A P R I L 2 0 1 6Live Wire is a monthly newsletter

published for members of Choptank Electric Cooperative,

P.O. Box 430, Denton, MD 21629

Toll Free: 1-877-892-0001

Outage Reporting: 1-800-410-4790,

toll free, 24 hours/day, 7 days/week.

Automated Member Service Line:

1-866-999-4574, toll free

www.choptankelectric.coop

President and CEO Michael I. Wheatley

Board of Directors Olin S. Davis III

Chairman, Kent Co.

Jeffrey D. Rathell Sr. Vice Chairman, Talbot Co.

John J. Burke Jr.Secretary-Treasurer Cecil Co.

Francis A. Callahan Jr. Caroline Co.

Robert E. ArnoldQueen Anne’s Co.

David W. Bruning, Sr.Worcester Co.

Matthew R. Holloway Wicomico Co.

Carl R. Widdowson Somerset Co.

Douglas D. ScottDorchester Co.

Francis A. Ruffo Sr. Ocean Pines District

V o l . 2 1 , N 0 . 4 AMI CORNERNRECA Launches Non-Partisan Voter

Engagement ProgramBy Justin LaBerge

America’s electric cooperatives have launched a non-partisan, nationwide effort to promote civic engagement and voter participation in the communities they serve.

Jeffrey Connor, interim CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, unveiled the Co-ops Vote program at the association’s 74th annual meeting in New Orleans.

“Through Co-ops Vote, we want to help our members know when elections are, what’s at stake and how to make their voices heard,” Connor said. “Who folks vote for isn’t really as important as the fact that they do vote.”The Co-ops Vote initiative will focus on eight issues that are important to health and prosperity of communities served by electric cooperatives: • Rural Broadband Access• Hiring and Honoring Veterans • Low-Income Energy Assistance• Cybersecurity • Water Regulation• Rural Health Care Access • Affordable and Reliable Energy• Renewable Energy

“Electric cooperatives are perfectly designed to help address these important issues,” Connor said. Continued on Page 2

As of the middle of March, we began meter deployment in the Salisbury district of our service territory. Over 64% of our distribution system has advanced metering in place, representing approximately 33,600 members. We are pleased with our progress, and with improved weather conditions, as well as more daylight hours available to our Scope Services contractors, we feel confident in maintaining our current deployment schedule.

As we continue our deployment we want to bring a few items to the attention of our members concerning your electric bill. Your first electric bill after the meter exchange may reflect more days of energy usage than may be typical for your monthly bill. This longer billing period may be as the result of Choptank Electric now reading all the meters on the same day in your particular billing cycle. The end result for our members is a higher bill because of these additional days. When the meter is first changed, a final reading is recorded from the original meter before it is removed. This meter reading is reflected on your bill. The next meter reading reflected on this same bill will be from your new AMI meter, which we will capture automatically.

As always, we want to assure our members that Choptank Electric staff is here to help our members understand their energy usage, how to read their monthly statement, answer questions concerning SmartHub, AMI, and any other questions or concerns. Please help us, help you stay informed by updating your contact information such as current phone number and email address. If we can be of assistance please call our Member Service Center, 8AM – 4:30PM, Monday through Friday at 1.877.892.0001.

Information concerning our AMI meter deployment, fact sheets, videos, and opt out materials may be found on our website at www.choptankelectric.coop, by clicking on the Advanced Meter Information button. If you do not have internet access, please contact our Member Service Center and this information will be mailed to you.

Continued from Page 1

“We can make politics ‘local’ again because civic engagement is part of our DNA.”

A new website, vote.coop, offers co-op members information on the voter registration process in their state, dates of elections, information on the candidates running in those elections, and explanations of the eight key issues the campaign aims to address.

In keeping with its non-partisan goals, the initiative will not be endorsing specific candidates for office.

Connor cited partisan gridlock in Washington, the explosive growth of money in politics and the effects of gerrymandering as important reasons for launching the program. In 2014, 318 of 435 House races had a margin of victory of 20 points or more , and 30 House candidates – 16 Democrats and 14 Republicans representing 11 states– didn’t even face an opponent in the general election.

“Elections aren’t won and lost in November anymore,” Connor said. “They’re really decided in primaries months sooner, when fewer voters recognize the opportunity to vote, fewer participate and only a handful of issues are up

for debate.”

This results in a Congress where more members represent the extremes of each political party and are less inclined to seek compromise and bipartisan solutions to problems.

“The electric cooperative movement has always been non-partisan, and our communities are facing too many challenges to have a government crippled by bickering,” Conner said. “When our parents and grandparents set out to electrify rural America, they didn’t have time to ask the person next to them about their views on economic or social policy. Their economic policy was ‘we need to save this community’ and their social policy was ‘let’s do it together.’ I hope the Co-ops Vote program can help rekindle that spirit of cooperation.”

