November 2016 - Benton REA 1

Benton REA wishes to thank all the members who voted on the proposed sale of electric fa-cilities within the Yakama Na-tion Indian Reservation Boun-daires.

The voting deadline was 6 p.m. on Mon., Oc.t 31, 2016. Due to the early deadline of this publication, Benton REA was not able to publish the voting results here; However, they will

become available online on Nov. 4. You may view the results by visiting BentonREA.org/vote.

More information will be published in your December, 2016, Ruralite magazine as well as in your December bill insert.

If the vote passes, members within the Yakama Nation In-dian Reservation will receive notification via mail.

For questions regarding the vote, please contact Benton REA's member services department at 509-786-8265. ■

Benton REA will host a Residential Energy Conservation Class for Benton REA members on Nov. 17 from 6 - 8 p.m. at Benton REA’s West Richland Community Room (6095 W. Van Giesen).

Each member in attendance will receive a graph depicting his or her energy use from the past three-years. Benton REA’s energy specialist, Eric Miller, will lead the class and help members interpret their personalized information.

Members will learn about the role of appliances, lighting and other sources of energy use in the home.

The importance of a well-insulated, reasonably tight home as well as selecting a proper heating and cooling system and the significance of keeping them in good operating order will also be discussed.

Each membership in attendance will leave with an LED light bulb and a ShowerStart thermostatic shut-off valve that will prevent wasted hot water while waiting for the shower to become warm. You can learn more about it at the conservation class.

The class is free to Benton REA members. Non-members may attend for a $20

fee. A limit of 35 seats are available so register quickly to reserve your seat. Plan to attend this personalized learning experience.

To register for the class, contact Eric Miller at emiller@bentonrea.org or call 509-786-8265. ■

High Voltage News

Board of TrusteesMichael Freepons PresidentDistrict 2

Virgil BoyleVice PresidentDistrict 9 Mark Platt Secretary/TreasurerDistrict 4

Buddy Treadway Trustee, District 1

Bob EvansTrustee, District 3

Tim GrowTrustee, District 5

Kyle Shinn Trustee, District 6

Connie KrullTrustee, District 7

Catherine RussellTrustee, District 8

Michael J. BradshawInterim General ManagerMikeB@bentonrea.org

If your electricity is out for more than a few minutes, please call 509-786-2913 or 800-221-6987

Main Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday

Benton Rural Electric Association

In Case of an Outage

Benton Rural Electric Association

P.O. Box 1150, Prosser, Washington 99350 • 509-786-2913 • 800-221-6987 • www.BentonREA.org

Vote Results Coming Soon

Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. in West Richland

Free residential

Conservation class

November 2016 Benton REA2

This newsletter is a product of the Benton REA Member Services and Economic Development Office.

Troy Berglund, Manager, Member Services

May Hays, Community Relations

Ron Mitchell, Electrical Advisor

Eric Miller, Energy Services

Elecia Copenhaver, Marketing and Communications

BENTON RURAL ELECTRIC ASSOCIATIONMAIN OFFICE

402 7th Street | P.O. Box 1150 Prosser, WA 99350

(509) 786-2913 Toll Free 1-800-221-6987

Office Hours: Mon. - Fri., 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

West Richland Office6095 W. Van Giesen,

West Richland, WA 99353 (509) 967-2921

Office Hours: Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Office Closed for Lunch Noon - 12:30 p.m.

Toppenish Office410 South G Street | P.O. Box 744

Toppenish, WA 98948(509) 865-2600

Office Hours: Mon. - Fri., 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Office Closed for Lunch Noon - 12:30 p.m.

COOPERATIVE INFO

MEMBER SERVICES

In this issue

1 FREE CONSERVATION CLASS VOTING RESULTS COMING SOON 2 SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS DUE

NOVEMBER 30 HOLIDAY OFFICE CLOSURES 3 MOBILE PAY WITH SMARTHUB 4 HELP WITH WINTER ENERGY BILLS KIDS ENERGY ZONE ONLINE

College Scholarship Applications Due Nov. 30

Each year, Benton REA awards up to five separate $8,000 continuing education scholarships to qualifying Benton REA electric cooperative members or their children whose main residence is in Benton, Yakima or Lewis counties and who are graduating high school seniors.

Both Trade and Technical and

Academic scholarships may be awarded to students who submit the highest quality applications and essays.

Scholarship applications are due Nov. 30, 2016, and can be downloaded at BentonREA.org/scholarships. For questions, contact Benton REA at 509-786-8265 or email memberservices@bentonrea.org. ■

Benton REA offices will be closed Friday, Nov. 11 to honor

America’s Military Veterans and Thursday, Nov. 24 to

celebrate Thanksgiving

Social Tools to meet you where you areFollow Benton REA

November 2016 - Benton REA 3

1. Scan the iPhone or Android QR code with your smartphone qr code scanner app or go to your app store and search for “SmartHUB.”

