GOOD EATS

MESSAGE FROM THE CEO/PRESIDENT AFFORDABLE ELECTRICITY

POWERS QUALITY OF LIFE

Most of us use electricity, either directly or indirectly, at almost all times. Because electricity is so abundant and available with the simple flip of a switch, it’s easy to take it for granted. According to the Energy Information Agency (EIA), the typical U.S. household now uses more air conditioning, appliances, and consumer electronics than ever before. The average home also contains 10 or more internetconnected devices. Considering everything that is powered by electricity, it’s no wonder we occasionally might wince at our monthly bill. But keep in mind, it’s no longer just the “light bill.”

Electricity powers quality of life

Electricity powers our quality of life. From the infrastructure of your home (appliances, water heater, and HVAC system) to charging your smartphones, computers, TV, and Wi-Fi router, your energy bill covers so much more than lighting. Today, there is more demand for electricity than ever before. At home, in schools and businesses, and in commercial sectors such as transportation, the need for electricity is increasing. Typically when demand goes up, so too does the price, as is the case with most goods or services, like cable or even your favorite specialty coffee. However, that’s not true with electricity. Let’s take a look at how the value of electricity compares to other common expenses. Over the last five years, the annual cost of rent increased 3.4%; medical care increased 2.8%; and education increased 2.2%. But the annual cost of electricity only increased 1%. Considering all the ways we depend on electricity, it still remains a great value. The next time you’re enjoying your favorite podcast, TV series, or movie, consider the value of electricity and how it enhances your quality of life. We care about you — the members we serve — and understand that electricity is more than a commodity — it’s a necessity. That’s why URE will continue working hard to power your life, reliably and affordably.

Anthony Smith CEO/PRESIDENT

NO RATE CHANGE

MARKS SEVENTH YEAR WITH NO DISTRIBUTION INCREASE!

As announced in the July issue of Ohio Cooperative Living, the URE Board of Trustees approved revisions to singlephase and three-phase rates in response to recent rate adjustments from Buckeye Power for generation service. Every spring, our generation provider, Buckeye Power, reviews its generation revenue requirements and adjusts the wholesale rates that it charges distribution cooperatives like URE. We then review the new rates and determine if adjustments are needed to the retail rates charged to our consumer-members. Our goal is to always pass through incurred costs for energy to our members in a fair and deliberate manner. There are four elements to Buckeye’s wholesale rates: fuel, PJM demand, Buckeye demand, and energy. The most signifi cant of these is the fuel charge, which is based on the cost of coal, natural gas, and other resources needed to turn the turbines to generate electricity. This is a variable rate charged to kilowatt-hour usage and changes every month. It is also a variable rate on the URE bill to our consumer-members. The other three elements are reviewed and adjusted once a year. Buckeye Power is a member of the Pennsylvania, Jersey, Maryland (PJM) regional transmission organization (RTO) that interconnects the power grid over a large portion of the eastern United States. The demand charge rate associated with PJM is not changing. The Buckeye demand charge covers fi xed costs such as depreciation and property taxes on the generation plants and is increasing July 1. Finally, the energy charge is based on kilowatt-hour usage and covers Buckeye’s variable costs, such as maintenance on the generation plants and administration. The energy rate per kilowatt-hour is decreasing July 1. While the fuel cost portion of the bill you receive every month will continue to vary based on the rate charged to URE, the generation rate on your residential or

commercial bill will not change over the coming year.

