FEBRUARY 2012
This is the second of a series of articles discussing our right-of-way and vegetation management program.
Right-of-way work helps keep the lights on Keeping the lights on, homes heated, and powering the daily needs of our members is a job we take seriously at Blue Ridge Electric. Several years ago we implemented a more thorough, innovative right-of-way program that’s overseen by a certified arborist. As a result, the number of outages on our system has been cut in half and we’re now among the best performing utilities in the nation in the area of reliability. Even though power is on 99 percent of the time for our members, we’re setting even higher goals to help us keep focused on the most important service aspect you desire from your electricity provider. Our right-of-way program combines several methods to control vegetation growth — all with the goal of balancing the beauty of our area with providing safe, reliable electricity. The process begins at each designated substation. Our crews are looking for the following threats to reliable electricity: foliage growing underneath power lines, overhanging branches, and dead or diseased trees that could pull down a power line if they fall. As needed for each situation, we hand trim, mow, side trim or use a tall mechanical trimmer to remove foliage that endangers power lines. Just as we have a responsibility to provide reliable electricity, we also must control costs for the membership as part of our right-of-way program.This means that while we’re diligent about leaving landscaped areas such as yards and pastures as we found them, we contain removal costs in rough terrain and areas not normally mowed or maintained by members by leaving vegetation debris that will be naturally biodegradable in these rights of way. A key to our improved reliability over the years has been moving to a six-year cycle. In other words, every inch of our 8,000 miles of power lines is reviewed and trimmed if needed at least once every six years. This helps avoid large growth that’s more likely to cause outages and is also more costly to contain. Following any necessary trimming is another key part of our right-of-way plan: environmentally safe herbicide treatment. In the next article in this series, we’ll discuss this phase as well as how members are contacted before each segment of right-of-way work begins.
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In previous columns I’ve discussed our heating fuels subsidiary formed in 1998, Blue Ridge Energies. In this column I’ll discuss our newest subsidiary, RidgeLink, which was established last year. You may not hear a lot about RidgeLink because it’s a business-to-business service provider. Instead of selling services to the general public, it provides a service designed for other businesses. RidgeLink was formed to lease the extra capacity of the cooperative’s fiber optic system that isn’t needed for our own operations. This fiber network was installed to better operate our automated electric system and to facilitate our automated metering infrastructure. Retail companies and other businesses looking to connect to or expand broadband and wireless communications services in our area are businesses that would potentially lease fiber from RidgeLink. As an example, one company leasing fiber from RidgeLink is MCNC, a non-profit organization based in Research Triangle Park. MCNC provides broadband communications technology services and networks to K-12 school districts, non-profit and university hospitals, public safety institutions, libraries, and higher education campuses such as the University of North Carolina, Duke University, and Wake Forest University. MCNC is preparing to meet the broadband needs of similar community anchor institutions in our area on the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN), which now includes fiber leased from RidgeLink. Other companies that may lease from RidgeLink include cell phone service providers. This should soon enhance communications for our linemen and all of us who’ve come to depend more and more on cellular service for work as well as in our personal lives.
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As a member-owned cooperative, everything we do at Blue Ridge Electric is designed to benefit the members and our local communities. That’s why we formed our two subsidiaries: Blue Ridge Energies and our newest addition, RidgeLink.
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New subsidiary offers exciting benefits for the future
RidgeLink is benefitting members and our entire service area in three key ways:
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First, revenue generated by the subsidiary is helping pay for the fiber optic system already in place.
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Second, future revenue from RidgeLink will help offset the rising costs of wholesale power or other operating expenses. That, in turn, helps us hold down the size of rate increases for our members.
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Thirdly, we believe RidgeLink is helping local economies recover from job losses by providing access to a critical resource necessary for companies of the future: a fiber optic system. Most businesses now — and will increasingly in the future — depend upon technology. They’ll require a solid infrastructure of broadband and wireless services to operate. By ensuring this foundation, we’re making northwest North Carolina an attractive, viable location for businesses that offer well-paying jobs in the near and distant future. This infrastructure is especially critical for rural areas wanting to attract jobs once typically located only in larger cities.
While our past economic development efforts have focused on meeting the electricity needs of companies looking to locate or expand in our area, RidgeLink is helping your cooperative meet new economic development needs driven by an evolving, technology-centered society.
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Smart meter service inspections While automated smart meters are greatly reducing the need to be on member’s property, we must still periodically check our equipment and perform maintenance. Blue Ridge Electric, or a contractor authorized by the cooperative, conducts inspections of the metering facilities. This inspection is in accordance with the requirements of the National Electrical Safety Code and helps ensure our members receive reliable and uninterrupted electric service from Blue Ridge Electric. Furthermore, as a safety precaution, authorized contractors and their vehicles will have official Blue Ridge Electric identification.
