JULY 2016

LOCAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE EDITION JULY 2016
Port A’s Farley Boat Works
Possum Kingdom Primo Pasta

INSECT

FARMING

A new dimension
in Texas cultivation

PowerTalk UNITED COOPERA

A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBER

United Leads
Nation in
Customer
Satisfaction

The measuring stick when they awarded the cooperative with a
for promises made
and promises kept customer satisfaction score that once
is now about
years long, and more exceeded all others in the first
United's mission
since its consolida- quarter American Customer

Satisfaction Index (ACSI). United scored

a second consecutive out of a possible

points in the survey, well above others

tion in to in the electric energy sector, as well as

surpass every member's service expecta- those surveyed across myriad industries.

tions has not only been weighed, but has The co-op's running average since con-

also led the cooperative to repeated inclu- solidation is . .

sion among the nation's very select list of United measures satisfaction each

businesses recognized for superior cus- quarter to ensure members continue to

tomer satisfaction. receive a level of service that’s second to

Despite the uncertainties many con- none. The ACSI, sponsored by the

sumers have in today's still lumbering American Society for Quality and admin-

economy, where wages have remained istered by the business school at the

relatively stagnant, members of United University of Michigan, tracks consumer

Cooperative Services showed they recog- satisfaction levels across industries

nize and appreciate good service value, and more than corporations. More

and that the co-op has earned their trust importantly, it provides a current snap-

: go online www.united-cs.com

18 Texas Co-op Power UNITED COOPERATIVE SERVICES JULY 2016

ATIVE SERVICES

RS OF UNITED COOPERATIVE SERVICES

►Recent
membership
appraisal
vaults co-op
to the top of
the leader
board again

shot of member perspectives about the
quality of the cooperative's service
delivery.

In comparison, Touchstone Energy
co-ops—which, as a collective of electric
cooperatives generally outperform
investor-owned (IOU) and municipal
(muni) utilities in customer satisfaction—
netted an average score of in the first
quarter survey. Touchstone Energy's
ties it with both Atmos Energy, a natural
gas only utility that topped the IOU sector,
and Arizona's Salt River Project, which
led among munis. Overall, IOUs and
munis received respective scores of
and in the recent quarterly customer
satisfaction assessment. The airline
industry earned an average score of out
of points, among the lowest of any
industry or agency and only above the
Internal Revenue Service, subscription
television providers and social media
sites in overall customer satisfaction.

Please see ACSI, PAGE 20D

INSIDE ENERGY AUDIT RESOURCES HELP UNITED EMPLOYEE RECEIVES A
THIS MONTH’S MEMBERS FIND ENERGY LOSSES, NEW PERSPECTIVE ON UNITED
PAGE ..... 20 INITIATIVES, PAGE ..... 20B
ISSUE: MANAGER’S PERSPECTIVE: RATE WATCH PROVIDES A COM-
STRENGTH OF CHARACTER PARISON OF REGIONAL, STATE
CARRIES ONE THROUGH ADVER- AND NATIONAL ELECTRIC
SITY, PAGE ..... 20D RATES, PAGE ..... 25

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JULY 2016 UNITED COOPERATIVE SERVICES Texas Co-op Power 19

