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March 2014

MEMBERSHIP

matters A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FROM BLUE RIDGE ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP CORPORATION

Help members with higher heating bills due to cold weather Blue Ridge Electric is helping members bear the cost of higher heating bills caused by this winter’s extreme cold weather.

First, the cooperative has extended a temporary rate reduction for all members for two more months. In addition to February bills, members will also see a reduction on March and April bills of $9 per 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity used monthly. That’s a $3 million savings to members.

Secondly, the cooperative has announced a special “So No One Goes Cold” campaign to go above and beyond the regular crisis heating assistance available from the Blue Ridge Electric Members Foundation through Operation Round Up funds. The cooperative asks members who can to donate and add to the $100,000 contributed by Blue Ridge Electric’s subsidiaries, Blue Ridge Energies and RidgeLink. (See next page for more details.) The funds will help any local resident needing assistance with their electric or heating fuel bill.

Your help is urgently needed. Drop your donation by your local Blue Ridge Electric office or go online at BlueRidgeEMC.com.

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So No One Goes Cold You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” — John Bunyan We may never see their faces. We may never know the depth of their need. We may never even hear a thank you — and that’s alright. Because the purpose of our Blue Ridge Electric Members Foundation is to preserve dignity while helping local people in their toughest time with a hand up.

The crisis heating assistance provided by the Foundation through Operation Round Up® funding helps right here at home — people who could be your friends or neighbors.

And the need has never been greater. People are struggling to pay their heating bills while fuel prices continue to rise.

To add to the burden, it’s also one of the coldest winters in years, which means people need more heat — and energy bills are at the highest we’ve seen in some time!

That’s why we’ve established the “So No One Goes Cold” campaign: so that more people than ever can receive crisis heating assistance through additional emergency funding by the Members Foundation. I’m very excited that your

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cooperative’s subsidiaries have produced enough profits to be able to donate $100,000 to the Members Foundation to kick off this campaign. RidgeLink, which leases high-capacity fiber to businesses, schools, hospitals and cellular providers, is donating $50,000 while our heating fuels subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energies, is donating another $50,000.

That will keep a lot of families warm! But we still need your help!

I’d like to personally invite our members, employees, and others in our local communities and beyond to join us in our “So No One Goes Cold” campaign.

Whether you can donate $1, $10 or $100, your contribution will make a difference.

After all, the power behind the Blue Ridge Electric Members Foundation has always been the cooperative spirit of joining together to help each other. So, won’t you join us in this special campaign? You may never hear the gratitude of the person you help, but your good deed may just be the spark that keeps hearts — and homes — warm this winter.

Give Now! Join us to make sure no one goes cold!

To help meet the urgent need for crisis heating assistance, donate in one of the following ways today: • Donate by cash, check, or credit card at Blue Ridge Electric district offices • Donate online at BLUE RIDGE ELECTRIC MEMBERS BlueRidgeEMC. FOUNDATION com/NoCold * Make checks payable to Blue Ridge Electric BLUE RIDGE ELECTRIC Members Foundation MEMBERS FOUNDATION

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Director Proxy Committee to be appointed As part of the director election governance process giving members an option to vote for the directors of their cooperative by mail or Internet, a Director Proxy Committee will be elected by the board of directors at their regular March board meeting.

electronic proxy forms. Secondly, the committee will serve as a proxy for any member wishing to assign his vote for director elections to the committee. Lastly, the committee will cast votes for members who do not make a choice on any of the voting options.

This committee will be made up of three directors and one alternate director whose terms are not expiring and who are not running for re-election this year to the board of directors.

Director election kits will be mailed, or sent by email to members who have elected to receive this information electronically, to all members May 14, 2014. The notice of Annual Meeting along with biographical information about this year’s board candidates will be part of the election kit. As a reminder, members are no longer required to attend the Annual Meeting in order to vote for directors as they now have

The Proxy Committee serves multiple roles for the membership. First, the committee will cast votes for all members designating their preferences selected on the paper or

additional options of voting by mail or Internet. Additionally, members who have not voted or who voted by mail or Internet but wish to change their vote may attend the Annual Meeting in order to do so.