We hope you, as members, join us in our excitement about the many positive benefits from your newest subsidiary. Blue Ridge Electric’s guiding purpose calls for us to help shape the future of our area in a way that enhances our members’ economic prosperity — and RidgeLink is paving the way to achieve that purpose to benefit you!
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More News Members Foundation Fall grant recipients Alleghany County Alleghany Partnership for Children
$1,000
purchase five infant seats for premature babies and a set of safety training dolls
Solid Rock Closet
$4,000
purchase food for school-aged backpack program and families in need
Ashe Really Cares
$5,000
funds to upgrade facility to improve conditions for elderly clients
Ashe County Sharing Center
$5,000
to purchase food for people in need in Ashe County
$5,000
matching funds to hire staff child advocate to provide
Ashe County
Caldwell County Robin’s Nest - Children’s Advocacy
services for crisis intervention, court advocacy
Center of Caldwell Watauga County High Country Women’s Fund
$1,500
funds for any obstacle that may interfere with young teenage mothers getting their GED
High Country Area on Aging
$2,500
funds to help with all expenses relating to the weekly group respite program
Children’s Council of Watauga Co.
$1,500
provide ”educational” transporation for those enrolled in Parents as Teachers or GED programs so they can continue to attend class
Sugar Grove Developmental Daycare
$1,500
replace eight cribs to meet new government standards
Appalachian Senior Program
$5,000
support funding for meal/travel reimbursement for senior volunteers who assist clients with daily living activities
Broughton Foundation
$1,500
funding to purchase items used in the sensory therapy room
Multiple County Projects
Key dates reminder: director nominees, resolutions Members wishing to be considered as a director nominee to serve on the cooperative’s board of directors have two options: the Nominating Committee process or the nomination by petition process. First, members must complete and submit a director application packet available by contacting Julie O’Dell-Michie, chief administrative officer, at jmichie@ blueridgeemc.com or at 800-451-5474, extension 3202. This form is due by March 1 when going through the Nominating Committee process and by April 2 for those seeking nomination by petition. Additionally, nominations by petition must be accompanied by the signatures of 15 or more members, with each signing his or her name as it appears on their electric service bill. The deadline for nominations by
petition is Monday, April 2, at 5 p.m. Resolutions: Members with resolutions to be considered for presentation at the 2012 Annual Membership Meeting should submit them by February 24 to Doug Johnson, chief executive officer, PO Box 112, Lenoir, NC, 28645. For a complete list of qualifications to serve as a director of Blue Ridge Electric, or for full details regarding resolutions, please refer to the cooperative’s Bylaws available at any Blue Ridge Electric office or online at BlueRidgeEMC.com.
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Members Only NEWS
~For Members of Blue Ridge Electric
Scholarships available CORPORATE OFFICE PO Box 112 • Lenoir, NC 28645
As part of our support of local communities, Blue Ridge Electric annually awards scholarships and youth leadership opportunities to high school seniors and adults returning to college who live in the cooperative’s service territory.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Doug Johnson
This year, scholarships worth $14,800 will be awarded based on financial need, community activity, school performance and activities, and personal interviews.
EDITOR Renée R. Whitener
For high school seniors seeking a bachelor’s degree, five $2,000 Blue Ridge Electric scholarships are available; and for residents seeking a two-year degree, five $800 Blue Ridge Electric technical/vocational scholarships are available. An additional $800 Charles and Lucille Suddreth scholarship is available to a Caldwell County resident seeking a two-year degree. Scholarship applications are due by March 31.
PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Susan Simmons DISTRICT OFFICES Caldwell (828) 754-9071 Watauga (828) 264-8894 Ashe (336) 846-7138 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. OFFICE HOURS 8:30 am - 5:00 pm, Monday - Friday Night deposit available. Visit us on the Web: www.BlueRidgeEMC.com
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The Washington Youth Tour is an educational week-long trip to Washington, D.C., held in the summer and may be awarded for up to four rising seniors in the cooperative’s service area. Winners will meet and talk with Congressional leaders, visit historic sites, and learn about the cooperative way of doing business. They are also eligible for college scholarships. Applications are due March 15. Seven students may also be selected to attend the summer Broyhill Leadership Conference at Queens College in Charlotte. The five-day conference is open to 10th through 12th grade students nominated by their guidance counselor.The conference helps students understand goal setting, motivational techniques, group dynamics, communication, and cooperation. Applications are available from high school guidance counselors, local community colleges or online at BlueRidgeEMC.com under “In the Community.”
Everyone loves a roaring fire on a cold winter night; however, a conventional fireplace is in reality an energy hole — not a space-heating device — since almost all of the air that it heats escapes out through the chimney. Fireplaces also allow heat to escape when not in use. To save energy, get an insulating flue plug, an inflatable urethane pillow that stops the draft up your chimney. (Just remember to remove the plug before starting your next fire!) Source: Green Living Ideas
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