Save money and increase your comfort A

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1 APRIL 2015 Ductless Heat Pumps: Save money and increase your comfort A ductless heat pump is a highly efficient heating and cooling system that is easily installed as the primary heat source for your home. Operating costs are significantly reduced compared to zonal heating systems such as baseboard and wall heaters. In addition, ductless heat pumps heat rooms more evenly than zonal heating systems and don't require ductwork. Ductless systems have three main parts: An indoor unit mounted on a wall which delivers the heated or cooled air An outdoor unit that sits on the ground or can be mounted on a wall A remote control thermostat that operates the unit The indoor and outdoor units are connected by a small bundle of cables and a refrigerant line. The connection only requires a three-inch hole in the wall for installation. A ductless heat pump system transfers heat using refrigerant. It takes cold air and makes it warm and takes warm air and makes it cold, when you want it and where you want it. It uses an ultra-quiet fan that circulates air evenly throughout living areas eliminating hot and cold spots. In addition to lowering your heating bill and providing air conditioning, adding a ductless system increases your comfort by keeping you warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. If you have existing zonal heat, don t miss an opportunity to increase your comfort, add air conditioning, reduce your electric bill and take advantage of our $1,500 rebate. Contact us at , by at se@salemelectric.com or visit SalemElectric.com. Visit Oregon.gov for tax credit information. n

2 Don t Be SURPRISED! Before you pick up a shovel to dig, pick up the phone and call 811. Electric, water, sewer, natural gas, phone, and cable TV lines are often buried underground. One wrong move can disconnect you and your neighbors from these services or cause death or injury from an electric shock or an explosion. Make your call at least two business days before you plan to dig. One call notifies all affected utilities and, at no charge to you, representatives of the various utilities will locate and mark their underground services using color-coded paint. Remember call 811 before you dig. MONEY MONEY in inthe the TANK TANK Standard electric water heaters waste energy and money. But a heat water pump water heater canenergy cut 25 50% off yourawater Standard heaters waste and money. heat heatingwater costs. heater You maycan alsocut qualify utility and heating pump 25 for 50% off rebates your water state oryou federal credits. Finally, a tankrebates you canand bankstate on. or costs. maytax also qualify for utility federal tax credits. Finally, a tank you can bank on. Cool Air Out Hot Water Out 1 Heat Pump 2 Air In 3 How Does it Work? By transferring heat rather than creating it, heat pump water heaters deliver hot water twice as efficiently as standard electric water heaters. 1 The heat pump pulls warmth from the air, even if the air is cool 2 Warm air is compressed, increasing its temperature 3 Heat flows through condenser coils that transfer heat to the water Storage Tank Cold Water In Receive a $120 incentive from Salem Electric for qualifying models. ENERGY STAR Look for the Energy Star logo!

3 NEW WEBSITE To provide more resources and information for our members, we've launched a new website! You're invited to visit SalemElectric.com to check out the new site design with easier navigation and more information at your fingertips. One new feature is the Outage tab. When a power interruption occurs, this tab gives you the most up-to-date information available. Take the website for a spin and click around. We want to hear from you! If there is additional information that would be helpful to you, let us know. We ll do our best to accommodate the request. h istock.com/youzitx SmartHub SE s New Energy App Salem Electric members have a new tool to access their account! SmartHub is an online website and mobile device application that allows you to pay your bill electronically and monitor your personal electricity usage. Both the app and the web version give you secure access to your account information so you can view your bills, see payment history, make payments on one or multiple accounts and set up recurring payments. To access the app, visit SalemElectric.com, click on Members then SmartHub. For more information contact us at or by at se@salemelectric.com. n

4 What s Your SIGN? Safety is always at the top of our list safety of our employees, safety of our members and safety of the general public. This time of year is particularly busy with garage sales. We often find signs used to promote these and other events attached to our utility poles. You wouldn t think a small nail or screw would affect safety, but they do. Our line crews face a number of challenges daily. The last thing they want to worry about is one of their climbing hooks hitting a nail or screw causing them to slip when climbing a pole. When their focus is on restoring power as quickly, safely and efficiently as possible, being aware of signs, nails and screws can sometimes be overlooked. We realize it s tempting to use our poles as a sign post, but please think of our crew members' safety the next time you have a sale and use a stake instead. n istock.com/shimmo Preserving Our Environment At Salem Electric we recognize the importance of preserving our environment and try to do our part by not only recycling paper products but also a variety of construction materials. In 2014, SE recycled 5,779 pounds of paper. Using conversion factors provided by Marion County Environmental Services, Salem Electric s recycling efforts resulted in: Saving fiber equivalent to 50 trees Saving energy equivalent to 636 gallons of gasoline Avoiding costs associated with hauling 12 cubic yards of waste to the landfill Reducing water consumption equivalent to 723 baths Reducing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to removing five cars from the road for one year To learn more about our commitment to the environment visit SalemElectric.com. n

5 Board Meeting Summary February 18, 2015 Board Action: Meter Reading: Fiber Optics: Presented by: Alicia Bonesteele Secretary/Treasurer FROM YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS The board approved: 2015 budget adjustments as presented. A revision to SE s lighting rate schedules to include additional LED lighting options. SE meter readers, who read over 18,000 meters monthly, have had an average 99.95% reading accuracy rate over the past six years exceeding SE's 99.80% goal. Salem Electric s Alumina Substation (located in the Salem Industrial Park) is now connected to the SE office through fiber optics. This allows high speed communication between the office and our equipment located on the east side of our service area. AMI: Staff shared a timeline for purchasing, testing and installing the AMI meters for the expanded pilot project, as well as the communication plan that will be used to inform members who will be part of the pilot project. Legislation: Ted Case, executive director of Salem Electric s statewide association, updated the board on proposed 2015 legislation relating to various issues including: carbon tax, solar, utility disconnects, a county franchise fee, and energy efficiency in public schools. UPCOMING BOARD MEETINGS April 28 May 12 June 23 Annual Meeting Jerry Berger President Joe Van Meter Vice-President BOARD OF DIRECTORS Alicia Bonesteele Jeff Anderson Secretary/Treasurer Dave Bauer Carl Beach Paul Ennor Hayden Allbritton Leadership Youth Rep All board meetings are held at 7 PM at Salem Electric, 633 Seventh Street NW, Salem, Oregon salemelectric.com I m not only a Lineman I also coach a girls lacrosse team Shawn, serving you since 1993

6 CAPITAL CREDITS Each year Salem Electric publishes a list of former members we are unable to locate in order to issue them a capital credit refund. The publication (shown here) will be periodically inserted in the Statesman Journal and sent to specific zip codes over the next few months. You can also visit Quick Links on SalemElectric.com and click on Capital Credits to access the information. h Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) EXPANDED PILOT PROJECT This summer Salem Electric will be expanding our AMI pilot project. The 400 meter project will include both residential and commercial members in parts of West Salem and Keizer. AMI benefits members by allowing them access to their real-time energy use. It also benefits Salem Electric with remote connect and disconnect functions and on-demand meter reading capabilities. Automating these functions allows us to respond even quicker to member questions and requests. It also helps us quickly identify and diagnose outages. h SALEM ELECTRIC PO BOX SEVENTH STREET NW SALEM, OR PH: FAX: se@salemelectric.com SalemElectric.com Printed on recycled paper with soy-based ink.