Greetings!

Our electricity provider, Pedernales Electric Coop (PEC), is beginning the annual election phase. This is the year to re-elect or elect representatives for Districts 1, 6 and 7. Each potential candidate must obtain the signatures of at least 50 current PEC clients (residents or businesses) located in the candidate's district. Meadowlakes is in District 1, and our representative for the past almost six years has been our neighbor, Cristi Clement.  

Again this year, I was asked by the PEC Board to serve as the representative of District 1 on the committee that reviewed applicants (from all three districts) to be sure they meet all of the criteria established by the PEC Bylaws. Two candidates (not for our District) failed to get enough valid signatures, even though they each turned in more than 50. The most frequent reason that a signature was disqualified was that it was not the name actually shown on the PEC account.

Often, only one person at a residence or business is actually shown on an account as the "responsible" person. That was the case for my mother-in-law. Her husband died in 1992, but their account was never updated to show her name. Her signature on a candidate's petition would not have been acceptable. Failing to update the account holder's name also made it complicated, after she moved to assisted living in 2007. Lots of hoops to jump through in order to file a claim with PEC for the total money accrued to their account, going back to when they moved to Meadowlakes in 1977!

Bottom line - there may be exceptions, but most of the time it is good to have both spouses' names on the PEC account.