Privacy Policy

I. Website and Membership Privacy Statement
The website [www.mcecoop.com] (the “Website”) is owned by Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative, Inc., (“MCEC”, “we”, “us”, or “our”). We respect your privacy and trust that our Website and Membership Privacy Policy (the “Privacy Policy”) will underscore our commitment to you.

This Privacy Policy is designed to help you understand how we collect and use the information you decide to share, and enable you to make informed decisions when providing personal information to us. Additionally, this Privacy Policy describes our use of personal information (as defined and described below), commitment to information security, and how we may make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time. This Privacy Policy is a part of our Terms of Use which governs your use of the Website.

Please read the information contained in this Privacy Policy carefully because your continued use of our Website and electric services constitutes acceptance of our privacy practices. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, your choice is not to use the Website.

II. Information We Collect
Except as otherwise provided in this Privacy Policy, we do not collect personal information about you through this Website unless you voluntarily provide it. We may collect personal information when you create or make changes to your online account, respond to surveys, contact us online, 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 personal information.

At any time, you may choose not to provide your personal information or you may choose to discontinue your use of our Website. However, if you choose to “opt-out” of providing personal information, we may not be able to provide the information or services you desire. Note also that 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 one of our members. 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 personal information you may provide to us by using our Website include:

Name;
Email address;
Mailing Address;
Phone number(s);
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 (e.g., account password);
Information about your internet connection, the equipment you use to access our Website and usage details; and
Any other identifier by which you may be contacted online or offline or any other information the Website collects that is defined as personal or personally identifiable information under an applicable law (the “personal information”)

If you ask detailed questions or 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.

As another example, you may 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.

III. Automatic Collection of Information
To improve this Website and to continue to providing useful information to you, we collect, through the use of "cookies" and other technologies, information such as: the number of visits to our Website, the amount of time visitors spend on our Website, the number of pages viewed, and the IP address, operating system, and browser types from which users visit our Website.

Most internet 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. Additionally, if you have a Flash player installed on your computer, your Flash player can be set to reject or delete Flash cookies (technically known as Flash “local shared objects”). 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.

Pages of our Website and our e-mails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons that permit us to, for example, count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and for other related website statistics (e.g., recording the popularity of certain website content and verifying system and server integrity).

IV. 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 MCEC or one of its affiliated cooperatives.
Register and service your account.
Provide member service(s).
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.

V. Information Sharing
We do not sell or provide your personal information to unaffiliated companies for commercial purposes unrelated to our business. We may, however, share personal information for legitimate business purposes, including without limitation, the following:

Sharing information with MCEC’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 MCEC 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 MCEC 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 MCEC, 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.

VI. 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, MCEC reserves the right to share non-personal information with third parties for any reason, unless prohibited by law or regulation.

VII. Information Security
We use commercially 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, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we take commercially reasonable precautions to protect personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of all personal information transmitted to our Website. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on our Website.

Furthermore, we have no 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 system(s) that you use to access this Website and our services. You are responsible for maintaining the strict confidentiality of your account password and any 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, regardless of whether such access or use has been authorized by or on behalf of you.

VIII. Social Media Platforms
MCEC may interact with registered users of various social media platforms, including Facebook® and Twitter®. Please note that any content you post to such 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.

IX. 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 18 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 actively 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.

X. Changes to Our Privacy Policy
We may change, modify, or revise this Privacy Policy from time to time without notice and in our sole discretion. All changes are effective immediately when we post them, and apply to all access to and use of the Website thereafter. Your continued use of the Website or electronic services following our posting of a revised Privacy Policy means that you accept and agree to the Privacy Policy as changed. You are expected to check this page each time you access the Website so that you are aware of any changes, as they are binding on you.

XI. Contact Information
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to contact us concerning personal information you provided through the use of our Website, please contact us at the following:

Telephone: 803-749-6555

Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative, Inc.
P.O. Box 669
Lexington, South Carolina 29071

Attention: Privacy Office Administrator