Website and Membership Privacy Statement
This website is owned and managed by Little River Electric Cooperative, Inc., (LRECI). We respect your private information, and we believe our Website and Membership Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) will underscore our commitment to your privacy.
Our Privacy Policy will help you understand how we collect and use the information you choose to share and inform your decisions when providing personal information to us. This Privacy Policy also explains our use of personal information (as defined and described below), our total commitment to information security, and how we may make occasional changes to this Privacy Policy.
Please read the following carefully, as your continued use of both our website and our electric services constitutes acceptance of our privacy practices.
Information We Collect
Except as otherwise noted in this Privacy Policy, we do not collect personal information about you through our website unless you voluntarily provide it. We may collect personal information when you create or make changes to your online account, respond to emails or surveys, contact us via the website, or complete any transaction with us online. For example, if you choose to use online member services, including account access, e-billing, and product or service enrollment, you will be asked to provide a certain amount of personal information.
At any time, you may choose not to provide your personal information or you may choose to discontinue your use of this website. If you choose to opt-out of providing personal information, please be aware that we may not be able to provide the information or services you desire. Also, even if you choose not to have an online account with us, we will still store some of your personal information in our billing system if you are our member. If you choose not to provide personal information to us, we may be unable to provide you service or complete your transaction.
Personal information is information that identifies you specifically. Examples of information you may voluntarily provide to us by using this website include:
- Name
- Email address
- Address
- Phone number(s)
- LRECI member account number
- Bank account and/or credit/debit card numbers for online bill payment
- Social security number (full or partial)
- Other unique identifiers that you provide such as an account password
If you request specific information or services, you may be asked to supply personal information. This may include, for example, identifying topics of interest, providing home/office addresses, and filling out account information for billing questions.
You may also request to receive text messages relating to your services. We will only use the mobile number you provide to transmit service information to you. Please remember that standard message and data rates may apply according to your specific cellular plan or prepaid conditions.
LRECI reserves the right in its sole discretion to discontinue providing any or all electronic services to users of our websites and electricity services.
Automatic Collection of Information
To improve our website and ensure we continue to provide information useful to you, we collect, through the use of “cookies” and other technologies, information such as: the number of visits to our website, the number of time visitors spend on our website, pages viewed, and the domains from which users visit our website.
Most Web browsers can be set to inform you when a cookie has been sent to you and provide you with the opportunity to refuse that cookie. However, refusing a cookie may, in some cases, preclude you from using, or negatively impact the display or function of, the website or certain areas or features of the website.
How We Use the Information We Collect
We use your information to provide the services you request and to support our business functions. For example, we may use your information to:
- Fulfill your requests and communicate with you about those requests.
- Help you quickly find and/or receive information about LRECI or one of its affiliated cooperatives.
- Register and service your account.
- Provide member service.
- Alert you to our updated information and services and provide more complete services and webpage content.
- Improve the content of our website for your use.
- Protect the security of our website and our business.
Information Sharing
LRECI does not sell or provide your personal information to unaffiliated companies for commercial purposes unrelated to LRECI business. We may, however, share personal information for legitimate business purposes, including without limitation, the following:
- Sharing information with LRECI’s member or parent cooperatives, subsidiaries, or affiliates, unless prohibited by law or regulation.
- Making information available to third parties and/or service providers who are providing the product(s), service(s), or information you requested.
- These third parties are not allowed to use the personal information except for the purpose of providing these product(s) and/or services.
- Making information available to third parties who are providing service(s) to LRECI or its subsidiaries or affiliates (e.g., third-parties performing credit card processing, credit reporting agencies, electronic bill payment services, or debt collection services). These companies are authorized to use your personal information only as necessary to provide these services to us.
- Undergoing business transitions; in the event LRECI experiences a business transition, such as a merger or acquisition, or selling a portion of its assets, personal information will, in most instances, transfer as part of the assets.
- Forming a good-faith belief that disclosure of information is necessary to protect the rights and property of LRECI, and/or its member cooperatives, subsidiaries, affiliates, or members.
- Disclosing information when allowed or required by law or regulation or when our legal counsel has a good-faith belief that a subpoena or court order requires the disclosure.
Aggregate or Generic Information
This Privacy Policy does not apply to aggregate and/or generic information that does not identify you or any individual. Therefore, LRECI reserves the right to share non-personal information with third parties for any reason, unless prohibited by law or regulation.
Information Security
We use reasonable information security safeguards and techniques to protect the information you provide. When users submit sensitive information via this website, the information is protected both during transmission and in storage. Your information is stored on secure servers protected inside controlled facilities.
Unfortunately, no information can be guaranteed to be 100 percent secure, accordingly we cannot give an absolute assurance the information you provide to us will be secure at all times.
LRECI does not have any responsibility whatsoever for the secure and effective operation of a) your computer systems (including but not limited to desktops, laptops, handheld devices, IOS devices, and networks), or b) any software installed on your computer systems that you use to access this website and our services. You are responsible for maintaining the strict confidentiality of your account password and any website login or user ID information, and you shall be responsible for any access to or use of the website by you or any person or entity using your password, login or user ID, whether or not such access or use has been authorized by or on behalf of you.
Social Media Platforms
LRECI may interact with registered users of various social media platforms. Please note that any content you post to social media platforms (e.g., pictures, information or opinions), as well as any personal information that you otherwise make available to users (e.g., your profile), is subject to the applicable social media platform’s terms of use and privacy policies. We recommend that you review this information carefully in order to better understand your rights and obligations with regard to such content.
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 children 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.
Privacy Policy Changes
We may change this Privacy Policy without notice and changes will be posted to this website accordingly. Please visit this website periodically to review the current Privacy Policy. Use of our website or electric services after the posting of a revised Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of our privacy practices.
Contact Information
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to contact us concerning the personal information you provided through the use of our website, please contact us at the following:
Telephone: 864-366-2141
LITTLE RIVER ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
PO BOX 220
ABBEVILLE SC 29620-0220
