At York Electric, we like to think of ourselves as a family—the cooperative family. Like any family, we depend on and look out for one another and are always trying to do what’s best for our members.
In the York Electric family, we’re doing everything we can to deliver safe, affordable power to all the homes and businesses we serve. We’re local, so if something goes wrong, like an outage, it’s likely someone from your community is working to get your power back on.
Cooperatives have extended families, too. One of the Seven Cooperative Principles is Cooperation Among Cooperatives. Our members benefit from partnerships with organizations that provide special services. These relationships not only help us get things done, but save you money, as well.
The alliance that perhaps most directly affects rates is with our wholesale supplier and transmission cooperative, Central Electric Power. Central does not generate the power you use. Instead, they use the leverage that comes from representing all 20 South Carolina distribution cooperatives to negotiate purchase agreements from other power-generating sources. They also provide services that help keep power costs affordable and service reliable.
York Electric also partners with Broad River Electric, Laurens Electric, Little River Electric and Blue Ridge Electric to form New Horizon Electric Cooperative. New Horizon provides substation design, construction, maintenance and testing for the five upstate distribution cooperatives. We call on New Horizon when we’re building a new substation. In this issue of South Carolina Living, we’ll also share details about how this partnership supports our members.
Cooperative Electric Energy Utility Supply (CEEUS) provides materials and equipment—like poles, wires and lineworkers’ rubber gloves—to the state’s cooperatives. Cooperatives and our members benefit from having one central buyer for all electrical supplies. Since CEEUS is based in Columbia, we can get supplies quickly when storms occur.
The SC Power Team is an economic development organization that represents the state’s electric cooperatives. The Power Team helps bring new industries to cooperative territories and supports the expansion and retention of existing business and facilities. They have helped improve your quality of life by aiding YEC in securing industry and making good jobs available for those in our area.
The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina (ECSC) provides a wealth of services ranging from training to communications and government relations. ECSC is the organization that publishes South Carolina Living, speaks for our members at the statehouse and ensures safety practices are up to standard.
Thanks to these cooperative alliances, and others such as the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (NRECA) and Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, York Electric is able to provide innovative, premium services to its members. It also allows us to share the costs of those services with other distribution cooperatives like us.
This October, as we celebrate Cooperative Month, I’m thankful that we can claim these organizations a part of our family.
Sincerely,
Paul Basha
President and Chief Executive Officer
Look for your member appreciation discount in November 2021
October is co-op month and we’re celebrating our most important asset—you!
This year has been a good year. Not only did we slightly lower electric rates for members in 2021, but we are also giving you extra money back. What better way to show our appreciation to members than to give you a discount on your power bill! In celebration of co-op month in October, we will provide a 10% discount to members for the electricity they used during this time.
Look for your 10% discount on your November power bill statement. Your total discount will appear as a line item on your bill.
Thank you for being a valued member of YEC.