TID in the Community

On Episode 8 of the TID Water & Power Podcast we sit down with TID’s Monique Hampton to discuss the TID's presence in the community.

TID has been a fixture in the community for nearly 135 years – even before the cities in the area had been incorporated. As a community-owned utility, TID is owned by our customers and governed by a five-member, elected board of directors. That enables us to maintain local control and decision-making that benefits our unique communities. Unlike some utilities throughout the state, TID is not beholden to profit-driven shareholders, which helping keep rates low and allows TID to put money back into our community.

On this episode we talk about TID’s presence in the community, including Public Benefits programs, community events, and TID employee give back program. 

Let’s get social!
Facebook: @TurlockID
Instagram: @TurlockID
Twitter: @TurlockID
LinkedIn: /company/turlockid

Find out more about TID at https://www.TID.org/podcast. 

Let’s get social!
Facebook: @TurlockID
Instagram: @TurlockID
Twitter: @TurlockID
LinkedIn: /company/turlockid

Find out more about TID at https://www.TID.org/podcast.

Transcript

00;00;06;12 - 00;00;27;15
Speaker 1
Hello and welcome to the TID Water and Power Podcast. I'm your host, Constance Anderson. And on this month's episode, we're discussing TID in the community. TID has been a fixture in the community for nearly 135 years. Even before cities in the area had been incorporated as a community owned utility.

00;00;27;19 - 00;00;49;29
Speaker 1
TID is owned by our customers and governed by a five member elected board of directors that enables us to maintain local control and decision making that benefits our unique communities. Unlike some utilities throughout the state, TID is not beholden to profit driven shareholders, which helps us keep rates low and allows TID to put money back into our

00;00;49;29 - 00;01;07;12
Speaker 1
community. On this episode, I'm joined by TID Energy Services Manager Monique Hampton to talk about TID's presence in the community, including public benefits programs, community events and the TID Employee Giveback Program. Monique, thanks for joining us.

00;01;08;08 - 00;01;09;09
Speaker 2
Thank you for having me.

00;01;10;11 - 00;01;13;25
Speaker 1
Why don't you start by telling us a little bit about your current role with the district?

00;01;14;12 - 00;01;28;15
Speaker 2
Sure. I oversee the energy services area. Our responsibilities are to develop and implement customer facing programs such as the energy efficiency rebate programs. We do the low income programs and then we also have our electric vehicle rebate programs.

00;01;29;04 - 00;01;34;17
Speaker 1
Great. And then prior to energy services, what positions did you hold with the district?

00;01;35;08 - 00;01;49;08
Speaker 2
Sure. I was hired in 2011 as a utility analyst. Some of my responsibilities back then were still to do some energy efficiency, development and implementation of our programs. But I also spent half of my time in the electric rates department as well.

00;01;49;22 - 00;02;00;16
Speaker 1
Great. And so then from there, the TID, rather, decided that energy services was something that should stand on its own, and that's when it became its own division. Is that right?

00;02;00;17 - 00;02;19;09
Speaker 2
Yeah. In 2018, the district took a hard look at public benefits in whole and realized, you know, there is enough focus there that we really needed to focus on doing more public customer facing programs, expanding our energy efficiency rebate programs, you know, expanding our low income programs.

00;02;19;09 - 00;02;22;18
Speaker 2
And so, yeah, I actually acquired that in 2018.

00;02;22;29 - 00;02;35;05
Speaker 1
Great. So with the background from the program development, plus your experience in working on rates that kind of made for that that perfect combination to start this division as it's own division.

00;02;35;10 - 00;02;36;19
Speaker 2
Yes, exactly.

00;02;37;05 - 00;02;42;27
Speaker 1
Okay, great. And then I understand you also serve another important but volunteer role at the district. What is that?

00;02;43;14 - 00;02;52;03
Speaker 2
Yeah. In 2019, we actually formed Team TID and I am currently the president of Team TID our steering committee.

00;02;52;16 - 00;03;11;03
Speaker 1
Perfect. And we're going to talk a little bit more about Team TID a little bit farther into the podcast. So we'll come back to that one. All right. So before we get into talking more about TID's presence in the community, I think it's important to kind of reiterate that TID is community owned.

00;03;11;18 - 00;03;30;06
Speaker 1
And what that means is, in short, if you are a customer of TID, you are an owner of it. All of our decisions are made locally by a five member elected board of directors. And the money that customers pay to TID for their for their electric bills stays in our community.

