, SECO is clearly a satisfaction frontrunner. One of the reasons members have rated SECO so well over the years is our world-class employees. We are customer service champions because of our employees’ dedication to member satisfaction and their commitment to local communities.”
Duncan added, “Thank you, members, for taking the time to respond and recognizing our employees’ efforts on your behalf. We are grateful for your approval and continued support.”
In recent years, SECO Energy has received national attention and three J.D. Power trophies for its exceptional customer satisfaction rankings. In the 2015 J.D. Power study, SECO Energy was ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Midsize Utilities in the South.” And in 2016 and 2017, SECO was ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Cooperatives.”
“Like” SECO’s Facebook page and “follow” @SECOEnergy on Twitter for news releases and cooperative updates. Learn more about SECO Energy.
Central Florida didn’t see a White Christmas in December 2019. The temperatures were warm even by Central Florida standards. The monthly average temperature was a mild 66 degrees – which was 4 degrees warmer than the average temperature in December 2018. The highest daily recorded temperature was 85 degrees and the lowest daily recorded temperature was 41 degrees. That’s a fluctuation of 44 degrees between hot and cold so most likely both cooling and heating units ran in December.
December 2019’s average high temperature was 76 degrees with an average low temperature of 57 degrees. In December 2018, the average high temperature was 71 degrees while the average low temperature was 53 degrees.
Families who were visiting for the holidays from colder areas were pleased with the warm temperatures. Locally we enjoyed 11 days of high temperatures over 80 degrees in December 2019. Rainfall for the month was higher than last month at 3.67 inches. Rainfall for December 2018 was higher than 2019 at 5.55 inches.
While parts of the U.S. were blanketed in snow, Central Florida’s early morning temperatures were in the mid to high forties. If you had visiting family and friends, the afternoon highs and extra visitors probably required extra HVAC cooling. Members who used heat during the colder mornings and cooling in the warmer afternoons can expect to see an increase in energy consumption on their December billing statement. ENERGY STAR recommends setting your heat to no higher than 68 degrees during the winter months.
Have you scheduled an annual HVAC service? January and February are typically the coldest months in Florida. A well-maintained unit runs more efficiently and helps lower your energy usage. Read more about HVAC service and maintenance in November SECO News.
January 2020 forecast:
January 2020 is forecast for an average high of 75 degrees with high temperatures reaching the low 80s. The average low is forecast at 56 degrees with 14 or 15 days dropping into the 40s. Precipitation levels are forecast to be low with the best chance for rain in the middle of the month.
To check historical usage, log into SmartHub to view past bills and consumption charts. If your usage is high, SECO offers several energy-efficiency tools to help you identify energy wasters. Take the Home Energy Assessment to receive a detailed email tailored to your home’s features and lifestyle. The energy-saving advice will provide low-cost ways to decrease your usage – and your electric bill.
To easily calculate how much energy your appliances, lighting, electronic devices, and other energy-using items in your home consume, use the Energy Estimator.
The Florida manatee, a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, is a slow-moving aquatic animal with an elongated round body that tapers to a flat paddle-shaped tail. Its two forelimbs, each with three or four nails, are called flippers. The manatee’s head and face are wrinkled with whiskers on its snout.
Adult manatees weigh between 800 and 1,200 pounds and grow to 10 feet in length. It eats a variety of plants and can consume 10 to 15 percent of its body weight in vegetation daily. It surfaces every 3 to 5 minutes to breathe but can remain underwater up to 20 minutes.
Female manatees give birth once every 2 to 5 years after a gestation period of 13 months. At birth, calves weigh an average of 60 pounds and are nursed for 1 to 2 years. Found in fresh or saltwater, manatees move into Florida’s warm waters and are sited in shallow areas from November 15 to March 31.
It is illegal to harass, hunt, capture or kill manatees. Manatees have no natural predators, but its slow- moving speeds put it at risk of being injured or killed by fast-moving boat propellers. Manatees are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act.
