My fellow members,
Colquitt EMC Employees and Contract Crews continue their work to restore service to our members. We continue to make progress and reduce the outages day by day. Currently, we still have outages in Berrien and Lowndes County. In Berrien, we have approx. 500 meters without service. Before the close of business today, we will have those meters restored. In Lowndes County, we have approximately 1700 meters without service. We believe our target is still getting all those meters restored by Sunday Morning.
I’d like to note that this restoration effort has been successful in the safety of our personnel. Our personnel have worked roughly 224,000 man-hours, and there have not been any incidents involving our system or right-of-way. There have been two minor fender benders that have occurred with two contractor vehicles, but they were not at fault, and thankfully, no one was injured. It is a blessing and amazing that this much work has been performed, and not one incident has occurred while restoring power or clearing our right of way. We believe the prayers that we have received had a major impact on our success and safety. Please continue to pray for our crews as we continue working to restore power.
One question that I have been asked regarding these storms involves the cost of our restoration efforts. “How do you pay for storms like this?” I had heard several people believe that we have insurance that covers all of this damage. Unfortunately, that is not the case. We receive assistance through FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). Because Colquitt EMC is a not-for-profit business, we are eligible for reimbursement from FEMA. This reimbursement is not guaranteed. For us to receive reimbursement, FEMA must first declare an emergency/disaster as eligible for assistance. We are then requested to provide detailed documentation that shows costs for all items and work that can be reimbursed. This summary is then sorted by county and provided to FEMA. FEMA will then provide a dollar amount that shall be reimbursed. The dollar amount typically amounts to 60-70% of the cost. While this reimbursement does not cover all of our expenses for these storms, that amount of reimbursement is greatly appreciated by us at the EMC and by our membership.
Another question regarding costs has been, “Will CEMC have to raise its rates to cover the costs of this storm?” At this time, we have no plans to raise rates to cover the costs of this storm. Keep in mind that it is still early, and costs are still being incurred. With our experience of Idalia and Debby, we believe our EMC’s existing rates will remain the same. If there are unexpected changes in our costs, certainly we will have to consider these in comparison to our revenue. As of now, we do not plan to raise rates.
We know it has been some time that we have been dealing with this storm. I can honestly say that 99.9% of our membership has been nothing but supportive of our EMC and our efforts. It is because of that support that we say thank you to our membership. Your patience is appreciated. Your prayers are evident. Our sole reason for being in business is to provide service to you, our members. We never forget that, and we are grateful to serve you.
Sincerely,
Danny Nichols
President/CEO