July 2017 – Connections Member Newsletter

Cobb EMC linemen take top honors! Page A

July 2017

G N I T A R B E L CE tes

a r t s e w o l e E h t T A T S IN THE

FOR 2016 Page B

CONNECTIONS JULY 2017 | THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF COBB ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP CORPORATION

Cobb EMC linemen win big

FREE FAIR TICKETS • ACTIVITIES • PRIZES

Attend the 79th Annual Meeting Saturday, Sept. 16, at Jim R. Miller Park to learn about your co-op’s progress, ways to save on your electric bill and exercise your right to vote!

Door prizes • Smart watches • Visa® gift cards • Bill credits • Big Green Egg® grills • Refurbished Cobb EMC truck Key dates and deadlines

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Aug. 11: Notice must be received from any member desiring to exceed the 5-minute speaking limitation for the Annual Meeting (Sec. 2.12). www.cobbemc.com/annualmeeting

The Cobb EMC Community Foundation has awarded more than $2,681,861 to local charities and nonprofits, thanks to generous members who round up their bills each month.

Visit cobbemc.com/foundation for a full list of recipients or to learn how to request funding.

Cobb EMC linemen took top honors at the 23rd Annual Georgia Lineman’s Rodeo where they competed against more than 200 utility linemen from across the state.

The day-long competition, held May 6, at Camp John Hope in Fort Valley, is designed to improve safety training, which is critical in an industry where safe work practices can mean the difference between life and death.

Utilities compete in one of two divisions: electric membership cooperatives (EMCs) and municipal power companies. During events, linemen competed as journeymen teams, which are comprised of three linemen and a coach, or individually as apprentices.

Cobb EMC received the following awards at the rodeo: • 1st place in Journeyman Overall (Scotty Lyons, 1st class lineman – step 2; Jeremy Norment, 1st class lineman – step 2; Josh Poston, 1st class lineman – step 2; coach Keith McCart, line foreman) • 1st place in Journeyman Overall – EMC division (Lyons, Norment, Poston, McCart) • 1st place in Journeyman Mystery Event #2 (Lyons, Norment, Poston, McCart) • 1st place in Apprentice Switch Relocation (Dalton Cuthbertson, lineman – step 3) • 1st place in Apprentice Mystery Event #1 (Cuthbertson)

• 1st place in Apprentice Mystery Event #2 (Cuthbertson) • 2nd place in Journeyman Mystery Event #2 (Aaron Willmert, 1st class lineman – step 2; Ian Hansman, 1st class lineman – step 2; Jeremy McBrayer, 1st class lineman – step 2; coach Wesley Postell, line foreman) • 2nd place in Apprentice Hurtman Rescue (Cuthbertson) • 3rd place in Journeyman Mystery Event #1 (Lyons, Norment, Poston, McCart) • 3rd place in Journeyman Hurtman Rescue (Lyons, Norment, Poston, McCart) • 3rd place in Journeyman Transformer Change Out (Lyons, Norment, Poston, McCart) • 3rd place in Apprentice Hurtman Rescue (Clayton Patterson, lineman – step 3) • 3rd place in Apprentice Switch Relocation (Tyler Dilbeck, lineman – step 4) • 3rd place in Apprentice Mystery Event #1 (Dilbeck) • 4th place in Journeyman – Overall (Willmert, Hansman, McBrayer, Postell) • 5th place in Apprentice – Overall (Dilbeck) The Georgia Lineman’s Rodeo is one of the many safety practices encouraged by Cobb EMC. Others include spot inspections and routine safety trainings for all employees.

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Diversifying energy sources keeps costs low

Cobb Electric Membership Corporation www.cobbemc.com Email: memberservices@cobbemc.com President and CEO

Chip Nelson, President and CEO

As an electric cooperative, our company is dedicated to bringing your home and business the power you need, 24/7. We have one of the world’s most technologically advanced distribution systems, and we’re proud of our 99.99 percent reliability rating.