This year we are adjusting the eligibility requirements to better align with our corporate goals. The focus of the scholarship program is shifting to a recruitment tool to spark an interest in energy industry careers. Our goal is to attract local students who want to come to SECO Energy for internship opportunities during breaks and begin their careers with us after graduation.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reports that almost 2 million people are employed in jobs related to electric power generation and fuels. In that group, nearly half a million people are employed in jobs directly related to electric power generation, transmission and distribution.
The DOE also reports the number of jobs in the energy sector is increasing – thus the demand for a skilled workforce follows. New careers are evolving that focus on renewable energy, natural gas and information and communications technology. But the energy industry workforce is aging. Almost thirty percent of energy industry employees are on the cusp of retirement or between the ages of 51 and 60. Furthermore, thirty-three percent of energy industry workers are between the ages of 41 and 50.
An aging workforce and the need for employees interested in highly-skilled careers in the energy industry are driving the eligibility change in SECO’s 2020 Scholarship Program.
To be eligible to apply, the student must be interested in pursuing a career in the energy sector. The student must be a graduating senior who lives in a home served by SECO Energy. Awardees must be enrolled full-time in an accredited Florida college, university or vocational/ technical school by the end of 2020. Students should also be pursuing a degree or certification in technology, engineering, math or business.
Applications are available beginning January 2, 2020 online. For those without Internet access, applications are also available in all Member Service Centers. The application must be received in our corporate offices on or before Friday, March 27, 2020.
If you have questions about the scholarship program, email Communications. Or you can call and visit with Eneida Robaina in the Corporate Communications group. Eneida manages the scholarship program and is also this month’s SECO Champion. Read about her next and watch her video on YouTube.
In addition to transforming into a viable recruiting tool, our Scholarship Program embraces two of the seven cooperative principles observed by SECO: Concern for Community and Education, Training and Information. I wish our applicants the best and look forward to meeting our scholarship winners at the awards banquet on May 18, 2020.
Sincerely,
Jim Duncan
Chief Executive Officer
SECO Champion – Eneida Robaina
Length of Service: 10 Years
“MY FAMILY IS SUPPORTIVE WHEN DUTY CALLS.” Eneida Robaina is a Senior Staff Assistant in Corporate Communications. Eneida also coordinates SECO’s Scholarship Program and has implemented the program changes to cultivate our future workforce. Eneida organizes the applications, answers scholarship inquiries and arranges the yearly awards banquet for recipients and their families.
Eneida moved to Sumterville from South Florida in 2001 with her family. She is a world traveler and also enjoys spending weekends on the family boat. Her family is understanding when Eneida works long hours or overnights in her role in the Emergency Restoration Plan during major weather events like Hurricane Irma. Eneida believes she is incredibly fortunate to work at SECO and is proud to represent a utility that truly puts its members first. Eneida is a SECO employee and a member, too.
Advice from The Old Farmer’s Almanac
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Many of us ring in the new year with a list of resolutions. The Old Farmer’s Almanac offers guidance on the best date in January 2020 to begin some of the most popular resolutions. The best day to quit smoking is January 6 or 11. Best day to color your hair on January 4 – 6, straighten your hair is January 20 or 21 or wait until January 24 – 26 for a new perm. Start your diet on January 14 or 19 and travel for pleasure on January 11 or 12 – before starting your New Year diet!
Winter Heating – Wood-Burning Fireplaces
During winter months, will a wood-burning fireplace heat your home more efficiently than your HVAC unit? SECO’s Energy Services experts report it’s not likely.
A wood-burning fireplace pulls oxygen and heat from other areas in your home. As much as 30 percent of that heat goes up the chimney creating a drop in your home’s temperature. When the temperature drops, your HVAC unit cycles more frequently.
To increase fireplace efficiency, consider installing glass doors or a fireback. Doors will serve as a barrier that reduces the amount of warm indoor air that escapes through the chimney. In the summer, glass doors will help prevent warm outside air from entering your home through the chimney. A fireback is an iron or steel often decorative plate that is installed at the back of the fireplace. Not only does this protect the fireplace masonry, it absorbs the heat and reflects it into the room.
