Manager's Column 

Authored by: Richard Fowler, CEO

With the scare of the coronavirus, some things must change and some things must stay the same.

      In my 30 years at Howard Electric, we have never had to close our lobby, but with this virus, that’s exactly what we did for the safety of our members and our employees. With that said, there are many ways to pay your bill; SmartHub, bank draft, night deposit, mail, and our automated payment system over the phone.

      In my 30 years at Howard Electric, we have never postponed our annual meeting, but for the safety of our members, your board made that decision in March. The last thing we want to do now, is to serve buffet food to 600 of our members in the tight confines of the Fayette gym. With that said, your board of directors voted to refund $150,000 of capital credit checks which should be mailed out to you in late May – early June.

      In my 30 years at Howard Electric, there has never been a month that I have not met with your board of directors to go over the business of your cooperative, and yet with this virus scare, we are warned to no longer meet in person. With that said, thanks to technological opportunities and the skills of our employees, we can still meet virtually.

      In my 30 years at Howard Electric, we’ve never worked in split shifts at Howard Electric’s Fayette office, but with this virus scare, we are working in shifts to make sure if the virus spreads among one shift, we have another shift to bring in – to keep the lights on. The last thing you want during this virus scare is to lose your power. With that said, we have some incredibly devoted employees that have demonstrated in the past that they are willing to go above and beyond what it takes in serving our members, and I know they will do it now as well. We are very fortunate to have the employees we have.

We are also very fortunate to have the power suppliers we have. Here is what Associated Electric has shared with us in regards to your power supply; “Associated Electric Cooperative has a longstanding and specific plan designed to address pandemics like COVID-19 and has been working proactively to ensure it is prepared for any impacts of the global pandemic. No negative impacts to delivery of electricity have occurred or are expected due to this pandemic.”