August 2011
Balancing beauty with reliable, safe electricity Blue Ridge Electric takes great pride in providing our members with the most reliable electricity possible. Tree contact with power lines is the single leading cause of outages, and that’s why we have a carefully planned vegetation management program. Yet, we’re also committed to protecting the natural beauty of our landscapes and being good environmental stewards. Blue Ridge Electric helps ensure reliability by controlling large tree and brush growth for its 7,500 miles of distribution lines and 280 miles of transmission lines. We’ve reduced the amount of time it takes to complete clearing of our entire system from 12 years to 6, which means we’re doing more trimming of trees instead of cutting. This type of program not only aids reliability and is better for the environment; it also helps control costs, which benefits members. Keeping trees away from power lines is also a safety measure that can save a life or prevent an injury. Children climbing trees or homeowners trimming trees near power lines can result in death by electrocution because trees and other objects that come into contact with power lines can become energized. Even downed power lines can still be energized, which is why no one but a Blue Ridge Electric line technician should ever go near a downed power line. A clear path for power lines also helps provide a safer working environment for line technicians during outages or routine maintenance work. Bllu B ue e Rid idg ge e Ele ect ctri ric ri c is s amo mong ng th he e top pe errffor ormi min ng g uttiili liti ties ti ties in n the he co ou unt unt ntrry y for o relliiab re ble e elle ect ctri trriicity it ity, y,, th ha an nk ks in gre eat at p rrtt to ou pa our ve vege getage ta ation ti on ma an na ag gemen em ment ent en prog pr ogram. ram. ra m.
Members can help ensure safe, reliable electricity by avoiding planting trees near power lines. If a tree is already in the right of way and must be removed or trimmed too often, Blue Ridge offers a tree voucher program. Members can redeem this at an approved local nursery to select a lower-growing variety of tree. While trees contribute to the beauty of our region, we encourage members to work with the cooperative to ensure we balance beauty with reliable, safe electricity.
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Based on our business plan, we expect the subsidiaries to produce a consolidated net annual benefit of approximately $2 million to the cooperative. This is a significant value to member-owners of Blue Ridge Electric because 100 percent of this net benefit flows to the cooperative. In other words, every dollar in benefits the subsidiaries provide is a dollar members don’t have to pay. Since we are in a time of rising costs for electric utilities resulting from rising wholesale power costs and the need to upgrade the electric delivery system, this is an important benefit that can produce long lasting value by helping hold down your electric bill. While we’ve announced RidgeLink earlier, it’s still a fairly new addition to our business, and I want to provide an overview of its purpose. Most important to note is that while Blue Ridge Electric doesn’t directly offer broadband services to our members, RidgeLink is a way we’re helping ensure this important service reaches our area. Our fiber optic system originally installed to better operate the cooperative’s automated electric system and integrate with the smart grid has excess capacity. That unused capacity is leased through RidgeLink to retail and business companies offering broadband and wireless services to residents and businesses in northwest North Carolina. The improved wireless service this provides also help our linemen who use cell phones
during outages and other routine work to communicate with each other and with operations staff in our offices.
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As a member-owner of Blue Ridge Electric, you are also an owner of the cooperative’s propane and heating fuels subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energies, LLC, as well as our new business subsidiary: RidgeLink, LLC, which leases excess bandwidth on the cooperative’s fiber optic system to business providers.
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Member value of subsidiaries
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Our other subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energies, is in its 11th year of operation. Employing 38 people, Blue Ridge Energies has brought an important diversity of service to our area by offering propane, heating fuels, gas logs and other hearth products to about 20,000 residential and commercial customers in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Avery, and Catawba counties. This fall, Blue Ridge Energies will also be offering electric and gas water heaters in the well-respected AO Smith line in addition to a new line of Generac standby generators added last fall. You can find information on all programs and services this subsidiary offers at our new website: www.BlueRidgeEnergies.com. Blue Ridge Energies also benefits members in another way. For the past four years, the cooperative has contributed $25,000 of its earnings from Energies to the Blue Ridge Electric Members Foundation. These funds are distributed through local helping agencies to members in need of emergency help to pay their heating bills. Foundation grants also go to help improve the long-term quality of life of our area by assisting local nonprofit services and programs. Providing value in today’s economy is more important than ever. The success of your cooperative’s subsidiaries is helping provide value to you as members while also delivering vital services to our local communities. We strongly believe this helps improve the quality of life in the area we all call home, and we hope you agree this is an important benefit to you as a member-owner of Blue Ridge Electric!
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Board update Nearly 9,500 members voted in this year’s director elections thanks to the option to vote by mail in addition to voting at the Annual Membership Meeting held Saturday, June 11, at Watauga High School. Two directors were re-elected and two were newly elected by the membership to serve three-year terms on the board of directors. Re-elected were: David Boone of Ashe district and David Eggers of Caldwell district. Newly elected were: John (Johnny) Wishon Jr. of Alleghany district and Tom Trexler of Watauga district. At the board’s regularly scheduled meeting in June, the following board members were re-elected to serve as officers: Kenneth Greene, president; Jeff Joines, vice president; Joy Coffey, secretary-treasurer; and Charity GambillGwyn, assistant secretarytreasurer.
