Membership MATTERS
Tips to save on winter bills
Awareness of your electricity usage can help you understand when and where your household consumes more electricity. Then you can decide if you can reduce electric usage to help save on your energy bills. Blue Ridge Energy offers a free tool to track your daily usage. Simply go to BlueRidgeEnergy.com > My Account > Usage Tracker. Or, if you’ve downloaded the Blue Ridge Energy mobile app, click on “Usage Details” for access.
Cold weather is coming! Heating and increased time indoors using more lighting, as well as holiday cooking and guests, can lead to higher energy bills. Here are a few tips to help save money on your winter electric bills:
Be mindful of electricity usage and conserve when possible: Set thermostats to the lowest comfortable level. Open curtains on sunny days to let in natural heat, but be sure to close them at night. Only run full loads in dishwashers and laundry machines. Use cold water for washing clothes. Limit shower times to reduce hot water usage. Turn off unnecessary lights.
Try our FlexPay plan if paying in smaller amounts on a daily or weekly basis better suits your budget. No late fees or deposits, but you must maintain a positive account balance to keep electricity flowing.
Use Budget Billing to have a set bill amount for 11 months. In the 12th month, your account is “evened up” with a final payment due or credit applied.
If you need help paying your bill:
• Contact Blue Ridge Energy if you need a payment arrangement plan.
• Contact your local social services agency for special assistance options, including applying for funds from our Operation Round Up® program and for more options through state and federal crisis assistance programs.
• For more tips, visit BlueRidgeEnergy.com/101
Perspective
When your cooperative first diversified in 1998 by adding a propane and fuels subsidiary, which we operate under the shared market name of Blue Ridge Energy, it was to benefit members and keep your bills as low as possible. That was also the goal when we added a second subsidiary in 2009: RidgeLink, which leases high-capacity fiber to broadband and wireless service providers.
Our subsidiaries are benefitting members and the customers they serve in several important ways.
In addition to providing local jobs to strengthen the economy in our service area, profits earned by the subsidiaries are used to keep your electric bills as low as possible. This is especially helpful during this period of rising costs – if we didn’t have the subsidiaries, we would have to pass along more costs to members, and rates could potentially be higher.
In 2023, our subsidiary companies produced a combined net benefit of $5.67 million to the cooperative. The subsidiaries have produced a benefit for many years, and it continues to grow each year. Of importance for members to know is that subsidiary benefits keep member rates as low as possible!
Our subsidiaries also benefit local communities through their contributions. Last year, Propane and Fuels and RidgeLink donated
$50,000 to the Members Foundation to be used for crisis heating assistance and community grants to improve health care, education, elder and youth services, and more.
Propane and Fuels also benefits communities by donating to local breast cancer-related organizations. Since 2013, over $138,000 has been donated through our Pink Truck program, “Fueling the Fight” against breast cancer.
Blue Ridge Energy’s Propane and Fuels subsidiary played a pivotal role by giving $2 million of excess cash to the parent company, aiding in stabilizing the rates for our valued members. Our Propane and Fuels subsidiary also leases space to provide showrooms in each of the cooperative’s district offices, where you can visit to receive expert advice and purchase products such as fireplaces and gas logs, space heaters, water heaters, outdoor fire tables, patio heaters, custom grills, outdoor furniture, and more!
As members, it’s important for you to know about your subsidiary companies. We hope you join in our excitement to pursue continued growth to increase subsidiary benefits to you and all members that help keep rates as low as possible and contributing to the local quality of life in our communities.
How members benefit from our subsidiaries
From Blue Ridge CEO Doug Johnson
Outdoor lighting: security and beauty
Outdoor lighting available from Blue Ridge Energy can enhance the safety, curb appeal, and landscaping of your home! Select from a variety of lighting styles, including LED options.
Outdoor security lights can be added to your monthly electric bill. For more information, visit blueridgeenergy.com/outdoor-lighting
STATEMENT OF NONDISCRIMINATION
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:
(1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