UNITED COOPERA
P.O. BOX 16 • CLEBURNE,

Guarding Against
the

GREAT ESCAPE

EINNNEORVGAYTION

 By JEFF PANNELL 

CONDITIONED AI

: go online www.united-cs.com

20 Texas Co-op Power UNITED COOPERATIVE SERVICES JULY 2016

ATIVE SERVICES

, TEXAS • 817-556-4000

W iththeTexassummerquickly thermal imaging or infrared scanning to detect thermal defects
approaching, there is little doubt and air leakage throughout a home. Typically, the use of thermal
that as the temperatures continue to imaging is used in conjunction with a blower-door test per-
climb—so will the energy usage for formed on a member’s residence. Even though all residential
the average home. The reason is energy audits are free, United o ers blower-door tests to its
simply due to a home’s HVAC system members for a fee of due to the extra time and additional
working harder to maintain that ideal indoor temperature. manpower required to make such assessments (the cost of this
service typically averages - through other service pro-
Since HVAC systems typically account for to percent viders). Nevertheless, this extensive analysis provides United
of a home’s energy consumption, it’s important to identify ways members with a detailed assessment of their home’s energy e -
to ensure the conditioned air stays in the home and that the hot ciency. During the last decade, many new techniques have
outside summer air stays outside. United’s well-trained group of evolved for improving residential energy envelopes. This
energy experts are continuing to assist United members in increasing design e ciency has led to the need of comprehen-
achieving energy-saving goals. sive auditing tools and procedures, which United has willingly
incorporated into its energy audit program for the benefit of the
One area of residential construction that is commonly mis- membership.
understood is the air movement within and through houses.
Uncontrolled air loss from a residence can have a significant Thermography
impact on comfort, heating and cooling costs, and HVAC main-
tenance. It’s estimated that air leakage can account for as much Thermography measures surface temperatures by using
as percent or more of building heat loss/gain. At the same infrared videos. These cameras see light that is in the heat spec-
time, residents should be aware that their house should not be trum. Images on the camera record the temperature variations
made excessively airtight. If a house is too tight, it can poten- ranging from white for warm regions to black for the cooler
tially increase the risk of indoor air quality problems, so this areas. The resulting images help the energy expert determine
should be considered prior to implementing energy-saving
measures. Please see ENERGY LOSSES, PAGE 24

For a number of years, United’s energy experts have utilized

United THERMAL
Resources IMAGING
IR Can Help
Please see ENERGY LOSSES, PAGE 6
Detect
Conditioned : go online www.united-cs.com
Air Escape
JULY 2016 UNITED COOPERATIVE SERVICES Texas Co-op Power 20A
Routes

UNITED COOPERA
P.O. BOX 16 • CLEBURNE,

Through the
Looking Glass

EDITOR’S NOTE: Two United employees are named tions of the membership in service and
every year to the honorary post of Assistant CEO of reliability. Even in my relatively short
the Week—a distinction that provides the employees tenure with United, it is readily
with a chance to take a week-long tour through a apparent to me that United is always
variety of United departments, work processes and taking steps to ensure those business
regular business settings. At the conclusion of their virtues are maintained.
stint in the special role, the employees are asked to
write an account of their experience and I recently received the honor of being
impressions. selected as the Assistant CEO of the
Week and the honorary post allowed me
 By KENNEDY CURLEE  to travel to several of United’s area
o ces, to attend a Brazos Electric
At United Cooperative Services, our vated by profit, but instead focuses on Power Cooperative board meeting, as
first and main responsibility is to our providing optimum service at an a ord- well as an opportunity to sit in on
members and the communities that we able cost to our members. In addition to United’s board of directors meeting. As
serve. United employees possess a that, United also strives to provide posi- is customary during the week-long
strong sense of integrity and we take our tive contributions to the community, experience, I was also able to shadow
duty to serve the membership very seri- continuing employee education and to several di erent department heads and
ously. I personally feel United employees promote clear, seamless and trans- explore the day-to-day responsibilities
all work together to positively serve our parent internal and external of a variety of United employees. The
membership, to keep our company oper- communications among both employees week was an eye-opening adventure,
ating as e ciently as possible and to and members. In addition, for this com- especially since I was given the chance
ensure this cooperative will continue to pany to continue to be successful, it is to interact with employees and learn
grow and evolve with the times. This is imperative for United to invest in new more about how they each contribute to
what makes United’s culture so strong. member growth, new technologies and the cooperative’s daily work processes.
to always strive to surpass the expecta-
As a cooperative, United isn’t moti- Nearly every decision made at United
Cooperative Services has to go through
several processes and steps before it is
finalized. To illustrate that point, I’ll use
United’s continually expanding service
area as an example. During this past
week, I was shown our new member
growth data—the growth United is not
only currently experiencing, but also
what is projected in the very near future.
In order to make sure provisions have
been made to accommodate expected
meter growth, planning is exhaustive.
For example, during my time with
employees from the system planning

