January 2020 | Volume 82 | Issue 1
Platte-Clay Members Celebrate Holiday Season and Give Back to Community
In December, Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative welcomed several hundred members into its offices in Kearney and Platte City for its annual Holiday Open House.
The purpose of the event was to give consumer-members an opportunity to meet employees and volunteers of the cooperative, visit with fellow members and hear the latest news about the co-op.
Employees cooked around 55 gallons of chili for the membership, and Platte-Clay’s Pathfinders volunteer group helped served lunch and holiday desserts. In addition to giving members a chance to celebrate the holidays with co-op employees, this tradition also serves as a community service initiative for PCEC.
Every year the Holiday Open House marks the start of the Coats and Cans drive, a charitable campaign in which PCEC collects canned goods and gently-used coats for those in need in the community.
Those donations are set to be distributed in January to organizations throughout the Northland to assist with high levels of demand they see during the holiday season.
Northland Growth Will Continue Into the New Decade
Dave Deihl, General Manager
From the General Manager
Every new year brings with it the opportunity to examine our surroundings with a fresh perspective and look toward the future. This particular new year is special because it also marks the start of a new decade – one that is set to be characterized by growth and development for the Northland region.
A strong regional economy and family friendly communities have led to tremendous growth over the past ten years in the seven-county territory Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative services. New residential subdivisions are going up everywhere and commercial development is following at the heels of that progress.
For example, since 2010 Platte County has experienced a 15.3 percent growth in population with Clay County not far behind at 11 percent. That level of growth requires a tremendous level of planning and foresight to maintain.
Platte-Clay’s Board of Directors and senior management recently engaged in a long-term planning session to identify the challenges that lie ahead in 2020 and beyond. Moving forward, the co-op is focused on building new infrastructure that meets the needs of tomorrow, improving the reliability of our service and increasing community engagement.
New areas of growth require building new electrical line, and construction projects are ongoing in several parts of PCEC’s territory. Similarly, advances in technology require the co-op to embrace innovation. That’s why we launched a comprehensive program in 2019 to support the use of electric vehicles and rolled out several new rebates for innovative products like smart thermostats.
Improving the reliability of existing services is another step that puts the co-op in a strong position for the future as new consumer-members are connected and our numbers increase. Our Reliability Improvement Plan, which includes increased tree-trimming and underground inspections, will ensure members can do what they love without interruption far into the future.
Investing in education is another important part of preparing for future challenges. Every year, Platte-Clay sponsors students to attend award-winning leadership conferences in Washington, D.C. and Jefferson City. We also offer scholarships for high school seniors and provide continued education opportunities for local teachers.
To continue building on the Northland’s success, stakeholders must find innovative ways to help develop the leaders of tomorrow. The Northland’s success in the 2020’s will be largely determined by how well community leaders work together to accomplish this goal.
Local governments, utilities, non-profit organizations and the business community have all worked together in recent years to strengthen their communities by planning for future needs.
The reason is simple – we know that our future success is intertwined and dependent on strong collaboration from those who want to see the Northland thrive. As we enter a new decade, Platte-Clay looks forward to continuing its role in the growth of our region.
Protect Yourself From Utility Scammers Who Want Your Financial Information
Vehicles owned by Platte-Clay or PCEC contractors are marked with the PCEC logo and phone number (left). Employee uniforms are marked with the co-op’s name and the Willie Wirehand logo (right).
Unfortunately, in today’s world, scams are inevitable. Scammers can threaten you with everything from legal action involving the IRS to turning off power to your home. Utility scams often involve an individual or group posing as an employee of your electric cooperative.
The scammer may use threatening language in order to frighten you into offering your credit card or bank account information. Don’t fall victim to these types of scams.
Understand the threats posed and your best course of action:
– If someone calls your home or cell phone demanding you pay your electric bill immediately using a specific payment method, gather as much information as you can from that individual, hang-up the phone and contact the local authorities. If you have any doubts about your PCEC bill, contact our member service representatives over the phone by calling 816-628-3121.
– If someone comes to your home claiming to be a PCEC employee that needs to collect money or inspect parts of your property, call us to verify they are, in fact, an employee. If they are not, call local authorities for assistance and do not let the individual into your home.
There are other types of scams consumers should watch out for:
– Government agencies like the IRS will never call to inform you that you have unpaid taxes or other liens against you. You will always receive this type of information in the mail. If someone calls claiming to be the IRS, hang-up immediately.
– If you receive an email from an unknown sender; an email riddled with spelling errors and typos; or an email threatening action unless a sum of money is paid, do not click any links provided within the email, and do not respond to the email. Simply delete the email, or send it to your spam folder.
– If someone calls your home claiming to have discovered a virus on your computer, hang-up. This caller’s intent is to access personal information you may be keeping on your computer.
Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative wants to make sure you avoid any and all types of scams that could put you or your financial information in jeopardy. If you have any questions or would like more information about how you can protect yourself from scammers, call us, or visit our website at www.PCEC.coop.
Save the Date – May 7: PCEC Annual Meeting
All Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative consumer-members are invited to the coop’s 82nd Annual Meeting, which will be held at its Kearney headquarters on May 7, 2020.
The annual meeting will feature a community fair, carnival rides and games, a hot dog dinner and information about PCEC’s many products, services and rebates.
The event will also give members the opportunity to participate in the cooperative’s democratic process by voting in its board of directors election and on possible by-law amendments. Deadlines for board candidates are outlined in the timeline below.
The annual meeting offers the Northland community a unique opportunity to come together and celebrate the progress the cooperative has made over the course of the past year.
Stay tuned to this publication and www.PCEC.coop in the coming months for additional information about this great event.
Platte-Clay Moments
Crews work to install new equipment on power lines near Smithville that will minimize the impact of high winds – part of PCEC’s plan to improve service reliability.
Left: Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative members enjoy a free chili lunch at the Holiday Open House in December. Right: PCEC crews from Kearney and Platte City gather for a joint job briefing prior to starting a large project.
Platte-Clay Accepting Youth Tour Applications
High school juniors have the opportunity to win a free trip to Washington, D.C. by participating in Platte-Clay Electric’s 2020 Youth Tour contest. Students must submit a video or short essay about a topic related to community service. Learn more about Youth Tour and apply online by visiting www.PCEC.coop/YT.
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.