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SECO Energy Hosts Record-breaking Crowd at 80th Annual Meeting

SECO Energy welcomed a record-breaking crowd to its 80th Annual Meeting of the Membership on Saturday, March 24. Attendance reached into the thousands as members, employees and VIP guests were treated to breakfast, live entertainment, gifts and more. Members voted overwhelmingly in favor of SECO’s Board-recommended Bylaws revision.

 

Over 6,700 registered members, guests, vendors, first responders, employees and VIPs attended, an increase of almost 1,000 guests from last year. Parking nearly reached capacity at just under 3,000 vehicles. A new exit plan and the addition of overflow parking with motor coach service to/from SECO’s headquarters parking area allowed SECO members and guests to exit the event in just 48 minutes.

 

Daryl Lanker, president of Dixie Lime & Stone and Bedrock Resources, which are two of SECO’s large-load accounts, arrived via helicopter after flying over the Annual Meeting space and graciously taking aerial photos of the crowd. Attendees were served an abundance of food and drinks including 8,250 breakfast biscuits served by Mojo Grill & Catering out of Ocala. Members and guests snacked on 22,000 oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip cookies and 15,600 Krispy Kreme doughnuts. During the chilly morning, attendees sipped down 5,300 cups of coffee. As temps warmed, 4,344 cans of soda and 6,294 bottles of water were consumed.

 

All registered members received a copy of SECO’s 2017 Annual Report, a thermal zip-up picnic blanket and an LED provided by SECO’s wholesale power provider Seminole Electric Cooperative. Three grand prizes included $1,500 in cash, a 2009 Chevy Colorado and a 2015 Club Car Precedent electric golf cart provided by Ocala Golf Cart at a significant discount. Additional door prizes included iPads, Nest thermostats, gift cards, Apple TV devices, various upscale electronics, two $500 cash prizes and a $1,000 cash prize.

 

Grand prize winner Darrell Clark of Leesburg won the 2009 Chevy Colorado; The Villages’ Laura Pfafman won the electric golf cart and Richard McHie took home the $1,500 cash prize. Bushnell’s Marcia Sanborn won the $1,000 cash prize. Marlene Garner from Leesburg and Ramindarjit Walia from The Villages both won $500. Steven Underwood from Ocala won the drawing for the $300 bill credit for posting a photo on SECO’s Facebook page during the Annual Meeting. Umatilla’s Barbara Nichols won the $300 bill credit drawing for her online RSVP and attendance. Cindy DesVoignes from Webster was the winner of the patriotic picnic set drawing from hundreds who pledged support of COPA (Co-op Owners for Political Action).

 

President & District 5 Trustee Ray Vick called the business meeting to order before delivering his annual President’s Report. Vick detailed 2017’s Board-approved Capital Credits retirement of $5.4 million and asked members to consider rounding-up their bills to donate the extra change to SECO’s Pennies from Heaven program. Vick stated, “Imagine how much good we could do for our members in need if each and every one of our 201,000 members joined Pennies from Heaven.” The average round up is about $6 annually, but collectively the pennies donated make a difference in the lives of many SECO members.

 

CEO Jim Duncan took the stage to provide a Cooperative update. Duncan shared SECO’s 2017 successes including a third J.D. Power award for highest in customer satisfaction among cooperatives, an American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) score of 88, a “Best of the Best” award from the Ocala Star Banner’s Readers’ Choice Awards, a Marion County United Way Outstanding Partner and the 2017 Large Business of the Year in Sumter County.

 

Duncan addressed the crowd stating, “We are proud of these awards and aren’t shy showing them off because the rankings come from you – our members. Since 1938, SECO’s roots have been firmly planted in Central Florida. Those roots, along with our employees’ dedication to member satisfaction and hard work, are the cooperative difference.”

 

Before inviting corporate attorney Lewis Stone to the podium to facilitate the Bylaws revision vote, Duncan summarized the revision reasons. Stone lead the vote and answered members’ questions. Members passed the Bylaws revision with little to no opposition.

 

Members unable to attend Saturday’s Annual Meeting can view video from the event on SECOEnergy.com, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube next week. Members who want to join the Pennies from Heaven program can enroll online.