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20B Texas Co-op Power UNITED COOPERATIVE SERVICES JULY 2016

ATIVE SERVICES

, TEXAS • 817-556-4000

United Member Service Representative
Kennedy Curlee gets an overview of
some of the cooperative’s fiscal
strengths from Vice President of
Accounting and Finance Russell
Young.

and engineering departments, I was from material cost analysis, staking United’s Facilities Department must
given the opportunity to see some of the and building new additions to the co- maintain a delicate balance between
current new construction happening in op’s distribution system—and all the material supply and demand, and remain
nearby communities, and the planning way down the line to the co-op’s very sensitive to inventory turnover rate.
process utilized to ensure the coopera- detailed member service response. Once inventory is bought and delivered,
tive will have the capacity to serve those Each department has a hand in turning it remains in the warehouse until it is
new growth areas. initial plans into a working reality, and used. If inventory turnover is low and the
then also in contributing to the aim of material sits for long periods of time,
Even though there are a number of providing both current and new mem- then it becomes dormant capital outlay.
communities in United’s service terri- bers with exemplary service value and And in reverse, a sufficient amount of
tory that are experiencing growth, service reliability. material must be kept on hand at all
Mansfield and Godley are expected to be times to meet every operational need of
hot spots for rapid residential and com- Another topic that really piqued my the cooperative So, in order to combat
mercial expansion. interest dealt with the philosophies either running out of items, or holding
United has adopted for securing the them too long, United employees keep
After sitting down with each depart- lowest possible variable costs. For careful track of major materials housed
ment, I was able to get a glimpse of the example, one step in minimizing mate- in the warehouses. This tracking is not
amount of e ort and time that go into rial costs includes the proper only key in the measure of the coopera-
establishing the most e cient means management of United’s fluxing ware- tive’s future plant investments, but it
for building and maintaining United’s house inventory. As one might expect, also helps United better determine
immense outlay of power line infra- operational e ciency in the field is where improvements can be made in
structure. It takes a lot of number greatly a ected by the co-op’s ability to
crunching and due diligence to ensure immediately meet material needs that Please see LOOKING GLASS, PAGE 23
the cooperative will always be flexible vary by the job and the scope of work.
enough to support immense growth—

: go online www.united-cs.com

JULY 2016 UNITED COOPERATIVE SERVICES Texas Co-op Power 20C

MEMBER UNITED COOPERA
P.O. BOX 16 • CLEBURNE,
SATISFACTION
Member
” Satisfaction
Remains
High

RAY BEAVERS

Strength of Character

So too, I hope we will M y -year-old when she is the one who is facing such a
always be looking for mother recently challenge. Mother told one of my sons
truth in actions and had some tests that she prays my wife Pat and I will not
not in words, integ- done that gave stress-out over her condition, because
rity instead of lies and us some grief. she sure isn’t going to. And in retrospect,
respect as opposed to After looking at I know my mother’s decision about how
disrespect—champi- the test results, her doctor referred her she would face this new reality was the
oning what is good to a specialist and as we had feared she right one for her, because she wants to
and honorable, was diagnosed with cancer after further enjoy her independence as long as she
always.” testing. can. She has reasoned the recent prog-
nosis doesn’t mean her mortality is
Ray Beavers is the CEO of Of course, when we heard the immediately imminent, and that if she
United Cooperative Services doctor utter the “C” word, our first nat- instead chose surgery or treatment there
ural reaction was one of shock and would certainly be no guarantee her
despair. However, my mother looked at quality of life would be greatly extended.
me and said, “Son, I am years old, I
don’t want to endure any more surgeries Mother’s strength comes from her
or go through the agony of treatments. character. She has always been true to
Please don’t worry about it, because I her faith and willing to help others even
trust the Lord and know He has better if she lacked the time and resources. Of
things in store for me.” course, she is a member of a generation
that gave of themselves regularly, as
Mother’s strength was so telling of opposed to the selfish and guarded
her life’s commitment to her family—she approach to life we often witness today
was worrying about her loved ones even