00;03;30;06 - 00;03;46;13
Speaker 1
And that's something that we have the opportunity to make those local decisions based on the needs of the community. So in being community owned, you know,  TID is aware of the needs and the opportunities in our local area and our service territory.

00;03;47;01 - 00;03;50;02
Speaker 1
What are some of the ways that TID supports the community?

00;03;50;26 - 00;04;08;07
Speaker 2
Yeah, the district is very supportive of our community and we attend many local events. We have attended street fairs, we attend the farmer's market and we've partnered with Stanislaus County Fair. TID is a fixture at our local community events and local schools.

00;04;08;15 - 00;04;28;29
Speaker 2
We have an education trailer, we attend career days and ag events. TID's even gone as far as we partner with our local community groups such as South Modesto Partnership and Salvation Army and the Central Valley Opportunity Center. In addition, you know, we have the swim for free program to promote water safety and our community. TID is very involved in

00;04;28;29 - 00;04;32;11
Speaker 2
our community and we continue to do as much as we can.

00;04;32;21 - 00;04;54;07
Speaker 1
Awesome and involved in the community and in a number of different areas of the community. So that's great. Okay. So now let's talk about public benefits. Public benefits is a charge that appears on every customer's bill. But I have a feeling that not everyone knows exactly what that is or how that money is used.

00;04;54;08 - 00;04;56;04
Speaker 1
What can you tell us about public benefits?

00;04;56;17 - 00;05;17;02
Speaker 2
Sure. This was a state mandate that was signed into law in 1996. All of our rate payers do pay into public benefits. On their bills, you'll see a 2.85% surcharge that all of our ratepayers pay. And part of the mandate was that we have obligations to spend those funds on four different types of expenditures.

00;05;17;16 - 00;05;35;00
Speaker 2
The four different categories are energy efficiency, low income, renewables and research, development and demonstration. And that is what are the energy services division actually does, is create programs and services that takes those funds and again, tries to give it back to those customers.

00;05;35;25 - 00;05;45;29
Speaker 1
Great. And I think one category that you mentioned was low income programs. Can you tell us about TID's assistance programs for in that area?

00;05;46;15 - 00;06;04;12
Speaker 2
Sure. TID offers our low income payment assistance programs also known as CARES. What that is is a discount on the customer charge and a percentage off their KWH usage each month. That's an income based program and the income guidelines update annually.

00;06;04;20 - 00;06;09;01
Speaker 2
So we really encourage our customers to apply to be on our cash program.

00;06;10;24 - 00;06;13;28
Speaker 1
And when you say KWH, what does that refer to?

00;06;14;07 - 00;06;28;27
Speaker 2
That's the kilowatt hours. You'll see that on your bill. And actually that's how much energy is being used each month. We also have our TID medical rate program, and this is a program that's available for those who have specific medical equipment needs in the home.

00;06;29;19 - 00;06;43;04
Speaker 2
And so that's also offered to our customers. And then lastly, we have our weatherization program. This, too, is an income based program, and it provides energy efficiency measures in the household at no charge to the customer.

00;06;43;27 - 00;06;54;11
Speaker 1
Excellent. And all of these programs are the three that you just mentioned have very specific qualifications. If a customer thinks that they might qualify for these programs, how can they enroll?

00;06;54;27 - 00;07;07;26
Speaker 2
Yeah, sure. Customers are more than welcome to visit our Web page or give us a call. You know, we encourage all of our customers to participate in many of our programs. So we have a lot to offer and we think we have programs for everyone.

00;07;08;12 - 00;07;21;16
Speaker 1
Great. And that website that folks can go to to check out more about the programs is TID.org. What are some of the other ways that TID commits public benefits funds back to the community?

00;07;22;04 - 00;07;50;12
Speaker 2
Yeah, TID has a very expansive energy efficiency rebates program. Those are all funded by public benefits. Our rebates are offered for our residential and our commercial customers. Since 2001 TID has saved over 159 million kilowatt hours. And just to put that in perspective, if we took an average household on average, we would have saved 15,000 homes

00;07;50;23 - 00;07;53;10
Speaker 2
worth of electricity, electricity over one year.

00;07;53;22 - 00;08;07;01
Speaker 1
Wow. So the amount of electricity that would have been used by 15,000 homes in a year, that is the total amount that TID has saved. In issuing these rebates or offering these rebates to customers.

00;08;07;08 - 00;08;07;22
Speaker 2
Correct.

00;08;07;26 - 00;08;09;02
Speaker 1
Wow. That's incredible.

