Privacy and Security Policy

Central Electric respects your online privacy and has taken measures to protect your personal information. While you can use most features of the CEC website anonymously, a minimal amount of personal information is required to submit online service requests, use online bill payment, or subscribe to newsletters.

We do not sell your information

For more than 65 years, members have trusted us with their personal information. Whether you are a current or former member, Central Electric is committed to protecting the information you have shared with us. This commitment to conduct business honestly and with your best interests in mind is the foundation of our Privacy Policy.

How we collect and use information

Like most other websites, Central Electric maintains web logs that automatically record basic, non-personal information about visitors. This information consists of:

• Internet domain from which you access our website (e.g., aol.com, bendbroadband.com, yourcompany.com).
• IP address. An IP address is automatically assigned to your computer when you surf the web. In most cases, an IP address cannot be linked to a specific person.
• Type of browser and operating system used to access our website.
• Date and time of access.
• Pages visited.
• Address of the website (if any) from which you linked to CEC.

Central Electric only uses web log information in aggregate form to enable us to make the CEC website more useful. We like to know which features are popular and how visitors locate our site. Central Electric does not collect any personal information about a routine visitor unless the visitor provides it.

Personal information collected from e-mail and web forms

If you use the CEC website to send Central Electric e-mail, register for E-Bill, ask for information, subscribe to a newsletter, or if you provide personal information through CEC’s website in any other way, Central Electric collects and may maintain the information that you provide. Your information may be shared among Central Electric staff as necessary in order to respond to your request.

As stated previously in this policy, Central Electric does not sell your information. We also do not share your information with other companies for marketing purposes.

How we protect your personal information

Your information is confidential. All personal data you enter on the CEC website is encrypted with security software (Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL) that encodes the information before your web browser software sends it to us. The SSL software decodes the data only after it reaches our server, meaning hackers can’t steal your personal information while it is in transit. Once the data reaches our site, the same state-of-the-art security software we use to guard all of our company’s essential business data protects your personal data as well. Although no computer system can ever be fully protected against every possible hazard, Central Electric provides appropriate security to protect against foreseeable risks.

How we use cookies

As you probably know, a cookie is a small piece of information that a website transfers to a home user’s computer for record-keeping purposes. The CEC website only uses cookies when a member accesses the online account management (E-Bill) part of the website, and only when they have selected the “Remember login information” option. The cookie is used to retain the login/password information only, not the payment information.

Protection from E-mail Fraud

What is e-mail fraud? Fraudulent e-mails, also known as spoof or phishing emails, are messages sent to you in an attempt to steal personal identity information or financial account data. Designed to appear legitimate, spoof email messages seem to be from trusted companies and may even display an official-looking corporate logo. These e-mails may ask you to reply directly or click on a link that takes you to a counterfeit web site. In both cases, the goal is to trick consumers into divulging sensitive personal or financial information. Learn how to protect yourself from e-mail fraud.

Customers using E-Bill, CEC's online payment system, receive e-mail reminders when bills are ready to review. Central Electric will NEVER send an e-mail message asking for credit card numbers, bank account numbers, or Social Security numbers. Knowing this will help you better identify fraudulent e-mails.

If you have any questions about email sent from CEC, please contact the CEC Webmaster.

We share the information we collect only as required by law

Central Electric’s policy is to not share customer information gathered from our website with any third party. However, we may need to share information outside of Central Electric to comply with court orders, to prevent fraud, or for tax reporting.

Tell us what you think

Central Electric welcomes your questions and comments about our privacy policy. Please contact the CEC Webmaster.

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