The people of eastern Montana and western North Dakota are used to working through the results of harsh weather on the northern plains. McKenzie Electric Coop, Watford City, is trying to make it easier with its app and new outage map.
McKenzie Electric Coop has been providing the people of North Dakota with power since 1945. They currently have members in five different North Dakota counties and two different counties in Montana, 4,486 miles of lines, and 4,657 total members. To offer another way for members to communicate with the coop, an alternative bill pay option, and a quicker way for members to get the information they needed on their service, the electric coop launched the SmartHub app in March 2016. According to their website, there are several benefits to Smart Hub. With it, members can view and pay bills online 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They can also set up automatic payments, email, and text alerts, and even choose a preferred method of payment. With the usage exploration tool, members can view past bills and up to 13 months of their usage history along with the average temp for each month. Member Services Coordinator Andrew Spratta said, "The biggest incentive SmartHub offers our membership is reliability. With the uncertainty of mail delivery members can pay their bill on time regardless of whether the mail is moving."
McKenzie Electric also launched an online integrated outage map in December 2022. Members can report outages and go online to check the status of outages in real-time. The map is not a part of the Smart Hub app but can be found on the website. Spratta said, "If we had another outage, like the one in April 2022, you won't need to wait in the queue over the phone to report an outage. You can simply report the outage through SmartHub and view the outage map online. McKenzie Electric does more than bring electricity to its members and the communities it serves with scholarship, grant, and rebate programs.
To find out more about McKenzie Electric and what they do for the members and communities they serve visit them online on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. People can also visit their website at http://www.mckenzieelectric.com or in person at 3817 23rd Ave. NE, Watford City.
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