00;08;09;12 - 00;08;29;21
Speaker 2
Some of our residential rebates are Energy Star appliances, a central heating and air LED bulbs, and we even have a shade tree rebate. We also have commercial rebates, such as lighting improvements, dairy fans and refrigeration. We encourage all of our customers who are looking to save energy, to reach out to us to see if we have a

00;08;29;21 - 00;08;35;06
Speaker 2
rebate for them. We also have custom rebates that we're able to do for customers looking to save energy.

00;08;36;24 - 00;08;41;15
Speaker 1
And are there any rebate changes or new rebates coming in 2022?

00;08;41;17 - 00;08;57;16
Speaker 2
Yes, we are excited to bring two new programs to our portfolio. We will be offering our window replacement and induction stove rebate in 2022. Since we're close to the end of the year, this is a great opportunity for our customers to plan for energy efficiency upgrades for the new year.

00;08;58;11 - 00;09;11;26
Speaker 2
Some tips that we do have are replacing filters, changing lightbulbs. Upgrading to Energy Star appliances. And in our December 2021 wire, we will offer energy saving tips.

00;09;12;23 - 00;09;25;23
Speaker 1
I have seen a copy of the December Wired newsletter that goes out to all our residential customers. And you're right, there is a great month by month guideline in there as to ways that our customers can save throughout the year.

00;09;25;23 - 00;09;32;08
Speaker 1
So thanks for helping to put that together. Are there any other programs that are funded by public benefits?

00;09;33;12 - 00;09;52;04
Speaker 2
Yeah. So. Above and beyond our energy efficiency rebates, we also have an energy education opportunity that's offered to our school districts. We partner with a company called Tinker. And Tinker has been kind enough. They have a curriculum that's set up for for teachers.

00;09;52;11 - 00;10;05;22
Speaker 2
It's pretty turnkey. The teachers implement the curriculum and the kids get a take home kit that has some energy efficiency measures in it, which they can take home to their families and do the projects with them at home.

00;10;06;22 - 00;10;26;00
Speaker 2
We also in 2021, we rolled out our first grant program. Our grant program was offered to our municipalities, and we were excited to award one of the municipalities a lighting project that's been that's going to be completed at one of our community parks.

00;10;26;23 - 00;10;42;06
Speaker 2
And the purpose of these grant programs are, again, to give back to our community and provide an energy efficiency project that all can benefit from. We also have in the spring of 22, we're going to be rolling out our nonprofit grant program Opportunity as well.

00;10;42;24 - 00;10;52;28
Speaker 2
Scenario very similar to what we did with the municipalities. We're looking for those energy efficiency projects that the nonprofits can do, but we see the community will actually see the benefits from it.

00;10;53;23 - 00;10;58;27
Speaker 1
Okay. So how does TID determine what programs are offered year to year?

00;10;59;23 - 00;11;22;23
Speaker 2
Yeah, that's a good question. One of the challenges that energy services, you know, is up against is adapting and evolving as technology changes. You may recall that we once had CFL's and now we're into LED's. You know, we're always trying to learn what new technology is out there, offer rebates for the newer technology and pretty much, you

00;11;22;23 - 00;11;41;04
Speaker 2
know, meet our customers where they're at to try to meet their needs. One thing that we had to adapt through is COVID. So one of the things we did do to make it easier to apply for our CARES program, which is our low income program, we, you know, we put that online so customers can apply online.

00;11;41;12 - 00;11;54;29
Speaker 2
We also went as far as expanding our income eligibility so more customers could qualify. So, you know, we're always looking to see how we can better our programs to assist customers and get customers to participate.

00;11;56;00 - 00;12;13;12
Speaker 1
Absolutely. It really seems like TID works to make the most of those public benefits dollars, offering a variety of programs to meet the needs of a majority of customers. That's great. All right. So now let's talk about other public facing programs that are not funded by public benefits.

00;12;13;25 - 00;12;36;02
Speaker 2
Sure. In 2019, TID participated and the low carbon fuel standards program. So what does that mean? That gave TID the ability to create programs and rebates for electric vehicles. You know, in 2019, we started offering our residential electric vehicle rebates as long as well as the EV charging rebates.

00;12;36;10 - 00;12;56;27
Speaker 2
We create a commercial rebates for our commercial chargers and for our commercial forklifts. Since then, we continue to expand our programs. We offer commercial fleet rebates, and we're looking into expanding into DC fast charger rebates. So TID's very much evolving into the electric vehicle arena, as we know.

00;12;56;27 - 00;13;08;15
Speaker 2
That's, you know, that's part of the future. And 2022 TID is looking to actually install our own TID EV Chargers available to our public.

