Rooted in Service. Growing in Innovation
Back in the spring we conducted our most recent Member Satisfaction Survey. It had been five years since our last one. In that time, we have weathered COVID, experienced supply-chain issues, passed on a wholesale power cost adjustment increase and experienced several weather events that led to system damage and power outages. Gratefully, your feedback on overall satisfaction with OREMC, electric rates and service and member communication and responsiveness was very positive and improved from five years ago.
Our mission is to serve you. OREMC was created by the community, for the community. “Back in the day” families, friends and neighbors banded together and formed our co-op to “bring the lights” and improve life for the common good. It was the only way the rural areas of Southeast Georgia and Northeast Florida were going to get electricity. Since then our communities have thrived, and that mission-focused heritage is the golden thread that is woven into everything we do even today.
Knowing we are doing a fairly good job of meeting your expectations in terms of safe, reliable and affordable energy, sets the foundation for addressing the challenges on the horizon. We acknowledge that today’s energy landscape and consumer expectations are far different than they were decades ago. The internet of things has expanded our reliance on electricity, and this will only increase with the rise of a more electrified economy, particularly in the transportation sector.
Electric Vehicles (EVs) As the number and density of EVs continue to grow in our service area, so too will the demand for electricity to charge vehicles at home, at work and in-between. We are already seeing electric school buses on our system thanks to government grants and incentives. That increased demand requires a supportive electrical grid that is resilient and can handle the increased electric capacity. It also necessitates a charging infrastructure that is reliable and efficient. Both Georgia and Florida are mapping out plans for rural charging networks to support an anticipated increase in EV adoption rates.
Smart Grid Advancements We continue to implement and invest in smart grid technologies so we can monitor our distribution system performance in real-time, identify and respond to outages more swiftly. By optimizing the distribution of electricity when an outage does occur, ensures power disruptions impact the fewest number of members for the shortest amount of time. We understand that electricity has evolved from an opportunity to a necessity, and that we are the front line for designing, building and maintaining critical infrastructure.
Renewable Energy Integration Renewables are an important part of the energy mix as we transition away from fossil fuel generation. OREMC is a member of Green Power EMC, a co-op in Georgia formed to provide renewable energy solutions to us and the other distribution co-ops around the state. Green Power has done a number of utility scale solar projects which we participate in and adds to our power supply portfolio, which we expect to continue to grow over time. We also have our own 2 MW solar array which you can subscribe to as part of our Cooperative Solar program.
Community Engagement Staying true to our cooperative principles, our communities are the heart and soul of OREMC. We work to foster our communities’ continued growth and viability by: pursuing economic development opportunities; supporting education through scholarships and S.T.E.M. donations; and contributing to organizations that address life safety and healthcare needs.
As the fabric of our future continues to evolve from the illumination of a single light bulb to an increasingly electrified world seeming to move faster than the speed of light, OREMC is committed to preserving our roots while embracing technology and innovation to meet the power demands, and service expectations, of tomorrow.
John Middleton
Robert W. Combs GENERAL MANAGER PRESIDENT
OREMC, and our new Kinlaw substation built to serve Plug Power’s green hydrogen production plant in Camden County, was the lead off to the cover story of the May issue of RE Magazine, a national publication.
OREMC’s 2023 Highlights
FFA Wiring Competition
Teacher Externship
Four Glynn County teachers stepped out of the classroom and into the middle of OREMC’s operations for two days in early November to participate in the Connect Glynn 2022 Education Externship Academy. The purpose of the externship is to connect educators with businesses to better understand workforce needs and skills. Our teachers quickly learned there was much more to electricity than a flip of a switch. The teachers got an up close and personal look at the people behind the power at OREMC and learned about employees’ individual jobs and journeys.
For the first time since 2019, the OREMC/Brantley County FFA Wiring Contest practice session was held in December. There were 14 students from surrounding Georgia counties who participated in the practice session. The wiring competition is an Agricultural Electrification Career Development Event sponsored jointly by the Georgia FFA Association and the Georgia Electric Membership Corporation representing Georgia’s 41 electric co-ops.
