Fall is here, putting those triple digit temperatures in the rearview mirror. As temperatures start to fall, Horry Electric needs your help to Beat the Peak throughout the fall and winter months.

Beat the Peak is a voluntary program for members, but joining means you can help prevent a heavy load on our system. When an abundance of members use power during these peak times, there’s a heavy demand on our system; therefore, Horry Electric is paying more to provide power.

Signing up is easy! Plus, it might get you some extra cash this holiday season! Any member enrolled in the Beat the Peak program by 11:59 p.m. on December 15, 2019 will be entered into a drawing to win a $1,000 Visa gift card! Participation is limited to one entry per account. The contest is open to other electric cooperatives across the state. The winner will be selected at random by December 20.

Click here for more information on the contest rules.

To sign up, all you have to do is enter your information and select if you’d like to receive peak alerts via phone call, text or email. With your help, we can work to bring down these peak power costs.

Fourth and fifth-grade students across South Carolina are invited to become book authors. The topic for 2019/2020 is new technologies in Energy.

The challenge is to help students learn about the history of electrification in the Palmetto state. Education, Training and Information is just one of the Seven Cooperative Principles and the opportunity to learn about the state’s energy history can only help expand their knowledge for future possibilities.

Students can compete on teams of up to four students and each team has to be registered by November 30, 2019. Students entered are responsible for writing and illustrating their book.

All books must be submitted to Horry Electric by Friday, January 31, 2020. Click here for more information on how to compete and for the challenge rules. The winning book will go on to compete in a statewide competition against other entries across South Carolina.

Horry Electric’s 2018/2019 winner was Marley Pelton (left), a fourth-grader at Daisy Elementary in Loris. Her book titled Einstein and His Electricity Adventure followed Einstein the guinea pig through the creation of electricity and the electric cooperative. Miguel Acosta (right), also a fourth-grader at Daisy Elementary, submitted his book into the contest. Pelton was a student of librarian Debra Rogers and both won $50 from Horry Electric for entering the contest.

 

 

A power blink is exactly what it sounds like. The power blinks off for a second, just like your eyes blink. You might not think anything of it, but after it happens a couple times, you may start to question the cause.

Members in the Socastee area recently experienced blinks several days in a row. Horry Electric’s servicemen and engineers investigated. They rode the lines, looking for the cause and made a discovery. It wasn’t mechanical. It wasn’t a tree. It wasn’t a snake. There was equipment damage and the culprits that did the damage were furry. Squirrels.

That’s right, guilty as charged.

A power blink is a brief interruption that’s designed to prevent a longer power outage. Blinks occur when an obstruction, like a tree limb, comes into contact with a power line or transformer. Wildlife, such as snakes and squirrels, can also cause blinks.

It’s fall, which means these animals are stocking up for the winter months. Squirrels tend to scamper across power lines to get from tree to tree.

It happens with underground service, too

Underground service is not immune to interference.  While some members on the system were experiencing blinks due to squirrel activity around overhead equipment, others were experiencing blinks followed by an outage due to cable damage apparently caused by termites.

That’s right. Termites. Crews spotted mud tubes and determined the culprits, in this case, were Formosan Termites.  This subterranean species of termites are known to be voracious and aggressive. They have been known to chew not only wood, but also flooring, wallpaper, and even the material used to make underground power cable.

If you experience a power blink, please call 843-369-2211 and let us know. More than likely, an animal is the cause of the problem. Regardless, we’ll investigate and get to the bottom of it. If you experience it more than once or twice, make a note of the date and time and please share that information when you call. It helps us

 

The August  2019 edition of South Carolina Living magazine has been uploaded to horryelectric.com!  It will be delivered to the mailboxes of subscribing members this weekend.

The main part of South Carolina Living magazine, which can also be found online includes the usual recipes, a list of festivals and events, plus a few feature articles about interesting people and places in our own state!

The August 2019 edition has six pages dedicated to local news about your co-op.   Highlights include: 

• CEO Column – Danny Shelley talks about ongoing efforts to learn about and research options that will benefit members
• WIRE, Youth Summit participants aid students in need
• Washington Youth Tour: In their own words – a great re-cap of the Youth Tour experience through the eyes of the students themselves.
• Three programs you’ll want to learn more about! Beat The Peak, Advance Pay and Bank Draft!

 

 

The fourth annual #WhoPowersYou contest, in partnership with Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, is here! Starting Monday, August 5, Horry Electric members and employees can nominate someone in their community for national recognition, plus a chance to win up to $5,000.