00;13;09;00 - 00;13;21;16
Speaker 1
Great. And now the rebates that TID provides in the way of electric vehicles and electric vehicle vehicle chargers. That doesn't come from public benefits funding. How does today pay for those rebates?

00;13;22;05 - 00;13;36;01
Speaker 2
Yeah, so that's part of the low carbon fuel standards program that TID participates in. And it's pretty much a crediting system for those who have carbon emissions. They have to pay into the crediting system and therefore TID, you know, reaps the benefits.

00;13;36;10 - 00;13;56;15
Speaker 2
Those credits actually are in turn to be applied for transportation electrification. And so that's what TID's doing with those funds. You know, we're rebating EV's and we're trying to educate our our customers about EV's. One of the things we did in 2021, in October, actually, we hosted our first ride and drive and it was extremely successful.

00;13;56;15 - 00;14;10;01
Speaker 2
And the purpose of the ride and drive was to give our customers the opportunity to come out and learn more about EV's. You know, we realize that there's some who don't understand or see the benefits, the true benefits of owning an electric vehicle.

00;14;10;24 - 00;14;26;10
Speaker 2
So we created the EV guide and if you go to EV.TID.org, you can learn more and see all the benefits of owning an electric vehicle. And to see our offerings are incentives that are available and the charging stations that are local that are available nearby.

00;14;26;27 - 00;14;38;12
Speaker 1
Great. And the EV guide doesn't just offer rebates that are being provided by it, but there are additional rebates that an interested customer might find on that site. Is that right?

00;14;38;13 - 00;14;54;02
Speaker 2
Correct. Yeah. And that's one of the cool things about that tool. Any customer can go in there and do some comparisons from a gas vehicle, compare to an electric vehicle, and then you can take it even one step further and see the, you know, federal and state and local rebates.

00;14;54;02 - 00;14;59;01
Speaker 2
And so it's kind of an all inclusive tool that customers can use. And we think it's very educational.

00;14;59;18 - 00;15;14;06
Speaker 1
Fantastic. Okay. So now let's shift gears a little bit to Team TID. So we mentioned at the beginning that you are currently the president of the Team TID Steering Committee. Tell us about that. What is Team TID?

00;15;15;02 - 00;15;36;21
Speaker 2
Sure, Team TID. Like I had mentioned earlier, it started in 2019. And the purpose of this team is an employee giveback program. In 2019, we recognized that many of our employees at TID were contributing in some form or fashion and community giveback programs.

00;15;36;21 - 00;15;52;15
Speaker 2
You know, they're helping local organizations. And we thought, you know, why don't we bring all those efforts into one and we create a team? All of our employees are part of Team TID. I'm the president of the steering committee.

00;15;52;24 - 00;16;07;01
Speaker 2
But again, every employee accepted as part of Team TID. The majority of our employees live in TID service territory. So, you know, it was our way to jointly combine all of our efforts to give back to our community.

00;16;07;24 - 00;16;15;01
Speaker 1
That's fantastic. And now Team TID has even gone so far that it is registered as a nonprofit. Is that right?

00;16;15;02 - 00;16;31;13
Speaker 2
Correct. Yeah, we actually got nonprofit status in 2019. And so all of the money that we raised, you know, is for a nonprofit organization. And then in turn, we use those funds to fund some of our projects, some of the projects we've had in the past.

00;16;32;00 - 00;16;51;01
Speaker 2
We've partnered with the American Red Cross. We've done some blood drives, we've done stock the shelves, meaning we brought in some canned foods and provided that we've in the years past, we've done Aspire an Angel Tree program at Christmas time and excuse me, employees, you know, grab a name and purchase a gift for a specific child

00;16;51;28 - 00;17;10;21
Speaker 2
. Every year we did that adopt a family and many of our employees contribute financially. They shop for the kids. We provide dinners for families. TID just recently helped organize a float for the Turlock Christmas parade, which which was a huge success.

00;17;11;02 - 00;17;17;08
Speaker 2
And we also contributed to the holiday boutique with the Patterson Chamber of Commerce.

00;17;17;08 - 00;17;34;07
Speaker 1
Wow, It seems like Team TID is really contributing to the community in a variety of ways as well. And if I'm correct, that is every all the Team TID activities are completely outside of itself. Is is that right that the participants participate on a volunteer basis?

00;17;34;18 - 00;17;50;25
Speaker 2
Yes, 100%. You know, we ask employees to contribute, you know, out of their own pockets, which they're always willing to do. We take time outside of work to volunteer our time to work on these projects. And, you know, like I said before, they were already doing it.

