Respect for Your Privacy
Tri-County Electric Cooperative respects the privacy of its members and of visitors to its website (the “website”). This Statement explains what information Tri-County Electric Cooperative collects through the website, and how Tri-County Electric uses any such information that is collected. All use of the website and associated services and functionality (the “Services”) is subject to this Privacy Statement.
Information We Collect
Personal Information
Tri-County Electric Cooperative obtains personal information concerning you (“Personal Information”) when you contact us with inquiries, register for an online account, or use the Services, including our Online Bill Payment services or our online employment application services. In addition, Tri-County Electric Cooperative may obtain Personal Information in connection with providing utility services to you. By using the Services, you are consenting to our use of Personal Information in accordance with this Privacy Statement, the website Terms of Use, and, if applicable, the Employment Application Terms.
Personal Information also includes any username or password selected or assigned to you when you register with the website. You should be sure to keep any such username and password confidential, and to let us know right away (using any of the contact methods below) if you believe that someone else may have learned your username or password.
Non-Identifiable Information
When you use the Services, Tri-County Electric Cooperative may receive or generate non-identifiable information about your use of the website or other Services (“Non-Identifiable Information”). Typically, such information is collected passively. For example, we may use “cookies” or similar technology to collect this information. A “cookie” is a piece of information sent to your browser when you access the website. The information gathered using “cookies” or similar technology may include the date and time you access our website, the pages you view on our website, the type of browser and operating system used to access our website, and/or whether you linked to our website from another site and, if so, the URL of the referring website. We may store Non-Identifiable Information ourselves or it may be provided to or maintained by our affiliates, agents, or service providers. We use this information to help us keep the website current with industry standards, to improve the functionality and Services offered by the website, and to better tailor the website to users’ needs.
How We Use Personal Information
We use Personal Information for billing, collecting payments, contacting customers, resolving problems, providing or improving the Services, marketing purposes, enhancing the website, and meeting legal concerns or obligations. In addition, if you provide Personal Information for a specific reason, we may use the Personal Information in connection with the reason for which it was provided. For instance, if you contact us by e-mail, we will use the Personal Information you provide to answer your question or resolve your problem.
Disclosure of Personal Information
In special circumstances, we may share your Personal Information with certain third parties without further notice to you.
We also sometimes use other companies to perform certain business-related functions in connection with the website and other Services. Examples include mailing services, maintaining databases, and processing payments. When we engage another company to perform a function of this nature, we provide such company with the Personal Information that they need to perform that function. However, as a general matter, we do not provide e-mail addresses or other Personal Information to any third parties for the marketing of third parties’ goods or services without your consent.
We may disclose Personal Information if required to do so by law or if we in good faith believe that such action is necessary to (i) comply with a legal obligation, (ii) protect and defend our rights or property, (iii) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of the website or the public or (iv) protect against legal liability. In addition, we may provide Personal Information to credit bureaus or collection agencies if we are permitted or required to do so by law.
Links to Other Websites
Our website may contain links to other websites that are not owned or controlled by us. Also, you may have linked to our website from another website that is not owned or controlled by us. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of other websites, and this Privacy Statement applies only to information collected through our website or in connection with the other Services. You should carefully review the privacy practices of any third-party website before providing such website with any Personal Information.
Security
Tri-County Electric Cooperative employs reasonable security measures to protect Personal Information in our possession. Such measures include data storage encryption and authentication measures to protect against the loss, misuse or alteration of any sensitive information included in the Personal Information. However, no electronically stored information is completely secure. Consequently, while we strive to secure the information we have collected online concerning you, we are not able to guarantee such security.
Changes to This Privacy and Legal Statement
It may be necessary for us to make changes to this Privacy Statement from time to time, in order to reflect changes to the website or other Services, technology, or legal requirements and guidelines. Tri-County Electric Cooperative reserves the right to update or modify this Privacy Statement (on a prospective basis) without prior notice to you. Please check this Privacy Statement for any updates periodically, especially before you provide any Personal Information.
Children’s Privacy
While our website contains energy-related information and entertainment that may be of educational value to children, no Personal Information has to be entered in order for you to use those features. We do not knowingly permit persons under the age of 13 to register or provide personally identifiable information (or any other Personal Information) through our website or other Services, and the provision of Personal Information by children through our website or other Services is strictly prohibited. We encourage parents to supervise and participate in their children’s Internet activities, and we urge children to exercise caution and consult their parents before providing any personally identifiable information to any website on the Internet.
How to Contact Us
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding your information or privacy-related issues, please contact us via any of the methods listed directly below.
Via Mail:
Legal Services
Tri-County Electric Cooperative
PO Box 880
Hooker, OK 73945
Via E-mail: Email TCEC
Via Telephone: (800) 522-3315
Via Fax: (580) 652-3151
Upon your verifiable request using any of these methods, we will happily correct inaccurate information concerning you that we may have in reasonably obtainable form. You may also request to be removed from our e-mail list using any of these methods, or by clicking on an unsubscribe link in one of our e-mails and following the related instructions.
Revised October 2012.