Your best bet for fireplace energy efficiency is to not use the fireplace in conjunction with your HVAC unit. The glow from a wood-burning fire adds a lovely ambiance to a room and is perfect for times when it is only a little chilly.
Safety Corner – Kids’ Electrical Safety Tips
Children are innately curious and enjoy learning about the word they live in. Teach children and grandchildren to be cautious around energized equipment inside and outside the home.
Install outlet protectors in rooms where children can reach electrical outlets. Children and adults can be shocked or injured by placing foreign objects in outlets. Teach children to never operate appliances without a responsible adult present. Water and electricity don’t mix – never place electronics near water.
Inspect trees where children are playing to ensure that branches are far away from overhead power lines. Do not let children climb trees growing close to electric lines. Never touch outdoor wires with any part of your body, toys or other objects. Keep kites, balloons, drones and toy planes away from poles and wires. Children should never be allowed to play near substations or underground transformers.
Find more electrical safety tips on our electrical safety page.
SECO Energy’s generous employees are Making a Difference at Christmas by donating hundreds of toys for its annual Marine Toys for Tots donation drive. Members also joined in the gift-giving by adding toys to the donation boxes at SECO’s five Member Service Center locations.
SECO employees’ and members’ donations provide toys and smiles for local children on Christmas day. The toys donated through Toys for Tots remain in the community where they are donated. For many local children, a toy donated through the generosity of SECO employees and members will be the only present received for Christmas.
Among the hundreds of toys were 75 bicycles and tricycles donated by SECO employees. SECO’s Pennies from Heaven program chipped in this year to purchase bicycles and tricycles to match the number donated by SECO employees. In all, over 140 local children will receive a new bicycle or tricycle courtesy of SECO employees and members who participate in Pennies from Heaven.
CEO Jim Duncan stated, “SECO employees are a charitable group and they especially enjoy contributions that benefit the communities we serve. As a fellow marine, I’m proud of the Marine Toys for Tots organization whose volunteers work tirelessly to bring joy to children at Christmas. I am grateful to our generous employees and members who are willing to share their Christmas spirit with others.”
Senior Consultant for Civic, Charitable and Government Affairs Kathy Judkins manages the Toys for Tots donation drive companywide. Judkins stated, “I am so thankful for the hundreds of employees and many SECO members who chose to join SECO in supporting Toys for Tots this year. Making a Difference at Christmas brings happiness to children across our service area.”
Members who want to partner with SECO Energy to improve quality of life in local communities served by SECO can enroll in the Pennies from Heaven program that rounds up monthly bills to the nearest dollar. The small change donated through Pennies from Heaven supports financial assistance to local worthy causes in SECO’s service area. Requests for Angel Fund bill payment assistance are administered through several local agencies by calling 211 or visiting 211 online.
Watch a slide show of donated toys from SECO’s Toys for Tots toy drive photos on SECO’s YouTube channel. Learn more about SECO Energy’s community involvement online. “Like” SECO’s Facebook page and “follow” @SECOEnergy on Twitter for news releases and cooperative updates.
SECO Energy’s Engineering department recently embarked on a solar and battery energy storage pilot project. The cooperative contracted local solar array vendor Solar Trek to construct a 6,000-watt solar array and battery storage system at the Sumterville substation at its headquarters location. The project was designed and constructed over a nine-month period this year.
The new 6,000-watt solar array is ground mounted near Highway 470 to offset the utility-supplied power needed to serve the load in the switchgear enclosure. The energy storage batteries are housed in a cabinet outside of the substation switchgear. On average, the solar panels will produce 25 kilowatt hours (kWh) per day or about 750 kWh per month. Each panel is connected to a micro inverter that maximizes efficiency by converting DC to AC power at the panel. The battery storage is configured for charge by the solar system. This stored energy is released onto SECO’s electric system twice per day, in the morning before 9 a.m. and in the evening before 6 p.m.
