South River EMC FAQ

South River EMC has two ways to apply for service, in person or over the phone.

To apply in person, you will need to have a driver's license, your social security number and a copy of your purchase or rental contract.

Since electricity is billed after it is used, we may require a security deposit before connecting your service. The security deposit amount will be based on type of service, history of the service location or available information.

A credit check will be performed to determine deposit requirements for new South River EMC members. You have the option of declining the credit check, thus paying the deposit or securing the account by obtaining a cosigner/guarantor. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act any prospective member applying for service is entitled to receive a free copy of their credit report if they have been declined credit.

Deposit requirements for current or previous South River EMC members are determined by reviewing prior or active South River EMC account information.

A $25 Administrative Service Charge will be charged to your first bill.

When applying for service over the phone, the same information will be required. You will need to call our office at 910-892-8071 and speak with a customer service representative, or CSR. Documents will need to be faxed to the Cooperative (picture ID, social security card, purchase or rental agreement) at 910-230-2981.

When meeting a staker you are required to have your plot plan, as well as plans for whatever work will be done.
In the case of adding an outdoor light, the property owner must meet with the staker, renters may not request outdoor light installation through South River EMC.

A person renting follows the same rules, providing a picture ID, social security number and rental agreement at the time of contact with the Cooperative. When the renter moves they must contact the Cooperative and have service cut off in their name. After this occurs, the landlord will need to call to have service placed back in their name.

A blink is a perfectly normal, if sometimes annoying, occurrence. Blinks are momentary power interruptions that occur when a breaker, or switch, opens. This typically happens because of a large, quick rise of electrical current. What causes the rise? It varies, from a tree branch touching the line, to a lighting strike, to even a wire break. When it happens, that switch opens, preventing the flow of power to the problem area. It may take two seconds to 15 seconds, but once the electric line is clear, power will return.

South River EMC offers several methods of payment.

Online-You can pay your electric bill online using our secure connection. Click the link marked online bill pay on the left side of the screen or click here.
 

Electronic Draft- Call our Customer Service Department at 910-892-8071 or e-mail us at sremc@sremc.com and request a draft authorization form. The form will be mailed to you and it must be signed and returned with a voided check (deposit slips & counter checks are not accepted). The account with South River EMC must have an excellent credit rating. It takes 30 days from the time you submit your authorization for the draft process to begin.
 

Budget Billing- Your monthly bill is based on a rolling 13-month average electric bill, which means it will vary slightly and you'll avoid the abrupt highs and lows caused by fluctuating weather patterns. Each month we will base your monthly amount on the average of the current bill and the previous 12 months. Average is good. This way, you do not have the annual true-up - which makes everyone happy. If interested in Budget Billing you need to have had service with South River EMC for a minimum of 12 months and your account must be current. Call our office at 892-8071 or e-mail us at billing@sremc.com and request Budget Billing. Our customer service department can figure your average and have your new payment amount ready for your next bill!

E-check- E-checks are an option for those members who, for various reasons, prefer not to use, or don’t have credit or debit cards. An e-check performs the same function as a traditional paper check-transferring funds from one party to another-but the payment is made electronically instead of by physically routing a paper check. E-checks can be initiated online by members through the online bill pay link, or by a phone call to the office at 910-892-8071. In both cases, the member provides the same information. Processing of the payment occurs in the same manner, with two exceptions: For payments by phone, the member calls the Cooperative and provides their bank account number, routing number, check number and the amount they are paying. A customer service representative will verify this information to ensure the correct information is processed. For payments through the Web site, members will be responsible for entering their own information. There are no charges for using this service and payments are processed quickly.
 

In person- You can pay in person at either office by credit card, check, money order or cash. Our offices are located:

Dunn Headquarters

Fayetteville District Operations

17494 US 421 South
Dunn, NC 28334

6491 Ramsey St.
Fayetteville, NC 28311
 

Over the phone- Members are able to call our office at 910-892-8071 to pay their bill by credit card.

Money Gram- Members can now pay their bill using the Money Gram service offered at many locations. Money Gram is a money transfer service for members who may not be able to make it into the office to pay their bill. Our "receive code," a unique code that identifies South River EMC as the payee is 9736. These electronic payments are posted the next business day. Numerous businesses take Moneygram payments and the cost is around $2.00.

MoneyGram Express- Members using the MoneyGram Express payment option can make their payment and have it reach their account immediately. If service has been disconnected, the member will need to pay the full amount, including fees, to have service restored. Remember, South River EMC's "recevice code" is 9736.

For local businesses where you can make a Money Gram payment visit the Money Gram Web site.

The Equalizer is a temporary measure used to recover unexpected increases incurred by the Cooperative.

This is a monthly charge, which is adjusted annually, to recover the costs incurred during the year to comply with the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard law, North Carolina General Statue 62-133.8 (link is external) and North Carolina Utilities Commission Rule R8-67.

