Blog
Sutherland Springs: Healing Through Faith and Community
Community can be defined a few ways. It’s the area you live in, a society you’re a part of, the feeling of fellowship and caring for those around you—in short, it’s belonging to something bigger than yourself. Often, when unfortunate or tragic events strike our...
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GVEC Members Continue Supporting Their Communities Through Power Up
Ten Power Up™ Grants Awarded GVEC’s Power Up community grant program continues to grow, with ten more nonprofit organizations receiving approximately $149,796 during the second grant distribution cycle for 2019. These grants, which provide funding assistance for...
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Today’s Weather Becomes Next Month’s Electricity Bill
Sample of a GVEC member electric bill, with the Service Dates and Billing Date highlighted. As you've probably noticed, the temperature's been dropping recently, and even cooler weather is just around the corner. All over South Central Texas, our long summer of...
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GVEC Recipe Calendars: A GVEC Tradition
Leigh Pirkle is in her kitchen when her mother-in-law, Valasta, arrives. She has come to show Leigh and a friend how to make her “famous” cream cheese rolls—a recipe that has been in their family for a long time. Valasta almost immediately notices the GVEC recipe...
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One of GVEC’s Largest Economic Development Projects
In August, GVEC completed the sale of a 159-acre tract of land, making it one of the Cooperative’s largest economic development projects to date. The acreage will be the future location of the third U.S. facility for Aisin AW, a Japan-based Fortune 500 company and...
read moreNovember Message from GVEC General Manager Darren Schauer – Why Economic Development Matters to GVEC
When you hear me say community is a priority to GVEC, you may assume I’m speaking of community service programs like our Powertown™ displays and Louie the Lightning Bug presentations at local schools. Maybe you think of lending GVEC port-a-cools to community events...
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How We Halloween at GVEC
At GVEC, we believe it’s important to strive to be the best at whatever we do, and Halloween is no exception! Every year, we encourage our employees to dress up, as groups or individually, as a very “spirited” and competitive costume contest ensues. Countless...
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GVEC Recognized for Topping the State in Solar Capacity
In recent years, GVEC has seen more customers elevating their initial investments in solar with an eye toward offsetting the majority of their energy consumption with renewable technology. The Cooperative anticipates this trend holding steady, if not increasing, in...
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Halloween Safety is No Trick
A Treacherous Night to Prowl for Treats Although there are many make-believe dangers on Halloween, others aren’t imaginary. Did you know, for instance, that kids are twice as likely to be hit by a car on Halloween night than on any other day of the year? This is...
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Staking out Your Energy Vampires
It’s Not your Imagination: These Vampires Are Real At GVEC, we can’t stop thinking about vampires—but not the bloodsucking kind! We’re talking about energy vampires! They lurk in virtually every room of your home, with glowing eyes of red or green that never blink and...
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Tech Upgrades: Making GVEC’s Grid Smarter than Ever
GVEC Executive Manager of Engineering Zachary Taylor explained that the Cooperative’s new SCADA software will improve GVEC’s 24/7 monitoring ability across the entire grid. It will also enable remote monitoring beyond the Cooperative Control Center (CCC), a powerful...
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October is National Fire Prevention Month
Sobering Statistics About Electrical Fires According to The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI), around 51,000 homes catch fire each year due to electrical malfunctions. On average, these incidents result in almost 500 deaths, over 1,400 injuries and...
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Small-Town Healthcare in Yoakum Gets a Power Up
Yoakum Community Hospital receives a $20,000 Power Up grant toward the purchase of 3D mammography equipment. From left: Ronald L. Leck, hospital board trustee; John Olivares, hospital CFO; Clay Hermann, hospital board trustee; Karen Barber, hospital CEO; Becky...
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A Battle that Touches Us All: Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2019
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month If you’re a breast cancer survivor or have been recently diagnosed, October is a great time to be reminded you’re not alone. Given October’s intensive focus on this type of cancer, it’s also a great time to take advantage of...
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GVEC Awarded ‘Community Broadband Project of the Year’
GVEC General Manager and CEO Darren Schauer (middle) accepts the 2019 Community Broadband Project of the Year Award from National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) Board Member Gabriel Garcia, director and senior counsel, CPS Energy...
read moreOctober Message from GVEC General Manager Darren Schauer — Safety as a Culture and Lifestyle
If you’re a regular GVEC Review reader, you know that we write about safety often. Electricity is everywhere in our lives, and that makes it something consumers frequently take for granted, seldom thinking about how dangerous it can be. That’s where GVEC comes in. The...
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Hurricane Power Outages: Are You Prepared?
Hurricane power outages are different from your typical thunderstorm-related outages, as many GVEC members experienced during Hurricane Harvey. It may take longer for power to be restored because of unsafe conditions. You may face additional hazards around your home...
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Planting Fall Foliage: 811 and Other Practical Points
If you’re beginning to plan your fall garden, don’t leave out calling 811 as part of you pre-planting preparation! Call Before You Dig No matter the reason—planting, building, home improvements—make sure to call before you dig! You’re not only keeping yourself and...
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Sneaky Energy Wasters in Your Home!
With the hot weather we’ve experienced lately, you’ve probably been more mindful about energy consumption in your home. While there are obvious ways to conserve electricity—turning off lights and fans in rooms you’re not using, turning your AC up when you’re away from...
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Are Y’all Ready to Crawl?
The Best Little Yarn Crawl in Texas is October 11-20! Knitters, crochet crafters and fiber fanatics throughout the area are crawling with excitement. Why? Because it’s almost time for the 13th annual Best Little Yarn Crawl in Texas. Every October, creative crafters...
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