Held to a Higher Standard

January Message from Randall Pugh
President/CEO

Electricity is a resource that most people are so accustomed to getting that it's somewhat invisible until it's unavailable. It's a great thing to offer a service to make people's lives a little easier; however, that doesn't relieve us of our duties to continue increasing the standards of service.

No matter what our beliefs or backgrounds, everyone adheres to a set of standards. Whether it's professional or personal, there's an invisible bar by which we measure the quality or value of something. Even in the utility industry, a set of standards is in place both statewide and nationally.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act provides recommendations for energy-efficiency, conservation and more. The Act lists regulations and standards to help utilities plan their services to meet these standards.

Green Power is the EMC's response to finding environmentally friendly ways to produce energy and promote environmentalism. Higher standards sometimes require us to do things a little differently or invest more time in the way we operate. We joined 27 other EMCs in Georgia in order to offer green electricity to our members. It's worth the collaborative effort.

Even Georgia's building codes provide standards that directly impact how we do business. We have a 30-year history of offering energy-efficient homes. As Georgia's building codes improved over the years, our once energy-efficient new home construction programs improved as well. Offering energy-efficiency, lower rates and comfort warranties, Right Choice™ homes surpass Georgia's already stringent building codes. Builders, heating and air contractors, and Realtors partner with us to ensure the Right Choice product standards surpass members' expectations of comfort and efficiency.

Partnerships often help us deliver a variety of products to meet members' needs. We're partners with Walton EMC and Greystone Power in our security business, EMC Security™. In our commitment to go beyond the standard, our security service also offers home entertainment technology, central vacuum system installation, video monitoring and more. Our partnership also allows us to offer this service at an affordable rate without contracts.

While outside partnerships serve us well, we realize that to raise the bar, we have to do our part internally. Jackson EMC receives some of the highest ratings in customer service surveys. In the 2005 American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), Jackson EMC scored 90 compared to the Industry's average of 73. The national comparison provides the industry standard, and our goal is to always surpass the standard. Conducted every two years, the next ACSI survey results will be released this fall.

Another national distinction came in spring 2006 when we completed the Rural Electric Safety Accreditation Program. Conducted by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), the accreditation process measures the overall effectiveness of safety procedures to ensure we preserve life and prevent injury. Cooperatives in the process must undergo several evaluations in a three-year review period. We're proud of our safety accomplishments these past years, and we're not done.

This year will prove to be another year of higher standards. Projects like upgrading our Outage Reporting System and launching a new Web site are two major initiatives we're proud to bring members. As always, offering reliable power at affordable rates is important. Every department works together to make sure our membership's customer service expectations are surpassed each day. We're proud to be a cooperative and introduce the cooperative way of doing business. We know that most of us rely on electricity for almost everything. Our goal is that you know we're going above and beyond to ensure you receive electricity with the highest, quality customer service experience. Our members hold us to a higher standard, and every day we strive to surpass those standards.

Randall Pugh
President/CEO

Questions?

Anytime you have questions, send them to P.O. Box 38, Jefferson, Ga. 30549, call 706- 367-5281 or email rpugh@jacksonemc.com.