We’re looking for stories about our members making a positive impact in their community.

To nominate a local hero, click here and submit the nominee’s name, photo and a brief description of how they are making a difference in the community.

The contest runs through midnight on September 6, and winners will be announced in October.

A panel of judges will select the Grand Prize, Second Place, Third Place and Honorable Mention winners!

More than 50 high school students representing electric cooperatives across South Carolina, along with nine chaperones will be heading to our state’s capital next week. The students will spend four days in the Columbia area July 9-12 on the third statewide Cooperative Youth Summit.

The students are rising seniors and will get an introduction to cooperatives and the cooperative business model. Students will visit Newberry Electric’s solar farm, Riverbanks Zoo, and the Statehouse, complete with a tour and an explanation on lobbying. They will have the opportunity to hear from and speak with State Rep. Micah Caskey (District 89).

Students will get the chance to step into the shoes of a lineman during a visit to Mid-Carolina Electric. They’ll get to participate in lineworker education and a safety demonstration.

The summit wraps up with a tour of Richland County Landfill’s Gas-to-Energy Facility, followed by an electric vehicle presentation. Students will get the chance to step into a Tesla and learn all about how electric vehicles work.

Soda Pop Co-op is an added bonus on the trip. The students will elect a board and hire a manager to sell snacks and drinks throughout the trip. At the end, students will receive capital credits back, with the knowledge of how a cooperative runs.

The weather changes with each season and so should our home energy habits. We should make sure our habits adapt to each season, so here are a few suggestions to consider for the upcoming warm weather season.

A heat wave assaults the senses. You can feel the warmth on your skin, odors intensify, and you can see the heat rising from the pavement, bending upward in the sizzling temperatures.

What’s that you’re hearing? It’s your air conditioner running and the sound of your bank account drying up.

Heating and air conditioning your home can account for almost half of your home’s energy use, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Here’s how to cut those costs during the summer:

Improve plantings around your home

Most heat that accumulates inside a house comes directly from the sun shining on the roof or through the windows. Planting leafy trees around the exterior of your house helps block the sun from heating the inside of your home.

Even for the cost of going to the nursery and buying a 15-to-20-foot tall tree, this is still the best value.

If the tree or shrubs shade your air conditioner, you could increase your AC’s efficiency by up to 10 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Invest in window screens

Solar screens, or mesh-like window screens, intercept up to 70 percent of solar energy before it gets into the house. The Department of Energy says window screens are particularly effective on east-and-west-facing windows.

Window films are another option. They are transparent, metalized sheets that reflect heat before it can be transmitted through glass. However, windows must be shut for window films to work, while solar screens do double duty, keeping sun and insects out, even with the windows open.

Skip the boiling and baking

Skip the stove-top boiling and oven baking during hot spells. Reduce indoor heat by making microwave nachos or eating a cool salad. If you must boil pasta for tomorrow’s potluck, cook in the evening.

After cooking, turn on the kitchen exhaust, and turn on the bathroom exhaust after a hot shower.

Pay attention to speeds

Put the AC fan speed on high, except on especially humid days, says the U.S. Department of Energy. On humid days, place the speed on low. The slower the air movement through the air-conditioning equipment removes more moisture from the air, improving comfort in your home.

Don’t be quick to switch it on

Step in the shower, spray yourself with a water bottle, or use a cool cloth on the back of your neck. If you don’t cool off right away, don’t give up. Your comfort range depends on the temperatures you have experienced in recent days and weeks; changing habits takes time.

Tap into your HEC Energy Advisor Resources

Let us help with your plan for energy efficiency. Has your energy use been fluctuating? Are you looking for a practical way to save on your electric bill? Log onto www.horryelectric.com and try out these tips:

1. Sign up for Beat the Peak
   • Enter your information and we’ll either call, text, or email you when we’re about to experience a “peak” time
     • This means we’re expecting extremely high temperatures and members to be using lots of power during this time
   • We will give you some tips on how to help us Beat the Peak and lower the load on our system
2. Call us about our H2O Select program
   • If you’re in need of a new hot water heater, we offer rebates of $125 and $250 for qualifying installations
   • Members must agree to the installation of a load management control device
3. Take advantage of our Home Energy Suite
   • The Energy Advisor offers savings tips, an energy forecast and more.
   • You can also enter all the information about your home and the Energy Advisor will help generate your bill analysis
   • Other calculators are also included:
     • Appliance
     • Pool and Spa
     • Heat Pump
     • Water Heater and more!

You can always call our HEC Energy Advisors at 843-269-2211 if you have any questions.