: go online www.united-cs.com

20D Texas Co-op Power UNITED COOPERATIVE SERVICES JULY 2016

ATIVE SERVICES

, TEXAS • 817-556-4000

ACSI expected of us,” said Beavers. Because of the cooperative’s
continued from PAGE 19 commitment to informing the membership about this busi-
ness they own, United employees are able to go the extra
“While our rates have consistently tracked lower than most mile for the members,” he said.
of those o ered across Texas’ deregulated retail electric market,
I believe the commitment United employees have in providing “For example, our linemen not only build and maintain
our members with safe, reliable power is why we’ve consistently our infrastructure, but they take the time to respond to
received high marks when it comes to service,” said United CEO member questions, educate members on ways to conserve
Ray Beavers. “As a member of an electric cooperative, you should energy and devote time to informing local community
receive personalized service you wouldn’t find if served by for- groups about how to be safe around electricity,” said
profit utilities and United employees deliver on that expectation Beavers. “I can say the same about each of our employees,
each day,” said Beavers. whether they are in member service, accounting, engi-
neering, etc. That is why I’m so proud that they’re being
“Providing good service means going beyond what is recognized with this most recent ACSI score,” he said.

in our society. For that reason alone, I Some of our folks had vacations sched- before we heard bad news from the
think many of us today are inspired by uled and canceled them to work on your doctor. Some may think she is in denial,
the values of the past, where people felt behalf. Some missed their children’s but really she is hitting her challenge
their purpose in life was to lift up others end-of-school award ceremonies and head on. Mother realizes life is not all
who were less fortunate, rather than activities, working instead for countless about her. She believes with all her
focusing only on their individual wants hours in the field. These folks don’t do heart heaven awaits her (even though
and needs. So too, I hope we will always this just for the money; they do this she isn’t rushing it). Instead, what is
be looking for truth in actions and not in because they put our membership before important to her is me, the last survivor
words, integrity instead of lies and they do themselves during times like of our immediate family. She wants us
respect as opposed to disrespect— these. They are people of character that both to enjoy what days we have left
championing what is good and do their jobs through a sense of purpose. together and without any over concerns
honorable, always. But if we truly Out of respect for the membership and or fanfare. She wants to make it easy on
cherish such ideals, we should convey for their cooperative; the employees feel Pat and me and the rest of the family,
them through our actions and in our they have been called to put all of their and she’s trying to do that by showing
lives, and at the same time teach our talents and skills into action, and to strength. Actually, I don’t know why I
kids and show our communities we serve others. should have expected anything dif-
believe these things are what God has ferent from Mother. After all, her son
asked of us. It is not someone else’s fault I am so proud to be associated with has been nurtured by her strength of
when things don’t always go our way; it these outstanding individuals. I feel character since the day she first brought
is our fault when we don’t deal with our blessed to have a family relationship him into the world.
challenges with a good sense of with them. The caring attitude exempli-
character. fied by the United employee group is not God bless you and keep you!
a common trait in most organizations,
This past month we have had our and that fact makes me even more proud
challenges at your cooperative. We have of them. Thankfully, our members see
endured storms with tremendous light- this dedication and regularly share their
ning, heavy downpours and high winds appreciation through both written com-
that caused tree limbs to sag into or ments and phone calls. The comments
whip our power lines—causing sporadic don’t fall on deaf ears. As we mentioned
outages throughout our entire service last month, every kind remark is shared
territory. A couple of our o ces took with all of our employees, and they go a
direct lighting strikes, which damaged long way in showing our employees they
our communications systems and are appreciated.
slowed our e orts to provide services in
those areas. But through every adver- While I was visiting with Mother
sity, United’s employees continued to last night there was a total sense of nor-
work day and night to restore service. malcy—it seemed there was nothing any
di erent about today than there was

