Published for members of Choctaw Electric Cooperative march 2016


inside your co•op A supplement to Oklahoma Living. Change in Payment Method for CEC Members INSIDE


Active members are important to your co-op. page 2


Changes to line extension policy explained. page 4


Avoid becoming the victim of a utility scam. page 5


LEDs in poultry houses show promise. page 6


Why prepaying for your electricity make sense. page 7


Change in CEC payment policies aims to resolve problems by keeping the payment acceptance process in-house.


C


hoctaw Electric Cooperative (CEC)recently made changes to its policies regarding


payment locations. Effective March 1, 2016, Choctaw Electric will no longer accept payments at local banks.


According to Craig McBrain, CEC chief financial officer, accepting payments through authorized banking locations is no longer efficient for co-op members or CEC. "We now receive less than three percent of our revenue from these locations, many of which are located in Hugo, Antlers and Idabel where CEC offers its own payment locations through our offices," McBrains says.


McBrain explained that at the time of the original agreement with the banks, CEC members had two options: mail bill payments or make them in person at the Hugo office.


"CEC enjoys good relationships with area banks and we appreciate their service, but we felt it was time to make the change, now that we have added several new payment methods using widely available technologies," McBrain says.


CEC members can pay by phone using credit card, pay online, pay using the Smarthub app, pay via automatic bank draft, pay in person, or drop payments in the after hours payment window. The co-op is in the process of setting up additional payment options that include check by phone and allowing checking accounts to be used for electronic payments within Smarthub.


With so many options available, CEC hopes members will experience few, if any, difficulties in the transition.


Ways to Pay


PAY IN PERSON Payment can be made in person from 8:00 am -5:00 pm Monday through Friday at CEC office locations in Hugo, Antlers, and Idabel.


PAY BY MAIL:


Mail payments to: Choctaw Electric Cooperative PO Box 758 Hugo, OK 74743


PAY BY PHONE


CEC accepts Visa and Mastercard payments over the phone. To pay by phone, please call 800-780-6486.


PAY ONLINE OR VIA SMARTHUB MOBILE APP


Make payments online at www.choctawelectric. coop and navigating to the Smarthub Portal. To make electronic payments on your smartphone or mobile device, download the Smarthub App. The app allows you to view usage, make payments, and report outages. Using Smarthub, you have the option to make a one time payment or set up recurring payments.


AUTOMATIC BANK DRAFT OR AVERAGE MONTHLY BILLING OPTION:


Please contact Customer Service at 800-780-6486 to set up an automatic bank draft.


AFTER HOURS PAYMENTS


Use the payment drop box at CEC locations in Hugo, Idabel and Antlers, or use Smarthub to pay online.


CEC


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