May is National Electrical Safety Month

I heard a pretty amazing story the other day. It involved two teens in Indiana, Lee Whittaker and Ashley Taylor, who were driving down the road with some friends when their car started to fishtail. Lee did his best to keep the vehicle on the road. But before he knew it he was sliding straight into a utility pole—and that pole came down, lines and all, right on top of his overturned car.
Now, most folks faced with this situation would do what comes naturally: get out of the car. But Lee and Ashley knew better. Not a week earlier they had attended a safety demonstration at their school sponsored by their local electric co-op. One of the key messages relayed was “stay in your car if it ever hits a power pole, where you’ll be safe from any electrical current.”
The two did just that, and kept their friends in the car and family members at a safe distance once they arrived. As a result, the entire group walked away with just a few minor injuries. However, without a basic knowledge of electrical safety, the outcome that night could have been much different.
The electricity Eastern Illini provides day-in and day-out is a phenomenal resource, powering our modern lifestyles in a safe, reliable, and affordable way. But electricity must be respected: if safety isn’t made a priority, what changes our lives for the better could change them for the worse in an instant.
Lee and Ashley know this from experience, and we’re striving to keep you informed of electrical safety so you don’t have to learn a similar lesson the hard way.
Safety has been a part of the fundamental culture at Eastern Illini since day one. Being an electric lineworker is ranked by the U.S. Department of Labor as one of the top ten most dangerous jobs, on the same list as fisherman, loggers, and military servicemen. We demand that not only those out in the field, but employees at all levels make safety a top priority.
As part of our safety commitment, please take time to learn how you can be safe around electricity at home. Spending just a few minutes with some helpful resources can make all the difference when you’re faced with a possible unsafe situation. For more information on electrical safety, please visit our website, at www.eiec.coop, as well as SafeElectricity.org and Electrical-Safety.org.
I hope there won’t be any stories about Eastern Illini members getting into sticky situations like Lee and Ashley. But if there are, a few minutes spent studying safety today could ensure a happy ending.

Nominating petitions now available for the June 10 director election.

Directors in Directorate Districts 1 and 7 will be elected on June 10, 2010, at Eastern Illini’s Annual Meeting.

Incumbent directors Kay Horsch, of Dewey, District 7 and Harold M. Loy, of Beaverville, District 1, have indicated they will seek re-election.

Any Eastern Illini member interested in being elected to the board of directors may pick up a nominating petition at Eastern Illini’s headquarters at 330 W. Ottawa in Paxton. The petition must be signed by at least 25 Eastern Illini members.

Petitions need to be filed at Eastern Illini’s headquarters in Paxton no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, April 26, 2010.

The Credentials Committee will meet at the cooperative’s headquarters on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, to review the qualifications of all candidates who file nominating petitions to determine their eligibility to serve as directors of Eastern Illini.

Based on the results of the recent special meeting of members, Eastern Illini’s Board of Directors will be officially decreased to nine members (from 11), effective at the June 10 annual meeting.

This change, overwhelmingly approved during the special meeting, will allow board members to continue to provide adequate representation for all Eastern Illini members, while lowering expenses.

Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative employees received a safety honor during the recent Safety/Supervisory Technical Conference held in Springfield.

The award was given to electric cooperatives with outstanding “best accident/illness” safety records for 2009.

The theme of the safety conference was “Put the Spotlight on Safety.”

Attendees heard firsthand from two linemen who were involved in a fall during ice storm recovery work. They also heard from Kristie Cunningham, the wife of a fallen lineman, about her family’s perspective on their tragedy.

Alan Schweighart, Eastern Illini’s Manager of Operations and Engineering (pictured above on the left) accepted the award from AIEC President/CEO N. Duane Noland (pictured above on the right.)

We all hear about energy efficiency time and time again.  But what does it really mean?

Well, I think it means something different to everybody – which makes it very hard to talk about.

As a electric cooperative, we’ve promoted energy efficiency for years – which sometimes causes heads to turn.  Why would an electric company that is in business to sell electricity want to talk to people about saving energy?

Well, there are actually a couple of reasons.  First of all, we like happy customers (although we like to call them members or owners or member/owners.)  Secondly, there are some  instances when electricity IS the most efficient energy source.  In that case, your electric bill might go up (we obviously like that) but your overall energy bill would go down (you obviously like that.)

A good example of that is a geothermal system.  Geothermal systems are – without a doubt – the most energy efficient way to heat and cool your home.  Even the EPA says so!  If you replace your existing gas (LP or natural gas) furnace with a geothermal system (and with the current 30% tax credit available, now is a great time to do that) your electric bill will go up.  BUT, your overall energy bill (electricity plus gas) will go down.  Plain and simple!

Anyway, we’ll be talking about things like this at some upcoming Energy Wise Home Savings Events (a fancy way to say Energy Efficiency Seminar).  Check our site for more information: http://www.eiec.org/wise_ewhse.html