Solar systems produce energy from the sun in the form of direct current (DC). To convert DC power to alternating current (AC) that is usable in homes and businesses, inverters are installed on each solar panel. The pilot project offers a variety of data for SECO’s Engineering staff to collect and study. SECO will measure the amount of AC power produced by the panels and the amount of energy the battery inverters will use to convert AC to DC then back to AC voltage. Also, SECO will assess the amount of energy required to charge the batteries and how much energy the battery inverter uses to convert DC to AC voltage. In its first month of operation, the system has produced 700 kWh of energy and approximately 300 kWh has flowed back into the grid.
CEO Jim Duncan stated, “The goal of the pilot project is to learn more about solar arrays and battery storage systems. This knowledge will better prepare SECO employees who assist members interested in solar investments at their homes or businesses. Ultimately, we will monitor the data collected to compare the costs and benefits of energy storage and determine if the efficiency of the project will lead to SECO investing in future large-scale solar enterprises.”
SECO Energy is an advocate for members who decide to invest in a member-owned solar array and want to interconnect with SECO’s electric facilities. The not-for-profit cooperative has devoted a section of its website to helping members understand their solar investment prior to committing to a project. Visit our Solar Power page for an overview of solar panels, inverters and net metering. Members can also use the Solar Estimator to determine the potential reduction in utility-supplied power they may expect after installing a solar system.
“Like” SECO’s Facebook page and “follow” @SECOEnergy on Twitter for news releases and cooperative updates.
Cooler temperatures arrived in Central Florida in November 2019. The monthly average temperature was a comfortable 67 degrees – which was the same average temperature in November 2018. The highest daily recorded temperature was 90 degrees and the lowest daily recorded temperature was 46 degrees. That’s a big fluctuation between hot and cold so both heating and cooling units likely ran in November.
November 2019’s average high temperature was 78 degrees with an average low temperature of 57 degrees. In November 2018, the average high temperature was 77 degrees while the average low temperature was 58 degrees.
Parts of the U.S. experienced record-breaking cold temperatures. Locally, we enjoyed 17 days of high temperatures over 80 degrees in November 2019. Rainfall for the month was 1.18 inches, which was down slightly from November 2018’s total of 2.21 inches.
The arctic fronts that arrived in Florida during November 2019 brought some very cold early morning temperatures. Members who turned on the heat during these temperature drops can expect to see an increase in energy consumption on their November billing statement. ENERGY STAR recommends setting your heat to no higher than 68 degrees during the winter months.
With the cooling temperatures, now is a good time to schedule an HVAC technician to service your unit. A well-maintained unit runs more efficiently and helps lower your energy usage. Read more about HVAC service and maintenance in November SECO News.
December 2019 forecast:
December 2019 is forecast for an average high of 72 degrees and an average low over 52 degrees with seven or eight days dropping into the 40s. Precipitation levels are forecast to be low with the best chance for rain at the beginning of the month.
To check historical usage, log into SmartHub to view past bills and consumption charts. If your usage is high, SECO offers several energy-efficiency tools to help you identify energy wasters. Take the Home Energy Assessment to receive a detailed email tailored to your home’s features and lifestyle. The energy-saving advice will provide low-cost ways to decrease your usage – and your electric bill.
To easily calculate how much energy your appliances, lighting, electronic devices, and other energy-using items in your home consume, use the Energy Estimator.
SECO Energy is a not-for-profit electric distribution cooperative serving 210,000 homes and businesses throughout seven Central Florida counties. We take pride in providing service to you, our member-owners, and most-valued Key Accounts. As your advocate, the SECO Energy Key Accounts team would like to inform you in advance of rate changes taking effect on January 1, 2020. We are communicating this to you BEFORE the public announcement to our general membership. We realize that many of you may have completed your budgeting process for the coming year, and we apologize for the untimeliness of this news. Unfortunately, our recent contract renewals with third-party vendors has prompted changes necessary for us to maintain a healthy cooperative and reliable electric service for your businesses.