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More News Blue Ridge Electric Members Foundation
Foundation Advisory Committee awards cycle of grants Twice each year, the Blue Ridge Electric Members Foundation Advisory Committee, made up entirely of members, reviews applications and awards grants to deserving organizations. The committee recently recommended the following grants for board approval. Alleghany County Alleghany Memorial Hospital ($1,000): Funds will be used to purchase an electrical stimulation machine to enhance physical therapy services. Alleghany County Group Homes ($3,500): Funds provided will assist with the purchase of a wheelchair lift for one of the center’s vans.
($5,000): Funds will be used to purchase food for the needy of Ashe County. Ashe Medication Assistance Program ($2,500): Funds will assist in providing certified staff required for ordering, dispensing, and tracking all medication used for uninsured clients of Ashe County. Caldwell County Koinonia, Inc. ($10,000): These funds will assist in renovations to the common areas of this senior citizen’s subsidized, assisted living facility. Caldwell County Yokefellow ($1,750): Center will use funds to purchase disposable diapers for young family members of
clients. Disposable diapers are not provided by any other assistance programs nor are they donated by the public. Communities in Schools ($1,530): Funds will provide at-risk students the opportunity to attend a leadership development program. Watauga County Relatives as Parents Program ($5,000): Funds will be used to support program initiatives such as legal fees, travel expenses, supplies, etc. Multi County Freedom Farm Ministries ($2,000): Funds will be used to refurbish one of the facility’s transitional houses for men.
Ashe County Ashe County Sharing Center
Blue Ridge Electric recognized for crisis communications efforts Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation recently received the Edgar F. Chesnutt Award for Best Total Communication Program, the highest honor bestowed by the Spotlight on Excellence Awards program sponsored by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) and Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives. The co-op executed a comprehensive member outreach plan including numerous press release updates, a special “contingency” website, outage map, Facebook™ postings, and video updates to keep their members informed, which the judges praised for being in place before the 2009 Christmas Ice Storm crisis hit. Blue Ridge Public Relations Director Renee Whitener and Communications Manager Susan Simmons accepted the award from NRECA Chief Executive Officer Glenn English, who recognized the co-op for its outstanding achievement. “Without question, Blue Ridge Electric has demonstrated the success of communication planning, applying resources, and best of all, anticipating member needs,” he said. “By putting their members first, they lived up to the cooperative promise to its fullest extent.” Stay connected at: BlueRidgeEMC.com
facebook.com/BlueRidgeEMC
Renee Whitener, director of public relations, and Susan Simmons, communications manager, accept the Edgar F. Chesnutt Award.
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Members Only NEWS
~For Members of Blue Ridge Electric
Deadline is September 30 CORPORATE OFFICE PO Box 112 • Lenoir, NC 28645
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Doug Johnson EDITOR Renée R. Whitener PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Susan Simmons DISTRICT OFFICES Caldwell (828) 754-9071 Watauga (828) 264-8894 Ashe (336) 246-7138 Alleghany (336) 372-4646 Wilkes (800) 451-5474 (800) 448-2383 PowerLine® (PowerLine® is an automated account information and outage reporting system.) Toll Free 1 (800) 451-5474 (for members outside the service area) To report an outage at any time, call one of the numbers listed above.
Blue Ridge offers educator grants Teachers and principals are encouraged to apply now for Bright Ideas grants totaling $17,000 being awarded by Blue Ridge Electric in conjunction with North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation for the 2011-2012 school year. Bright Ideas grants provide educators with funding of up to $1,500 per grant for innovative classroom projects that benefit students and would not otherwise be covered by the school budget. Bright Ideas has financed a variety of handson projects, including activities in music, art, history, language, reading, science, math, and information technology. Proposals can come from any area of the curriculum. Blue Ridge Electric is in its 17th year of providing Bright Ideas grants as part of its support of youth and education in the communities it serves. To date, the cooperative has awarded more than
$304,000 to 377 classrooms, which has benefited more than 80,000 local students. Bright Ideas reflects Blue Ridge Electric’s commitment to community and support of local education. The application deadline for Bright Ideas grants is September 30. Projects must directly benefit students, provide ongoing benefits, and use innovative teaching methods. This year, a special emphasis will be placed on applications incorporating environmentally-friendly ideas or projects. Applications and full details of the Bright Ideas program can be found at BlueRidgeEMC.com or ncbrightideas. com. All applications must be submitted online at the websites above. For more information, please contact Grey Scheer, director of community relations, at gscheer@blueridgeemc.com.
OFFICE HOURS 8:30 am - 5:00 pm, Monday - Friday Night deposit available.
Energy tip of the month
Visit us on the Web: www.BlueRidgeEMC.com
Does your home have a window air conditioner? Make sure that your window unit is properly weather stripped, and clean the filter monthly. Keep “fresh air” vents on window A/C units closed. Source: Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives
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