Though reliable electricity is paramount, we also work to keep costs as low as possible for our members. Cobb EMC has the lowest rates of the state’s 94 electricity providers, according to the Georgia Public Service Commission’s 2016 Summer Residential Rate Survey.

While we work to keep current costs low, our company also looks forward, planning for our future energy needs. Diversifying our energy portfolio and getting power from a variety of sources helps us offer clean energy while keeping costs low for our members.

This spring, we expanded our renewable energy portfolio to include solar power from a new facility in South Georgia. Thanks to this facility and other recent expansions, our solar portfolio has increased 270 percent over the last year. Today, nearly 8 percent of our electricity comes from solar, while the rest comes from natural gas, hydro, coal, biomass and nuclear. We’re proud to be a national renewable leader, and we were recently named one of the top 10 utilities in the nation for our annual solar watts per customer by the Smart Electric Power Alliance.

We are committed to planning for the future while still bringing greater savings and overall value to our members. We strive to keep your power costs low, but we also want to help simplify how you can save energy and money at home.

For interactive videos, energy calculators and tips on low-cost and no-cost ways to save energy at home, visit www.cobbemc.com/save.

Nuclear news Cobb EMC is not a participant in the Plant Vogtle expansion, so our members should not worry about news regarding cost overruns or the bankruptcy of Westinghouse.

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Chip Nelson

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chairman Vice Chairman

Tripper Sharp Edward Crowell

Secretary-Treasurer Malcolm Swanson

Eric Broadwell

Kelly Bodner

Bryan Boyd

David McClellan

David Tennant

Rudy Underwood Editorial Staff

Brooke Melton Leslie Thompson Traci Washington Angela Croce, CCC

Contacts & Office Hours Phone: 770-429-2100 Report an outage: 770-429-2100 Fax: 770-429-3330 Pay by phone: 1-855-730-8714 In person: 1000 EMC Parkway Marietta, GA 30060 Walk-in hours: Monday – Friday

(8 a.m. – 5 p.m.)

Drive-through hours: Monday – Friday (8 a.m. – 5 p.m.)

Member Care Center hours: Monday – Friday (7 a.m. – 6 p.m.)

Express Pay drop box is available for non-cash payments 24/7

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BRINGING YOU THE POWER OF ENERGY

cobbemc.com

Experience COOPERATIVE SOLAR with Cobb EMC WHAT IS COOPERATIVE SOLAR?

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Cooperative Solar is the ideal option for members who want to participate in solar, but don’t want to deal with the high costs of financing rooftop solar or their HOA restrictions.

The program allows members to choose just the right amount of solar energy from Cobb EMC’s off-site solar energy facility and receive clean, affordable, renewable energy.

It’s easy! You can purchase energy shares from Cobb EMC at a nominal monthly rate. The electricity delivered to your home through the power grid is calculated, and the solar energy generated from your share will be credited back to you. The monthly output from each share varies due to the position of the sun, time of year and number of cloudy days.

Sign up for Cooperative Solar or learn more: www.cobbemc.com/coopsolar

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FREE

EVENT R E B MEM

BRINGING YOU THE POWER OF ENERGY

Attend our Solar Energy Seminar to learn how solar energy systems work and hear information on the solar industry, current trends and opportunities for homeowners. A homeowner with rooftop solar, a solar panel installer and a county inspector will answer questions during a panel discussion.

Weather permitting, we will tour the Safety Village and see the small-scale Cobb EMC building, where you can learn about electrical safety and view our solar power generating station.

Space is limited. Registration is required, and seats are given on a first-come, first-served basis. Please register through the link below.

cobbemc.com

Solar Seminar: Chat with experts

Thursday, August 10, 6-8 p.m.

(Safety Village tour 4:30-5:45 p.m.)

Cobb County Safety Village 1220 Al Bishop Drive, Marietta, GA www.cobbemc.com/solarseminar D

BRINGING YOU THE

POWER OF

ENERGY

Periodically inspect your dryer vent to ensure it’s not blocked. This will save energy and may prevent a fire. cobbemc.com/conserve

Want to see your energy-saving efforts pay off?

