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NOVEMBER 2014

MEMBERSHIP

A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FROM BLUE RIDGE ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP CORPORATION

Did you know...

you can call Blue Ridge Electric anytime to discuss available energy efficiency tools or payment options that can help you better manage your budget? Our goal is to offer choices that allow you to take control of your costs.

Prepare now for winter heating bills Cold weather is coming! That means heating needs increase and you’re probably spending more time inside, using more lighting and appliances. Blue Ridge Electric offers these tips to help you keep your electric bill lower during colder weather and shorter days: Be energy efficient Simple steps help. Set thermostats to the lowest comfortable level (68 degrees is suggested for winter). Limit space heater use since they can use significant amounts of electricity. Open curtains on south-facing windows to let in the sun’s heat. For tips customized to your home, take our free energy audit at BlueRidgeEMC.com or call your local Blue Ridge Electric office to take

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the audit or for a free tips booklet.

FlexPay Our “pay as you go” plan lets you purchase electricity in smaller amounts – daily, weekly or monthly if you prefer – with no deposits or late fees. You can pay at our office kiosks, by phone, or online using debit/credit cards, check, or cash. Get account balance alerts by text, phone or email.

Budget Billing Equalize your payments over 12 months. In the twelfth month, your account is “evened up” with a final payment or credit applied. Combine this with bank draft for even more convenience.

Tips for members needing assistance paying their bill • Extend your due date by three days using our automated self-help telephone option. At $10 each, it can be much less than late and reconnection fees that can accumulate on unpaid bills.

• If you need more than three days, call us to discuss an individualized payment arrangement plan to avoid late or reconnection fees.

• You may want to contact your local social service agency to see if you qualify for special assistance such as our Operation Round Up® or state and federal crisis assistance programs.

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Blue Ridge Energies benefits you Everyone likes to receive a good value and members are receiving that with the help of your cooperative’s subsidiaries.

First, it’s important to know that the profits of your cooperative’s subsidiaries go directly to help hold down rates for our members. Blue Ridge Electric has two subsidiaries and in this column I’d like to focus on the heating fuels subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energies.

In addition to helping hold down rates, Blue Ridge Energies also benefits members with community support. Last year, Blue Ridge Electric gave $100,000, from the profits of the two subsidiaries to the Blue Ridge Electric Members Foundation to help provide crisis heating assistance and fund grants for local organizations that help improve the quality of life in the area we serve.

The value you receive from using Blue Ridge Energies includes receiving exceptional, caring service from a local company at a competitive price: its customers give top marks for customer satisfaction!

Located in each of your cooperative’s district offices as well as Independence, Va., Blue Ridge Energies provides not only propane and heating fuels but also We hope you see the benhearth products such as efit purchasing from Blue gas logs, fireplaces, and Ridge Energies can have patio fire pit tables. You for you personally as well can even purchase water as for the membership as heaters and backup power a whole. As a cooperagenerators.

Blue Ridge Energies’ showtive member, you’re also rooms are located inside each an owner of Blue Ridge In 2013, Blue Ridge EnerBlue Ridge Electric district Energies. If you’re already gies produced a net benefit office as well as our new a customer of Blue Ridge to the cooperative of $1.4 Independence, Va., location. million in net income as Energies, please consider well as from cost sharing for space (such referring a friend to your cooperative’s as the showrooms) and services such as subsidiary. And if you’re not already a cushuman resources and safety oversight for tomer of Blue Ridge Energies, I hope you’ll consider becoming one today! which it pays your cooperative.

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Act Now! Help Ensure Affordable Electricity We’re asking each member to join us in asking the Environmental Protection Agency to balance the need for affordable electricity as they consider passing aggressive greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

Ask the EPA for all the facts regarding cost and benefits to the environment before passing regulations that will impact your electric bill!

Visit TellEPANC.com to help ensure affordable electricity.

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Bylaws, Service Rules and Regulations updated At their regular board meeting held on September 25, 2014, Blue Ridge Electric's Board of Directors approved the following summarized updates to the Cooperative's Bylaws and Service Rules and Regulations. Members may obtain full copies of these documents at BlueRidgeEMC.com, at their local Blue Ridge Electric office or by contacting the cooperative to request a mailed copy.

Bylaws

The Director-at-Large position on the Board of Directors has been eliminated and one additional board seat was added to the Alleghany district. All districts now have three board seats.

Earlier this year, the Board developed a Board Diversity Strategy which will be shared with the Nominating Committee.

Sections updated as a result of the change in the Director-at-Large position are listed as follows: General Powers: 3.01, Qualifications: 3.02, Directorate Districts: 3.05, Nominations: 3.06, Voting for Directors: 3.07, Removal of Directors: 3.08, and Vacancies: 3.09.

Section 3.02, Qualifications (Board of Directors)

i) must not have a close relative (as hereinafter defined) living within the household who is in any way employed by, financially interested in, or serving as an officer, director, trustee, or equivalent for a competing enterprise with the Cooperative or its subsidiaries, or a business that sells products, services or supplies to the Cooperative or its subsidiaries. k) must not have been a former regular full time employee of the Cooperative or its subsidiaries whose termination date is less than six (6) years following the date of his last employment with the Cooperative.