URE has determined that the increase to the wholesale Buckeye demand charge and the decrease to the energy charge essentially off set each other, and the current retail rates are appropriate to recover all Buckeye generation costs. There will also be no change in URE’s approach to billing transmission and distribution services. Transmission rates change every month and are designed to collect the wholesale transmission costs without markup. And, for

the seventh consecutive year, there will be no increase

to retail distribution rates. Distribution charges fund the operations of URE, your local electric provider. The natural gas rates will also remain unchanged. Gas commodity rates (the cost of gas and capacity we must purchase to deliver to our members) will continue to be passed through to all members based on actual cost, and there are no changes to the distribution or service charges. As a not-for-profi t cooperative, our goal is to bill our membership only for what we are billed for electric and natural gas costs plus the cost of operating the distribution systems along with reasonable margins. Eventually, our consumer-members benefi t from the return of margins gained in the form of capital credits retirements, or billing credits. Our member services team is happy to discuss rates or the steps you can take to reduce your costs. Call 937-6421826 or visit us at www.ure.com.

Understanding power surges and blinks

Lightning strikes can cause faults (short circuits) on power lines, which can cause your power to blink.

Have you ever noticed your lights blink during a thunderstorm? Or perhaps you’ve noticed a blinking microwave clock when you arrive home. When this happens, you’ve likely experienced a brief disruption to your electric service, which could result from a power surge or blink. While the symptoms of surges and blinks can appear similar, what’s happening behind the scenes can be quite diff erent.

What’s a power surge?

Power surges are brief overvoltage spikes or disturbances of a power waveform that can damage, degrade, or destroy electronic equipment within your home or business. Most electronics are designed to handle small variations in voltage; however, power surges can reach amplitudes of tens of thousands of volts — this can be extremely damaging to your electronic equipment. Surges can be caused by internal sources, like HVAC systems with variable frequency drives, or external sources, like lightning and damage to power lines and transformers. URE encourages all members to install surge protective devices (such as surge protector power strips) to safeguard your sensitive electronics. If you’re experiencing frequent surges in your home or business and you believe the cause is internal, contact a qualifi ed electrician to inspect your electrical system.

What’s a power blink?

Power blinks are also brief service interruptions, but they’re typically caused by a fault (short circuit) on a power line or a protective device that’s working in reaction to the fault. Faults can occur through a variety of instances, like squirrels, birds, or other small animals contacting an energized power line; tree branches touching a power line; or lightning and other similar events. In fact, when it comes to power disruptions caused by critters, squirrels reign supreme. In 2019 alone, squirrels were responsible for more than 1,200 outages. Any of the events noted above can cause your power to blink, but you may also experience a brief interruption when protective devices that act like circuit breakers are working to detect the fault. Believe it or not, these brief power blinks caused by protective devices are actually good because that means the equipment is working as it should to prevent a prolonged outage. Regardless of the cause, URE crews will be on their way to inspect the damage and make necessary repairs after a power outage.

View full meeting online in SmartHub: ure.smarthub.coop

Union Rural Electric Cooperative (URE) board and staff members welcomed members to the first in-person annual meeting since 2019, sharing stories of exemplary member service and excitement about earning a customer service score of 90, their highest score ever. Of note, this year URE returned capital credits in the amount of $3,012,026.89 to members in the form of bill credits. The meeting was held Saturday, June 5, at the cooperative’s headquarters in Marysville.

Jeff Reinhard, board vice chairman, introduced the URE scholarship winners for 2021: Elizabeth Nicol of Fairbanks High School, Kaylee Smith of North Union High School, Shelby Jones of Fairbanks High School, Stella Moser of Marysville Early College High School, and Joel Kunzelman of Dublin Jerome High School.

Doug Miller, Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives’ vice president of statewide services, highlighted that cooperatives successfully kept employees safe and kept the lights on for members during the pandemic. He spoke in detail about the importance of the cooperative model and grid reliability. “URE is truly among the best in the state of Ohio,” said Miller. “The members, staff, and trustees embrace and exemplify the cooperative business model each and every day.” Miller said, “Buckeye Power has a strong planning network that ensures adequate power generation capacity and reserves.” Buckeye Power supplies electricity generated from clean coal plants, modern natural gas plants, and a mix of renewable resources, such as hydroelectric, biomass, and solar generation. According to Miller, “Our diversity ensures power is available when you need it, and costs remain flat over time.”

2021