December 2020 Highline Newsletter

Ask a Question:
With the latest COVID-19 restrictions in place, how is PEC helping members if their power goes out or they have difficulty paying their bill?

Answer:
We have a plan in place and have taken proactive measures to keep staff and members safe.  To ensure this, the lobby at our headquarters continues to be closed to the public and we are limiting who may enter the building.  If you need to drop off a payment, you can do so at the drop box located by the flagpole.  If you need to speak to a member services representative, you can call 800-214-2694.

We keep our staff healthy and safe so they can continue to serve members and ensure power is restored as quickly and safely as possible.  If you experience an outage, you can report it in three ways:

• Report automatically or talk to a member services representative at 800-214-2694.
• Text your outage through our outage texting service.
• Report the outage through SmartHub through the online portal or the app.

We continue to work with members by arranging payment plans and offering assistance during this unprecedented time.  Many energy assistance resources are available.  To learn more, visit our Energy Assistance page on the website or call 800-214-2694 anytime between 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

We are following the guidelines outlined by the State of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Health and are committed to ensuring you have reliable power during this time of uncertainty.

I can’t believe how much life has changed in such a short time!  One day we were preparing for our Annual Meeting, scheduling construction work, and going on with business as usual and within a matter of days everything changed. One thing that has remained the same, our focus on how to best serve our members.

In a short matter of time we: altered the Annual Meeting to allow the director election process to conclude on time while complying with cooperative bylaws and social distancing guidelines; implemented mitigation strategies to ensure the health of our workforce; and have been making adjustments to some of our policies and processes to help our members through this difficult time.

During this time of uncertainty, please be assured we will: 1) continue to provide power; 2) be available to serve you; and 3) not disconnect service if you are struggling to pay your bill.

As an electric utility, we have the responsibility to ensure we continue to provide safe and reliable electricity. Therefore, you will continue to see our employees out working in the field and responding to outages as quickly and as safely as possible. They are practicing social distancing by only having one person in a vehicle at a time and are parking vehicles at alternate locations so they can avoid entering our buildings as much as they can.

While our front lobby is closed, and our office staff are working remotely, please be assured that we remain available to serve you and are fully capable of responding to member needs.  This includes but is not limited to receiving and responding to phone calls and e-mails during normal business hours, processing member payments, answering account questions, and responding to power outages.

Please also know that staff and the Board are exploring ways we can help members through this uncertain time. One of our first steps was to suspend the disconnection of power for non-payment.  We just ask that you call us if you are experiencing circumstances related to COVID-19 that are affecting your ability to pay your bill.  We can discuss payment options and possible utility assistance programs, so you don’t fall too far behind.

We are also exploring our ability to adjust our rate change timeline.  For the past few months we’ve been talking about our five-year rate plan and were planning to share it at the Annual Meeting.  Given today’s circumstances, we are reconsidering the timeline and will keep you posted once final decisions are made.

As I stated earlier, our focus is on how to best serve our members and right now that is ensuring reliable power, a healthy workforce, and balancing the financial needs of our members with the financial health of the Cooperative to ensure we continue to provide the high level of service you have come to expect.

I encourage you to visit our website for the latest information or if you have any questions please email info@memberservices.com or call (800) 214-2694. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work together to navigate these uncertain times.

Stay healthy!

Mike

As we all adjust to the new realities brought on by COVID-19, I want you to know People’s Energy is dedicated to living up to the trust placed in us to deliver safe and reliable electricity.  During this time of uncertainty, please be assured we will: 1) continue to provide power; 2) be available to serve you; and 3) not disconnect service at this time if you are struggling to pay your bill.

As an electric utility, we have been directed by the President of the United States to continue our normal work to ensure safe and reliable electricity. The recently issued Coronavirus Guidance for America states, “if you work in a critical infrastructure industry, as defined by the Department of Homeland Security, you have a special responsibility to maintain your normal work schedule.” Rest assured your electric service will not be disrupted due to any pandemic related directive.

While our front lobby is closed, and office staff are working remotely, please be assured that we remain available to serve you and are fully capable of responding to member needs.  This includes but is not limited to receiving and responding to phone calls and e-mails during normal business hours, processing member payments, answering account questions, and responding to power outages.

If you’re home more during the day, you may have noticed our field employees working in your community.  In order to abide by social distancing guidelines, we are doing our best to distance employees from each other, members, and vendors to limit the possible spread of COVID-19.  For example, we are avoiding having more than one employee in a vehicle at a time.  Also, any member or vendor contact that can wait until a later date is being postponed. 

Lastly, if you are experiencing circumstances related to COVID-19 that are affecting your ability to pay your bill, please know People’s Energy will not disconnect your power at this time. That said, we ask that you call and discuss payment options and possible utility assistance programs to avoid falling too far behind.

Our focus here is on doing our part to keep your life as normal as possible through this situation and beyond. The cooperative way of doing business has brought us this far, and the cooperative way will help us through this crisis.

I encourage you to visit our website for the latest information or if you have any questions please email memberservices@peoplesrec.com or call (800) 214-2694. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work together to navigate these uncertain times.

Stay healthy, stay home, and we will get through this together…the cooperative way!

As the world faces enormous challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, we know there is widespread concern about public safety and business disruptions. I want you to know that People's Energy Cooperative is fully engaged on your behalf during this difficult time. We have put into place a mitigation strategy to help prevent the spread of the virus and are executing our business continuity plan to ensure we continue to best serve our members. Our plan includes engagement with policy makers on the state and federal level.

Because we provide a critical service, we are taking this matter very seriously and want to ensure that our staff stays healthy in order to best serve you, especially in the event outages occur. Therefore, effective at 4:00 p.m. on March 17, our front lobby was closed to the public until further notice. Our purpose in doing this is to help prevent any potential exposure to our employees.

Like all organizations, People's Energy Cooperative was forced to modify upcoming events including our 83rd Annual Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 24. The meeting will now be held in two parts. The sole purpose of the first part was to conclude board elections. Election results are posted on the front page of our website, along with our Facebook and Twitter pages.  Part two will involve all other agenda items normally part of the Annual Meeting and will be held on a date and time yet to be determined. Members will receive their $10 bill credit for attending part two of the meeting. 

As always, I appreciate your confidence and support. We are proud to assist our members as we work together to overcome this public health crisis.