TIPS From T.I.P.Published By The T.I.P. Rural Electric Cooperative

OWNED BY THOSE WE SERVEBrooklyn, Iowa

T.I.P. Rural Electric Regular Hours 8 to 4:30 Weekdays ..........641-522-9221 or Toll Free ................................................. 800-934-7976 After Hours (Outages & Emergencies Only) ..641-522-9223 or Toll Free ............................................... 800-934-7976

website: www.tiprec.com

May 2017

TIPS from T.I.P. is published monthly for members of T.I.P. Rural Electric Cooperative, 612 W. Des Moines St., Brooklyn, Iowa 52211.

Non-Discrimination Statement“This institution is an equal opportunity provider

and employer.”

Randy Goeke, Assistant General Manager, (left), retired January 31, 2017, after 43 years of dedicated service to T.I.P. Randy was very instrumental in bringing business technology to T.I.P. and ensuring that your cooperative kept up to date with the changing technology. He contributed to your cooperative in many ways and enabled T.I.P. to move toward the future. Randy is shown above receiving a watch from T.I.P. presented by Board President, Lee King, at his retirement party held March 18th. Randy plans to keep busy working around home, doing consulting and traveling.

We wish Randy a long and happy retirement!

Congratulations, Randy!Youth Tour Winner Chosen

Nominating Committee Members for August Annual Meeting At your August 2017 annual meeting, directors will be elected from the following counties:

Iowa Keokuk Poweshiek

If you are a Co-op member and you know of a member from any of these counties whom you would like to serve on the nominating committee which will select director candidates, contact any present director or the cooperative office and give that member’s name before June 2, 2017.

Energy Efficiency Tip of the MonthKeep warm summer air outside where it

belongs! Add caulk or weatherstripping to seal airleaks around leaky doors and windows.

Cooperative Response Center, Inc. Will Answer After Hours Calls

Your cooperative has hired Cooperative Response Center, Inc., (CRC), to handle after hours outage calls, manage the outage and to dispatch line crews to restore your power beginning in the middle of May. For many years, CRC has served cooperatives while focusing on the unique demands of the electric cooperative industry.How Does CRC Work?

Depending on the severity of the outage, when you call us you will either talk to a person or follow an automated system to report your outage. Your outage will be reported to CRC and they will promptly dispatch a crew or crews to restore your power.Why Did We Hire CRC?

This will help eliminate the problem of members getting a busy signal whenever they call in to report a power outage due to the large number of other members trying to call at the same time. This has been a concern of our member-consumers for many years.

T.I.P strives to provide you with excellent customer service and this will enable us to do so.

Properly Sized Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Units Make a Difference

Ensuring your HVAC system is the right size goes a long ways to reducing the energy usage in the home. A Department of Energy study shows that most HVAC systems don’t run as efficiently as they could because they are not installed correctly or they are the wrong size. This translates to not having the comfort level you are seeking and over-paying on your utility bills - all the more reason to determine the right size system for your home.

Why is an oversized system problematic for the average homeowner? Heating and cooling account for more than half of the energy use in a typical U.S. home. So, if your HVAC unit is too big, it means that it may be “short cycling,” or constantly turning off and on. When the unit runs in short bursts, it will not run long enough to eliminate all of the humidity in your home. If you are relying on the air conditioning mode, it could mean a short-cycling system leaves more moisture in the air, making your home feel sticky and warm; this can also lead to the growth of mold and mildew. Heating and cooling in short bursts also result in uneven temperatures and hot or cold spots in your home. Lastly, the unit’s parts wear down prematurely.

On the other hand, if your HVAC equipment is too small, you have a different problem - the unit is constantly

running in order to try to keep up with demand. This also means that your space is never heated or cooled adequately, and you have unnecessarily high energy bills.

For more information on energy efficiency resources and programs, contact your cooperative at 800-934-7976 or visit www.tiprec.com.

Your REC office will be closed Memorial Day, Monday, May 29th.

T.I.P. Rural Electric Cooperative is excited to announce that Austin Hall, son of Jeff and Jodi Hall of Victor, was selected to go on the Washington, D.C. Youth Tour trip in June.