: go online www.united-cs.com

JULY 2016 UNITED COOPERATIVE SERVICES Texas Co-op Power 21

OUTAGE UNITED COOPERA
P.O. BOX 16 • CLEBURNE,
Get inTEXTING
the Fast Feather Y
Lane With E

ŹNew smartphone option gives Efficiency
members an easier, more convenient
means to report outages and to Earn up to $110
UHFHLYH QRWL¿ FDWLRQ DERXW WKH VWDWXV RI for being energy efficient
their power restoration
United and Nest Labs, Inc. have
U nited Cooperative Services has a number of collaborated to bring members
ways to report an outage, but the cooperative like you a savings opportunity
recently introduced a new option that allows through a new program called
members to quickly text their outage conve- Rush Hour Rewards.
niently from their mobile telephones. IT’S EASY: United will pay
“Today’s consumers rely on mobile technology for a myriad members who own a Nest
of conveniences and necessities, so we wanted to make sure Learning Thermostat to use
we leveraged that vehicle so our members could, on those rare less energy when everyone
occasions when the lights go out, report their outages as effi- else is using more. And a Nest
ciently as possible,” said United Engineering Services Thermostat can dial in those
Manager Cory Menzel. “This free service allows members energy savings automatically.
with five or fewer accounts to report their outages in a
manner that goes directly to our outage management system Learn more about
so that a crew can be dispatched as quickly as safely pos- Rush Hour Rewards
sible,” he added. on opposite side.

For the option to work, it’s essential for United to have
the mobile phone numbers associated with an account.
Members should register their mobile phone number with
the cooperative’s information system by contacting their
local United office today.

How To Text
Your Outage

First, members must opt-in to utilize United’s outage texting
service. To accomplish this, text the word “United” to 85700. A
response will be generated confirming your service location.
Confirm service location by texting “A” (See screen shot on next
page).

Once a member has opted in to the outage texting service,
reporting is simple: Text “OUT” to 85700, then follow the

Continued on next page

: go online www.united-cs.com

22 Texas Co-op Power UNITED COOPERATIVE SERVICES JULY 2016

ATIVE SERVICES Continued from previous page

, TEXAS • 817-556-4000 prompts. When service is restored, members will receive a con-
firmation text that power has been restored.
Your Nest
Energy Members can follow the status of their reported outage
y Rewards online at http://outage.united-cs.com, as well as texting the
word ‘STATUS’ to follow restoration progress, via the phone,
Nest Learning Thermostats may be purchased online, or from a variety of retail outlets such as after an outage is reported.
Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy, etc.
LOOKING GLASS
www.united-cs.com continued from PAGE 20C

Here’s how it works: purchasing e ciency.
From my vantage point as both a United member ser-
• United wants to lower demand during energy rush hours, those
hot summer afternoons when everyone’s cranking up the air con- vices representative, and as the Assistant CEO of the
ditioning. Week, I have witnessed the strong sense of unity that
• The Nest Thermostat can help you use less energy by cooling exists between departments here at United. This all goes
your home down ahead of time and tweaking the temperature into what makes United’s culture so strong, because
up to three degrees during the rush hour. coworkers have a sense of appreciation for each other and
• You’re in control. If you’re home, Nest won’t let it get too hot. for our purpose in serving our membership. This opportu-
But if you start to feel warm, you can change the temperature at nity has let me better understand what could be
any time. considered “behind the scenes” work—a special employee
experience that is likely a rarity in most businesses across
Here are all the details: our nation. Every element of our collective work at United
is needed to keep United functioning in the most cost
• United will give you a $50 bill credit after the first summer season when you enroll in Rush Hour Re- e ective and member-focused way possible. This experi-
wards. Plus you’ll get $15 for each summer month you are enrolled—up to $60 a year for each Nest ence has only reinforced my belief that I am employed
Learning Thermostat in your home. with a company that never stops seeking ways to provide
• There will be a maximum of 15 three-hour rush hour events each summer. Rush hours will occur be- a better service experience for members at an a ordable
tween 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. on weekdays or weekends. You’ll only get one rush hour event a day, and there cost, nor in providing opportunities for its employees to
will never be more than three rush hour events per week. grow professionally under that service ethic.

