San Patricio Electric Cooperative is closing its lobby to the public, effective on Monday, June 22 at 8 a.m., after two employees tested positive for COVID-19. These employee are quarantined and recovering at home. Neither employee has had contact with members visiting our office. One employee was last at work on Tuesday, June 16, and the second employee was last at work on Wednesday, June 17.

In an effort to prevent further spread of COVID-19 and keep our employees safe, we are closing our lobby to the public and asking our employees to work from home once again. We expect our office will remain closed for at least two weeks to ensure this virus is contained. During this time, our office will be deep cleaned and sanitized.

Keeping all of our employees healthy and safe ensures we can continue providing essential service to our members. These positive test results will not significantly impact SPEC’s ability to provide electricity service in our communities. We recognize the essential role we play for families and businesses and will continue doing our part to keep the lights on and provide our members with certainty in an uncertain time.

Our line crews will continue to respond to power outages, while continuing to take extra safety measures to protect their health. We ask that you also keep their health in mind and maintain at least 6 feet of distance. When you see our employees working in the field, please limit physical contact as recommended by health officials. A friendly wave is preferred to a handshake.

The wellbeing of our employees and members has been our top priority. For the last couple of months we have prepared for the possibility that COVID-19 would have an impact on SPEC and we’ve taken steps to help enhance social distancing and safety in our workplace.

In response to the threat posed by the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, San Patricio Electric Cooperative closed its lobby to the public from March 18 to May 18.  As local and state officials began enacting “Stay at Home” orders, SPEC directed nearly all employees to work from home beginning March 30. In an effort to further safeguard the health of our line crews who continued to work in the field, we secured additional supplies of disinfectant, face masks and hand sanitizer and asked members to maintain a safe distance and postpone adding new service when possible.

As employees returned to work in our office on May 18, we have followed all recommended health protocols. All employees are screened for symptoms of COVID-19 each morning before entering our facilities, and have been asked to wash or sanitize their hands each time they enter the office building. Employees are asked to regularly disinfect their work area or company vehicle. And we secured additional supplies of face masks, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes to ensure our employees had the tools they needed to work safely.

While our lobby is closed, we would like to remind you that you can continue to do business with the co-op without leaving your home.

• Outages can be reported by phone, through SmartHub and via text. We are responding to outages and emergencies in our service area and we will continue to do so.

• As always, payments can be made online, by phone, through the mail or at the drop box at our office.

• You can access your account online through SmartHub, where you can view your electricity use history, update your contact information and change your communication preferences. You can also continue to call us for assistance regarding your SPEC account.

• On our website, we have a wealth of information including online membership applications, meter loop diagrams, tax exempt forms and more.

We expect that this situation may continue to evolve over the coming weeks. We will regularly evaluate any measures necessary to protect our employees and members, while continuing to serve you.