Claiborne Electric and its employees donated just under $16,000 to the Minden St. Jude Auction, held February 5-8.

The Minden St. Jude Auction began more than 40 years ago as a small, local radio auction in Minden. Today it has grown to become a four day event that takes place annually on Super Bowl weekend. Since it’s inception, the auction has raised more than $20 million to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Per capital, Minden raises more money for St. Jude annually than any other town or city in the United States.

The 2026 event raised a record-breaking $2.7 million. For about 15 years, Claiborne Electric has partnered with the auction as a corporate sponsor. Several years ago, the Co-op offered employees the opportunity to get involved through payroll deduction. Employees can opt to have any amount deducted from each pay check, and the accumulated donations are taken each year to the Minden St. Jude Auction. Additionally, the Co-op matches donations dollar-for-dollar. This year, employee donations totaled just under $8,000, making the total Claiborne Electric donation nearly $16,000 for the children of St. Jude.

Operation Round Up is a community service program that gives Claiborne Electric members the option to allow their bills to be rounded up to the next whole dollar.

The difference in the actual bill and the rounded amount is deposited into the Operation Round Up Trust Fund. The funds accumulated are dispersed to charitable causes in the communities served by Claiborne Electric.

Recent grants approved by the Trust Board pushed the organization’s donated total to more than $2.3 million since the first grants were dispersed in 2007. The year-end 2025 Operation Round Up report is below.

For more information on Operation Round Up, click here.

Most members have now received bills which include their electric usage during Winter Storm Fern.

We would like to remind members that in times of extreme cold, heating systems run for much longer periods to maintain the temperature set on a thermostat. This results in significantly higher usage.

During Winter Storm Fern, our area saw 60 to 80 hours of sustained below freezing conditions with low temperatures in the teens. Much of our service area was covered in ice for more than a week. In these conditions, heating systems were running nearly constantly, fighting against outdoor weather elements to keep heated areas warm. This significant increase in electric usage results in significantly higher billing.

Members can monitor their daily electric usage in our free SmartHub app. We also have a fantastic team of Member Service Representatives to help members with questions about usage and billing. We are here to help. We also offer payment plans for members who cannot pay their bill in full.

Homer: 318-927-3504

Farmerville: 318-368-3011

Read more about winter electric usage here.

Claiborne Electric’s automated outage reporting number is changing next month!

On March 30, the automated outage reporting number will change to 855-937-1782. This number is the same as the automated payment number. Members may report an outage by pressing “2” in the menu after dialing the new number. This will allow members to report the outage directly to the dispatch center’s outage system.

Beginning March 30, please save this new number in your mobile phone, or write it down where important numbers are saved. In the coming days, members will receive a letter with a new outage number magnet, so watch for that in the mail.

The fastest and most efficient way to report a power outage to Claiborne Electric is to download and use our free SmartHub app on a mobile device.

As always, members may report an outage directly to a live Member Service Representative by calling a local office. However, when reporting an outage by calling an office directly, office lines become overwhelmed and congested during widespread outages, sometimes resulting in long wait times to speak directly to an MSR. If possible, SmartHub or the automated outage system should be used.

The nomination period for Claiborne Electric’s Board of Directors closed at the end of the business day January 30. Districts Three, Seven, and Eight were open for nomination.

In District Three, Kenneth Franklin of Marion was the sole nominee. In District Seven, Phillip Fincher of Homer was the sole nominee. In District Eight, Lane Davidson of Minden was the sole nominee. These three Directors will begin a new term on Claiborne Electric’s Board of Directors in June 2026.

For specific information on districts or election rules, please reference Claiborne Electric’s bylaws. Bylaws pertaining to districts and director elections can be found in Article IV of the bylaws.

Kenneth Franklin 

Phillip Fincher         

Lane Davidson

Claiborne Electric Cooperative will award 20 $2,000 scholarships during a drawing this spring. This drawing for college scholarships is open to high school seniors who are Claiborne Electric members or whose parents or guardians are members of Claiborne Electric.

Scholarship entries are due by Friday, April 3, 2026. Winners will be drawn at random, contacted individually, and announced on Claiborne Electric’s website and digital platforms.

Entrants simply need to complete an entry form and mail it or deliver it to a Claiborne Electric office. Seniors may use the form here.