Austin is a Sophomore at the BGM Community High School where he is involved in football, baseball, trap shooting

and SPARC training camp during the summer.

In his spare time, Austin enjoys hunting, fishing, watching football, lifting weights, hanging out with friends and cruising around town with his dog. Austin is excited to take a trip to Washington, D.C. to learn about American History, U.S. Government, and electric cooperatives in the United States. He believes that this trip is a great way to meet new people from Iowa and throughout the country to discuss how everyone lives and to compare the similarities and differences. We hope Austin has a fun and educational trip and look forward to hearing from him when he returns to Iowa!

Austin Hall

May TIPS from T.I.P. May TIPS from T.I.P.

Director, Darryl Grimm Passes Away

On Friday, March 10, 2017, Darryl Grimm, one of your dedicated directors who represented Iowa County, passed away. Darryl has served on the board for 29 years and has seen T.I.P. through a lot of changes during those years offering his guidance and knowledge of the cooperative business principles. Our condolences to his wife, Peggy, and family. T.I.P. appreciated his many years of dedicated service on the board.

This May, Take the Time to Plug into Safety This month, let’s take a moment to reflect on the importance of safety. May is Electrical Safety Month, and T.I.P. Rural Electric Cooperative will continue to share safety tips and reminders throughout the year to help raise awareness about the dangers of electricity. Check out our website at www.tiprec.com for safety tips. We all depend on electricity to power our lives, but accidents can happen when electricity is improperly used.Our Responsibility to You Your cooperative’s concern for safety extends beyond our employees. We care deeply about the safety of our members, and this month, we encourage you to plug into safety. According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International, thousands of people in the U.S. are critically injured and electrocuted as a result of electrical fires, accidents and electrocution in their own homes. To promote safety education in our local communities, we visit the schools in our service territory and 4-H group events and give safety presentations. We frequently provide electrical safety content in this newsletter and in the Living with Energy in Iowa magazine, and we encourage the public to contact us if they see a downed power line or any other type of dangerous electrical situation. We strive to provide our communities with safe, reliable and affordable electricity and to serve as your trusted energy advisor, now and well into the future.Our Responsibility to Employees We are committed to a culture of safety that is integral to our daily operations. In fact, your cooperative follows specific guidelines and protocols for electrical safety. Our lineworkers are required to wear personal protective equipment at all times when on the job. For example, special fire-resistant clothing that will self-extinguish and insulated rubber gloves that are worn to protect from electrical shock. Our management and employees also discuss important safety issues pertaining to work within the building as well as out in the field.

Co-op Employees Prepare to Save Lives Safety is top priority at T.I.P. Rural Electric Cooperative. While we focus on accident prevention year round, it is also important for T.I.P. employees to learn how to respond in a medical emergency. This spring, our employees were trained to properly administer CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), use an AED (automated external defibrillator), as well as perform first aid. With approximately 1,700 miles of power lines to maintain, T.I.P. crews come across members and the general public on a daily basis. You never know when the need for CPR and first aid will arise. From finding an unresponsive driver of a vehicle on the side of the road, a member in their own yard, or a colleague collapsing in an office, electric co-op employees from across the nation have been called upon to perform CPR and use an AED. Performing CPR right away and using an AED within a few minutes offer the best chances of saving a life. Your cooperative has AEDs in the office and in some of the trucks. Co-op employees also learned how to administer first aid until emergency medical providers arrive. This included training on how to assist someone who is choking, or requires bandaging of a wound, as well as other medical situations.

