September 2019 | Volume 81 | Issue 9
Harvest Safety Tips For Farmworkers
As we enter the fall season, farming activity is picking up in the Northland. Large farming equipment comes with potential dangers that require extra attention to avoid. Platte-Clay is offering the following tips to farmworkers this harvest season to avoid electrical hazards as they work in the field.
Maintain a 10-foot clearance around all utility equipment in all directions.
Use a spotter and deployed flags to maintain safe distances from power lines and other equipment when doing field work.
If your equipment makes contact with an energized or downed power line, contact us immediately by phone and remain inside the vehicle until the power line is de-energized. In case of smoke or fire, exit the cab by making a solid jump out of the cab, without touching it at the same time, and hop away to safety with both feet together.
Consider equipment and cargo extensions of your vehicle. Lumber, hay, tree limbs, irrigation pipe and even bulk materials can conduct electricity, so keep them out of contact with electrical equipment.
An Inside Look at the Departments at Your Electric Cooperative
Dave Deihl, General Manager
From the General Manager
No two electric cooperatives are the same. Each co-op has its own way of doing things and a unique structure to its organization, but there is one key element that keeps all co-ops moving forward: its employees.
At Platte-Clay, we appreciate and value all of our employees. Our organization prides itself on finding and retaining extremely talented individuals who keep everything running smoothly and on time. Co-op careers include many different positions that require wide ranging skill sets and backgrounds.
PCEC is broken into several main departments, each charged with their own role in the function of the cooperative. Here is a brief look at each of our departments and what they do:
Engineering
The Engineering Department designs and monitors the electrical grid to ensure members’ needs are being met. Engineering includes staff engineers, staking engineers, dispatch, geographic information systems and technicians.
Finance and Accounting
The Finance and Accounting Department maintains financial information for the cooperative and assists consumer-members with the billing process. Finance and accounting includes member service representatives, meter readers and accountants.
Information Technology
The Information Technology Department assists every other department as well as consumer-members by ensuring computer systems function correctly and by implementing new technologies to advance the co-op. The team also protects Platte-Clay against cybersecurity threats.
Marketing and Communications
The Marketing and Communications Department works to keep consumer members and the general public informed about what the cooperative is doing and why. This team also helps members achieve energy efficiency goals, plans events and serves as ambassadors in the community.
Operations
The Operations Department carries out the building, maintenance and repair of the co-op’s grid, facilities and equipment. The department is responsible for line work, safety operations, and maintenance for transportation and facilities.
By finding efficiencies and implementing new technologies, we’ve been able to keep our workforce essentially the same size over the past two decades while nearly doubling the number of members we serve. I believe that speaks volumes about the work ethic of our team and their willingness to adapt.
Although electric cooperatives are unique, it’s the employees that make it possible for any business or organization to achieve its goals. This is certainly true for Platte-Clay, where we are proud of every employee’s contributions to our mission of empowering communities and energizing life with safe and reliable energy.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns you can reach me via email at GeneralManager@PCEC.coop.
Save a Life: Sign Up For PCEC’s Annual Blood Drive
Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative is encouraging its consumer members and the general public to give the gift of life by donating blood at its annual Blood Drive event on Wednesday, October 16. It will be held at the Kearney office from 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM and at the Platte City office from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM.
All donors will receive a free gift from PCEC and co-op members will get an additional $10 credit toward their electric account. Donors are encouraged to make an appointment at savealifenow.org/group using the group code EF2R for Kearney or EF2B for Platte City. Walk-ins will also be accepted.
Board President’s Corner: A Modernized Approach To Cooperative Governance
Debi Koechner
Board President
The technical side of the electric co-op business model has undergone significant evolution, and so has the self-governance that ensures the voices of members are heard. Democratic member control, or the power of members to choose leaders who guide the direction of the co-op, is one of the seven cooperative principles and it is something we value at PCEC.
Just like the talented employees who make Platte-Clay’s day-to-day operations run smoothly, your Board of Directors also keeps an eye out for ways to improve and modernize how we function. One way we do this is by learning from our partners at the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association through trainings and seminars about best governance practices.
Some good progress has been made on this effort to modernize. Although the board’s agendas and minutes have always been available to members, these were recently added to the www.PCEC.coop website for easier access. Detailed information about each director was added to the website as well, so members can become familiar with their representatives.
Earlier this year, we voted to improve the process for filling vacancies on the board by making it more transparent and allowing members to vote on who should fill empty positions. This new process was utilized at this year’s annual meeting to fill the West District Director position left open by the tragic loss of Robert Ray. Members selected Kelly Parkhurst to serve the remainder of the term, and we have been delighted to have Kelly join our team.
The board also voted this year to modernize how capital credit refunds are distributed. The new system, which auto-applies capital credits to a consumer member’s bill unless a check is requested at annual meeting, was implemented smoothly by PCEC staff and we’re proud of the added security, cost-savings and convenience that has accompanied this change.
Keeping an open mind to new ideas and technologies is a way to make sure our consumer-members receive the best service and representation possible. Evaluating how we can improve upon our strong foundation of democratic member control is an important part of our role and one we remain focused on. We enjoy the process of creating positive change for the co-op and appreciate the trust you have placed in us to work on your behalf. our members to find creative solutions.
Platte-Clay Moments
Children at the Missouri State Fair enjoy the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperative’s new electric-powered racetrack – Platte Clay marketing staff spent time in Sedalia to help work the fair
Left: Platte City crews regroup after a long night and early morning of repairing storm damage in Mid-August. Right: Kearney teacher Rachel Cerra (front center) represents the cooperative at the annual “Energy in the Classroom” seminar at Mizzou.
Pole Inspections Begin
This month marked the start of the annual pole inspection process for Platte-Clay. Lee Inspection is documenting needed repairs and maintenance on power poles in part of PCEC’s service territory. Members can report damaged poles at any time by calling our office at 816-628-3121.
The Northland Connection is published monthly by Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative, Inc., 1000 W. 92 Highway, Kearney, MO 64060. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Northland Connection, PO Box 100, Kearney, MO 64060 or mail@pcec.coop.
Platte-Clay is an equal opportunity employer.