To be eligible for a scholarship, a student must meet the following terms and qualifications:

· Only high school seniors who have been Claiborne Electric members for at least one year, or students whose parent(s) or legal guardian(s) are active members, will be eligible. Students must have been residing in the household with the member for at least one year at the time of the drawing to be eligible.

· The scholarships are only good for institutions of higher education in the state of Louisiana.

· Scholarship checks will be made out directly to the school and must be used within two years after being awarded for tuition, books, or room and board.

· Recipients will be eligible only once for the scholarship drawing.

Entries should be received at Claiborne Electric by Friday, April 3, 2026, to provide sufficient time for verification of eligibility.

Each winter, we tend to see an increase in members who contact our office about the amount of their bill being higher than average.

As an electric cooperative, owned by the members we serve, we want to help our members understand everything possible about billing, usage, and efficiency. As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, our goal is to meet the needs of our members. One specific need for members is a thorough understanding of electric usage and billing.

Electric bills are a direct reflection of electric usage – the number of kilowatt-hours (kWh) used during that billing period. A kilowatt-hour is the unit of measurement used to calculate how much electric energy is used over time. One kWh equals 1,000 watts of electricity used for one hour. For example, using a 1,000-watt coffee maker for one hour is equal to one kWh of electric usage.

Electric meters measure usage. They track the number of kilowatt-hours a member uses in a billing period. As members use more electricity, the meter records that usage and bills increase because the number of kilowatt-hours increased. Similarly, as members use less electricity, bills decrease accordingly. Claiborne Electric members have a tool available called SmartHub – a free app that can be downloaded on any Apple or Android device. SmartHub allows members to monitor electric usage daily. Using SmartHub can help members see when their usage is higher than normal. Members can then use that information to take steps to lower electric consumption.

In December, the average electric bill in the state was $128.43 for 1,000 kWh. That figure takes into account all electric utilities regulated by the LPSC. 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.

The reason some members’ bills are higher is because more kilowatt-hours were used. If bills are significantly higher than the previous month, that means significantly more kilowatt-hours were used in that billing period.

The most common reason for increased usage in Louisiana winters is short bursts of very cold days. During times of extreme cold, electric heating systems use much more electricity because they run for longer periods in order to maintain the temperature set on a thermostat. Drastic weather changes significantly affect usage when it comes to heating a home. If a thermostat is set at 70 degrees, and the temperature outside is 50 degrees, a heating system does not need to work all that hard to make up that 20-degree difference. However, if a thermostat is set at 70 degrees and the temperature outside is 30 degrees, the heating system has to work extremely hard and run almost continuously in order to make up that 40-degree difference. Even though there is no change to the heating system or the thermostat, there is a staggering difference in how long the system runs to reach the desired temperature inside. Another reason winter bills are typically higher than summer bills are that heating requires significantly more energy than cooling.

There are some ways members can lower usage to impact electric bills. The three largest users of electricity in a typical home are:

1.     Heating/cooling

2.     Water heating

3.     Appliances

The easiest and most effective way to lower usage is by decreasing the amount of electricity dedicated to heating or cooling the air. In the winter, we suggest setting a thermostat no higher than 68 degrees. We discourage the use of electric room heaters because they typically have high wattage ratings. For example, a single 1,500-watt electric space heater in use for 12 hours per day uses about $70 worth of electricity per month. When heating systems need to be replaced, pay attention to efficiency ratings. If possible, install an electric heat pump, which is a much more efficient way to heat and cool a home.

Lowering the temperature on an electric water heater will also lower usage and billing. Much like heating and cooling systems, pay attention to efficiency ratings when replacing a water heater. Likewise, use appliances efficiently and replace them with more efficient models at the end of their lifespan.

Claiborne Electric is a not-for-profit electric utility. We’re committed to delivering reliable, cost-effective power to our members. We understand that increased winter bills can be frustrating. We have a fantastic team of Member Service Representatives to help members understand their usage and billing. If members have questions about their bills, they should call our office (Homer: 318-927-3504 or Farmerville: 318-368-3011). We are here to help. We also offer payment plans for members who cannot pay their bill in full. Please contact us with questions about billing, usage, and energy efficiency.