The names of the Director Proxy Committee will appear on the proxy forms contained in the director election and Annual Meeting notice kits sent to members and on our website at BlueRidgeEMC.com.

This is the third of a series of articles discussing vegetation management.

Vegetation practices balance reliability with scenic beauty Keeping the path of power lines free of large trees and brush helps our members enjoy reliable electricity for their homes and businesses. It also provides a safe working environment for our line technicians whether they’re doing routine work on the system or trying to get power quickly restored when an outage occurs.

Vegetation must be continually managed in rights-of-ways in order to meet

tive utilizes a combination approach to right-of-way maintenance. In the first part of the process, trees and large growth that threaten reliability are either cut with mechanical trimmers or trimmed by hand. The following summer, crews using a backpack applicator apply an environmentally safe herbicide treatment targeted to vegetation that could grow into power lines. This herbicide allows low-growing vegetation to thrive.

These practices are endorsed by several important animal and plant organizations. . . reliability and safety goals. That’s why our comprehensive, innovative rightof-way program includes selective herbicide. As you know, your cooperaMEMBERSHIP matters

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This low-volume, manual method of vegetation management also helps ensure the beauty and natural habitat of the many plants and animals in our area is enhanced.

These practices are endorsed by several important animal and plant orga-

nizations such as the North Carolina Department of Natural Resources, The National Wild Turkey Federation, Quail Unlimited, Buckmasters and the National Butterfly Association.

You can be assured that member satisfaction with our right of way program is a priority for us. Because we respect your property, member notification is part of our plan. Planned maintenance that requires us to be on a member’s property is preceded by an automated phone call so that our members are notified well in advance of any work.

If we cannot reach a member by phone after several attempts, a postcard will be mailed. This process ensures members have the opportunity to learn more about the maintenance required and the need to be on their property.

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An easier way to pay: FlexPay Would it be easier to make smaller weekly or bi-weekly payments rather than one single monthly payment? If so, our FlexPay program may be for you.

Blue Ridge Electric has developed this new program for members needing an easier way to manage their bill or simply wanting the convenience to “pay as you go”— in any amount you choose, on a daily or weekly basis.

FlexPay members also save money because it requires no deposit and you never have late fees. Simply keep a balance in your account to keep power flowing. Keeping an eye on your balance is also easy: choose to receive account balance alerts by text, phone call, email — or all three.

Convenient ways to pay on FlexPay CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Doug Johnson

EDITOR Renée R. Whitener

PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Susan Simmons

DISTRICT OFFICES Caldwell Watauga Ashe Alleghany Wilkes PowerLine®

(828) 754-9071 (828) 264-8894 (336) 846-7138 (336) 372-4646 (800) 451-5474 (800) 448-2383

(PowerLine® is an automated account information and outage reporting system.)

Toll Free

include: 24 hours a day by phone or at BlueRidgeEMC.com using e-check, credit or debit card and by using our 24/7 payment kiosks in Caldwell, Ashe and Alleghany district offices (coming this summer in Watauga district).

And remember, with FlexPay, you’ll still enjoy the benefits of being a member of Blue Ridge Electric, including capital credits!

If FlexPay can help you with the constraints of your personal budget, contact us today.

Blue Ridge Electric’s first kiosk has served Caldwell members for two years.

LAUNDRY #12: Wash clothes in cold water. Use hot water only for very dirty loads. #13: Only do full laundry loads.

Go to BlueRidgeEMC.com > GreenSmart and find out how the little changes add up.

Source: 101 Easy Ways to Save Energy and Money

(800) 451-5474

(for members outside of the service area.)

To report an outage at any time, call one of the number listed above.

OFFICE HOURS: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday Night deposit available.

Visit us on the web: BlueRidgeEMC.com

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