Fredericksburg, Va. –At Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC), the safety of our member-owners, employees and communities is the utmost priority.
On Monday, March 16, REC announced that along with all of the Virginia electric cooperatives, it will not disconnect members for nonpayment of electric service. In addition, members will not incur late fees or other related fees as a result of nonpayment.
“We understand the challenges everyone is facing during this time of crisis,” said Casey Hollins, director of communications and public relations. “As we transition back to a state of normalcy, we will work with our members individually to help them get through and recover from this difficult period.”
REC’s Commitment to the Community
The Cooperative continues to closely monitor the rapidly evolving spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and its impact on the communities we serve. We have taken steps to minimize exposure among our employees and to ensure that we will have healthy crews ready to respond as needed in case of a power outage. Our goal is to ensure our members have the electricity they need during extended times at home.
“We are following guidance from the CDC and other local health organizations and officials to do our part to help mitigate the spread,” added Hollins. “As a result, we strongly encourage our members to use remote payment optionssuch as online payments, U.S. Postal mail, credit card payments by phone, or, if in-person payments are required, to use one of the payment kiosks located at each office.”
Members who are interested in utilizing REC’s remote payment options, can find more information on the Cooperative’s website www.myrec.coop. All member-owners have free access to MyREC SmartHub, which provides access to their electric bills, energy use information as well as online payment options. Access MyREC SmartHub at [myrec.smarthub.coop]myrec.smarthub.coop. To use MyREC SmartHub for the first time you will need your account number, which can be found on your REC electric bill.
REC, along with all of Virginia’s member-owned electric cooperatives, are working closely to ensure they consistently provide the 1.3 million Virginians they serve with safe, reliable, and affordable electric service. Not only is REC suspending disconnection for nonpayment, but so are the other 12 Virginia electric cooperatives. This decision was made shortly before the State Corporation Commission (SCC) ordered disconnections be suspended.
“REC is an essential service to our member-owners across the Commonwealth, and as such we have enacted Business Continuity Plans to ensure reliable service continues to be provided while protecting our workforce and our communities. We are committed to assisting all of our members, especially the businesses that support our communities,” Hollins explained.
How REC is Protecting it’s Workforce
·Employees are practicing “social distancing,” with flexibility allowing employees to work remotely through this crisis.
·REC’s dispatch center remains open 24-7 for outage reporting, and crews are on standby, ready to respond if or when an outage occurs.
·Employee travel to meetings has been eliminated, and the Cooperative is limiting vendor visits into its offices.
REC provides electric service to over 170,000 connections in parts of 22 Virginia counties. With its general office in Fredericksburg, Va., the Cooperative operates and maintains more than 17,000 miles of power lines through its service area, which ranges from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay. For more information about REC, please visit www.myrec.coop. Follow REC on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.