Tuesday, October 15th, ANR Educator, Ariel Camm-Wilson put on a Solar Seminar for those in Harrison County. With over 20 individuals coming to the workshop, she invited guest speaker Nick Geswein to the stage to educate and inform the Community about Residential and Agricultural Solar options.
Topics explored included:
Personal Goals
Types of Solar Systems
Cost associated with a solar system
What to consider before installing solar
Different types of panels
The most important topic, How You Use Your Energy
This was a great way for our community members to learn about a topic that is fairly new to the area. Thank you REMC for a great partnership and assisting in educating our amazing community.
A few Harrison REMC linemen competed at the Indiana Electric Cooperative Lineman Rodeo, held Aug. 24-25 in Danville. The two-day event showcased the skills and safety training of electric cooperative lineworkers.
Harrison REMC sent one team and four individuals to the state competition. The linemen competed in events that test skills such as pole climbing, hurt man rescue and safely changing electric line hardware. A total of 28 teams and 102 individuals from 24 Indiana electric cooperatives competed in this year’s event.
The following linemen represented Harrison REMC at the rodeo:
Kody Kennedy, Lineman, 1st place overall Journeyman Lineman, 2nd place Security light repair event, 3rd place Hurt man rescue event.
Rusty Thomas, Lineman
Trysten Williams, Lineman
Jacobb White, fourth year apprentice
As a team they placed 1st in the Hurt man rescue, 2nd in the A5 transfer, 3rd in transformer change.
“We’re proud of the Harrison REMC linemen who competed in this year’s rodeo,” said David Lett, CEO. “Harrison REMC linemen have a lot of pride in the work they do, and they demonstrated their skills and dedication to their craft.”
The Indiana Electric Cooperative Lineman Rodeo recognizes and rewards excellence in safety, skill and knowledge in the line worker field. Official results from the 2023 Indiana Electric Cooperative Lineman Rodeo will be posted at goiec.org/INLinemanRodeo.
Each year Harrison REMC is excited to shine the spotlight on our youth programs and those youth in the community that take part in them.
Harrison REMC sponsors programs to benefit middle and high school students in learning more about energy, the cooperative business model, history, government, and much more. Below are the youth programs offered.
Page Day
Spend Jan. 25 at the Statehouse! Students get the opportunity to learn about their state government and how bills become law. Students may have the opportunity to see the Indiana Legislature in action and meet their legislator. This program is open to high school students.
The deadline to apply is Jan. 11, 2023.
Cooperative Calendar Art Contest
Indiana K-12 students are invited to enter the Cooperative Calendar of Student Art Contest for a chance to illustrate an award-winning wall calendar. Each year, 13 first-place winners and honorable mention winners will have their artwork featured in the calendar and will receive cash prizes.
Submission deadline is March 24, 2023.
Indiana Youth Tour
During the month of June, Indiana’s electric cooperatives sponsor a weeklong all-inclusive trip to Washington, D.C. This year the trip is from June 11-18 and is open to current high school juniors whose parent/guardian is served by Harrison REMC. This trip includes visiting many historic sites, visits with Indiana congressional leaders and a youth event with other students from around the country.
Deadline to apply is March 1, 2023.
Camp Kilowatt
Camp Kilowatt will be held June 7-10 at Camp Tecumseh in Brookston, Indiana. Students who are currently in sixth grade and whose parents/guardians are served by Harrison REMC are eligible to apply. The camp offers traditional outdoor activities along with environmental education, electrical safety practices and cooperative business education.
Deadline to apply is March 1, 2023.
Harrison REMC scholarship
Each year, Harrison REMC offers a $1,000 scholarship to one student from each participating high school. This is open to high school seniors whose parents/guardians are served by Harrison REMC. Applicants must be attending full time (12 credit hours) for the fall 2023 semester. They must also be attending a college or university located within the Indiana counties of Clark, Floyd, or Harrison as well as Jefferson County in Kentucky.
Applications must be postmarked by March 24, 2023.
Your rates for electric service have been reduced by approximately $0.0016 per kWh used due to the repeal of Utility Receipts Tax included in the House Enrolled Act 1002 by the Indiana General Assembly.
Now that in-person meetings are being held; our Energy Advisor Nick Geswein attended the Indiana Electric Cooperatives Member Service Spring Meeting a few weeks ago. The meeting was in Indianapolis and Nick decided to drive our fully electric Chevy Bolt to learn about the advantages and possible shortcomings that may be involved with driving a fully electric vehicle on a 134-mile trip.
Last fall he traveled to Evansville where he did not get the estimated range (miles per charge) due to the cold temperatures and speeds higher than 55 mph. He experienced a 20%-30% reduction in the projected range on that trip. Electric vehicles like combustion vehicles, don’t get the best efficiency when you travel at speeds above 55 mph. Electric vehicles also loose range due to colder temperatures. There are advancements that will hopefully continue to help electric vehicle improve their performance in cold temperatures, for example some EV manufactures are considering heat pump technology in the vehicles to reduce range loss and gain efficiency. The good news is Nick was able to find a parking garage in Evansville for FREE public charging while he was in his conference during the day, and he then came back to a full charge for the trip back. A positive thing he learned during this trip was that cruise control on an EV is smooth, quiet, and the speed does not fluctuate up and down on hills like many of the current combustion powered vehicles.