Annual REC Day on the Hill On Wednesday, March 22nd, your board of directors along with a large number of REC advocates, traveled to the Statehouse in Des Moines to visit with our legislators and lawmakers. Advocates started the day by hearing House Resolution 14 read in and passed by the Iowa House. The three House Commerce Subcommittee members that started the legislative process for the energy efficiency bill shared the duty of reading in the resolution which honored the 75th anniversary of the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives and the important role rural electric cooperatives have played in Iowa’s economy. The same day Governor Branstad signed SF 331 into law. This energy efficiency reporting bill will enable co-op staff to have more time to be out with consumer-owners in the community offering advice about ways to save energy instead of sitting behind a desk organizing data. Participants ended the day by enjoying the display booths and talking with legislators and thanking them for their work on bills like the energy efficiency legislation and encouraged them to continue to work on bills like geothermal property tax exemptions to level the playing field among renewable energy incentives. Common sense proposals are what the RECs are known for as we work to provide you with safe, reliable, environmentally responsible electricity.

5 Tips to Spring into Summer Spring is the perfect time to begin saving energy around the home. By taking advantage of the mild weather, you can make improvements needed to transition from the cold winter. Here are five ways to spring into summer.1. Replace your air filter. Replacing a dirty, clogged air filter allows your system not to work so hard to circulate the air. Spring is also a great time to get your HVAC system serviced to make sure it is operating most efficiently.2. Seal the cracks and gaps. Keep outside air from leaking into your home. Inspect the cracks and penetrations around the home. You may need to re-apply caulking or foam where cable lines, dryer vents, and telephone lines penetrate your home. Look around windows for gaps and install door seals to the exterior doors.3. Install a smart or programmable thermostat. No need to cool an empty home. Installing an advanced thermostat can yield significant savings when programmed to work around your schedule.4. Lower your water heating costs. Turn down the temperature of your water heater to the warm setting (120 F.). Washing clothes in cold will help save energy and money.5. Save in the laundry room. The dryer is one of the larger appliances in a home. Make sure your dryer is operating at full efficiency by inspecting the dryer vent and cleaning the lint trap after every use. Air drying your clothes will also help limit your energy costs.

Employees are practicing CPR compressions and the use of an AED in the picture to the right.

Pictured above are employees practicing how to aid an infant who is choking.

Want to Pay Your Bill by Check, Debit or Credit Card? Log on to www.tiprec.com and Click on Rapid Pay or log into SmartHub or Call 888-999-0275.

T.I.P. employees pictured to the left are practicing their CPR skills.

May TIPS from T.I.P. May TIPS from T.I.P.

Director, Darryl Grimm Passes Away

On Friday, March 10, 2017, Darryl Grimm, one of your dedicated directors who represented Iowa County, passed away. Darryl has served on the board for 29 years and has seen T.I.P. through a lot of changes during those years offering his guidance and knowledge of the cooperative business principles. Our condolences to his wife, Peggy, and family. T.I.P. appreciated his many years of dedicated service on the board.

This May, Take the Time to Plug into Safety This month, let’s take a moment to reflect on the importance of safety. May is Electrical Safety Month, and T.I.P. Rural Electric Cooperative will continue to share safety tips and reminders throughout the year to help raise awareness about the dangers of electricity. Check out our website at www.tiprec.com for safety tips. We all depend on electricity to power our lives, but accidents can happen when electricity is improperly used.Our Responsibility to You Your cooperative’s concern for safety extends beyond our employees. We care deeply about the safety of our members, and this month, we encourage you to plug into safety. According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International, thousands of people in the U.S. are critically injured and electrocuted as a result of electrical fires, accidents and electrocution in their own homes. To promote safety education in our local communities, we visit the schools in our service territory and 4-H group events and give safety presentations. We frequently provide electrical safety content in this newsletter and in the Living with Energy in Iowa magazine, and we encourage the public to contact us if they see a downed power line or any other type of dangerous electrical situation. We strive to provide our communities with safe, reliable and affordable electricity and to serve as your trusted energy advisor, now and well into the future.Our Responsibility to Employees We are committed to a culture of safety that is integral to our daily operations. In fact, your cooperative follows specific guidelines and protocols for electrical safety. Our lineworkers are required to wear personal protective equipment at all times when on the job. For example, special fire-resistant clothing that will self-extinguish and insulated rubber gloves that are worn to protect from electrical shock. Our management and employees also discuss important safety issues pertaining to work within the building as well as out in the field.

