Paul Basha, President & CEO

York Electric is committed to its members! We provide innovative services, safe power, excellent customer service and we continue to empower members with the best new technology and tools.

We realize, for many people, life never seems to slow down. For these members, YEC has made getting information about their power bill a little easier. We now have a free application for smartphones that gives co-op residential and business users fast, simple access to their accounts.

Annette Smith, interior decorator, uses YEC’s mobile app to quickly pay her power bill before meeting with a client.

Designed to be installed on the iPhone, iPad, or the Android phone or tablet, the new YEC App allows you to see your account information, pay your bill or sign up for alerts and reminders on your mobile device.

Easy access, a powerful tool

YEC member Annette Smith enjoys the convenience of having her account information at her fingertips. “Between work and all the activities involved with my family, it’s hard to find time to sit at the computer and review my account. But with the new YEC App on my iPhone, I can get all the information I need and make a payment wherever I am. It really makes managing my account so much easier.”

Visit our mobile section for more information. Look under the Resources tab, where a drop-down menu offers a Mobile link. This page offers links to the App Store and the Android Market. We’re easy to find, just look for the YEC logo. It’s free and easy to install. Login to the app requires your member number and a password. Once those are entered, you can manage all of your YEC accounts.

And while you’re there, check out our Co-op Connections and Together We Save apps.

Join Annette and download our apps today and take YEC wherever you go for savings, efficiency, and now, added convenience!

$2.8 MILLION—that’s how much members of South Carolina’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives saved on prescriptions in 2012 using their Co-op Connections cards.

It was another record year for member savings with the discount card. Total savings hit $2,823,086.10, beating the 2011 tally by about $400,000.

Total savings since the program began in South Carolina in 2007 now stands at $9,395,335.20, according to Touchstone Energy, the nationwide electric co-op alliance that administers the Co-op Connections program.

Locally, York Electric members have saved $624,830 since the co-op introduced the program in May 2009. Our members saved $167,165 in 2012 and, already this year, have reduced their prescription costs by another $62,334.

Don’t forget your other Healthy Savings Discounts!

Steve and Judy Elliott find value in their Co-op Connections Discount Card! They save money monthly by presenting it at CVS pharmacy on Celanese Road in Rock Hill when they have their prescriptions filled. Pharmacist Sarah Cathey invites all YEC members to use their Co-op Connections card at CVS. Photo: Cameron Moore

Last spring, York Electric and other Touchstone Energy Cooperatives added even more savings to the Co-op Connections card with Healthy Savings Discounts. This program can save cardholders money on dental, vision, hearing, lab work, imaging and chiropractor visits. Best of all, you get these great benefits for free!

York Electric issued new Co-op Connections cards with special logos and codes on the back that enable members to obtain the Healthy Savings Discounts. If you’ve misplaced your new card, you can go online to Connections.coop to print one. For those without easy access to the Internet, computers or printers, we’ve printed a clip-and-save card in the May 2013 issue of South Carolina Living magazine.

Go to HealthySavings.coop to locate participating providers in your area. Please note: The first time you use it, you must set up an account using the member number 142407524, as listed on the back of the Co-op Connections card. After signing up (click on “Log In/Sign Up”), you can then access the “Locate Providers” search function.

Don’t make another appointment or buy another pair of glasses until you’ve seen what the Co-op Connections program’s Healthy Savings Discounts can save you!

Has using your Co-op Connections card saved you big money? Email YEC’s marketing department at Joyce.Baker@yorkelectric.net or call (803) 628-5541. We’ll share your story and help other co-op members learn to take advantage of the many available Co-op Connections discounts.

Question: As members of YEC, do we build equity in the co-op, and if we leave the area do we get a payout?

Answer: 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. This month 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.

To enter the contest, submit your question by emailing it to Joyce.Baker@yorkelectric.net or by mailing it to YEC, P.O. Box 150, York, SC 29745, Attention: SCL Q & A.

Related Links:

What is a Co-op »
Frequently Asked Questions »

Paul Basha, President & CEO

York Electric Cooperative is owned by the people we serve. Our number one priority is providing you, our members, with reliable, safe and affordable energy. We’re working together to make this happen, using the latest technology and investing in programs that benefit you to make a difference.