Back to the Indianapolis trip, the vehicle charged while he slept the night before heading to Indy. No gas station trip needed. He started out with a projected range of 210 miles. The trip was supposed to be 134 miles to his destination. It was very cold and ended up snowing later in that day and the temperature was between 35-38 degrees. Due to his experience in range reduction on the cold trip to Evansville, he decided to only use the heat when his feet or hands got cold to help get more range (every 20 minutes or so). He did use the heated steering wheel feature, as well as the heated seats. He was able to make it all the way to his 134-mile destination with no stops needed and traveling right at or just over the 70-mph speed limit. He had 70 miles projected range still available upon arrival. So, the trip took an extra 6 miles than the car’s starting projection for the trip. Not bad considering the temperature and the higher speed.
The meeting location had a number of EV chargers, so Nick was able to plug the car and attend the conference. When the conference was over, about 7 hours later the car was fully charged and ready again!
On the way back, he was feeling more confident with the range. He used the heat all the way back with the heated steering wheel and heated seats. He was not as concerned with trying to travel at slower speeds and it was lighlty snowing and still around 35 degrees. The projected range at the start was 213 miles.
He made it back with 83 miles of range left in the battery. So, it did better by about 4 miles of range than its initial trips project, even having used the heat and not being as caution on limiting the speed on the way back.
Nick did not need to make a stop for gas on the way there or the way back which made the drive time faster compared to having to stop at a gas station for a combustion vehicle. If he had not been able to charge at the conference or overnight at his hotel, he could have visited a level 3 fast charger on the way back. Most vehicles that are fast charge capable, can get an 80% charge in 40 mins. Nick stopped by a Culver’s on the way back for lunch which took about 40 minutes that he could have very easily timed with a stop to one of the faster chargers to keep from adding much time to the trip if needed. This will surely improve as more of these faster chargers are installed along the expressways and highways, but it is something to consider currently. Not every trip will go as planned right?
Now, what did this trip cost? It took about 55 kwh of electricity both ways (110 kwh). At a 10 cent a kwh electric charge the trip there and back cost $12.10. Yep, that is the correct amount. You can do the math on what it would cost your vehicle to do that trip, but Nick said it would have been a $35 to $50 expense in gasoline costs with his Hyundai Sonata depending on the fluctuating gas pricing.
Check out our Choose EV section on our website for a helpful calculator where you can compare combustion cars gasoline costs with your choice of an EV’s electric costs.
Nick said the trip reaffirmed for him that EV’s are an excellent transportation option for some right now and the number of people it is right for will grow as the EV’s continue to evolve and improve. It will also be better for traveling as we see more of these charging stations installed and available. He said that it was “Fun” to drive. He said that I-65 can get busy and a bit hairy alongside some of those big semi’s, but he felt very safe being able to quickly accelerate away from the nerving scenarios with the EV’s high amount of accelerating torque. For him it shows that EV’s are a great option for transportation when the daily driving range is within a 200-mile range. If you drive farther than that in a day regularly, you may want to consider a plug-in-hybrid until charging and EV’s improve for those consistent longer trips. Overall, he can’t wait until the next time he can make another long trip to continue to learn and share the strengths and weaknesses of the technology. If you are a member and want to test drive the Chevy Bolt, contact Nick at (812) 734-3538.
A list of Harrison REMC members with an unclaimed capital credit check is available for viewing on our website. These checks were written in August 2018 and August 2019, for capital credits in the years 1981-1984.
The list of unclaimed checks is also available by mail or email upon request. Any checks remaining unclaimed after 60 days may be reallocated for distribution in accordance with the bylaws of Harrison REMC. Questions? Please call 812-738-4115.
Harrison REMC has a new way residential members can pay for electricity. It is called Prepaid Electric and it allows you to control your budget by making payments into your account as you can afford to do so.
What is Prepaid Billing?
With Prepaid Billing, you pay for electricity how and when you choose. Purchasing electricity before you use it allows you to control your budget and pay how much you want, when you want. And there are no security deposits or late fees. Instead of a monthly bill, your use and balance are calculated daily.
How does it work?
You purchase electricity before you use it. Payments can be made when you want — online, over the phone, or in person at our office. When your account runs low, you will get an alert by email, phone call or text, leting you know it’s time to recharge your account.
Harrison REMC offers Prepaid Billing, a pay-as-you-go energy solution.
Choose your own payment schedule.
Purchase electricity when convenient.
Monitor electricity use.
Customize the plan that’s best for you.
No deposits, no late fees, no monthly bills.
Interested in Prepaid Billing? Give us a call at 812-738-4115 or 812-951-2323.