Section 3.03, Election Directors shall be elected by a plurality vote of members and the election outcome certified by the Credentials and Election Committee. Drawing by lot shall resolve, where necessary, any tie votes.

Section 3.05, Directorate Districts

Directors shall be so nominated and elected that the number of Directors who shall be residents of each of the four (4) Directorate districts into which the Cooperative’s service area is divided, and described by maps on the inside cover of these bylaws, and such districts shall be as follows: Directorate District A (Caldwell – includes Caldwell and parts of Alexander and Wilkes Counties), three (3) Directors; Directorate District B (Watauga – includes Watauga and parts of Avery, Caldwell, and Wilkes Counties ), three (3) Directors; Directorate District C (Ashe – includes Ashe County and parts of Wilkes County), three (3) Directors; and Directorate District D (Alleghany – includes Alleghany County and parts of Wilkes County), two (2) three (3) Directors. Director-at-Large may be a resident of any of the four Directorate Districts.

Section 3.06, Nominations

It shall be the duty of the Board of Directors to appoint, at the October Board meeting or at the next meeting opportunity of the Board, a Nominating Committee, consisting of not less than seven (7) and not more than eleven (11) natural persons who are members of the Cooperative, but are not existing Cooperative employees, agents, Officers, Directors or close relatives thereof or known candidates to become Directors, and who are so selected that each of the Cooperative’s Directorate Districts shall have representation thereon in proportion to the number of Directors who must be residents thereof, including one additional member representing the membership. at large who must be of the minority membership group as defined in Section 3.02 of these Bylaws.

Any fifteen (15) or more natural persons who are members of the Cooperative, acting together, may make additional nomination(s) in writing over their signatures, listing their nominee(s) in like manner, on or before the first business day in April.

Section 3.09, Vacancies (Board of Directors)

Subject to the provisions of these Bylaws with respect to the filling of vacancies caused by the removal of Directors by the members or by the Board as provided in Sections 3.02 and 3.08, or a vacancy occurring as a result of the outcome of an election in 3.03 in the Board of Directors, the vacancy shall be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining Directors. With respect to a vacancy resulting from the death, disability or retirement of any member of the Board of Directors, the vacancy shall be filled by an appointment recommendation approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining Directors if the unexpired term of the vacating Director is one (1) year or more from the end of the term. A Director thus elected or appointed shall be a resident of the same Directorate District of which the Director whose office he succeeds was a resident, unless a Director-at-Large vacancy is being filled, and shall serve the entire balance of the term of the Director whose office he succeeds.

Bylaws, Service Rules and Regulations updated - continued on page 28 MEMBERSHIP matters

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continued from page 27 Section 3.14, Close Relative Defined As used in these Bylaws, “close relative” means a person who, by blood or in-law or conjugal marital-like relationship, including step and adoptive kin, is either a spouse, child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, nephew, or niece of the principal.

Sections 5.07, Secretary and 5.08, Treasurer Section 5.07 Secretary.

The duties of the office of Secretary shall be to: Section 5.08 Treasurer.

The duties of the office of Treasurer shall be to: The duties of the offices of Secretary and Treasurer may be performed by one Director serving as Secretary-Treasurer.

Service Rules and Regulations The Statement of Nondiscrimination was updated as required by the Rural Utilities Service.

Section 406, Methods of Payment

The credit card transaction limit was raised from $1,000 to $3,000 per member/per month.

Section 407, Returned Payment

Members whose payment for service is returned will be notified immediately by letter and a returned payment fee will be added to the member’s account per North Carolina law. Return reasons could include, but are not limited to, insufficient funds, stopped payment, invalid account information, or a credit card chargeback.

Section 417, Termination of Service by Member (Traditional Accounts) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Doug Johnson

Following the final bill, which is sent at the time of disconnection, the member will be refunded any fees and security deposits, plus interest, which remain after all member obligations have been satisfied and is above the minimum check processing amount.

Section 502, Due Dates and Failure to Pay (FlexPay Accounts)

EDITOR

Renée R. Whitener

FlexPay account information may be accessed at any time by prepaid notification methods or by telephone at 800-448-2383.

PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR

Section 505, Methods of Payment (FlexPay)

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

Toll Free

(800) 451-5474

(PowerLine® is an automated account information and outage reporting system.) (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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The credit card transaction limit was raised from $1,000 to $3,000 per member/per month.

Section 506, Returned Payment (FlexPay)

Members whose payment for service is returned will be notified immediately by prepaid notification methods or by letter. Return reasons could include, but are not limited to, insufficient funds, stopped payment, invalid account information, or a credit card chargeback. A charge for the amount of the payment as well as any applicable fees will be added to the account.

Section 516, Termination of Service by Member (FlexPay)

Service termination at the member’s request will receive a refund of any remaining positive balance on the account(s) after all member obligations have been satisfied provided the balance is greater than the minimum check processing amount.

Appendix A, Schedule of Fees

The current sales tax is included in fees where applicable.

416, FlexPay Account Activation starting balance, was reduced from $50 to $25.

502, FlexPay Account Reconnection starting balance was reduced from $25 to $15.

In 2015, all members will be mailed a copy of the updated Blue Ridge Electric Bylaws.

MEMBERSHIP matters

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