Co-op Employees Prepare to Save Lives Safety is top priority at T.I.P. Rural Electric Cooperative. While we focus on accident prevention year round, it is also important for T.I.P. employees to learn how to respond in a medical emergency. This spring, our employees were trained to properly administer CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), use an AED (automated external defibrillator), as well as perform first aid. With approximately 1,700 miles of power lines to maintain, T.I.P. crews come across members and the general public on a daily basis. You never know when the need for CPR and first aid will arise. From finding an unresponsive driver of a vehicle on the side of the road, a member in their own yard, or a colleague collapsing in an office, electric co-op employees from across the nation have been called upon to perform CPR and use an AED. Performing CPR right away and using an AED within a few minutes offer the best chances of saving a life. Your cooperative has AEDs in the office and in some of the trucks. Co-op employees also learned how to administer first aid until emergency medical providers arrive. This included training on how to assist someone who is choking, or requires bandaging of a wound, as well as other medical situations.

Annual REC Day on the Hill On Wednesday, March 22nd, your board of directors along with a large number of REC advocates, traveled to the Statehouse in Des Moines to visit with our legislators and lawmakers. Advocates started the day by hearing House Resolution 14 read in and passed by the Iowa House. The three House Commerce Subcommittee members that started the legislative process for the energy efficiency bill shared the duty of reading in the resolution which honored the 75th anniversary of the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives and the important role rural electric cooperatives have played in Iowa’s economy. The same day Governor Branstad signed SF 331 into law. This energy efficiency reporting bill will enable co-op staff to have more time to be out with consumer-owners in the community offering advice about ways to save energy instead of sitting behind a desk organizing data. Participants ended the day by enjoying the display booths and talking with legislators and thanking them for their work on bills like the energy efficiency legislation and encouraged them to continue to work on bills like geothermal property tax exemptions to level the playing field among renewable energy incentives. Common sense proposals are what the RECs are known for as we work to provide you with safe, reliable, environmentally responsible electricity.

5 Tips to Spring into Summer Spring is the perfect time to begin saving energy around the home. By taking advantage of the mild weather, you can make improvements needed to transition from the cold winter. Here are five ways to spring into summer.1. Replace your air filter. Replacing a dirty, clogged air filter allows your system not to work so hard to circulate the air. Spring is also a great time to get your HVAC system serviced to make sure it is operating most efficiently.2. Seal the cracks and gaps. Keep outside air from leaking into your home. Inspect the cracks and penetrations around the home. You may need to re-apply caulking or foam where cable lines, dryer vents, and telephone lines penetrate your home. Look around windows for gaps and install door seals to the exterior doors.3. Install a smart or programmable thermostat. No need to cool an empty home. Installing an advanced thermostat can yield significant savings when programmed to work around your schedule.4. Lower your water heating costs. Turn down the temperature of your water heater to the warm setting (120 F.). Washing clothes in cold will help save energy and money.5. Save in the laundry room. The dryer is one of the larger appliances in a home. Make sure your dryer is operating at full efficiency by inspecting the dryer vent and cleaning the lint trap after every use. Air drying your clothes will also help limit your energy costs.

Employees are practicing CPR compressions and the use of an AED in the picture to the right.

Pictured above are employees practicing how to aid an infant who is choking.

Want to Pay Your Bill by Check, Debit or Credit Card? Log on to www.tiprec.com and Click on Rapid Pay or log into SmartHub or Call 888-999-0275.

T.I.P. employees pictured to the left are practicing their CPR skills.

TIPS From T.I.P.Published By The T.I.P. Rural Electric Cooperative

OWNED BY THOSE WE SERVEBrooklyn, Iowa

T.I.P. Rural Electric Regular Hours 8 to 4:30 Weekdays ..........641-522-9221 or Toll Free ................................................. 800-934-7976 After Hours (Outages & Emergencies Only) ..641-522-9223 or Toll Free ............................................... 800-934-7976

website: www.tiprec.com

May 2017

TIPS from T.I.P. is published monthly for members of T.I.P. Rural Electric Cooperative, 612 W. Des Moines St., Brooklyn, Iowa 52211.

