Month: April 2025

BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT UPDATE 

It’s been some time since the Cooperative has provided a detailed update on the deployment of internet services to all our members.  Over the last several weeks, many of you have reached out to the Cooperative’s member services team asking when internet service would be available in your area.  We realize this is an important need for our members and want to provide you with as much up to date information as is available. 

As you may remember, in 2020 the FCC incentivized the deployment of rural broadband services through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF).  RDOF was a competitive bid process focusing on unserved or underserved census tracts in the rural parts of the nation.  Claiborne Electric participated in that process, but its bid was unsuccessful.  The census tracts for almost all the Cooperative’s service territory were awarded to a private, third-party provider: Conexon, LLC.  Since its initial RDOF award, Conexon has also been awarded supplemental blocks of funding through both Louisiana’s Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities (GUMBO) Program and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.  Under these programs, it is Conexon’s sole responsibility to construct the almost 3,000 miles of fiber optic infrastructure needed to ensure reliable high-speed internet service to your homes and businesses.  Since the broadband network is being funded by a mixture of Federal and State funds, and because Conexon and Claiborne are not joint partners in this initiative, Claiborne has no control over Conexon’s work plan or how quickly it completes its network buildout.    

For almost two years, your Cooperative worked diligently with Conexon to negotiate the contract needed to allow Conexon to attach its fiber optic cables to the Cooperative’s poles – poles you as members own.  In February 2024, Conexon and Claiborne executed a License Agreement that allowed Conexon full access to the Cooperative’s distribution infrastructure.  Since last February, the Cooperative and its engineer have reviewed possible attachments to more than 6,100 Cooperative-owned poles (approximately 277 miles).  As of December 2024, Conexon had made service available to only 827 homes or businesses. To put that into perspective, your Cooperative serves more than 24,000 homes and businesses every day. 

The Cooperative engages in almost weekly discussions with Conexon to offer any assistance it can while maintaining the safety, integrity, and reliability of your distribution poles and lines.  We also routinely update Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell on the project; he is committed to seeing that each of you receives internet service and is doing everything in his power to help the Cooperative in any way possible. 

Much like the need for rural electrification more than 80 years ago, this service cannot come fast enough for many of our members. We share your frustrations!  Rest assured the Cooperative’s staff and engineers are doing everything they can to expedite the pole line modification work needed prior to Conexon installing its fiber optic cables.  We are proud to say that so far, your Cooperative has met every construction commitment date for the pole line modification work needed by Conexon.  The ultimate timeline for construction and delivery of your internet service rests with Conexon, something far beyond the Cooperative’s control. 

We plan to make more frequent updates on the progress of Conexon’s build-out.  It is our sincere hope each of those future updates brings better news!  In the meantime, if you have specific questions about Conexon’s service to your home or business, please contact Conexon directly at 1-844-542-6663 or visit www.conexonconnect.com. 

Claiborne Electric Cooperative is requesting quotations for a tracked digger bucket machine. The RFP can be viewed here.

Claiborne Electric Cooperative is requesting quotations for Mt. Driskill Reconductor – Phase 1.

The RFP bid package can be viewed here.

The bid forms are available here.

Staking sheets can be viewed here:  Mt Driskill P1 WO #10325033.pdf

Our members, like nearly all sectors of society, are facing a higher expenses in every area of life – at the grocery story, in the housing market, in the vehicle market, and yes, in utilities.

One of the most common concerns our members contact us about is their electric rate. As we discussed last month in our newsletter article about understanding billing, Claiborne Electric’s rates are right in the middle of electric rates in the state. However, it has been necessary to slightly increase rates to cover the Co-op’s expenses.

The reason is, like other homes and businesses, we have seen an exponential rise in the cost of doing business during the past five years. Equipment, plant materials, fleet vehicles, labor, insurance, and all areas of business have risen sharply. While we do everything in our power to reduce expenses and hold the line on rates, we must maintain and upgrade our system in a timely manner to reduce outages and increase reliability. We must replace fleet as it reaches the end of its lifespan. We must provide our employees with living wages and benefits that take care of their families.

The graphic below provides some insight to the cost increases we have seen in the past five years. These items are just a few pieces of equipment we use to keep the lights on for our members. Transformers have risen 63% in cost. Fiberglass crossarms have more than doubled in price. Primary and secondary wire are up 51% and 62%, respectively.

As an electric cooperative, owned by the members we serve, we want to help our members understand everything possible about the Co-op.

Claiborne Electric is a not-for-profit electric utility. As a cooperative, we only charge what is necessary to cover our expenses. In the uncommon years that we do make more than we need, the excess is allocated back to the members. We aren’t in business to make money; we’re in business to deliver reliable, cost-effective power to our members.

As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, we are in business for one reason and one reason only – to meet the needs of our members. As much as we wish we could meet those needs without cost increases affecting rates, we simply can’t. We can, however, promise our members that we will continue to do everything possible to budget wisely, exercise financial responsibility, and manage rates the best we can for our members. After all, we are your friends and neighbors.

Mark your calendars for Claiborne Electric’s drive-through Annual Membership Meeting on June 7, 2025.

The Co-op will host the meeting between two sites – one at Claiborne Electric’s headquarters office (12525 Hwy. 9 in Homer), and one at D’Arbonne Woods Charter School (9560 Hwy. 33 in Farmerville). Watch the digital newsletter and website for more information as the date approaches.

Members with an EZPay account are being asked to update their address in our system so they receive their Annual Meeting registration card at the correct address.

Members can easily update their address in the SmartHub app with the following steps:

• Go to settings
• Click Billing Address
• Edit the address
• Scroll to the bottom and click save

Members who do not use the SmartHub app can call our office and a Member Services Representative will be glad to change the address on file.

Homer office: (318) 927-3504

Farmerville office: (318)368-3011