Preparing to Serve You Better Rural Living

Providing reliable power to you is and will always be top priority for Tri-County Electric Cooperative (TCEC). These days, power reliability seems to be making news more than ever.

Board of Trustees

As the energy industry continues to transition and more segments of the economy are becoming electrified, such as vehicles, machinery and even lawn equipment, additional pressures are being placed on our nation’s electric grid.

With summer storm season upon us, I thought it would be a good time to tell you about a few measures we’re taking to ensure you continue receiving the reliable power you depend on and deserve.

Let me be the first to say I love trees and the charm they add to our communities, and I know you do too. While trees provide shade and add beauty to our area, you may be surprised to learn that overgrown vegetation accounts for about half of all power outages.

TCEC Staff

Julius Hackett, Chief Executive Officer

Jeff Brewer, Vice President of Engineering

Eileen Herndon, Vice President of Corporate Services

John Tuten, Vice President of Operations

Wendell Williams, Vice President of Finance

Tri-County Electric Cooperative Rural Living, the voice of your member-owned electric cooperative, is published bimonthly — more if necessary — at no subscription cost to the membership. The publication team is comprised of TCEC employees. Postage is paid at Tallahassee, Fla.

Publication Team

Julius Hackett, Chief Executive Officer

Eileen Herndon, Vice President of Corporate Services

Kaitlynn Culpepper, Community Relations Director Publisher

Joanna Forrester

Printed on Responsibly Forested Paper Tri-County Electric Cooperative 2862 West US 90 Madison, FL 32340 www.tcec.com 1-800-999-2285

That’s why we strive to keep the co-op’s power lines clear in right-of-way (ROW) areas. A ROW area is the land a co-op uses to construct, maintain, replace or repair underground and overhead power lines. This ROW enables TCEC to provide clearance from trees and other obstructions that could hinder distribution power lines. The overall goal of our vegetation management strategy is to provide reliable power to our members while maintaining the beauty of our area.

Modernizing Vegetation Management

Generally speaking, healthy trees don’t fall on power lines, and clear lines don’t cause problems. Proactive trimming and pruning keep lines clear to improve power reliability. However, traditional vegetation management is costly and time consuming. It entails on-the-ground, labor-intensive efforts involving dozens of workers assessing vegetation and overseeing the quality and completion of contractor work. Although this approach has worked for decades, advances and improvements in technology have allowed us to reduce our costs and improve efficiency.

Fiber-to-the-home Internet Service

Preparedness is key to success. While we prioritize preparing our infrastructure to continue to provide reliable power to our members, we also prioritize preparing for the future of the communities we serve. Our broadband fiber to the home internet project will better situate our system and our members for future advancements in technology and the continuously evolving opportunities of high-speed internet connection.

Powering Education

Through our Energizing Education scholarship program, TCEC has awarded $52,500 in scholarships to students preparing for their future education. Read more about these deserving students on page 6. TCEC is your electric cooperative, and we will continue to serve you and power your future.

ON

–TCEC Lineman

Board Meetings