WCEC will be hosting another blood drive at the Wharton County Electric Cooperative, Inc.'s headquarters parking lot on July 9th, 2009 from 7:00 am to 9:30 am. Not only are you helping those who are in need, but it may be for your own benefit.
All donors receive a Beach Towel.
Donate twice this summer & receive a special gift! A $20 HEB gift card to those who give blood twice between May 1st and September 30th this summer.
"The mission of the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center is to collect blood and tissue from volunteer donors and to provide the community with the highest quality health care at the lowest possible cost." http://www.bloodntissue.org
Information on the benefits of donating:
* Type O negative blood is called the "universal blood type" because it can be transfused to people of all blood types. Type O positive can be given to anyone with a positive Rh factor.
* People do not donate enough blood to keep up with the needs of patients.
* If half the people who donate one time a year were to donate a second time, there would be no shortages of blood.
* Many people consider it a right to receive blood when needed, but don't often consider the responsibility of giving blood to maintain the community supply for others.
Not all homes will qualify for these credits but the credits are available for many products that are rated very high in efficiency. Even if you do not qualify for these credits it is a good decision to purchase Energy Star rated appliances to ensure you are getting an efficient appliance.
The appliances must be put into service between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2010.
It is important to save all receipts and documentation along with the Manufacturer Certification Statement to ensure you receive your credits.
Unlike some of our competitors you can report your electric service interruptions and disturbances to WCEC at our local telephone number 24/7, 365 days a year including holidays. Just call 979 543-6271 at any time and one of our employees or an associate will answer and respond to your needs.
Sometimes during large outages you may experience a busy signal when you call. Please be patient because we may be experiencing a large volume of incoming telephone calls and we simply can’t answer all of them at once. Please call again after a reasonable amount of time has passed. You may also want to inquire with your neighbor about their power. But rest assure, we will respond to all power interruptions as quickly and safely as we can.
To expedite your call, please have pertinent information ready such as the name of the individual or entity responsible for the account, the map reference number, or the account number. All of this information can be found on your electric bill. Please report any downed poles or lines that you see, however be safe and stay completely away from these facilities.
Click the Read More link below to read the full article.
In an effort to reduce postage and paper usage, WCEC has recently started providing Invoice Billing to members that currently have more than one account. The invoice bill will have a summary of all the accounts with a remittance stub. This stub will have a single total of all accounts and should be returned with your payment. On the next page you will also have the various items that are listed on the single bills.
Should you have multiple accounts with WCEC, please contact our offices to be added to invoice billing. You will then see the invoice bill on your next statement.
Please return the remittance stub with your payment to ensure a prompt posting of your payments.
At WCEC, I have the privilege of working with some of the most talented, caring people I have ever known. Our employees are a group of highly trained dedicated individuals who daily go out of their way to help WCEC members and the community.
Through the years, I have seen employees work tirelessly through all sorts of difficulties. Whether it be an ice storm, a flood, or a stressful computer conversion, WCEC employees put in the time necessary to get the job done with smiles on their faces.
Our employees volunteer their time to a large number of community, civic, religious, and youth groups without expecting recognition or praise. They have banded together over the years to help those less fortunate. After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, WCEC employees donated to relief efforts with the coop donating matching funds. One employee handed me an envelope with a rather large amount of cash in it and asked that the donation be made anonymously. These actions demonstrate the quality of people you have working for you every day.
June and July have gone into the record books for record setting high electric usage and bill levels.
In June of 2008, members used more electricity than any month in the history of WCEC. Historically, August is the highest use month during a year and at the time of writing this article; we still do not have those usage numbers.
To compound matters our power cost from our supplier has been higher this year with natural gas going as high as $13 per million BTU’s. (A few years ago we purchased fuel for less than $2 per million.)
Many people believe that the earth is warming abnormally due to carbon dioxide produced when fossil fuels are burned in cars, planes, trucks, heaters and power plants. There is indeed evidence that the earth is warming but it is only opinion that it is caused by man’s activity. The opinion is becoming so emotional that it has become political… science and reason seem to be going out the window.
Rural Texas is losing political clout in the state and federal legislatures. It is a sad reality that urban areas now dominate the elections of state and federal representatives leaving rural and agricultural interest out in the cold.
Wirehand Wireless along with WildBlue Satellite Internet gives WCEC the ability to offer several high speed packages of internet access.
At a strategic planning session of directors and management staff last summer, one of the strategies for success of the future of Wharton County Electric Cooperative was to have broad band high speed internet service available in rural areas.
HURRICANE PLANNING
The full-fledged hurricane season will be on us again in the next few weeks. Now is the time to plan. WCEC personnel have been conducting serious hurricane planning based on the damage and experience of east Texas electric cooperatives and the coops in the Louisiana area. We have learned much from sending employees to help in those areas and by making on-site visits after the hurricane restoration to better prepare WCEC for such an eventuality. Experts say that weather trends indicate a period the next few years of higher than normal hurricane activity.
Worried about increased usage of electricity? We have compiled a list of things that you can do as a homeowner to reduce the amount of wasted energy used on a daily basis:
Online Bill-Pay
Click the image above to pay your Electric or Internet bill online. Or, go directly to http://ebill.wcecnet.net or Pay by Phone at 979-543-5394.
Connections.coop
Click above to see details on local and national discounts.
Tips of the day
*If you use computers, have the monitors shut off if you prefer to leave the computer running. Recent survey's have shown that computers on 24/7 have contributed to approximately $25-$35/month in energy bills.
Energy Conservation
Click below to find out how to lower your electric bill.
About WCEC 
Some of the items included are:
Unlike some of our competitors you can report your electric service interruptions and disturbances to WCEC at our local telephone number 24/7, 365 days a year including holidays. Just call 979 543-6271 at any time and one of our employees or an associate will answer and respond to your needs. 