Our 2020 outlook is a mix of good and bad news. The good news is wholesale power is stable, so we’re able to apply an increased Power Cost Adjustment (PCA), aka Hot Bucks, credit to your bill. Beginning January 1, the PCA will increase from $0.01570 to $0.02070. Wholesale power costs represent approximately 68 percent of your SECO Energy billing. The remainder of your bill is for cooperative operations including maintenance, restoration, construction and upgrades to the electrical distribution system on which you depend for reliable service. This is where the mix of bad news comes in. Our costs to construct and maintain the electrical distribution system are rising by a whopping 25 percent for 2020.
The labor market is very tight and contractors who perform maintenance are paying higher labor costs to keep workers on the payroll. This isn’t just a SECO Energy issue. Nationwide electrical utility contractors are struggling to maintain sufficient workforce. One of the more visible reasons was spurred when California utility PG&E was court ordered to significantly increase system maintenance and tree trimming to reduce fire risk. Florida lost a significant amount of its utility-related contract labor workforce to California and we are paying the price, despite a booming economy.
Our 2020 construction workplan continues to build upon our mission to construct, maintain and restore the electric system. Improvements such as storm hardening and tree trimming improve SECO Energy system reliability. System additions, upgrades and automation enhance the service so that disruptions to you are minimal. We have scheduled improvements throughout our entire service area that will also support and enhance our fast-growing system. A detailed map of key projects is included in the upcoming SECO News.
Another reason for the adjustments to our rates is the trend of declining average energy consumption of both residential and commercial facilities. Energy awareness and efficiency improvements along with new technologies have had an impact on kilowatt hour (kWh) sales. This contributes to the financial challenges facing our not-for-profit electric cooperative. In addition, the most recent cost of service study indicates the cost to serve members has risen. These factors and more necessitate an adjustment. The Residential (RES) customer charge will increase 17 cents per day, General Service (GS) will also increase 17 cents per day and the General Service Demand (GSD) customer charge will increase 50 cents per day. The demand charge associated with the GSD rate will also increase 20 cents per kW and the energy charge will change from $0.08890 to $0.09050 but with the increased Hot Bucks (PCA) credit applied to the bill, your energy costs per kWh will decrease. Our lighting rates will remain the same moving into the new year but will also benefit from a larger PCA credit.
The collective increases will raise SECO Energy’s total revenue approximately 3.5 percent for 2020. All changes as noted will be posted on January 1 in our rate tariffs at SECOEnergy.com and changes ensure parity between rate classes. In the meantime, I have linked to a document summarizing the changes reflected in this communication. If you have questions or are interested in a rate analysis to explore the impact of these changes on your billing, please contact your Key Accounts Consultant. We’re here to help!
The bottom line is that none of us like having to increase the customer charge or other components of your bill, but it is quite necessary to ensure continued service reliability. At the same time, we are pleased that stable fuel costs are allowing a larger Hot Bucks Credit (PCA) credit that will offset most or all of the increases depending on your respective usage level. These changes reflect the difficult balance between affordability and reliability.
For the full story on the 2020 Outlook – Rising Costs and a list and map of key projects, read Duncan’s Digest in the upcoming December SECO News.
Whitetail deer are the smallest members of the North American deer family. This deer is found throughout Florida from the Panhandle to The Keys. Whitetail deer are so named for its ability to raise its tail like a white flag to warn other deer of danger nearby.
This deer has sharp hearing, a keen sense of smell, an athletic body and an apprehensive personality. In summer, whitetail deer are a brownish-red, but in winter their coat changes to a grayish-brown color. This color change happens quickly in just a few weeks.
A whitetail deer’s size varies depending on its habitat. Florida’s adult male whitetail deer are much smaller than the reindeer that pull Santa’s sleigh. Its average weight is 115 pounds, but deer found in North Florida can reach upwards of 190 pounds. Females are generally smaller than males and average 90 to 120 pounds.
Males or “bucks” grow antlers each spring which are often used in fights to establish dominance and compete for females during breeding season. Females or “does” give birth to one to three fawns in late spring to early summer. In the wild, a whitetail deer will typically live about 5 years, but some have been found to be as old as 11 years.