This year, YEC will continue to expand our Advanced Metering Infrastructure technology which improves outage notification and the restoration process and provides additional metering data to better assist members with billing and service questions. I’m proud to announce that our Power Saver Rewards load management program is now available to approximately 85 percent of YEC’s membership. This system helps your cooperative reduce the cost of power, and it helps keep all members’ bills lower.

We will also continue to protect the environment through our Green Power program and the development of an overall electric vehicle plan which will include beta sites for in-home charges and special electric rates to encourage vehicle charging on non-peak times. We’re also excited about providing you with a new whole section of our website, focusing on alternative forms of energy and renewables.

YEC’s economic development efforts and Operation Round Up® community service program will continue to provide a better quality of life for our members, and our educational outreach will be enhanced by offering $10,000 in scholarships to high school seniors. In addition, we will continue to save co-op members money through the Co-op Connections® Card discount program. And, we pledge to keep rates affordable and constantly look for ways to help you manage your energy costs.

Save the date

As we celebrate at our Annual Meeting Saturday, May 11, you’ll have input on the direction you want your co-op to take and have the opportunity to elect fellow members to our board to represent your best interests. Plus, you and your family will have a fun-filled morning and have the opportunity to win valuable prizes.

Annual Meeting Event Schedule
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The April edition of South Carolina Living includes all of the details you need to prepare for the Annual Meeting of Members. Watch for your official registration postcard to arrive in the mail at the end of the month. You’ll need your registration postcard, some form of photo identification and a little bit of patience. The registration lines can be long, but the process goes a lot faster and runs much more smoothly when you have your postcard and identification ready when you get to the front of the line.

Be sure to mark your calendars, call your friends and make plans to be there. We’re encouraging everyone to come, and if you don’t, it won’t be the same without you.

All of us here at YEC are your neighbors. We live and work here, and we believe in the benefits of a community working together. When we cooperate with each other, pool our resources and focus on a goal, we can make a difference.

I look forward to seeing you on Saturday, May 11.

Kemp Wilson, Westminster Catawba Christian School

Two local students will tour the nation’s capital in June, courtesy of YEC. Kemp Wilson of Chester and Chadwick Rollins of Rock Hill are representing YEC on the Washington Youth Tour, June 15-20.

YEC sponsors rising high school seniors on the chaperoned trip each summer. Kemp and Chadwick will join approximately 50 students representing other co-ops across the state. In Washington, they will meet their congressmen; learn more about electric co-ops and our nation’s government. They’ll tour historic sites as well as government buildings, museums and monuments.

Chadwick Rollins, Northwestern High School

The purpose of the tour is to teach students the values every electric cooperative brings to the communities they serve, promote civic involvement, enlighten youth on today’s pressing energy issues and provide a personal view of our nation’s rich heritage.

During the tour, you can follow the S.C. delegation at twitter.com/scyouthtour. Also, access, youthtour.coop for regularly updated photos of our future leaders in action

YEC congratulates these young leaders, and we’re sure they’ll have a great trip and represent us well!

The election is over, but our voices shouldn’t fall silent. As a matter of fact, this is when we should speak up even more, especially when it comes to policies affecting the cost of electricity. The Obama administration and the 113th Congress are very likely to tackle energy legislation while the Environmental Protection Agency continues to overregulate the industry. The South Carolina Legislature could determine a number of issues, including an overhaul of tax exemptions and annexation laws.

These pending issues, and many others, will impact the cost of fuels that generate electricity and the affordability by which YEC and other utilities can distribute power to our members. We have been fortunate in this area to have congressmen and state legislators who understand that what is good for the cooperatives is good for our nation and South Carolina. They know “our side” is one that is looking out for all citizens’ best interest.

But they want to hear from more than just a few cooperative representatives. They want to hear from their constituents.

And we do, too.

Paul Basha, President & CEO

That’s why I’m asking you to continue to participate in our democracy by staying informed and active in the political process. We’ve launched a grassroots effort that we’re sure will have a significant influence on state and federal policies. We’re counting on you to take the pledge to help us secure affordable, reliable and responsible power for the benefit of our state and community. This pledge can be made a number of different ways. You can complete, cut out, and mail the card information below to York Electric Cooperative, P.O. Box 150, York, SC 29745, or stop by one of our offices and fill out a card, or just give us a call, tell us you want to “take the pledge” and we’ll fill it in for you. You can even access it online here »

Pledge Card
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There is one important element to this effort. YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A MEMBER TO PARTICIPATE. We’d like to encourage all citizens of our state to participate. While we’re always looking out for our members, our cause is one that is best for all South Carolinians.

