In the electric utility rate comparisons released by the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) for the month of December, Claiborne Electric has some of the lowest electric rates among all providers in the state.

The LPSC regulates all electric cooperatives and investor-owned electric utilities in Louisiana. In December’s electric utility rate comparison, only five companies had rates slightly lower than Claiborne Electric. All five of these companies are our sister cooperatives in other parts of the state. Claiborne Electric’s rates are significantly lower than the investor-owned utilities across the entire state.

In December, Claiborne Electric members using an average of 1,000 kWh per month were billed $126.50. In comparison, the same bill would be $135.74 for an Entergy customer, $147.06 for a SWEPCO customer, and $149.49 for a CLECO customer.

One kWh is equal to using 1,000 watts of electricity for 60 minutes. At Claiborne Electric, each kWh costs members about 12.7 cents. Claiborne Electric’s members are only paying a few cents more for a kWh of electricity than 20 years ago. In comparison, think about the cost of eggs, bread, coffee, medicine, gasoline, or a vehicle 20 years ago compared to today. Where other goods and necessities have doubled, tripled, or even more in price, electricity has held its value and remained similar in price per kWh for decades.

The cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity has risen slower than any other household commodity for decades, making electricity an excellent household value. With electricity required for heating, cooling, lighting, cleaning, cooking, refrigeration, working, entertainment, transportation, and communication, there is barely a part of life that does not require electrification.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates Americans will end the year using more than four billion kWh. Clearly, energy consumption shows no signs of slowing down. We encourage members to remember the value electricity holds with each flip of a switch, press of a button, and charge of a phone. Claiborne Electric’s free SmartHub app is a great resource for monitoring electric usage.

At Claiborne Electric, we are always looking out for members by working to keep electric bills affordable and service reliable. For more information on lowering electric consumption and using energy more wisely, please contact a local Claiborne Electric office.

Claiborne Electric Lineman Ryan Beach completed module IV of the Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives’ (ALEC) Lineman Training School, which brings to completion his four-year line worker training.

This school is held in Baton Rouge at ALEC’s office. The complete program consists of four modules, with participants completing one module per year. The program requires more than 150 training hours of classroom instruction, independent study, and hands-on education.

Module IV includes advanced education and training in Level 4 Safety, Communication Systems, Special Elements 2, Vegetation Management, System Operation, System Automation, Overhead Line Design, Underground Line Design, Trouble Investigation, and Crew Leadership.

We congratulate Ryan on four years of dedication and hard work in completing this rigorous educational program in order to serve Claiborne Electric’s members.

In response to the growing threat of phishing attacks targeting services that accept online payments, including the electric utility industry, Claiborne Electric’s software developer is taking proactive steps to enhance the security of its SmartHub billing and payment system.

SmartHub has implemented optional two-factor authentication as an added layer of protection for your account.

Nationwide, the number of recent phishing scams are increasing at a concerning rate. Phishing attacks are a common tactic used by cybercriminals to trick account holders into revealing personal information. These attacks often involve fraudulent emails or text messages that appear to be from a legitimate organization, luring account holders to click on a malicious link or provide sensitive information.

Safeguarding account information is important, and we are committed to providing a secure online experience. Implementing two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to help prevent unauthorized access to your SmartHub account.

With two-factor authentication, members must provide two forms of identification before gaining access to accounts. This typically involves entering a username and passcode, then entering a unique, single-use code sent to a mobile device or email address. Many industries require two-factor authentication, including banks, credit card companies, email platforms, and retails establishments. This added security measure makes it significantly more difficult for cybercriminals to compromise accounts.

While this added security measure is optional, we encourage all members to enroll in two-factor authentication to further protect accounts from unauthorized access. This will allow us to increase our commitment to protecting your account while giving you the trusted confidence of secure transactions.

Find more information about SmartHub here.

Members with questions or concerns about the addition of two-factor authentication are encouraged to contact a Member Services Representative by calling the Homer (318-927-3504) or Farmerville (318-368-3011) office.

In May, Capital One finalized its acquisition of Discover Financial Services. As with any commercial merger, some changes were inevitable.

Claiborne Electric was recently made aware that Capital One is transitioning current cardholders from Visa or MasterCard to its new Discover brand. When we received this information, Claiborne Electric was not able to accept Discover cards for payment. We recognized this created an inconvenience for many of our members who routinely pay with a credit card in person, online, or through our SmartHub app.

Our office staff immediately began working diligently to add Discover cards as an accepted form of payment. We understood the importance of this issue, and were able to expedite the process. We are glad to let our members know we have finalized that process and can now accept Discover card payments. Members can now pay with Discover in person, online, or through our SmartHub app. We are glad to offer this new option to our members.

We appreciate our members for their patience and support as we worked as quickly as possible to add Discover cards as a payment option.