OPRU stands for the program, Operation Round Up. Each month, the electric cooperative simply “rounds up” the electric bills of participating members to the next highest dollar. For example, let’s say your bill one month is $81.75, the bill would be automatically rounded up to $82 and the extra 25¢ would be deposited in the Operation Round Up fund. Through participation in Operation Round Up, the average contribution per member is approximately 50¢ a month, or $6 annually. Small change to the individual, can add up to thousands of dollars for the program. Who controls the funds? The South River Community Assistance Corporation, or CAC, a nonprofit foundation, will handle the distribution of funds. An independent board of directors, made up of community leaders, govern the CAC and the distribution of funds. The funds will be given primarily to organizations that are serving either the health, safety, educational or recreational needs of citizens within our service area or to individuals or families who have fallen on unusually tough times.

The program is voluntary. Each member is automatically signed up to participate, but any member who chooses not to participate, may withdraw by simply notifying the Cooperative. You can also opt out by contacting our office at (910)892-8071 or sending an e-mail to sremc@sremc.com. Please put “Operation Round Up Opt-Out” in the subject line.

There are several ways in which the weather can affect a member's electric use and their bill.
When it is especially hot or cold outside, your HVAC system is working hard to maintain the level of comfort set on your thermostat. The greater the loss of warm or cool air from your home, the longer a system must work to maintain comfort levels. Heating and cooling your home takes up 50 percent of your electric bill.

Your thermostat should be set at 68° in the winter and 78° in the summer. If that's too cold or too hot, try 70° and 76° respectively. These thermostat changes will help, but if you set your thermostat at 74° in the winter and summer, expect to see a higher bill. If you have a programmable thermostat, when you are out of the home, let the house get a little warmer or cooler, depending. Have it set so that when you return at 5:30 p.m. your home is a tolerable temperature for you. When you plan to be out of your home for more than a month, turn your system off to save energy and money.

Get your home checked out, whether by a professional, or by yourself. Check for insufficient insulation, or leaks around your home. Insulation creates resistance, keeping warm air in your home during the winter and cold air during the summer, but if you have insufficient insulation, the air could be flowing out. Same goes for leaks, if there is a leak in your ductwork, you are wasting precious money. Your heating and cooling system works to keep a room at the temperature you set it at, and if air is getting out, a unit is working even harder to get your air to you and keep the room at the set temperature. Weatherstripping, caulking and insulation help in cutting electric costs. If you are unable to weatherize your home, or unsure of what to do, contact your local Community Action Program, for more information see our page on tax credits. The problems may lie in your ducts, or even your water heater. If your water heater has a leak, it will be a gradual increase and not something that will stand out on initial inspection. South River EMC has energy marketing specialists who are available to perform energy audits and speak with you if you have questions regarding a high bill.

In the event that you want to make changes to your electric service, please call the South River EMC office to speak with someone in customer service. Depending on the type of changes needing to be made, you make need to speak with someone in the staking department.

You will need to contact Deborah Shride at South River EMC who will set up an appointment with a staker. The staker will meet you on your property to discuss options and offer advice and contact information. However South River EMC is only responsible for movement of facilities and not the movement of a meter base.

Can I change my meter base without having my home inspected again?

This varies by county, please check with your county office by visiting their respective Web site.

Bladen County

910-862-6780 (building and inspection)

Cumberland County

91-678-7600 (planning and inspection)

Harnett County

910-893-7525 (planning and inspection)

Johnston County

919-989-5060 (building and inspection)

Sampson County

910-592-0146 (inspection information)

In the event that your outdoor light is not working, please call the South River EMC office and ask to speak with a customer service rep. Members will need their account number for an outdoor light or a nearby address for a street light. If able, please also have the pole number available, it is located on the yellow tag around your pole. This helps the employee find your location. Upon informing the customer service rep. of the outage, an order is made and a serviceman will be out to fix the light as soon as possible.

Members have several choices regarding outdoor lighting. A list of lighting choices, prices and photos can be found here. The Cooperative will install a light for the price listed when the light is installed on an existing pole.

In the event of an outage, please call the South River EMC office at 910-892-8071.
You can text your outage in, but you must be registered before the event occurs, because it does take time to set up.
In either case, you will need to have your account number readily available, as well as your meter number, if possible. Your meter number is the 10-digit number located on your electric meter.
*Please be patient, in the event of a weather related outage, it may take several calls to get through as we may be receiving a high volume of calls from members.

In the event that a tree is interfering with your electric service, please alert the Cooperative. You will need to speak with a customer service representative and you may be required to provide additional information on the location. An order will be generated and a crew will be out to trim. You do not need to be present at this time. The crew will clear debris from the property as long as it is accessible by clean-up equipment. Please be aware of where you plant bushes and plants. Often times, when crews are performing maintenance, these plants are casualties. In order to avoid this, do not plant bushes or flowers in the area surrounding power lines, poles or security lights. In the case of general maintenance, crews are constantly out trimming and mowing in the service area.

When you contact us about clearing a tree, an employee or crew will be sent out to assess the situation.