We appreciate your support and action.

“Shutterfly saw an opportunity to lower their total costs of operation by expanding in York County,” said Mark Farris, director of the York County Economic Development Board.

“The combination of assistance from our county, the South Carolina Department of Commerce, skilled labor, and a well-positioned building made our area an attractive option. Thanks to direct assistance from York Electric Cooperative, including aggressive marketing and a quick response from staff, our job was much easier.” The photography giant will occupy the former UAV Building just off I-77 in Fort Mill and just 10 miles from a North Carolina-based Shutterfly operation. Most of those employees will transfer to South Carolina.

“I am extremely proud that we are able to retain the employees working in our Charlotte facility while adding new jobs and expanding our manufacturing footprint,” said Jeffrey Housenbold, president and CEO of Shutterfly, in a South Carolina Department of Commerce press release. “Fort Mill is an ideal location for its proximity to our employees and the new talented local labor pool.”

Shutterfly is now a member of York Electric Cooperative. “We are excited to welcome Shutterfly to our cooperative and to meet their power needs,” said Paul Basha, president and chief executive officer of York Electric Cooperative. “We are glad we could support our economic development officials in the recruitment process and congratulate them on this success.”

Related links:

Economic Development »
Lake Wylie developer sees positive signs »

Todd Fields of Fields Masonry, far left, talks with May Green Properties developer Tom Smith as he builds an entrance column for The Coves on River Oaks. The stones, Smith notes, had been in storage for several years. Photo: Walter Allread

Listen closely. You can hear it at The Coves on River Oaks. No, not the muted bustle of masons, surveyors, craftsmen, custom builders and subcontractors. It’s the sound of an economic rebound in progress.

For Tom Smith, it’s sweet music indeed.

Smith, a partner in May Green Properties with his father, Tim Smith, and John Sarrough, sounds positive that the recession that all but shuttered the housing industry is ending. “We’ve all been sleeping in the bear’s den for a while,” he says. “We’re all coming back out.”

The veteran developer, who helped create the Lake Wylie communities of Patrick Place, Campbell’s Crossing, The Timbers and Vander Lake, among others, says he’s seen a resurgence in land sales and custom-home construction, particularly at The Coves on River Oaks and nearby Carolina Coves.

The residence, above, built by John Rehm—JR Homes, was the first spec home sold “in a long time,” Smith added.

Smith and his father experienced the local boom firsthand. “We were out here when there wasn’t much in the Lake Wylie area,” he says. Previously, the Smiths worked with Homestead Land & Timber Company. They established May Green Properties in 2000, along the way building a solid working relationship with York Electric Cooperative, which serves 12 of their 15 developments.

“It’s nice because the guys that have been with York Electric have been there for years,” he says. “It’s just good to see familiar faces.”

What Smith doesn’t see— overhead power lines—is part of what he gets from YEC. The May Green vision—”to create low-density, environmentally sensitive communities which provide property owners aesthetic satisfaction and economic appreciation through thoughtful planning and good stewardship of the land”—is enhanced by YEC underground service.

Surveyor Cam Robinson of Baird Engineering lines out new tracts. Photo: Walter Allread

The co-op built a 2.5- mile line along River Oaks Drive, an investment Smith says has paid off: “A lot of people love this area because there are no overhead lines.”

Cooperation, in a general sense, has been just as key to the current rebound, he says. Smith credits the support of associates including CWD Construction, Inc., M.J. Palmer Construction Co., and Kuhlkin Builders, Inc., among others, as well as a host of able subcontractors and, crucially, the people at South Carolina Bank and Trust (SCBT).

Cooperation at work

YEC’s Tim Scism meets with Nancy and Tracey Bridges of Aspen Homes at a house they’re building in Phase II of The Coves on River Oaks. The construction sector is seeing a welcome reversal of fortune, says Nancy, quoting Shakespeare: “The worm has turned.” Photo: Walter Allread

The teamwork yields good jobs for folks around the area. “We’ve used as many local people as possible,” Smith notes. Custom builder Chuck Dohm of CWD Construction agrees: “I bet 90 percent or more of the subcontractors are York County guys.” The current resurgence is good for everybody’s bottom line, Dohm says. “We’re putting people back to work, that’s for sure.”