Community Service
OREMC Storytime
In January we launched OREMC Storytime in partnership with Ferst Readers, a program promoting early childhood literacy. Targeting the co-op’s littlest members, children’s books have been read by OREMC employees, board directors/trustees and/or community members and posted on Facebook. The entire playlist is available on YouTube. Some of the books read were provided by Ferst Readers, while others have been chosen by the readers themselves. One employee’s grandmother wrote a couple of books, and she read those, and one of the linemen is a native Spanish speaker and he read in Spanish.
Several employees did “field work” in the form of community service at the old Brantley County recreational fields back in April. Projects included tree trimming and brush clean up, replacing junction boxes, building new trash containers and securing conduit on poles surrounding the ball fields. Their efforts were part of a Management & Leadership Development Program presented by the UGA J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development they were enrolled in.
Wings & Watts
In November we held our very first Wings & Watts member engagement event at Laurel Island Links in Camden County. Meeting our members where they are, addressing key issues and providing a framework for what it means to be a consumer-member of OREMC was the purpose behind the event. A second Wings & Watts was held in March in Nassau County.
OREMC Foundation: Giving Back and Paying It Forward
As depicted in the word cloud, these are just some of the programs the OREMC Foundation has awarded grants to in just the past year. Some will tear your heart out, while others want to make you jump for joy, but all of the programs that have been supported by the 90+ grants totaling more than $300,000 since the OREMC Foundation was launched two years ago, underscore the idea that “it takes a village.” The heart and soul of the people behind these initiatives found across the OREMC service area is staggering. And for some, it is a way to give back to those that helped them, and pay it forward to those who now find themselves in need.
“The Foundation has opened our eyes to things I never thought of, that are issues people are facing,” notes OREMC Foundation President Ruby Ann Sawyer. “One that really got to me was an addiction recovery center. They had gone down to the penny in demonstrating what they needed to help their residents in their grant request. When they got their award and were presented with the check, they were so excited to be able to meet another need. And just the little bit we were able to give can make a big impact. I say little bit, because I know it costs so much for the organizations we have supported to reach the people in need and provide the services they do. At least we are helping in some way.”
And the needs are great particularly in the areas of foster care and food insecurity across all counties OREMC serves. Clothes and shoes for children is another common initiative giving them the basics so they can focus on school and stay off the streets and away from drugs. Several mentoring programs to prevent youth from going down the wrong path, and addition recovery centers, as mentioned above, have also been grant recipients.
On the bright side are the education initiatives the OREMC Foundation has supported. Arts education programs work to foster singing, instrumental and performing arts in children and adults of all ages. These programs work to promote inclusivity, community and family at minimal costs to maximize participation. Then there are the FFA and 4-H programs that give children hands on learning through agricultural education. Reading programs help foster early childhood literacy. And camp/workshop activities that open up a world of possibilities, teach new skills or enhance understanding of technology in our increasingly digital world are very rewarding.
The OREMC Foundation was formed as a community development initiative to support qualified organizations in the six Georgia and two Florida counties OREMC serves. Currently the Foundation is funded by unclaimed capital credits. If these funds weren’t reinvested into our local communities, they would have to be returned to the State of Georgia. Awarding grants to organizations through the Foundation is a much better use of those funds, and ensures direct investment in our OREMC communities.
To learn more about the OREMC Foundation visit oremc.com/foundation.
Financial Report
Financial Statements for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, reflect the sound statue of Okefenoke Rural Electric Membership Corporation.
Each year we retain the services of independent Certified Public Accountants to perform an audit of the corporation’s accounting records. This year’s audit, conducted by McNair, McLemore, Middlebrooks and Co., LLP, included an examination of the Cooperative’s balance sheet, statement of revenue, expenses and remarks concerning each. Copies of the complete audit are on file at OREMC’s headquarters office in Nahunta, Georgia, for your review.
The figures present in this report represent our summary of the year’s operation.
Cristi B. Koncz | SECRETARY/TREASURER
Accounts Receivable (Net of Accumulated Provision for Uncollectible Accounts of $589,059 in 2023 and $834,570 in 2022)