matters MEMBERSHIP
SEPTEMBER 2014
A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FROM BLUE RIDGE ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP CORPORATION
Did you know... in 1936, a loaf of bread cost 8 cents? The 2013 cost for that same loaf of white bread is $2.20, or 27.5 times more expensive.
Electricity remains a good value In today’s world, you won’t find many items that cost less than $5. You can purchase a gallon of milk, a gallon of gas or a Big Mac from McDonald’s. But did you know that an average day’s worth of electricity costs less than $5?
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Even in the current economy of rising prices, electricity remains a good value. In fact, electricity has the lowest cost per
treats we allow ourselves to purchase on a weekly basis (or maybe a daily basis for some items!). We don’t often question the cost of a fast-food meal – yet it can cost more to buy a convenience meal than it does to purchase an entire day’s worth of power.
We’ve all become increasingly reliant upon electricity. For most of us, electricity has gone from a luxury . . . an average day's worth of electricity commodity to a necessity and an expectation. We count on costs less than $5! the lights to work when we flip the switch, and we expect our powday of any of the items listed above. And er to stay on during the best and worst not all of those items are necessary for weather conditions. How else would we daily life! keep our food fresh, our homes cool in In thinking about your daily necessithe summer or warm in the winter? It is ties such as electricity, food and gasoeasy to cut a fast-food meal out of your line, think about the cost of the special spending routine here and there to save
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a few dollars. But, we cannot as simply cut electricity out of our budgets if times get tough or we decide that we want to scale back our spending in order to save. That’s one reason Blue Ridge Electric works so diligently to control costs and meet our goal of keeping members’ bills as low as possible. It’s why we’re especially pleased no rate increase is necessary for 2014. If at times it doesn’t seem that electricity is affordable, remember – even as the demand for electricity grows – electricity still remains a good value, especially when compared to other consumer goods such as medical care, education, gasoline and, yes, even a Big Mac !
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8/8/14 3:22 PM