Each month, YEC will publish a member’s question pertaining to YEC and provide the answer in the South Carolina Living magazine. If your question is selected, you will receive $25. To enter, submit your question by emailing it to Joyce.Baker@yorkelectric.net or by mailing it to:
York Electric Cooperative
Attention: SCL Q & A
P.O. Box 150
York, SC 29745
The deadline for receiving questions is the first of the month, but questions that come in after the deadline will be considered for the following month. One question per member per month will be accepted.
YEC Member FAQ
Capital Credits are a benefit of membership in a member-owned utility. Each year, YEC uses the revenues that exceed operating costs as equity. These funds and borrowed capital allow YEC to serve a growing number of members while implementing the latest technology to provide the best possible service. As a not-for-profit utility, YEC later returns these revenues to the members who originally paid them in his/her electric bills.
Each year, our members receive Capital Credit checks. For example, in May 2013, YEC will retire $800,000 in Capital Credits to people who were members in 1989, 1990 and 2011. Members will receive Capital Credit checks in the mail unless the amount due to them is less than $15. If the member’s refund is less than $15, the amount will be distributed and printed on their utility billing statement as a line item credit. The amount of Capital Credits returned is determined by total revenues received over expenses for the cooperative and your total energy billings for the year. They are paid periodically with board approval after review of YEC’s financial status.
If you leave YEC’s service area, your Capital Credits remain in your name and member number until they are retired. Therefore, you need to make sure YEC has your current mailing address.
Electric cooperatives were first formed in the 1930s when it became evident that established power companies were not ready to supply power to people living in rural America. The federal government established the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) to lend money for the construction of power lines outside population centers. Farmers and other rural residents formed cooperatives to borrow money from the REA and construct the needed lines.
YEC was founded in 1941 by a group of farmers and businessmen who realized that the only way to bring electric power to rural York County was to do it themselves. In March of 1941, 553 strong, these citizens began an endeavor that would change rural living in this area forever.
YEC’s capacity to supply dependable and affordable electric power also opened our rural areas to commerce and industry. New and diversified businesses came to the countryside, providing jobs, products and services.
Since 1941, YEC has been an active community partner and a dynamic force in the area’s economic development. We continue to serve the homes, farms, and small businesses in our rural areas, but we now also serve a growing number of residential, commercial, and large industrial accounts in York County’s expanding population centers.
The cooperative’s active accounts now total 45,122 and electric power is delivered across approximately 3,500 miles of line. YEC operates 24 substations that have been planned and placed to achieve maximum operational efficiency for current and future usage requirements.
Momentary outages occur when a disturbance on the line is detected. These disturbances could be caused by a lightning strike, a squirrel or tree branch contacting the line, or a downed line or outage in a nearby area, etc. If a fault or short circuit occurs on a power line, a device called a recloser opens to stop it and then quickly closes. This device allows power to continue flowing through the line with only a brief interruption of service rather than causing an extended power outage. Although the process is quick and usually temporary, it may cause your lights to blink. If the short circuit continues, the recloser will operate or ‘trip’ three times before eventually stopping the flow of electricity and causing a power outage. This process protects the lines from damage by cutting off power to the affected section of the line and isolating the problem until it can be repaired.
Approximately 1,500 of the 3,500 miles of line YEC has are underground. The majority of new lines we install annually are underground, and we see this trend continuing as this has become the norm for new residential and commercial developments.
While we do replace some overhead lines with underground service throughout the year, it would be too much of a financial impact on the membership to replace our existing 2,000 miles of line underground. It is estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars and take more than 10 years to complete. The impact on the rates we charge you, our members, would be tremendous. YEC’s linemen are extensively cross trained in all areas of operation. It would not have a negative impact on them.
YEC participated in a small pilot program with other electric cooperatives in the state and determined that it was cost prohibitive to offer Broadband Over Power Lines (BPL) at this time. YEC will continue to follow the research for this offering and will investigate any new advancements in this technology.
The minimum requirement for ceiling insulation is R-30, but the recommendation is R-38-49. Proper insulation can cut energy costs by as much as half! Also, consider insulating outside walls, attics, spaces between floors, around heating ducts and pipes that are exposed to the elements. Insulate nooks and crannies such as wall outlets, gaps in siding and around the foundation and holes around pipes, ducts and exhaust fans.
