DECEMBER 2015 | BILL INSERT
Wishing you Happy Holidays
and a New Year filled with prosperity and success!
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
• 12 days of energy savings • Cooperative Solar is now available. Find out how it works. • Scholarships available for students. Find out details inside.
Holiday hours Tree-cycle and help the environment Cobb EMC’s forestry department is partnering with Bring One for the Chipper, Georgia’s annual Christmas tree recycling program, to offer Christmas tree recycling for Cobb and Cherokee counties. Bring your real Christmas tree to one of the designated drop-off locations and Cobb EMC will chip it into mulch. You can even take the freshly chipped mulch home and put it to good use! Christmas tree drop-offs will take place December 26, 2015 through January 9, 2016 at designated Cobb County and Cherokee County locations. Visit www.keepgeorgiabeautiful.org for updated drop-off locations and dates.
Our offices will close at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 23 and will remain closed Dec. 24 through Dec. 25. We will also be closed Jan. 1. Employees are always standing by for emergencies. Please call our automated outage system at 770-429-2100 in the event of an outage or visit www.cobbemc.com/ outagecenter
12 Days of Energy Savings 1. Drive your way to fuel savings Save money on fuel costs by emptying your car after all your shopping trips. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could increase gas costs by up to $.08 a gallon.
2. Save energy in the kitchen This holiday, don’t waste heat from your stovetop. Use right-sized pots on stove burners to save about $36 annually with an electric range or $18 with gas.
3. Plug holiday decorations into power strips Stop phantom loads, which cost Americans $100 a year on average, by turning off power strips when you aren’t using holiday decorations.
4. Install a light timer Stay in the holiday spirit while saving energy by using timer controls to turn holiday lights on and off at specific times.
5. Take advantage of sunlight Open curtains during the day to allow sunlight to naturally warm your home, and close them at night to reduce the chill from windows.
6. Use LED lights Light your tree with LEDs and save money. It only costs $0.27 to light a 6-foot tree for 12 hours a day for 40 days with LEDs compared to $10 for incandescent lights.
Source: Department of Energy
7. Prepare your windows for winter Storm windows can help reduce heat loss through your windows by 25-50 percent.
8. Maintain your fireplace Keep warm air in your house and cold air out with proper chimney maintenance, like sealing your fireplace flue damper, caulking around your hearth and installing a heat-air exchange system to blow warmed air back into the room.
9. Monitor your energy usage Sign in to our account management system, SmartHub, from your desktop or mobile phone and check your usage down to the hour! Download the free app at www.cobbemc.com/aboutsmarthub.
10. Buy ENERGY STAR electronics Depending on usage, an ENERGY STAR computer can save 30-65 percent more energy compared to a computer without this designation.
11. Set your thermostat for winter Save energy in the winter by setting the thermostat to 68°F while you are awake and setting it lower while you are asleep or away from home.
12. Complete an online energy audit Find projects that make your home energy efficient by using our home efficiency analysis tool. Visit www.cobbemc.com/togetherwesave for more information.
Capture your share of the sun Cobb EMC’s Cooperative Solar program allows residential members to participate in solar energy production without the expense of purchasing and maintaining a solar energy system. Visit www.cobbemc.com/coopsolar to watch an animated video on how Cooperative Solar works.
Your spare change makes a difference!
Members who want to participate can purchase solar energy for $25 per month for each block.
Through Operation Round Up®, our members have contributed more than $1,300,000 to charities in our community.
Each block contains 5 solar panels.
www.cobbemc.com/roundup
Here’s a snapshot:
Members can get up to six blocks of solar energy per account. The energy output from the solar panels will offset an equivalent amount of traditional power on your bill. The approximate output of each block can be 160 to 270 kWh per month.
Sign up for Cooperative Solar! Fill out the form online at www.cobbemc.com/coopsolar
November 2015 donations • 100 Black Men of North Metro Inc. • Boys and Girls Club Marion D Mimms • Boys and Girls Club of Bartow County • Cherokee Child Advocacy Council Inc. • Cobb Community Foundation Inc.
Scholarships available for students
• Davis Direction Foundation Inc.
Cobb EMC cares about the community and local youth. That’s why we award annual scholarships to our younger members. We are proud to offer the Cobb EMC Community Foundation Scholarship, the Walter Harrison Scholarship and Washington Youth Tour.
• Georgia Symphony Orchestra
Find application deadlines and more information at www.cobbemc.com/scholarships.
• United Military Care Inc.
• Reinhardt University
• VOICE Today Inc.
Community Foundation Scholarship 14 scholarships in the amount of $5,000 each
• WellStar Foundation • Young Life West Cobb
Mark your calendar Washington Youth Tour
Walter Harrison Scholarship
Amount: $1,500, $1,000 and $500
Amount: $1,000
15
Board Meeting Where: 1000 EMC Parkway Marietta, GA 30060 When: Dec. 15 at 4 p.m.
UNWRAP THE
SAVINGS
WITH CO-OP CONNECTIONS :
Business Entertainment Cobb EMC isand there to power your every day life, connecting you to reliable electricity. Catered Southern Events LLC www.cateredsouthernevents.com
Organized Daily Money Matters www.organizeddailymoneymatters.com
www.ctobridals.com
www.pfdatlanta.com
Our 99.99 percent reliability rating helps assure our members that they can CTOon Bridal Picture Frame Depot count us, rain or shine. With some 180,000 members, reliability is critical.
Having of Facility the most technologically advanced power distribution systems in Gala one Events PromoURLogo www.promourlogo.com thewww.galafacility.com country with one thousand points of automation monitored 24/7, 365 days a year, assures our members that the lights will stay on in their homes and their Gary and Elaine’s Photography Relax and Wax www.garyandelainesphotography.com www.relaxandwax.com business will keep running. Georgia Aquarium*
Six Flags Over Georgia* www.sixflags.com/overgeorgia
Jump Ovation Parties www.jumpovation.com
Stone Mountain Park* www.stonemountainpark.com
Just T-Shirt Quilts www.justtshirtquilts.com
The Alison Agency www.thealisonagency.com
Merle Norman Cosmetics www.merlenorman.com
Windham Business Services www.windhamservices.net
That’s the power of membership. www.georgiaaquarium.org
O’Brien Productions www.obrienproductions.com
cobbemc.com
*Offer only available online at www.cobbemc.com/discounts
We look out for you, so you can enjoy what’s important. Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the U.S. Co-op Connections® wants to help by unveiling ID Sanctuary, an identity theft monitoring and resolution service. This benefit provides you with the proactive tools and recovery assistance needed to quickly respond to an identity or fraud crisis. As a Cobb EMC member, you can join ID Sanctuary and protect your family for as low as $8 per month. Learn more and sign up today by visiting www.cobbemc.com/idsanctuary.
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