Working from home, even on a temporary basis, may increase your energy use. It means that you’re spending more time using a computer, lights and other appliances at home, instead of in your workplace. By improving the energy efficiency of your home office equipment, you can save on energy costs without hampering your productivity.
Make sure computers and other office equipment are turned OFF when they’re not in use for an extended period of time.
Many electronic devices continue to use standby power even after they’re turned off. Connect your office equipment to an advanced power strip, which will automatically shut off power to unused devices.
Set office equipment, such as printers and scanners, to automatically switch to sleep mode when not in use. In addition to saving energy, the equipment will stay cooler, which will help to extend its useful life.
Use a laptop computer instead of a desktop. Laptops use less than one-third of the energy that a typical desktop computer uses.
Adjust the thermostat to the unoccupied setting. This avoids wasting energy by conditioning the entire house while you’re occupying only a small portion of it. Consider using a ceiling fan to maintain comfort. You can reverse its direction to clockwise in the winter, which pushes warm air down. In the summer, set the direction to counterclockwise.
Use task lighting with energy-efficient lamps. A desk lamp uses less energy than whole-room lighting.
When purchasing new office equipment, make sure it’s ENERGY STAR® qualified. ENERGY STAR-certified products use less energy than standard models. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, if every home office product purchased in the U.S. were ENERGY STAR qualified, Americans would save an estimated $75 million a year in energy costs.
If you have any questions about how much energy you’re using or if you need to talk to someone about your Horry Electric bill, call (843) 369-2211 and press “5” to speak to one of our Trusted Energy Advisors or email them at EnergyAdvisor@horryelectric.com.
You can also monitor your energy use through the MyEnergy Online portal on our website.
WHEN COVID-19 BECAME A THREAT to our community, the Board of Trustees took immediate action and announced that all disconnects for regular and Advance Pay accounts would be held until further notice. Shortly after their decision, the Governor announced he was asking all utilities to do the same. At that time, penalties and late fees applied.
“The Governor has not lifted the provision for late fees and penalties, but the Board of Trustees of Horry Electric has unanimously taken action to discontinue late fees and penalties during the month of April,” announced Danny Shelley, executive vice president and CEO. “It’s an effort to further help members impacted by the COVID-19,” he continued.
As the Coronavirus crisis has evolved, the Board of Trustees and co-op employees have been proactively searching for more ways to provide relief to members.
“In addition to eliminating the late fees and penalties, we are happy to announce we are reducing the Wholesale Power Cost Adjustment Rate to zero,” said Shelley.
The total savings for both actions is more than $650,000.
On top of all those savings, the Board of Trustees has decided that Capital Credit distribution will proceed as planned in mid-April, with a few changes. “The total Capital Credit distribution impact for our members is more than 3 million dollars,” said Shelley. Individual Capital Credit distribution of $25 or more will be delivered to members in the form of a check. Amounts less than that will be applied to member electric accounts as a credit.
“We hope this is good news for our members and I applaud our Board of Trustees with taking these actions,” said Shelley. “These are big business decisions, but you can rest assured the best interest of our members; our communities and our co-op are at the heart of everything being done.”
Although the co-op is not disconnecting and is eliminating late fees and penalties, alerts and reminders about account status and energy use are continuing. Members are advised to monitor their energy use and keep up with payments to the best of their ability. “When this crisis is over, we will have to resume disconnects and we don’t want anyone to be so far behind they can’t recover,” cautions Shelley.
Members are still responsible for paying for the electricity they use. “Your cooperative cannot provide free electricity,” says Shelley. “If we did, your fellow members would have to pick up the tab because we are a not-for-profit, member-owned company that operates on a cost of service basis,” he continued. “So we urge you to keep paying on time. Don’t let your bill grow.”
“We want to assure members that we are here to keep the power flowing and to provide the services we can during this time of social distancing,” said Shelley. “We urge members to stay in touch with us through using the MyEnergy Online member service portal; engaging with us via social media; reading any eBlasts we send out; emailing us or by simply picking up the phone and giving us a call,” he added.
The March 2020 edition has six pages dedicated to local news about your co-op. Highlights include:
CEO Column– Save the date! Annual Meeting is set for Tuesday, May 12
Bright Ideas grants: Teachers can apply for a grant up to $1,000 to make bright ideas come to life in the classroom – deadline June 1
Rural Lady of the Year/W.I.R.E.: Aynor woman honored as Horry Electric’s Rural Lady of the Year; Apply now for W.I.R.E. scholarship
Get ready to RODEO!: How Horry Electric is preparing for the 2020 S.C. Lineman’s Rodeo (EVENT POSTPONED due to Coronavirus)
Various co-op news: Community Solar; Trusted Energy Advisors encourage you to Beat the Peak; Tree planting guide for overhead lines/ keep your distance with underground transformers
The health and safety of our members, our employees and our community is always a top priority. We’re monitoring the rapidly evolving Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. We’re committed to helping navigate this situation and our thoughts are with everyone impacted. Together, we can weather this storm. Just like we’ve done in the past with hurricanes and ice storms. We are #HorryCountyStrong.
