As 2017 comes to a close, YEC’s focus continues to be on delivering safe, reliable and affordable electric service. Our alliance with Touchstone Energy® ensures that we remain loyal to the values of community commitment, integrity, accountability and innovation that you, our members, have ascribed to us. These four values are the basis for all that we do as we continue looking out for you. We are proud of the accomplishments we have made this year, and we will continue building on these successes in 2018.
Paul Basha
President and Chief Executive Officer
2017 Accomplishments
Your Co-op is Safe
We are our brother’s keeper, working safely for our families and for our members. Yes, our jobs come with significant risks, but we take pride in taking the extra steps necessary to stay safe while keeping your lights on. We are committed to teaching you about electrical safety. That’s why we visit schools and take the time to show you about the dangers of electricity. Our dedication is no small task, but we are proud to celebrate over half a million man hours worked without a lost time accident, along with winning the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina Safety Contest for the second year in a row.
Your Co-op is Accountable
We are focused on the needs of our members. Our rural internet pilot project started back in 2016, and we are proud to say we have spent this year researching to find a way to bring high-speed internet to homes in rural areas of our service territory. We are now in the process of finding out whether or not we will have enough member participation to make the pilot project viable. We will have a final decision by year’s end and look forward to sharing it with you.
Your Co-op is Frugal
YEC has worked hard to save money to offset the rise in energy cost; we’ve kept rates low and affordable for you. We have also incorporated many money-energy saving programs including Beat the Peak and Power Saver Rewards.
We were also proud to retire $1.3 million dollars of capital credits, the largest amount in our 76 years. That money was given back to you – our members – our most valuable asset. And, we plan to retire even more in 2018. Members who were part of the co-op in 1992, 1993, 1994 and 2015 received a piece of the pie.
Your Co-op is Reliable
With the ever-growing areas we serve, it is important for YEC to serve you with reliable, affordable electricity. That’s why we have made significant improvements to our system, including updates to more than 5 substations. Some of the most significant changes include technology to show real-time outage information which enables us to work faster to restore power during an outage.
We’ve stayed dedicated to keeping trees away from power lines, cutting more right-of-way than ever before, to prevent outages from even occurring. We have also inspected poles and made upgrades to our delivery system.
As the energy industry changes, so do we by bringing you the latest in production, monitoring and savings. We use automated meter reading technology to monitor usage, helping to track peak times. But guess what? You can use it, too! We have increased the awareness of this program, empowering you to monitor your account and save money. Because of the rising interest in solar energy, YEC has diligently investigated possible sites for a second Community Solar farm. We look forward to announcing the location and construction timeline soon.
Your Co-op is Tech-Savvy
Our vision for the future is clear. We are focused on you – our members! We recognize the growing use of technology, the importance of accurate, up-to-date information and have worked to use this to your advantage. We are redesigning our website and will launch it at the beginning of 2018. We have increased our presence in social media, offering yet another way to connect with you. If you don’t already, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! Also, our outage notification system continues to improve, offering a real-time look at our service area on our interactive outage map.
Your Co-op Cares
Electricity is not the only thing we care about at YEC. We are always looking out for you! That is why we have continued to help bring jobs and investment to our area. In 2017, our economic development efforts include the completion of a speculative building as well as expanding infrastructure in the East York Industrial Park to provide more available sites for interested companies. We also continue to partner with economic development organizations throughout our service area to assist with projects and prepare areas for businesses to locate.
We care about our communities! Your participation in our Operation Round Up® program has enabled our Trust Board to give over $2.5 million back to local help agencies and those in need since the program began in 2000. We have also invested in our future by supporting our students. This year, we created a new $1,000 technical scholarship for students entering York Technical College, sent 2 students on the Washington Youth Tour, provided $1,000 Touchstone Energy scholarships for 10 area high school seniors and sent 2 students to the SC Cooperative Youth Summit.
And, let’s not forget about the Touchstone Energy balloon! We brought it here to create a once-in-a-lifetime experience for you and, as an added bonus, gave back profits from the flights to a local help agency.
Photos by York Electric’s employees, Porter Gable and Joyce Baker.
