Manager’s Message — December 2019
PrintDear Members:
Merry Christmas and happy holidays! We hope you have a happy and safe holiday season. If you or your family are decorating for the holidays, please remember to not overload outlets and circuits, and always look up for overhead lines before you install any tall features or exhibits.
Telecommunications News
On Friday, November 1, the California Public Utilities Commission posted draft resolutions to provide funding for the five grant applications that Plumas-Sierra Telecommunications submitted in May. The commission will be voting on these resolutions at their December 5, meeting. We are hopeful that we will be notified shortly after the meeting that PST has authorization to begin construction of the projects that will bring broadband services to some of the hardest-to-reach areas of our region, including Lake Davis, Mohawk Vista, Elysian Valley/Gold Run, Johnsville and Keddie.
Expansion of broadband services in Quincy is going well. We recently opened a new area of West Quincy on fiber optics and are making progress on the Chandler Road fiber construction. You can check availability for your location at www.pst.coop, or by calling 530-832-4261. By the time this reaches you, we also hope to be finishing off the Sierraville-Calpine project, including a new advanced wireless system for southern Sierra Valley and direct fiber optic connections for our members along the route.
PST’s internet services are unlimited, so you don’t have to worry about data caps, and speeds go up to 1 gigabyte per second on our fiber optic service.
To learn more about our services or get on our interest list, please visit www.pst.coop or call us at 530-832-4261.
Eyes and Ears
It’s been a long autumn for many of California’s residents. We have been lucky that no fires have affected our homes like we have seen in California’s Coastal Range. We spend a tremendous amount of time and money grooming our right-of-ways and maintaining our equipment but it is a never-ending job. We have been able to keep the lights on, but we can always use your help. Our members often let us know when there are problems with our system. We have a remote, rural power grid with only six customers per mile of power line. When you let us know that you think there may be an equipment malfunction or that something looks out of place on the line, you help us prevent fires and outages. Thank you, and please continue to call us if you think something isn’t right. We have operators available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year at 800-555-2207.
Capital Credits
One of the ways electric cooperatives are different from investor-owned utilities is each cooperative depends on its members to provide the necessary funding, or equity, for operation. Inspired by the idea that people can pool their resources to get things done—a fact that hasn’t changed since PSREC was formed in 1937 by a group of people who banded together to bring electricity to the countryside—your membership ensures access to reliable resources and services, a cornerstone of economic opportunity.
The mechanism by which members contribute equity is known as capital credits, which are determined at the close of each business year by allocating the net profits of PSREC to each member based upon the amount of electricity they purchased.
Capital credit returns are evaluated annually by PSREC’s board of directors.
The board has determined PSREC will distribute a refund to members in 2019.
Members in good standing will receive capital credit refunds on their December bills, received in January. If less than $50, the refund will appear as a credit on your bill. If your refund is $50 or more, you will be mailed a check in January.
Thank you for your support of PSREC and the common needs of our community!
To learn more about our services, please visit www.psrec.coop.
If you have any questions, please call me at (800) 555-2207 ext. 6076, or email me at bmarshall@psrec.coop.
Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season!
Bob Marshall
General Manager
