The INDEPENDENT, February 15, 2007
Page 13
Power of the People
By W. Marc Farmer,
General Manager,
West Oregon Electric Cooperative
When
Times
Get
Rough
O n e
of my fa-
vorite
songs
has always been “Bridge Over
Troubled Waters” by Simon and
Garfunkel. I love the message
in the song of friendship, sup-
port, and helping one another.
It is in that spirit that I write this
article.
Like a bridge with its sup-
ports on two shores that pro-
vides a way for the two sides to
connect, I find myself in many
instances being the bridge that
connects the needs of the Co-
op membership with the needs
of the Co-op as a business.
Most times the balancing of the
two needs is fairly easy to see
and achieve. One of the most
trying decisions for me as a
General Manager is the discon-
nection of members. We do our
very best to be as fair and equi-
table as possible when working
with our members on this issue.
I would like to share with you
what we are faced with in the
area of disconnections, what
we are currently doing, what
change we will be implement-
ing, and the reasons for the
change.
The issue for the business
aspect and financial impact on
WOEC is the amount of write
offs for non-payment we incur.
In 2005, WOEC wrote off
$15,220.35 for payments not
received for electricity used by
members. That increased to
$23,262.19 in 2006. Payments
that are written off cost all of the
other members more money,
as the power used must still be
paid for. It is a costly issue for
us and we are addressing the
problem in a couple of ways,
both in a business practices
sense and in the form of assis-
tance.
In the business practices
sense, we are implementing a
change in the timing of when
we send out disconnect no-
tices. In past practice, the co-
op has allowed a member to go
past two due dates before
sending out a disconnect no-
tice. You, the member, would
then have a 60 day and a 30
day past due balance, as well
as the current bill. If the mem-
ber was disconnected for non-
payment, they would then be
required to pay both past due
balances plus a reconnect fee.
Two past due balances plus the
reconnect fee results in a sig-
nificant amount of money re-
quired to have power recon-
nected. This makes it harder for
our members to come up with
the necessary funds to get
power restored in a timely man-
ner. To ease the amount of
money required of the member,
we will be sending out a discon-
nect notice for non-payment if
payment is not received after
the due date on the current bill.
If payment is not received in 10
days after the notice, the ac-
count will be disconnected.
Members will then only owe a
30 day balance plus reconnect
fee, instead of two months of
billing and the fee. It will lessen
the financial burden required to
get power restored, thus help
our members get reconnected
faster.
In an assistance sense, we
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have three ways to offer help to
our members. First, we have a
program called Budget Billing.
This program allows members
to average out their monthly
bills, making it easier to budget
a set amount each month. It
eliminates the ups and downs
of electric bills by taking the last
12 months usage and averag-
ing it out over the next twelve
months. This program is avail-
able to all of our members and
can be done by stopping in at
our office to sign up. A member
must have a good payment his-
tory prior to being placed on
Budget Billing. This needs to be
done before an account is dis-
connected. This leads into the
second assistance we offer,
and that is to work with our
members in making a signed
payment arrangement. In the
event one of our members finds
themselves in a position of not
being able to meet their current
balance, but would like to have
the amount averaged over a
six-month time period, this pro-
gram allows it to be added on to
the current monthly bill. This
works best if done in conjunc-
tion with the Budget Billing Pro-
gram so the monthly bill is an
even amount that can be
planned and budgeted for.
The third way we offer assis-
tance is in working with outside
agencies that offer financial
help to members in need.
These programs include Ore-
gon Heat, Community Action,
Care to Share, and St. Vincent
de Paul. Oregon Heat and Care
to Share each have a maxi-
mum assistance amount of
$150, St. Vincent de Paul $50,
and Community Action is a vari-
able amount based on criteria
they have established. We refer
our member to these agencies
based on need and the ability
to qualify for funding. Our staff
implemented the program we
call “Care to Share” last year
and we raised over $1,500. Our
goal is to raise over $2,000 this
year. Anyone wishing to donate
to our Care to Share program
can do so by stopping in our of-
fice to make their donation.
While we work hard to efficient-
ly run and operate a business,
we are very cognizant of the
needs of our members, who
make us a Cooperative. As
General Manager, I will contin-
ue striving to keep both needs
in balance and be the “Bridge
Over Troubled Waters.”
Safety tips for back country travel
Oregon’s back country is
nothing to be trifled with, it can
be a dangerous place any time
of the year and is especially so
during our long wet winters.
You can protect yourself and
your family by using a healthy
dose of common sense and
carrying the ten essentials in
your car, backpack, daypack,
snowmobile or truck – don’t
leave home without them.
1. Extra warm clothing that
will keep you warm when wet.
This includes wool, polypropy-
lene and other synthetic fleece
items. Take a hat; over 80 per-
cent of body heat is lost
through the head, plus extra
jacket and dry socks.
2. Extra food and water. If
traveling by car or truck,
canned foods, cheese and
crackers are a necessity. If
traveling by foot or snowmobile
take extra freeze-dried foods,
dried meats, cheese and dried
fruits. Water is essential for sur-
vival.
3. Topographic map of the
area. No, your new GPS or
web-based driving instructions
and maps will not save you.
You need a reputable road map
or atlas when you travel by
auto, or a topo map for all back
country travel, that includes
skiing in resorts and developed
areas.
4. Compass. You must know
how to use it!
5. Flashlight, extra batteries
and bulb. It will get dark and
you will need to see in the dark.
A flashlight can save your life
by lighting your way.
6. Sunglasses and sun-
screen. You can be blinded by
snow blindness that will render
you helpless. Severe sunburn
will also stop you in your tracks.
7. Pocket knife. You can use
a pocket knife dozens of way to
help yourself and family survive
from shaving dry kindling – to
start a fire – to gutting a fish –
to repairing equipment.
8. Matches in a waterproof
container. Fire can save your
life and alert searchers to your
location. Waterproof matches
are a good choice.
9. Candle or fire starter. You
can use a candle to melt water
that will keep you from dehy-
drating; in cold weather dehy-
dration is an invitation to frost-
bite and hypothermia.
10. First aid kit. Buy one at
Please see page 17
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Transmission service
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