Another custom builder, Mike Palmer of M.J. Palmer Construction Co., agrees. “There is a lot of activity. Things are coming back to life,” Palmer says. “It was eerily quiet for a while. The phone wasn’t ringing.”

Palmer, who has built homes in most May Green developments, notes, “I’ve got four projects going on in York County now. One is a home that was put on hold for a number of years.”

He adds, “I think things are better than a lot of people think they are. And I think people are tired of sitting on the sidelines.”

Custom builder, Mike Palmer, of MJ Palmer Construction Co.

A 3,600-square-foot home Palmer is building at The Coves on River Oaks is typical of the kinds of projects May Green Properties attract. “This house, the couple really couldn’t find anything out there on the market like what they needed, so they decided to build custom,” he says. “They really fell in love with the lay of the land over here and the size of the lot.”

May Green tracts are typically large enough for the primary home, additional garage, pool, pool house or tennis court if desired—and soon, Smith notes, even a “mother-in-law suite,” or separate, secondary home, in some developments.

Palmer says home buyers are moving farther outside of Charlotte, many recognizing that property values are often better in South Carolina. The availability of financing from SCBT for projects like Palmer’s helps attract buyers.

Custom builders Chuck Dohm of CWD Construction, Inc., right with Tom Smith, have new projects under way in The Coves on River Oaks. “We’re putting people back to work, that’s for sure,” says Dohm, who lives nearby. Photo: Walter Allread

SCBT has also helped May Green finance road construction. “Those guys came in after we pooled our money and scratched and clawed and made it through the worst times,” Smith says. “We came up with enough money for half and then they came in.” Strong initial sales since opening The Coves on River Oaks in October—six new homes under construction and 11 lot sales—will give the bank a quick payback, he notes.

SCBT’s senior vice president of commercial banking, Kevin Blackwood, says, “It’s been a pleasure to help the Smiths and May Green Properties welcome new residents to York County.”

A former county council member, Smith anticipates continued, steady growth around Lake Wylie, an unincorporated area he likens to a town. He says Pole Branch Road will be widened; he also expects community ball fields to be constructed nearby soon.

Committed to quality

‘Make it green—keep it clean’ – That’s the slogan for the mulch-using members of Team Green at River Oaks, where May Green Properties combines good stewardship of the land with efficient use of resources. Developer Tom Smith says he learned this lesson while working for forestry company Canal Wood. “They used every bit of what they had,” he says, “so we started to use that same model here.” Wood from home sites is recycled as mulch for Team Green members, eliminating the need to haul wood waste to landfills, thereby reducing wear on local roads.

Even with growth, Smith remains focused on preserving the area’s natural beauty with the green space corridors, walking trails and quiet parks for which May Green developments are known. In addition to environmental preservation, he says, the company is committed to using local builders and contractors, with continued emphasis on high-quality construction. That includes his tapping YEC’s expertise with outdoor lighting and underground service, of course.

As Smith knows, when you’re clawing your way out of a “bear’s den” of a recession, familiar faces are a comfort indeed.

“It’s been a truly local cooperative effort to get back,” he says.

For more information, access MayGreenLLC.com or call (803) 631-4136.

By Walter Allread

“Here at YEC, using proper procedures and safety measures is a matter of life and death,” explains co-op Vice President of Energy Delivery, Denny Lynn. “We take safety seriously at home, too. Accidents happen, but if we educate ourselves and our children, we can keep them to a minimum.”

YEC offers free safety demonstrations at schools throughout our service area in an effort to teach important electrical safety lessons to students. Teachers, to schedule a safety demonstration, call YEC’s marketing and public relations department at (803) 628-5541 or use the safety demonstration request form here.

Check out the safety tips here »

WAY COOL! Students at Jefferson Elementary School in York learn about electrical safety while trying on lineman safety gear. Photo: Joyce Baker

Related links:

Safety Demonstrations »
Safety Demonstration Request »

Answer: 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.

To enter the contest, submit your question by emailing it to Joyce.Baker@yorkelectric.net or by mailing it to YEC, P.O. Box 150, York, SC 29745, Attention: SCL Q & A.

Related Links:

What is a Co-op »
Frequently Asked Questions »