SC | co-op news YORK www.yorkelectric.net 1385 E. Alexander Love Hwy. York, SC 29745 1-866-374-1234 MEMBER SERVICES (803) 684-4248 MAIN OFFICE (803) 684-4247 (800) 582-8810 Hours: 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Friday FORT MILL OFFICE 2089 Hwy. 21 Bypass Fort Mill, SC 29715 (803) 548-4244 Hours: 8 a.m.–12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.–5 p.m. BOARD OF TRUSTEES E. Jack Cornwell Chairman, District 2 Max T. Settlemyre Vice Chairman, District 1 Richard B. Sadler Secretary/Treasurer, District 9 Richard M. Roach, District 3 Paul D. Poston, District 4 Carolyn Hicks Boyd, District 5 William Roy “Will” Mitchell, District 6 Marion Comer, District 7 Our linemen, our lifelines Tommie Bratton, District 8 PRESIDENT & CHIEF KEEPING YOUR LIGHTS ON is our priority at YEC. That’s why we focus on providing you with the best–the best service at the best price by the best people. I’m a little biased, but our employees are the best at taking care of you. Our members are always rst, even in the worst weather conditions. Our dedication to you is no small task. We are proud to say we have safely responded to more than 99 percent of outages in less than an hour and in doing so, won the 2017 safety award for the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina. To work quickly and safely takes skill, focus, discipline and determination. These qualities are found in each of our linemen who work tirelessly to keep your lights on each day. We train for the worst, never taking the hazards of our work for granted. Our linemen are the heartbeat of YEC, and we can’t thank them enough for their dedication. To celebrate their accomplishments, we join other cooperatives to celebrate National Lineman Appreciation Day on April 18. If you would like to show your support, write to us on social media, #YECLinemenRock, to share your thoughts. You can even get your kids involved! All rst-grade students are invited to participate in our annual Linemen Gear Up for Safety Coloring Contest. Go to our website to download the coloring sheet and learn more about the rst, second and third place winners. In addition to the hard work from our linemen, I would also like to share a few system upgrades that have decreased outage numbers and improved restoration times. We have: X Completed installations to update Tirzah substation and have started making additional improvements to our Lakeview and India Hook substations, increasing capacity and improving reliability. X Maintained a true ve-year rotation for right-of-way trimming. X Installed animal guards on a large portion of our system to prevent outages. Although we strive to keep your power on, sometimes outages are out of our control. To help you understand more about why outages occur, what we do to prevent them and our restoration process, check out our videos on social media where linemen share insight about outage situations. Empowering you about electricity not only keeps you safe, but knowledgeable about how your Cooperative is working for you. PAUL BASHA President and Chief Executive Officer YEC linemen Andy Lewis (left) and Stephen Clinton (right) work together to pull wire across a highway, strategically and safely working to accommodate oncoming traffic and hot overhead lines. EXECUTIVE OFFICER Paul Basha CO-OP NEWS EDITOR Joyce T. Baker FIND US ON 4 SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | MARCH 2018 | SCLIVING.COOP PORTER GABLE PORTER GABLE