CEO’s Message — July 2021
Empowering Our Members
From the perspective of most businesses, some of Wells Rural Electric Company’s (WREC’s) decisions might not make sense. For example, our energy-efficiency and conservation programs try to help you use less of the main product we sell. But since WREC is a not-for-profit cooperative, helping our members get the most out of their energy dollars does make sense.
Your board and employees are always looking for ways to help you use electricity more efficiently and provide you with information that empowers you to maximize the value of your membership. In July, we will introduce a new bill format that is designed to do both.
The phrase “knowledge is power” is especially true in managing your electricity use. Your new bill will provide more information about how you use electricity. The bill will present this information in an easy-to-understand graphic format that will show your energy use and demand readings more prominently.
Demand has been shown on your bill for several years, but unless you have irrigation or commercial accounts where demand is billed as a separate component, you may not have noticed. An insert further explaining the new features will be included with your first bill.
Other sections of the bill will display messages from your cooperative. In addition to our monthly Ruralite magazine and social media messages, your bill provides another reliable opportunity for WREC to communicate with you, our members.
In one sense, your bill is a history of how you used electricity the past month, with comparisons to how you used electricity during the previous 12 months. If you really want to manage your energy use and the total bill that results, I highly recommend the SmartHub app, which provides day-by-day detail to help you analyze patterns in your energy use. SmartHub also allows WREC to communicate with you during outages using text notifications.
Online payments are another convenient feature of SmartHub. Through the end of the year, any member who installs the SmartHub app and makes a payment through the app will receive a $5 credit on their next bill. All members who make payments through our online systems—including members already using SmartHub—will be entered into a monthly drawing for one of three $25 power credits. In December, we will draw for the grand prize: a $955 Ring home security starter pack, which includes a second-generation eight-piece monitoring kit, a Ring doorbell, and an Echo Show 5, among other great products.
While SmartHub empowers you to manage your account daily, our dedicated employees are always available to answer your questions. Nothing pleases us more than helping you connect with our highly qualified electricians to install products that increase your energy efficiency or improve your quality of life.
Contact your local office with any questions or to connect with our programs through our member advocates.
Clay R. Fitch
Chief Executive Officer
