Someday, consumers may be using lights that won’t show up on the monthly “light bill” or electric bill. The lights, which could replace fluorescent and be much more efficient than LED lamps, will glow using the science found in fireflies. Scientists at Syracuse University have made what they are calling a transformational advance in an… Continue reading.

While electric co-ops have mascot Willie Wiredhand promoting electrical safety and energy efficiency as a “spokes plug,” the electric world as a whole has a special “spokes BUG” — Louie the Lightning Bug — who’s willing and able to teach safety and efficiency to consumers of all ages and of all electric utilities. Louie’s caretakers at… Continue reading.

Thomas Say is the namesake for the “Say’s Firefly” (Pyractomena angulata), the variety of firefly that has been proposed as the Indiana state insect. Say is known as the “father of American entomology.” Born in Philadelphia in 1787, he was a self-taught naturalist, and one of the first American-born naturalists to gain renown. At age… Continue reading.

‘All my life’s a circle …,” the late singer/songwriter Harry Chapin used to leave his audiences singing. “The season’s spinnin’ round again, the years keep rollin’ by …” As the calendar pages of 2017 begin turning, the names of student winners in the recently completed cooperative student art contest or the schools from where they… Continue reading.

From the time the Schuler kids were barely up off the floor, the rural North Manchester siblings were encouraged to create art. First came Eli, now a high school senior. Then came triplets Attie, Ellie and Hallie, sophomores. Then came Will, an eighth grader. And finally, there’s Lily, a first grader. While all are creative… Continue reading.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to fit all of the hiking photos we received from our readers into our April magazine. However, we’re happy to share some more reader-submitted photos here for you to enjoy!    

For years, Jim and Gloria Humphreys would gaze out toward the towering tri-bladed turbines of the Meadow Lake Wind Farm south of their rural Wolcott home. The colossal pinwheels, clustered across the land for as far as their eyes could see, had them wondering two things: • if they’d ever see the pair planned for… Continue reading.

In what many see as a stunning — even unprecedented — action, the United States Supreme Court halted the Obama administration’s sweeping rule to cut carbon emissions from power providers until the many legal challenges surrounding the 2015 regulation are reviewed by the courts. The 5-4 order came Feb. 9. For now, the stay stops… Continue reading.

Readers weren’t shy about sharing their love stories for February’s ‘How I Met My Sweetheart’ feature. Though we only had room for 13 letters and six excerpts in the print version of Electric Consumer, there were many more reader-written stories that touched our hearts. We’d like to share some of them with you. Check back… Continue reading.

By Emily Schilling When Ron Arnholt first ran for a local REMC board position in 1986, he thought he had it all figured out. Just 28 years old, he was vying for a seat vacated by a distant relative only because folks he knew on the nominating committee asked him to run. If he won… Continue reading.

One thing most all sweethearts get asked at some point: “How did you meet?” For some, it was like Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Some Enchanted Evening.” Sparks flew at the first meeting of eyes across a crowded room, love at first sight. Sometimes, one person felt that spark right away, while the other looked for the… Continue reading.

Even as a college sophomore with little experience being interviewed, Michelle Study-Campbell said she knew this one was not going well. Before a panel of politicos, she was applying for a statehouse internship for the 1996 legislative session. “As I was interviewing, I could see it was kind of flat. I wasn’t getting a lot… Continue reading.