Our Smart Choice Rate might be right for you!

The Smart Choice Rate puts you in control of your energy costs to help you save. You can lower your annual cost of service by making simple changes, like spreading out the use of major appliances, on select summer days.

Learn more: www.cobbemc.com/smart

Beat the peak, your bills will thank you Electricity is in highest demand during hot summer months. Cobb EMC has a plan to help you beat the heat and lower your energy use this summer: It’s called beat the peak. While you do your part by adjusting the thermostat and turning off extra lights to lower your energy needs, we’ll do our part and plan ahead so we can better align wholesale power costs to keep rates low.

Minimize your energy use during peak hours, which occur on the warmest days June through September, from 2-7 p.m., with these tips: Avoid using high-energy appliances at the same time.

Especially the oven, which raises the temperature in your home.

Run the dryer and other appliances during off-peak periods. Only wash laundry in cold water.

Appliance calculator Estimate your annual energy use and cost to operate specific products with the appliance calculator. www.cobbemc.com/save

Program your thermostat to an energyefficient summer setting: 80 degrees.

Ensure your air filters are clean.

Clogged filters force your system to work harder and use more energy.

80

Turn off unnecessary lights and unplug unnecessary appliances.

Get an email alert on peak days. Sign up at www.cobbemc.com/smartalerts.

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BRINGING YOU THE

POWER OF

COMMUNITY

Cobb EMC doesn’t power customers; we power members. You are a member-owner. cobbemc.com/myemc

Everyone loves a great discount!

Cobb EMC Community Foundation awards $70,000 in scholarships

Cobb EMC members have access to discount tickets for local attractions: Georgia Aquarium, Six Flags Over Georgia and White Water.

Get tickets: www.cobbemc.com/myemc

The Cobb EMC Community Foundation recently awarded 14 scholarships to local students across Cobb EMC’s service territory. Each recipient will receive a $5,000 scholarship, which can be applied to any accredited two- or four-year university, college or vocational-technical school.

• Timothy Riordan, Blessed Trinity Catholic High School • Derek Goshay, Lassiter High School • Briana Delvasto, Woodstock High School • Veena Jaipradeep, Milton High School • Maria Vargas, Osborne High School • Grace Albright, Etowah High School • Ethan Delashmit, Darlington School

• Asia Hypsher, Marietta High School • Alexis Watson, Allatoona High School • Shivani Narine, Wheeler High School • Archelle Thelemaque, Kennesaw Mountain High School • Dominique Morris, South Cobb High School • Victoria Kraj, Wheeler High School • Helena Brante, Allatoona High School

The recipients have been accepted into undergraduate degree programs at accredited and technical institutes. Chattahoochee Technical College, Emory University, MIT, University of Georgia and Yale are among the colleges the recipients will attend this fall.

Co-op members save over $100 million Co-op members have saved over $100 million on prescription purchases with the Co-op Connections® Card.

You can save, too! Print your free card, or download the app to access discounts on the go. www.cobbemc.com/discounts

The annual scholarship was created in 2014 and is funded and administered by the Cobb EMC Community Foundation, a third-party foundation, set up to administer and distribute the funds collected through Operation Round Up. GEORGIA MAGAZINE

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Learn about Cobb EMC’s progress and ways to save on your electric bill at our annual member appreciation event. Each Cobb EMC member who registers for the Annual Meeting will receive up to four free North Georgia State Fair tickets with unlimited rides and free parking to use when the fair comes to town.

When: Saturday, September 16 Where: Jim R. Miller Park Learn more at www.cobbemc.com/annualmeeting

*Prize winners are solely responsible for all applicable taxes.

Door prizes* • Smart watches • Visa® gift cards • Bill credits • Big Green Egg® grills • Refurbished Cobb EMC truck Activities • Energy efficiency booth • Power line safety demo • Kids fun zone

cobbemc.com

FREE FAIR TICKETS • FUN ACTIVITIES • DOOR PRIZES