February may be the shortest month, but it’s packed with special observances like Presidents’ Day, Black History Month and Valentine’s Day, in addition to a host of unofficial “national” days you’ve probably never heard of like “National Tater Tot Day.” But they all have something in common. They were created to draw attention to a particular issue or theme.

Valentine’s Day may seem like an observance originally created by a greeting card company, but over time, it’s become a widely celebrated event. But Valentine’s Day isn’t just for the lovebirds. It’s also the perfect time to let your friends, family, co-workers and other special people know you care about them.

So, in that vein, we’ve created our own Valentine - a list of the top five reasons why we love serving our members.

 

1. Without you, the co-op wouldn’t exist. The purpose of our co-op is to provide members with affordable, reliable and safe electricity. In 1938, WCEC were formed by members, for members, to bring power to our local area when for-profit utilities would not.

2. Our members are a force for good. Once of our cooperative’s guiding principles is, “Concern for the Community.” Through member donations via Operation RoundUp, founded in 2017, the Wood County Charitable Foundation has granted over $469,757 to important LOCAL charitable organizations. Each of these organizations positively impact our communities and our region. Our member’s support of them has given them important financial help to achieve their purposes.

3. Members of our co-op are service-minded and engaged. The co-ops board of directors is made up of members, and they spend countless hours providing guidance and oversite. Other members make up our elections committee and serve as judges for our scholarship contest. We also count our members to vote on elections, and participate in annual meeting, and in other ways.

4. You help us get it right. We proud to say that our members are helpful and supportive. We have over 8,800 followers on Facebook and 17,400 subscribers to the E-newsletter, and we send out 19,600 Texas Co-op Power monthly subscriptions. We know members are reading what we publish, because of the comments, likes and emails. We appreciate your feedback. Your opinion is critical for the co-op’s success, and we thank you for that.

5. You are our neighbors and friends. All of our employees live right here in Northeast Texas. We know many of you. We volunteer together, attend sporting and school events together, and break bread together. We are living our best lives together, right here in co-op country.

As a co-op, our mission is to enhance the quality of life in our community and look after its long-term interests. We love serving our members, our communities, our friends and neighbors. Happy Valentine’s Day. We “heart” YOU!

Scholarship applications are being accepted from area high school students for one of WCEC's scholarships. For 2022, WCEC is offering ten $1,500 scholarships for students attending college, and three $1,000 scholarships for those pursuing vocational or technical trade certificates. 

To be eligible, applicants must be members or dependents of active WCEC members. Applications are available online at wcec.org. The deadline to apply is March 15, 2021.  

During power outages, many members rely on portable generators for emergency power. Their growing popularity has resulted in millions of generators being used as a backup power source for homes and small businesses. While they provide comfort and convenience during an outage, if not hooked up properly generators can be dangerous not only to you and your family but also to linemen working to restore power.

Follow this guidance for generators from Safe Electricity to help keep yourself and those around you safe.

Read and follow all manufacturer operating instructions to properly ground generators.

Never operate generators in a home, garage or other enclosed building. Place them in a dry, outdoor location well away from doors and windows to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

Never plug portable electric generators into a wall outlet or connect directly to a home’s wiring. This can energize power lines and injure you or others working nearby.

Turn off generators and allow them to cool before refueling.

Turn off or disconnect all appliances and lights before you begin operating generators. Once a generator is running, turn your appliances and lights on one at a time to avoid overloading the unit.

Use only safety-tested, shop-type electrical cords designed and rated for heavier, outdoor use to connect appliances.

Before shutting down a generator, turn off and unplug all appliances and equipment being powered by it.

All standby generators require a permanent transfer switch, which must be installed by a professional electrician.

The transfer switch breaks the path of electricity between the power lines and your main electrical panel. This is the best way to protect you, your neighbors and utility repair crews from “backfeeding,” which occurs when an improperly connected generator begins feeding electricity back through power lines. This can seriously injure anyone near lines, especially crews working to restore power. When installed properly, permanent generators and safe and convenient.