YEC achieves goals in 2023
At YEC, we are always working to serve you with excellence. For example, did you know it costs 67 cents to mail your monthly billing statement? Our team has worked to reduce this cost by encouraging members to sign up for electronic billing. Now, more than 40 percent of our members receive their monthly bill by email.
In May 2023, we returned the highest total in your co-op’s history of $2.6 million in capital credits. This is a record dollar amount for your co-op, showing our financial strength. Then we returned an additional $1.5 million to members who no longer live on cooperative lines.
Perhaps most significantly, member’s rates did not increase in 2023. For every $1 you pay, only 20 cents goes to operating your co-op and covering interest expenses.
Here are some of our key performance indicators for 2023 we used to measure our success.
Member comfort and reliability
- Approximately 345 miles of right of way were cut to maintain our five-year rotation, improving the reliability, safety and outage response time for members.
- Completed the rebuilding of our Flint Hill substation, serving over 1,800 members in the Fort Mill area.
- Began construction on our new Allison Creek substation on Hwy. 274.
- Constructed a new 100 KV transmission line to serve the India Hook area of Rock Hill to improve reliability in that area.
- Identify and rebuild equipment and sections of distribution lines to strengthen reliability and outage response times.
- Help members save energy and money through the smart thermostat, community and rooftop solar, and electric vehicle programs.
- Collected GPS data for equipment locations and photographs to ensure a more accurate map of our system.
- Purchased a drone and began training employees to use this technology to efficiently inspect, review and audit equipment and storm damage.
Education and training
- Hosted installation training for electric vehicle chargers for our employees and others throughout the Southeast.
- YEC linemen participated in pole top rescue training.
- YEC employees participated in CPR, first aid and defensive driving training and cyber security classes.
- YEC employees participated in over 40 continuing education classes offered by our statewide organization, ECSC.
- We hosted other South Carolina cooperatives to collaborate on information and training, as well as sent a group of employees to visit a larger out-of-state cooperative to consider new ideas.
Community impact and giving
- Volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity and Life House Women’s Shelter.
- Through our Operation Round Up Trust, the board elected to fund $329,471.45 to positively impact the most at risk in our area.
- Through the help of our community and business partners, we raised more than $100,000 at our annual Burrell Foundation auction.
- Funded $20,000 in Bright Ideas Grants for local teachers.
- Provided $14,500 in scholarships to local, senior students. Sent three rising seniors to our nation’s capital through Washington Youth Tour and four students to learn about cooperatives in Columbia through Cooperative Youth Summit.
- Honored 1,000 veterans for their service and sacrifice at our annual Veterans Day Celebration.
- Began clearing and completing initial road construction at our Springlake Business Park to attract more quality jobs and businesses in our area.