 

“Like” SECO’s Facebook page and “follow” @SECOEnergy on Twitter for news releases and cooperative updates.

SECO Energy Ranked Highest in Customer Satisfaction for the Third Straight Year by J.D. Power

SECO Energy ranks highest in customer satisfaction among all electric cooperatives nationally according to the J.D. Power 2017 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study released yesterday.

 

This latest J.D. Power award is the third consecutive J.D. Power award for the not-for-profit electric cooperative that serves seven counties in Central Florida. In 2015, SECO was ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Midsize Utilities in the South.” This year and in 2016, SECO Energy was named “Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Cooperatives.”

 

The J.D. Power study measures customer satisfaction with electric utility companies by examining six factors: power quality and reliability; price; billing and payment; corporate citizenship; communications; and customer service.

 

CEO Jim Duncan stated, “SECO Energy employees are the best of the best – our employees are the true winners of any award the cooperative receives. A special thank you to our employees, senior leadership and the Board of Trustees. Our people are the heart of SECO, and they make a difference for our members. This year’s J.D. Power award is a tangible representation of how SECO members feel about the cooperative as a whole. I am beyond delighted with our company’s Triple Crown. I am grateful and humbled by the praise and goodwill from our members.”

 

The Board of Trustees President, Ray Vick is proud to be a long-time Board member. Vick stated, “Member satisfaction is a top priority at SECO. On behalf of the Board, I extend my heartfelt thanks to the employees for their dedication to our members and the cooperative. We couldn’t be prouder of you and your accomplishments.”

 

This third J.D. Power award culminates a decade-long effort to increase reliability, maintain low rates and provide world-class customer service. SECO’s score of 789 is a 20-point increase over its 2016 ranking. SECO is proud to retain its title as “Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Cooperatives.”

 

Learn more about SECO Energy on our About SECO page. “Like” SECO’s Facebook page and “follow” @SECOEnergy on Twitter for news releases and cooperative updates.

SECO Recovers from Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Matthew’s bands of high wind and rain passed through SECO Energy’s service territory on Friday afternoon. Lake County bore the brunt of the damage. Winds reached the eastern portion of Marion County and Citrus County sustained some utility damage as well.

 

As expected with tropical storm wind gusts, poles and lines went down. Big trees fell. Restoration began in the wee hours Friday morning when the very first storm related outage occurred and continues into the overnight hours on Friday. Hundreds of line and tree trimming contractors and hundreds of SECO employees supporting the restoration effort were prepared to brave the storm when duty called.

 

SECO Energy Recovers from Hurricane Matthew, downed trees on power lines

 

The contractors had been arranged in advance and were staged at SECO’s headquarters throughout the day on Thursday. This was a key component in a speedy restoration effort. As of Friday at 6 pm, less than 5,000 members remain without power. Line and tree personnel continue to work in the dark to get the lights back on for those still without power. The members who remain without power can rest assure work will continue diligently until all service is restored.

 

SECO Energy CEO Jim Duncan stated, “I commend the SECO employees who worked hard to prepare for Hurricane Matthew and execute an extremely comprehensive emergency response plan. I also must commend Governor Scott for being fully engaged in arranging assistance and removing roadblocks to serving the public.” SECO Energy is a two-time J.D. Power award winner for Highest in Customer Satisfaction in its segment in 2015 and 2016.

 

Providing reliable, low-cost power to members with outstanding customer service is SECO’s highest priority. The company’s internal employee battle cry is “Every moment is meaningful. Every member matters. Every minute counts.” The company rallied behind the battle cry in Hurricane Matthew as it did with Hurricane Hermine in September.

 

If a member is unsure SECO is aware of an outage, it’s easy to report it using a smartphone or tablet at the Storm Center application. Members can contact SECO via Facebook and Twitter and read outage details. For members less tech savvy, call and talk to a member service rep (or use the prompts to report the outage by phone at 800-732-6141. SECO’s System Operations Center is manned 24/7, and SECO’s call center will remain manned 24/7 until all hurricane related outages are restored. The Lake County Emergency Operations Center remains open as do shelters. The EOC’s contact number is 352-343-9420.

 

As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, SECO is dedicated to being members’ first source for accurate storm information.