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Welcome, Spring! Say goodbye to cold weather, hello to spring maintenance
winter where the average nighttime temperature in southeast Oklahoma barely broke 30 degrees, I think it’s safe to say we are all ready for spring.
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Unfortunately, as summer sets in the extreme heat will affect us much the same as the extreme cold. In the summer when it’s 105 degreees outside, that’s just as tough as heating your house to 65 degrees when it is 15 degrees outside.
BY TERRY MATLOCK CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
oming off a
right-of-way maintenance is “priority one” for Choctaw Electric Cooperative. Without a diligent, longterm right-of -way mainteneance plan, you can forget about safe, reliable or even affordable electric service.
It all takes a lot of kilowatt hours (kwh). Our central unit hardly, if ever, shuts off because it is trying to heat or cool the temperature by 35 degrees. The situation may not be desireable, but it’s a condition of staying comfortable. That said, most of the time we want it to be someone else’s problem.
“Without a diligent, long-term right-of -way mainteneance plan, you can forget about safe, reliable or even affordable electric service.
With that in mind, we ask you to help us keep the power lines clear and clean. Please don’t plant trees or other tall vegetation under co-op lines. Fewer trees and good maintenance will mean fewer outages as the spring winds blow.
In the meantime, CEC will continue to work hard to hold down the costs involved in operating your co-op.
The fact that the outside temperature is about what we’d like it to be inside is one darned good thing about March. Another is the days begin to lengthen, and we can get outside and do some cleaning, picking up sticks, and other yard chores.
Spring gives your electric co-op a chance to do some right-of-way cleaning and clear more of the debris left by Winter Storm Cleon. As you’ll read in our feature story on page 8,
You may have noticed that in January you received another rate decrease. We owe this in part to reducing the risk for our employees and making sure our equipment is well maintained and up to date. At Choctaw Electric, we aren’t willing to compromise our right- of-way safety. It provides reliability for your comfort and it protects our employees and the general public.
The storm Cleon was a fortuitous reminder of why we adhere to strict right-of-way maintenance. While we can never avoid Mother Nature’s wrath, we can prepare for it in the best way we know how—by utilizing our equipment, putting safety first, and commiting our resources to ensuring all outages are as brief as possible.
Choctaw Electric Cooperative BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Mike Bailey, President Bob Hodge, Vice President
Rodney Lovitt , Secretary Treasurer MEMBERS
Bill McCain Henry Baze Bob Holley
Buddy Anderson Joe Briscoe
Larry Johnson MANAGEMENT AND STAFF
Terry Matlock, Chief Executive Officer Susan G. Wall, Executive Assistant Jia Johnson, Director of Public Relations Tonia Allred, Benefits Specialist
Jimmie K. Ainsworth, Director of Finance and Accounting
Jim Malone, Director of Operations Darrell Ward, District Supervisor
HUGO OFFICE PO Box 758 Hwy 93 North
Hugo, Oklahoma 74743
Toll Free: (800) 780-6486 Local: (580) 326-6486 FAX (580) 326-2492
Monday-Friday • 8 am - 5 pm IDABEL OFFICE
2114 SE Washington Idabel, Oklahoma 74745
Toll Free: (800) 780-6486 Local: (580) 286-7155
Monday-Friday • 8 am - 5 pm
ANTLERS OFFICE HC 67 Box 62
Antlers, Oklahoma 74523 (One mile east of Antlers)
Toll Free: (800) 780-6486 Local: (580) 298-3201
Monday-Friday • 8 am - 5 pm On the Web:
www.choctawelectric.coop
24 Hour Outage Hotline 800-780-6486
inside•your•co-op | 3
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