Non-Discrimination Statement “This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.”

Randy Goeke, Assistant General Manager, (left), retired January 31, 2017, after 43 years of dedicated service to T.I.P. Randy was very instrumental in bringing business technology to T.I.P. and ensuring that your cooperative kept up to date with the changing technology. He contributed to your cooperative in many ways and enabled T.I.P. to move toward the future. Randy is shown above receiving a watch from T.I.P. presented by Board President, Lee King, at his retirement party held March 18th. Randy plans to keep busy working around home, doing consulting and traveling. We wish Randy a long and happy retirement!

Congratulations, Randy!

Youth Tour Winner Chosen

Nominating Committee Members for August Annual Meeting At your August 2017 annual meeting, directors will be elected from the following counties:

Iowa Keokuk Poweshiek

If you are a Co-op member and you know of a member from any of these counties whom you would like to serve on the nominating committee which will select director candidates, contact any present director or the cooperative office and give that member’s name before June 2, 2017.

Energy Efficiency Tip of the Month Keep warm summer air outside where it belongs! Add caulk or weatherstripping to seal air leaks around leaky doors and windows.

Cooperative Response Center, Inc. Will Answer After Hours Calls Your cooperative has hired Cooperative Response Center, Inc., (CRC), to handle after hours outage calls, manage the outage and to dispatch line crews to restore your power beginning in the middle of May. For many years, CRC has served cooperatives while focusing on the unique demands of the electric cooperative industry.How Does CRC Work? Depending on the severity of the outage, when you call us you will either talk to a person or follow an automated system to report your outage. Your outage will be reported to CRC and they will promptly dispatch a crew or crews to restore your power.Why Did We Hire CRC? This will help eliminate the problem of members getting a busy signal whenever they call in to report a power outage due to the large number of other members trying to call at the same time. This has been a concern of our member-consumers for many years. T.I.P strives to provide you with excellent customer service and this will enable us to do so.

Properly Sized Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Units Make a Difference Ensuring your HVAC system is the right size goes a long ways to reducing the energy usage in the home. A Department of Energy study shows that most HVAC systems don’t run as efficiently as they could because they are not installed correctly or they are the wrong size. This translates to not having the comfort level you are seeking and over-paying on your utility bills - all the more reason to determine the right size system for your home. Why is an oversized system problematic for the average homeowner? Heating and cooling account for more than half of the energy use in a typical U.S. home. So, if your HVAC unit is too big, it means that it may be “short cycling,” or constantly turning off and on. When the unit runs in short bursts, it will not run long enough to eliminate all of the humidity in your home. If you are relying on the air conditioning mode, it could mean a short-cycling system leaves more moisture in the air, making your home feel sticky and warm; this can also lead to the growth of mold and mildew. Heating and cooling in short bursts also result in uneven temperatures and hot or cold spots in your home. Lastly, the unit’s parts wear down prematurely. On the other hand, if your HVAC equipment is too small, you have a different problem - the unit is constantly

running in order to try to keep up with demand. This also means that your space is never heated or cooled adequately, and you have unnecessarily high energy bills. For more information on energy efficiency resources and programs, contact your cooperative at 800-934-7976 or visit www.tiprec.com.

Your REC office will be closed Memorial Day, Monday, May 29th.

T.I.P. Rural Electric Cooperative is excited to announce that Austin Hall, son of Jeff and Jodi Hall of Victor, was selected to go on the Washington, D.C. Youth Tour trip in June. Austin is a Sophomore at the BGM Community High School where he is involved in football, baseball, trap shooting

and SPARC training camp during the summer.

In his spare time, Austin enjoys hunting, fishing, watching football, lifting weights, hanging out with friends and cruising around town with his dog. Austin is excited to take a trip to Washington, D.C. to learn about American History, U.S. Government, and electric cooperatives in the United States. He believes that this trip is a great way to meet new people from Iowa and throughout the country to discuss how everyone lives and to compare the similarities and differences. We hope Austin has a fun and educational trip and look forward to hearing from him when he returns to Iowa!

Austin Hall