Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative, Inc. is a
member owned organization providing competitive rates and reliable service, while
enhancing the quality of life of our neighbors in the Suwannee River Valley.
Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative, Inc. welcomes the opportunity to provide
you, the member-consumer, with electric service. SVEC is a not for profit, rural
electric cooperative owned by its member-consumers. We would like to provide you
with answers to questions you may have about SVEC.
SVEC provides electricity to residential, farm, and commercial consumers in
Suwannee, Lafayette, Hamilton, and Columbia counties. SVEC serves over
26,000 electric meters and maintains approximately 4,051 miles of energized
lines - enough to reach from Miami, Florida to San Francisco, California.
Each SVEC member-consumer with at least one electric service is a voting member
in the business affairs of the Cooperative, subject to the provisions of the
Bylaws.
The member-consumers of SVEC meet annually to transact business and to elect
Trustees whose term of office has expired. Nine Trustees serve for three year
terms. The Board of Trustees establishes operating policies and exercises all
powers of the Cooperative except those powers reserved to the member-consumers,
or delegated to the Executive VP & General Manager.
SVEC has five divisions which
report to the Executive VP & CEO
Member Services
– Billing, Collections, Capital Credits, Service Orders, Energy Tips
Accounting &
Administrative Services – Accounting, Payroll, Human Resources,
Benefits
Engineering -
New Service & Service Upgrades
Operations -
Line Construction and Maintenance
Proceurement &
Information Technology - Purchasing, Metering, Meter Reading, I.T.
Our office hours are 8 am to 4:30 pm, Monday - Friday. Phone and Drive Through hours are 8 am to 5
pm. The phone number for members living in Suwannee & Lafayette Counties is
(386) 362-2226. For members in Hamilton & Columbia Counties, the toll free
number is (800) 447-4509. The fax number is (386) 362-1456 or (386) 364-5008.
An applicant for new electric service completes a Residential
Application
or Commercial
Application , meets the General Requirements for Service
and pays a $5.00 membership fee when the first
service connection is requested. The $5.00 membership fee is refundable upon
termination of service with SVEC. For natural persons, membership may be in an
individual name or joint with a spouse, joint property owner, or co-resident.
$25.00 Connect Charge - a non-refundable charge which is paid for each service
connection requested.
$50.00 After Hours Charge - a non-refundable charge which is in addition to the
$25.00 connect charge for regular service connections requested after normal
business hours.
$25.00 Meter Test Charge - a non-refundable charge when a member requests a
meter test.
Returned Check Charge - If a check is returned by your bank, a service charge
will be added to your account. If two checks are returned by your bank within a
twelve (12) month period, your account becomes a "cash only" account for
payments you make for the next twelve (12) months.
Security deposits are
required on all meters.* Your security deposit is based upon the type of
service you request:
Residential Service* - For each meter connected, a security deposit of
$250.00 if you own the property or $500.00 if you rent the property is
required. Proof of ownership is required.
General Service -
Small & Large Commercial*
- For each meter connected, a security deposit of $300.00 or 2 ˝ times the
projected one month bill at the billing location, whichever is greater, is
required. The amount of security deposit may be adjusted after three (3)
months of usage if there is any substantial variance in the estimate from
actual usage.
*For all types of
service, a deposit will not be required if the applicant has been a consumer
of any electric utility, and the new service is of the same type service as
that with the previous supplier, and their payment and credit history shows a
satisfactory record for the most recent twelve (12) months. During the most
recent twelve (12) months, the applicant has been delinquent in payment not
more than one time of any obligation to the electric utility, has not appeared
on any cutoff list of the electric utility, has not had any check payable to
the electric utility dishonored, has not been responsible for any meter
tampering nor current diversion, and has not otherwise violated any rules or
policies of the electric utility.
Outdoor Lighting - For members with an existing service, deposit for an
outdoor light
is waived.
The security deposit is
not considered advance payment of your electric bill, and will be applied to
unpaid bills only after service is disconnected. Payment history is reviewed
from time to time and your security deposit may be increased as stated in the
Cooperative’s security deposit policy.
Interest on your
deposit is paid by credit to your electric bill twice a year. The rate shall
be competitive with current market rates in effect at that time. The rate is
established by the Board of Trustees.
Your account is assigned a cycle which is determined by the geographic location
of your meter. The SVEC service area is divided into approximately 9 cycles.
Your meter reading date and billing date are scheduled based upon your
geographic area and assigned cycle. Your meter is read monthly, around the same
time each month, and within a few days a bill is produced and mailed to you.
