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The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of Clay Electric Co-operative, Inc. (CECI) was held at the Clay Electric Cooperative Headquarters, Flora, Illinois beginning at 7:00 o’clock p.m. on Monday, June 28, 2021.

Trustees present were: Kevin Logan, Bob Pierson, Bill Croy, Neil Gould, Richard Rudolphi, Frank Czyzewski, Frank Herman, Josh Schnepper and Evan Smith. Also present were: Luke Johnson, CEO and Tyra Cycholl, Attorney for the Board. The meeting was opened by Bob Pierson, who presided and Neil Gould, acted as secretary thereof.

In 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) passed the Energy and Independence Act. The passing of this legislation made the future of incandescent light bulbs quite dim.

While this legislation included a wide range of recommendations for the energy industry, one requirement was that new light bulbs use 25 percent less energy. As a result, there was a push between 2012 and 2014 to replace older incandescent light bulbs with newer, more energy-efficient versions.

The Clay Electric Co-operative 77th Annual Meeting will be held Thursday, August 26 at the Oil Belt Christian Service Camp west of Flora. Registration will begin at 5 p.m. with a meal. The business meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Each member of the cooperative will receive a booklet in the mail this month with a copy of last year’s minutes and our reports to the membership. The mailer will also have a barcode printed on the back with your member number to make registration more efficient.

This August is a special month for Clay Electric Co-operative. It is a return to normalcy as our 77th annual meeting will be held on August 26 at Oil Belt Christian Service Camp on the west side of Flora. This year’s event will be smaller than in the past and will forego the health fair and children’s activities we have had in the past, but it will be in person. We look forward to fellowshipping with all of you over a nice porkchop and Klondike Bar.

The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of Clay Electric Co-operative, Inc. (CECI) was held at the Clay Electric Cooperative Headquarters, Flora, Illinois beginning at 7:00 o’clock p.m. on Monday, May 24, 2021

Trustees present were: Kevin Logan, Bob Pierson, Bill Croy, Neil Gould, Richard Rudolphi, Frank Czyzewski, Frank Herman, Josh Schnepper and Evan Smith. Also present were: Luke Johnson, CEO and Tyra Cycholl, Attorney for the Board. The meeting was opened by Bob Pierson, who presided and Neil Gould, acted as secretary thereof.

When people go without power during widespread outages, it seems like discussions turn toward the power grid. But what exactly is the power grid, and how does it work? In the U.S., the power system consists of more than 9,200 electric generating units with more than 1 million megawatts of generating capacity connected to more than 600,000 miles of transmission lines, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

July is the month we celebrate our independence. We are lucky to live in the freest and best country in the world. As we celebrate the birth of our nation and the independence that was purchased in blood by our brave forefathers, Clay Electric Co-operative would like to take a moment to consider one of the seven cooperative principles that are the bedrock of the cooperative business model.

The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of Clay Electric Co-operative, Inc. (CECI) was held at the Clay Electric Co-operative Headquarters, Flora, Illinois beginning at 7:00 o’clock p.m. on Monday, April 26, 2021

If you’ve been a parent, coach or player at an outdoor sporting event, you may have found yourself in this predicament. The clouds roll in and the sky gets dark, but you have “finish-game-itis.” After all, it will only take a few more minutes.

This is one situation when finishing the game, match or inning is not worth the risk. Each year, thunderstorms produce an estimated 20 to 25 million cloud-to-ground lightning flashes in the U.S., each of which is a potential killer, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

Summer is in full swing, and I welcome more opportunities to be outdoors and enjoy the warm weather. Summertime brings many of my favorite activities like cooking out with family and friends, afternoons on the water and simply slowing down a bit to enjoy life.

But summer months also make conditions right for dangerous storms. These potential weather events can cause destruction to our electrical system, but I want you to know that Clay Electric Cooperative crews are ready and standing by to respond should power outages occur in our area.