: go online www.united-cs.com

JULY 2016 UNITED COOPERATIVE SERVICES Texas Co-op Power 23

UNITED COOPERA
P.O. BOX 16 • CLEBURNE,

Energy Audit Resources Help Memb

ENERGY LOSSES
continued from PAGE 20A

whether insulation is needed. When a BLOWER
blower-door test is performed, it helps DOOR
exaggerate and identify air leakage TEST
through defects in the building shell or
envelope. Another advantage obtained
through thermal imaging is the ability to
detect abnormally hot electrical connec-
tions or components in a home. While the
test can be conducted at any time of the
year, the most accurate test results are
obtained when there is a large tempera-
ture di erence between the inside and
outside air temperatures.

“The use of thermal imaging is a real
eye-opener for most members because it
can often help identify areas of the home
where air leakage is occurring,” said
United energy expert Kanyon Payne.

Thermographic or infrared cameras
have come a long way since Hungarian
physicist Kalman Tihanyi invented the
infrared-sensitive (night vision) camera
in . This type of technology is now
being used by firefighters to see through
smoke, find people and to detect hot spots
at fire scenes.

Many of United’s commercial and
industrial accounts are using this tech-
nology to identify overheating electrical
and mechanical equipment components,
which could eliminate potential hazards
and costly shut-downs. United
Cooperative Services chose to use this
technology to help aid its membership in
wasting less energy—ultimately saving
valuable energy dollars.

Blower-Door Test panel system. The fan is used to blow air most common testing method involves
into or out of the building to create a depressurizing the home by blowing air
A basic blower-door system includes small pressure di erence between out of the home. Outside air quickly tries
three components: a calibrated fan, a indoor and outdoor environments. The to make its way inside through any
door-panel system, and a device to mea-
sure fan flow and building pressure. The
fan is attached and sealed into an exte-
rior doorway using an adjustable door

: go online www.united-cs.com

24 Texas Co-op Power UNITED COOPERATIVE SERVICES JULY 2016

ATIVE SERVICES

, TEXAS • 817-556-4000

bers See Where Energy Losses Occur

avenue possible. This pressure di erence measurements of the amount of air eras save a considerable amount of
forces air through all holes and penetra- movement through the fan at specific time for energy auditors, because they
tions in the building enclosure, allowing house pressures. quickly pinpoint thermal flaws in the
for an assessment of a home’s air building shell.
tightness. While the computer records the data
required for the testing, United energy Controlling air leakage is one of the
The blower-door can be operated experts will walk from room to room, and most important functions of weather-
manually or can be hooked up to a laptop search for air leaks. Many leaks can be ization and comfort in a home, but is
computer. When United performs the found by feeling around with bare hands, often the most di cult to achieve
blower-door test on a member’s home, the but more subtle leaks often require the without the use of the resources avail-
blower-door is operated by a computer, use of an infrared camera. By using a able to United members during a home
which is used to record data. The com- thermal camera to quickly scan each energy audit. Members wishing to
puter signals the fan to increase or room of the home, auditors can detect schedule a free home energy audit, or a
decrease speed depending on the pres- energy losses that would have likely blower-door test, can contact United
sure of the home, and it takes gone unnoticed. As such, infrared cam- today at - - .

RATE WATCH

The data obtained to develop RATE WATCH is the most recent data available at the time
of publication and is sourced from several entities, including the U.S. Energy Information
Administration, Texas Electric Cooperatives and powertochoose.org. The above com-
parison is based on 2,000 kWh of use.

: go online www.united-cs.com

JULY 2016 UNITED COOPERATIVE SERVICES Texas Co-op Power 25