For more information about Co-ops Vote and the impact of these eight key issues on the people of Maryland, contact Choptank Electric Cooperative or visit vote.coop.

Justin LaBerge writes on consumer and cooperative affairs for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the Arlington, Va.-based service arm of the nation’s 900-plus consumer-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperatives.

Exede Internet Available for Members!

Choptank Electric Cooperatve members now have access to Exede® by ViaSat, a high-speed satellite Internet service earning awards and recognition nationwide. The 12 Mbps baseline download speed offered by Exede Internet is eight times faster than previous generation satellite services – and often significantly faster than average DSL service.

Powered by ViaSat-1 – officially recognized as the World’s Highest Capacity Communications Satellite with a Guinness World Records title – Exede service has moved into the mainstream of Internet options. A February 2013 FCC study based on performance tests reported that Exede Internet outperforms all other ISPs in delivering promised speeds to subscribers, with 90 percent of Exede subscribers receiving 140 percent or better of the advertised 12 Mbps download speed during peak periods. Popular Science also named the innovative satellite system and Exede Internet as a Best of What’s New award winner for 2012.

The consistently fast performance of the Exede satellite Internet service has helped ViaSat reach more than 285,000 subscribers on ViaSat-1 in its first year of operation. The total subscriber count across all

ViaSat satellites has surpassed 500,000 for the first time. Subscribers also enjoy 100 percent U.S.-based customer support.

Approximately 40 percent of new Exede Internet

subscribers are choosing the satellite service over other alternatives available to them, such as DSL, cable, and mobile wireless for fixed home use – a major shift from the previous generations of satellite Internet service, often considered a “last resort” for those with no other alternative. Members of Choptank Electric Cooperative have been given special rates so sign up today by calling 855-462-8259 or go to Choptank Electric's website at www.choptankelectric.coop.

Know What’s Below: Call before You Dig

Whether it’s a dreamed up deck addition or a landscaping masterpiece, summer weather is a great time for outdoor improvement plans to actually play out.

But if your planned projects include digging, like planting a tree or bringing in a backhoe for trench work, you’ll have to wait a few more days so the job can be done safely. Underground utilities, such as buried gas, water, and electric lines, can be a shovel thrust away from turning a summer project into a disaster.

To find out where utility lines run on your property, dial 811 from anywhere in the country a few days prior to digging. Your call will be routed to a local “one call” center. Tell the operator where you're planning to dig

and what type of work you will be doing, and affected local utilities will be notified.

In a few days, a locator will arrive to designate the approximate location of any underground lines, pipes,

and cables with flags or marking paint so you'll know what's below. Then the safe digging can begin.

Although many homeowners tackling do-it-yourself digging projects are aware of “Call Before You Dig”

services, the majority don’t take advantage of the service. A national survey showed that only 33 percent of homeowners called to have their lines marked before starting digging projects, according to the Common Ground Alliance, a federally mandated group of underground utility and damage prevention industry professionals.

Although light gardening typically doesn’t call for deep digging, other seemingly simple tasks like planting shrubs or installing a new mailbox post can damage utility lines. A severed line can disrupt service to an entire neighborhood, harm diggers, and potentially result in fines and repair costs.

Never assume the location or depth of underground utility

lines. There’s no need: the 811 service is free, prevents the inconvenience of having utilities interrupted, and can help you avoid serious injury. For more information about local services, visit www.call811. com.

February 2016 Trust Awards

• Cecilton Elementary School PTO – $635 purchaseof a document camera

• Lockerman Middle School Band – $525 towardstravel expenses

• MAC, Inc. – $500 seeds for the Healing RoseGarden

• Chesapeake Housing Mission – $1,500 purchaseof tools and equipment

• Caroline County FFA Chapter – $1,000 leadershiptraining program

• Hogs and Heroes Foundation Maryland Chapter8 – $1,750 stab/bullet proof vest and K9 kit

• Adkins Arboretum – $1,325 replacing lightfixtures

• Easton Church of God EGGstravaganza – $1,200rental expenses for the event

• Warwick Cemetery Committee of Warwick, MD,Inc. – $500 surveying expenses

• Bowen United Methodist Church – $1,500towards replacing the roof of the church

• Worcester County Farm Bureau – $2,500 purchaseof a grain bin rescue equipment

• Ward Museum – $500 printing expenses

• LEAD Maryland – $5,000 program expenses (for2015)

The total of approved applications for February was $28,715.33, which included $8,430.33 for individual home and medical expenses.

Electric Trust is a 501-c-3 charitable foundation funded by Operation Round-Up donations from members of Choptank Electric. Funds from the Trust are distributed in all nine counties of Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

National Linemen Appreciation Day is April 11, 2016 and April is National Lineman Appreciation

Month! Help us honor the men and women who power our lives and

thank a lineman today!

The Eastern Shore Delegation Dinner was held on March 2, 2016. This dinner was held to help educate our local politicians on energy issues and how they affect our members.