Your bill is due and payable upon receipt; however, a 20 day grace period is
extended to allow you time to mail or deliver your payment to our office. The 20
day grace period applies only to the current portion of your bill. A
penalty will be added to your bill if we do not receive payment by the due date.
The penalty is calculated at 5 % or $5 dollar minimum whichever is greater on
the unpaid past due balance. A return envelope is enclosed with the bill, for your
convenience in returning your payment by mail. A night depository is
available at our office to pay your bill by check or money order after hours.
For information on
paying your bill automatically by bank draft please
click here or you may contact
our Member Services
Department. Payments to your account may be in the form of cash, check or
money orders payable to SVEC. (no two party checks.) You can pay your bill
also at First Federal Bank in Jasper, Mayo, Dowling Park, and Lake City.
After twelve months
of billing history, Budget Billing is available to help you budget your monthly
expenses.
A reminder notice will be mailed to you if your payment is not received by our
office on or before the due date. If you receive a reminder notice, you should
contact our office immediately; otherwise, your service could be subject to
disconnection. If you do not contact our office, and payment is not
received by 8 am on the scheduled collection date, the service will be disconnected and you will have to
contact our office to make arrangements to have your service reconnected. If we
agree to reconnect your service, the past due balance must be paid in full and
all service charges must be paid:
* $35.00 Trip Charge when our serviceman is sent to your location to disconnect
the meter for a
past-due bill.
* $35.00 Reconnect Charge when service is reconnected during normal business
hours as a result of disconnection for non-payment.
* $60.00 After Hours Charge in addition to the $35.00 reconnect charge for
reconnection for non-payment after regular business hours.
You
You may be required to pay an increased deposit, depending upon your payment
history, and your monthly average bills:
* The first time service is disconnected, the
security deposit for residential and agricultural services will be increased
to $300.00.
* The second or subsequent time
residential or agricultural service is disconnected for non-payment, or
anytime that small or large commercial service is disconnected for
non-payment, the deposit will be reviewed and will be increased as needed to
equal $300.00 or 2 ˝ times the average bill of the past twelve (12) months of
billing history at the service location, whichever is greater.
Increased security deposits will be
reduced after twelve (12) consecutive months of on-time payments, and only
upon the written request of the member-consumer. The security deposit will be
reduced to the minimum security deposit currently in effect for their rate
type.
YOUR METER - If you need to access your meter base for electrical
repairs, you must contact our Service Department first. If you accidentally cut
the seal on your meter, promptly notify our Service Department. The seal
protects untrained persons and small children from serious injury or death.
OUTDOOR LIGHTS - Several sizes and types of outdoor, maintenance free
outdoor lights are available for a small monthly charge.
Call
the office for
more details or
click here.
FAX SERVICE - If you need to send or receive a document by FAX, the
Cooperative's fax machine is available for use by our members during regular
office hours. The charge for this service is based upon the minutes in use. Fax
Charges - $1.00 per minute to transmit, $ .50 per minute to receive. Limit 6
pages.
POWER OUTAGES
During normal business hours, please dial our 24 hour dispatcher at 386-364-5200.
Residents in Columbia and Hamilton Counties may call toll-free, (800) 752-0025.
During storms and busy periods, you will reach the Cooperative's automated
outage response system.
This system is easy to use. The instructions will enable you to expediently
report your service outage. The system works best if we have the telephone
number where your service is located. The system matches the telephone number
you key with the information for your account and automatically generates a
trouble ticket for the dispatcher. If your telephone number is not on file with
us, the system defaults to a recording and requests you to leave your name,
number, and a brief description of your trouble. These calls are retrieved
manually by the dispatcher.
Outdoor
Lighting Out?
If
your outdoor light is out or malfunctioning, please call us so that the
light can be repaired. When reporting a problem, SVEC would like the
following information so that we can make the repair and contact you if there
should be any questions:
Contact
information to include your name, address and telephone number.
Members are asked to provide their account
number if possible.
Specific street address
of where the outdoor light is located.
A description of where
the outdoor light is located on the property.
A description of the
type problem with the outdoor light.
Following
these procedures will help ensure the proper response for your request.
We certainly appreciate your help in this matter.
To report an inoperative or
malfunctioning outdoor light, please call (386)362-2226 or 1-800-447-4509 for Hamilton & Columbia service areas.
One of the benefits of being a member of an electric cooperative is that you
earn capital credits. For each active service you have on our line, the revenue
portion you were billed (patronage) for the year is recorded in a capital credit
account in your name. At the close of each business year, when the Cooperative
shows a net profit, a percentage of your billed revenue for the year is posted
to your account as margins.