00;17;50;25 - 00;17;54;04
Speaker 2
And now we're just doing it collaboratively and it's working out well.

00;17;54;17 - 00;18;14;20
Speaker 1
That's great. And now you mentioned some of the activities that Team TID has supported in the past, but certainly 2020 and 2021 have been unique years and there was a limited number of volunteer opportunities during the shutdown and during other COVID affected times.

00;18;15;03 - 00;18;16;28
Speaker 1
How did Team TID respond to that?

00;18;18;00 - 00;18;29;10
Speaker 2
Yeah. You know, just like everyone else, you know, we had to be creative. Team TID kind of just look inward and figure out what ways could we still give back to our community. It's very important to us as employees of trade.

00;18;30;15 - 00;18;43;02
Speaker 2
So we did a virtual 5K, for example. It was a success and we were able to contribute to Jessica's house with the funds that we raised. We did the online gift buying. And so, you know, that was successful custom.

00;18;43;03 - 00;18;57;20
Speaker 2
Our employees can do that, you know, at the ease of their computers. And so some of those some of those ways that we were able to contribute, then we still are able to do today. So, again, we're always looking to give back.

00;18;57;20 - 00;18;59;12
Speaker 2
We just had to be a little bit more creative.

00;18;59;24 - 00;19;06;23
Speaker 1
Alright. And what are some of the opportunities that Team TID is considering for next year for 2022?

00;19;07;08 - 00;19;20;28
Speaker 2
Yeah, that's a good question. So how the steering committee actually sets up the projects for the year? We actually, you know, take a look a deep dove in January and try to figure out what events or what projects we're going to participate in for the coming year.

00;19;20;28 - 00;19;34;10
Speaker 2
So at this time, we'll be evaluating that in January. I know I'm pretty confident to say that we will do the adopt a family at Christmas time because it's near and dear to TID's heart. Our employees and appreciate doing that.

00;19;34;10 - 00;19;50;24
Speaker 2
They love, you know, gift buying and giving financial funds for these families that are in need. And so, you know, I know they'll still be kind of the reoccurring projects that we will be doing, but it's you know, we always kind of look to see what else is out there and how we as Team TID to can give

00;19;50;24 - 00;19;51;19
Speaker 2
back to our communities.

00;19;52;02 - 00;20;04;11
Speaker 1
Great. And you mentioned that every employee is a member of of Team TID. Does every employee then have the opportunity to bring forward suggestions as to programs that Team TID will support for the year?

00;20;04;17 - 00;20;20;16
Speaker 2
Yes. And we encourage our employees to bring some just suggestions to the steering committee. We've had some great ideas and we've implemented some of them. And we look forward to, you know, bringing some of those projects that employees may have.

00;20;20;23 - 00;20;25;13
Speaker 2
You know, we're looking forward to seeing them because, you know, that gives us the opportunity to kind of spread the wealth, if you will.

00;20;25;26 - 00;20;45;04
Speaker 1
Excellent. All right. Clearly TID and Team TID regularly do a lot for the community and are truly interested in of finding the need in the community and then creating a project or a program around meeting that need, which is great.

00;20;45;20 - 00;20;48;21
Speaker 1
Anything else we haven't covered that you wanted to make mention of?

00;20;49;27 - 00;21;10;04
Speaker 2
I think we covered it all. I'm, you know, I appreciate and love that it is such a community focused, community owned organization and that we have the opportunity to give back to our community. I mean, that's part of what I love about my job creating programs for all of our customers, you know, and I can't express it

00;21;10;04 - 00;21;25;02
Speaker 2
enough that I am hopeful that many of our customers will take advantage of our programs. And if there's something that, you know, they may see that we don't, I'd love to hear from them about, you know, different rebate programs or services that it could offer.

00;21;25;23 - 00;21;38;03
Speaker 2
Again, that kind of goes hand in hand with Team TID. You know, being part of the community is who we are. And, you know, I look forward to creating those programs and the projects that Team TID does over the next year.

00;21;38;22 - 00;21;42;02
Speaker 1
Awesome. Well, thank you, Monique for being with us today. Really appreciate it.

00;21;42;25 - 00;21;43;13
Speaker 2
Thank you.

00;21;44;21 - 00;22;02;09
Speaker 1
Thank you for tuning in to the TID water and Power podcast. You can find it on Facebook at Facebook.com/TurlockID on Instagram and Twitter at TurlockID and on LinkedIn as the Turlock Irrigation District. I'm your host, Constance Anderson.

00;22;02;14 - 00;22;03;20
Speaker 1
We'll see you again next time.