Horry Electric is working very hard to do our part to keep the virus from spreading in accordance with theCDC guidelines for Coronavirus (COVID-19). Field crews are continuing operations, but we ask that you keep a 6-foot distance from them as they perform their duties. Our offices remain open to the public, but that is subject to change. We are urging members to use online tools to make payments and track energy use. We are inviting members to follow us on all social media channels, especially our Facebookpage.
We have temporarily discontinued home consultations and installations for the H2O Select and Load Management programs, as well as the Surge Guard program. The Energy Advisors are still available by phone @ 843.369.2211 and by email for the duration.
We want to reassure members that we are currently holding disconnects on all accounts and they will remain on hold until the state of emergency in our area is lifted. We are looking at a re-evaluation on March 31 and urge members to keep their account in good status to avoid disconnection when the hold is removed at the end of the COVID-19 emergency.
Please continue to keep track of your energy use and try to continue to pay your balances if at all possible. For your convenience, we will continue with alerts, reminders and late payment notifications to help members keep track of their account status. There is no chance of disconnection until the state of emergency is lifted, but once it is lifted, we will resume disconnecting services. We’re taking these actions because the last thing we want is for anyone to have to deal with the disconnection of service, a huge balance to be paid, plus reconnection fees at the end of the state of emergency. It’s all part of #LookingOutForYou because we are #LocalPeopleServingYou.
If you have questions about your billing or about payments, please call us at 843.369.2211 or emailus.
We have compiled some questions you may have and the answers to those questions.
Q: Is Horry Electric Cooperative ready and prepared to deliver reliable power during the COVID-19 outbreak?
A: Horry Electric is prepared and our team is continuously monitoring the situation and we will reassess our plans as needed. We are Local People Serving You and we are part of your community. As a provider of an essential service, we are determined to continue providing the safe and reliable power you need, while helping protect the health and safety of our employees, neighbors and community.
Q: How is Horry Electric protecting its employees?
A: We are implementing preventative measures to help keep our employees as safe as possible. All employees who are able to perform their work without being in the office are working remotely. All employees who interact with members for programs or in-office visits may cancel or reschedule non-urgent appointments and services. If an employee must be on-site, they have been directed to maintain a distance of six feet from other people and not shake hands. They can also use virtual forms of communication where it is possible.
Q: How is Horry Electric protecting the energy grid?
A: We are taking steps needed to ensure the stability and continuity of our operations, including resource and supply chain planning. Delivering safe and reliable electricity is our responsibility – and it’s our commitment to you, our members, that we continue to do so.
Q: What is Horry Electric doing for members who can’t work/can’t pay their bills?
A: We understand many of our members may be facing unusual financial hardships during this time, so we have suspended all disconnections for non-payment. We strongly encourage members to continue paying their bills in a timely manner. Late fees will apply, but there will be no disconnect actions taken. Alerts, reminders and late payment notices will continue to help members keep track of their account status.
We know this is a challenging time and we are committed to serving you, as well as our communities throughout Horry County. If you are having trouble paying your bill, please contact our office at 843-369-2211 during regular business hours and, as always, we will work with you.
Q: What does “suspending disconnection for non-payment” mean exactly?
A: This means we’re not taking action to disconnect an account for non-payment while we are in a state of emergency. We will continue to read meters and send bills, so we encourage our members to pay what you can in order to avoid building up a large balance that will be harder to pay off later. It also means we won’t disconnect members’ electric service, even if they haven’t paid bills that are overdue. Again, we encourage everyone to stay as up to date with their payments as possible. To help you keep track of your account status, we will continue sending out alerts, reminders and late payment notifications.
Q: How does this affect late fees?
A: Late fees will still apply. That’s why Horry Electric encourages members to stay as up to date with their payments as possible. We understand this is a difficult and unusual time, so we will work with members on extensions and we will not disconnect electric service if payments are overdue.
Q: What if I need to reach the Member Service Department?
A: We ask for our members’ patience as we may have to work with a reduced call center and service department staff, due to employees needing to take care of loved ones, including children due to school closures. We would like to remind members that they can do business with us by phone or you can access account information through our online member portal, MyEnergy Online on Horry Electric’s website or download our mobile app. Social media is also a great tool to stay up to date with the latest information from Horry Electric as this situation continues to unfold. You can also email us at service@horryelectric.com
Working from home, even on a temporary basis, may increase your energy use. It means that you’re spending more time using a computer, lights and other appliances at home, instead of in your workplace. By improving the energy efficiency of your home office equipment, you can save on energy costs without hampering your productivity.
WHEN COVID-19 BECAME A THREAT to our community, the Board of Trustees took immediate action and announced that all disconnects for regular and Advance Pay accounts would be held until further notice. Shortly after their decision, the Governor announced he was asking all utilities to do the same. At that time, penalties and late fees applied.
The 