PAYMENT OF CAPITAL CREDITS
Each year that a capital credit refund is authorized by the Cooperative's Board
of Trustees, a percentage of your prior years' margins is refunded to you. With
SVEC's current Capital Credit Policy, you will not be eligible for a refund
until you have been an active member for at least five years, and, you may not
receive a Capital Credit Refund the first year you become eligible. If the
amount of the calculated refund is less than five dollars ($5.00), it will be
held in your account and added to your next annual refund. Active members will
receive their refund in the form of a credit on their bill. Former members will
receive a check. If you move out of our service area, please keep us notified of
your current address to ensure you receive any annual refund checks we mail to
you. Upon the death of a member, or one of the joint members if the
account is a joint membership, the unpaid capital credit balance may be
transferred to the co-owner, or in the case of an individual member, to the
heirs. Contact our office for more information on this benefit.
RESIDENTIAL SERVICE - Rate 1 -
Customer Facilities Charge $9.75 month
Energy Charge 9.920 cents per Kwh
Plus or minus Wholesale Power Adjustment*(WPCA)
$1.00 per KVA over 10
Minimum bill - $20.00
GENERAL SERVICE (Demand under 50 Kw) - Rate 5 -
Customer Facilities Charge $12.00 month
Energy Charge 10.40 cents per Kwh
Plus or minus Wholesale Power Adjustment*(WPCA)
$1.00 per KVA over 10 KVA
Minimum bill - $20.00
GENERAL SERVICE (Demand 50 Kw or more) - Rate 7 -
Customer Facilities Charge $41.05 month
Demand Charge $ 6.16 per KW
Energy Charge 7.800 cents per Kwh
Plus or minus Wholesale Power Adjustment*(WPCA)
GENERAL SERVICE (Optional Time of Use) Customer Facilities Charge $12.00 month
On Peak Energy Charge 12.5 cents per Kwh
Off Peak
Energy Charge 8.0 cents per Kwh
Plus or minus Wholesale Power Adjustment*(WPCA)
$1.00 per KVA over 10 KVA
Minimum bill - $20.00
(Offered as an optional General Service Rate for establishments
with less than 100 kW monthly demand
and requires this service to be received for a minimum of
12 months)
GENERAL SERVICE (Large Demand 500 KW or more – GSLD) – Rate 9 –
Customer Facilities Charge $41.05 month
Demand Charge $8.40 per KW
Energy Charge 3.500 cents per Kwh
Plus or minus Wholesale Power Adjustment*(WPCA-1)
The highest demand measured in a 15 minute period during
the billing month
Demand Minimum- $4,200.00
GENERAL SERVICE (Large Demand Time of Use)– Rate LDLM–
Consumer Charge $410.00 month
Consumer Peak Demand Charge $2.00 per KW (12 mths)
On Peak Demand Charge $8.40 per KW (8 mths Jun-Sep & Dec-Mar)
Energy Charge 2.903 cents per Kwh
Plus or minus Wholesale Power Adjustment*(WPCA-1)
Minimum bill – See Rate Schedule for details.
Consumer Peak Demand – The maximum kilowatt load used by consumer for any period
of 15 consecutive minutes as indicated or recorded by Coop’s demand meter during
the billing period.
On Peak Demand - The maximum kilowatt load used by consumer for any 60
consecutive minutes during On-Peak Period as defined in rate schedule.
***Note: The above information regarding rates applies to
existing outdoor lighting services. All requests for new installations of
Outdoor Lighting must be handled through our engineering department.
Please contact our engineering department if you need information regarding a
new installation.
**Mercury Vapor lights are no longer available for new installations.
All Rates, Plus Gross Receipts Tax & Other Taxes, as applicable.
*Wholesale Power Adjustment (WPCA) – All energy charges shall be increased or
decreased by 1/10th mill ($.0001) per kilowatt hour for each 1/10 mill or major
fraction thereof, by which the average wholesale power cost per kilowatt hour
sold for the preceding th exceeds or is less than 73.0 mills ($.0730).
*Wholesale Power Adjustment (WPCA -1) – All energy charges shall be increased or
decreased by 1/10th mill ($.0001) per kilowatt hour for each 1/10 mill or major
fraction thereof, by which the average wholesale power cost per kilowatt hour
sold for the preceding month exceeds or is less than 40.73 mills ($.04073) for
calendar months of Jan – Mar, Jun – Sep, and Dec, and 28.39 mils ($.02839) for
calendar months of Apr, May, Oct, and Nov.
Interest on Deposits - Effective July 1, 1997, the current rate of interest paid
on all security deposits is 2%, paid bi-annually by credit on your electric
bill.