2. Touch “Install.”3. Open the SmartHUB app.4. Touch the “By Name” button and

type “Benton Rural Electric.” Touch “Search.”

5. Touch “Benton Rural Electric (Benton REA).”

6. Touch “Confirm.”7. Touch “Create an Account." 8. Enter your account number, last

name or business name and email address. Touch “Continue.”

9. Enter your mailing zip code and touch “Continue.” A temporary password will be emailed to you.

10. Touch “OK.”11. Go to your email account and

copy your temporary password from the email. It will come from bentonrea@smarthub.coop.

12. Go back to the SmartHUB app and click “Login.”

13. Enter your email address and temporary password. Touch “Login.”

14. Touch “OK” to change your password.

15. Enter a new password. Confirm your new password. Touch “Change password.” Touch “OK” to confirm changing your password.

16. Enter your new password and touch “Login” to login.

17. Touch “Accept” to accept the Terms and Conditions. ■

Mobile Pay With SmartHUBBenton REA members not only have the

convenience of paying their bill at one of our three offices, by mail, by phone and online, but members can also pay via the SmartHUB app.

In 2015, Benton REA introduced Smart-HUB, the online and mobile payment

platform with more features than the pre-vious e-bill system. Currently, more than 5,000 members have signed on to pay their bill online with SmartHUB.

Follow these instructions to download the SmartHUB app and login to your ac-count on your smartphone or tablet. ■

Download Instructions

■ Pay your balance on one or multiple accounts via your debit and/or credit card (Visa, Master Card or Discover). ■ Review your monthly electric use history and billing history. ■ Manage your registered accounts.■ Sign up for paperless and levelized billing.■ Sign up for autopay with your checking, savings or debit/credit card. ■ View your service requests. ■

With SmartHUB You Can:

November 2016 - Benton REA 3

November 2016 Benton REA4

Colder weather is here and can greatly effect a home's energy use.

If your electric bills are higher than normal in the winter months, Benton REA can help. Every home and family is different, so we have options.

Levelized Billing: Budgeting for your utilities can be

a challenge if your monthly costs rise and fall with the temperature. For residential members, Benton REA can help create consistency in your budget with levelized billing. The amount due each month is determined by averaging the usage of the 12 most recent months. If you don't have 12 months of history with Benton REA, Benton REA will calculate a fixed payment that will automatically convert to levelized once you have reached 12 months of useage history.

Efficiency Rebates: Benton REA offers cash incentives,

also known as rebates, to members who complete certain energy efficiency measures. Rebates for efficent win-dow purchases, new insulation and upgrading to a more efficient electric heating system are a few. Each re-bate varies depending on a number of factors including the availability

of funds. To find out if you qualify for these or more rebates, email Eric Miller at emiller@bentonrea.org or call 509-786-8265.

Energy Assistance: To ease the financial burden caused

by energy costs, Benton REA offers a low-income senior or disabled resi-dential members discount of $24 each month to qualifying members. Call 800-221-6987 to find out if you qualify.

Benton and Yakima counties are blessed with many local organizations that provide energy assistance to Ben-ton REA members. A list of organiza-tions has been provided in the columns on this page. ■

Get Help With Winter Energy Bills

Kids Energy Zone OnlineIf you are a parent, you've tried to

teach your children to turn out the lights when they leave a room and to shut the refrigerator door. If you need help encouraging your kids to save money by saving energy, CFL Charlie, LED Lucy and Touchstone Energy can help at KidsEnergyZone.com.

KidsEnergyZone.com can help you and your child learn about energy and conserving it in a fun way. There are videos, games and online activities. There's even a section for teachers who want to bring CFL Charlie to their K-5 classroom.

Benton REA is one of more than 750 Touchstone Energy cooperatives in the United States. ■

Income Assistance AgenciesBenton Franklin Community Action Committee (CAC) LIHEAP Program www.brcac.org Prosser (509) 786-3379 Pasco (509) 545-4042

Northwest Community Action Centerwww.ncactopp.org Toppenish Office (509) 865-7630 Weatherization Program (509) 865-7630

OIC of Washington Yakima (509) 248-6751 Sunnyside (509) 839-0204 Pasco (509) 545-0484 Weatherization Program (509) 452-2555

Veteran's Assistance/Relief Fund VFW Prosser (509) 786-1941 VFW Richland (509) 946-9411 Yakima County (509) 574-1537

Dept. of Social & Health Serviceswww.washingtonconnection.orgwww.dshs.wa.gov Offices in Kennewick, Sunnyside, Toppenish,and Yakima Toll Free 1 (877) 501-2233

Churches and Charitable OrganizationsSt. Vincent De Paul, Pasco (509) 544-9315

Bethel Assistance Program, Richland (509) 628-1247

Jubilee Ministry of Prosser (509) 786-3033