SMORE Update

SMORE Values

Safety – SVEC will provide a safe working environment for all of its employees.

Member experience – SVEC will exceed the expectations of our members by continually working to make it easier for our members to do business with their cooperative.

Outreach to community – SVEC will strive to educate and inform members of the direction and activities of the cooperative.

Reliability – SVEC will provide its members with reliable electric service.

Economic viability – SVEC will maintain its financial strength by controlling cost, adopting technologies that increase efficiency and operate under a Board approved Financial Management Plan.

Thumbs up – On pace for maximum annual points

Thumbs down – Not on pace for maximum annual points

Safety

• DART: Measure of days away restricted or transferred

Safety Demos

Safety Director Craig Ragan had the pleasure of speaking to over 100 individuals about safety this summer. The demonstrations were held at the Hamilton County Drug and Alcohol Prevention summer camp, the Lafayette County Storm Preparedness event, 21st Century summer camps at Suwannee Riverside and Pineview Elementary Schools, and the “We Need to Talk” event organized by Trevita Horton at Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist in Live Oak.

Member Experience

• Average ratings on member services survey: Scale of 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest)

Outreach

• Community Participation: Volunteer hours spent in SVEC-sanctioned group activities

Scholarships

SVEC awarded 15 deserving seniors throughout SVEC’s service territory college/scholarships totaling $22,500.

• 10 $1,500 scholarships were awarded to students with exemplary academic and civic performance.
• 5 $1,000 scholarships were awarded to students who were selected to attend the 2021 Florida Youth Tour. The tour was cancelled because of COVID so SVEC chose to acknowledge each student with a scholarship award.
• 1 $1,500 scholarship was awarded to an individual at Florida Sheriffs Boys Ranch for academic performance.

We are proud of their achievements and know they have a bright future ahead.

SVEC Sends Hamilton County Student to DC Youth Tour

In June, Morgan Griffin of Hamilton County High School represented SVEC at the National Electric Cooperative Youth Tour in Washington, D.C. During this fully paid tour of the nation’s capital, Morgan joined students from other Florida cooperatives and cooperatives across the nation to visit the historic sights of Washington, D.C., meet with legislators, and learn how electric cooperatives and civic engagement impacts our communities. To read more about Morgan’s experiences, check out the article in the August issue of Currents.

Blood Drive

Thank you, Jodi Hughes, Mike McWaters, Crystal Ecker, Paige Peacock, Megan Hollis, Evan Fuller and John Robinson for being a life-saving donor at our July 6th blood drive! Together, your donations may help save up to 21 local lives.

Back to School Events

SVEC participated in back-to-school events at Suwannee County schools and African Baptist Church in Live Oak. Combined, the two events donated over 1,700 backpacks filled with school supplies to local students. Thank you Matthew Robinson, Jon Little and Christy Tuckey for assisting in the backpack distributions at Suwannee and Branford High school. Special thanks to Crystal Udell, part of the leadership team for African Baptist Church ‘s Bash, and her husband, Douglas, for being among the event’s founders.

Band Trailer Revamped at SHS

With the help of several SVEC employees, the Suwannee High School band trailer was made safe and road worthy for the new school year. Communications specialist Christy Tuckey worked with Band Director Clayton McPeak to design a new logo, Dispatcher Oliver Pidgeon got the logo placed, and Raymond Poole and Ross Wood completed several repairs and inspections to get the trailer ready for the new season.

Operation Round Up® Update

Operation Round Up continues to support students in local classrooms. In the first round of grant awards for the 2022-2023 school year, 43 grants totaling $19,643.70 were awarded to teachers throughout our service territory. Since its launch in January 2019, Operation Round Up has awarded 726 grants totaling over $370,800.

Reliability

• SAIDI: Time (minutes) the average consumer was without power
• SAIFI: Number of times the average consumer has experienced a power interruption of more than 5 minutes
• CAIDI: Time (minutes) the average consumer who actually experienced an outage was without power
• Reliability Plan Points: Measure of how well we’re meeting various goals of the Reliability Plan

Rapid Fiber Internet

In July, SVEC announced Rapid Fiber Internet, LLC, a new subsidiary and project to construct a fiber-optic network throughout the SVEC service territory. The network will bring 100% fiber internet to residences and businesses throughout Hamilton, Lafayette, Suwannee Counties, and northern Columbia County. Additionally, the network will be utilized by SVEC to expand its electric smart grid/self-healing capabilities. With Rapid Fiber, SVEC will be able to enhance the flow of data used to detect faults and control devices throughout the grid, yielding shorter power outage response times, and greater operational efficiency, system security, reliability and resiliency. SVEC selected rural fiber-optic network design and construction management leader, Conexon, to deliver comprehensive services including network design, construction project management, engineering and operations support for the project that will take up to 4 years and up to $93 million to complete. Construction is expected to begin in the 2nd quarter of 2023, with the first internet customers anticipated to be connected in the 3rd quarter of 2023.

Economic Viability

Speed Test May Help Secure Internet Grant Funding

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Office of Broadband is encouraging the public to take part in a state-wide internet speed test. Insights from the test will allow the state to better identify and reach unserved and underserved areas of the state. Speed test results will also assist local communities and internet service providers with broadband planning efforts. As a result, Rapid Fiber Internet may obtain grant funding to cover some of the costs. To take the speed test from home, visit Florida’s Broadband Speed Test.

Admin/Cybersafety

• Phish Prone: Percentage of KnowBe4 phishing email click throughs
• Training Completed: Percentage of cyber security training completed by due date
• Keeper Security Score: Measure of password strength and uniqueness. To improve this score, go to the security audit portion of Keeper to identify passwords which need to be improved or changed.

Security Hints & Tips: Lock Your Screen

Cybercriminals can use unlocked workstations to download and install malicious software, send false emails in your name, and steal stored passwords, among many other things. Locking your screen when you leave your desk can prevent you from ending up in a bad situation.

Use the directions below to get into the habit of locking your screen.

For Windows:

• On your keyboard, press the Windows key and the L key at the same time to lock your screen.
• Alternatively, you can press the Control, Alt, and Delete (Ctrl+Alt+Del) keys at the same time to open a menu. From the menu, select Lock.