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A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FROM BLUE RIDGE ENERGY
matters MEMBERSHIP
August 2018
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Did you know...Members participating in the Beat
The Peak program recently helped save almost $150,000 in wholesale power cost! Join the movement today to keep rates low. Visit BlueRidgeEnergy.com/BTP to learn more.
Why Beat The Peak? Do you want to keep costs down for yourself and every member of your cooperative? When members join together, you can have a bigger impact on keeping bills low.
during peak demand times, it can make a big difference in controlling expensive wholesale power costs to keep rates — and bills — low. It can even help delay the need to build power plants!
We have a program to give members a free, easy way to do this!
How can you help Beat The Peak?
“Beat The Peak” is a voluntary program to alert members when a peak in power usage is expected. That’s when you can take action to help beat the peak by shifting some of your electricity consumption until a later time that day. Peaks occur when a majority of people are using the most electricity all at once. As a result, power generators must produce enough electricity to meet the high demand. Peaks typically occur on the hottest summer afternoons, from 2 pm until 7 pm. If members voluntarily reduce their electricity usage
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First, sign up to receive alerts one of the following ways: Visit BlueRidgeEnergy.com/BTP or text BTP to 70216. We try to send alerts a day in advance so that you can prepare! During the alert time period in your notification, consider doing one or more of the following: • • • • •
Raise your thermostat as high as comfortable in summer. Shift times to wash and dry clothes, or run your dishwasher. Delay chores requiring hot water. Turn off unnecessary lights. Grill outside or use the microwave.
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From Blue Ridge CEO Doug Johnson
Strong member involvement continues Since adding convenient mail and internet voting options for director elections, thousands of members are making their voices heard in each election. You’ve told us you like these easy ways to participate in one of the most important decisions for cooperative members: election of your Board of Directors. Members are informed throughout the year in this newsletter and at BlueRidgeEnergy.com of the director nomination and election processes, and how to be involved. Your Board of Directors are members just like you. They live in our communities and they work hard to ensure the cooperative is operated in the best interests of member-owners. Board members devote significant time and effort in training and education to equip them for setting sound policy, rates and strategic direction for the cooperative’s membership. Their most important job is assuring that the cooperative meets your needs for reliable, affordable electricity delivered with superior customer care.
The cross-section of backgrounds, skills, and knowledge encompassed by your Board of Directors helps provide strong leadership to benefit you as members. Your Board is on a continuous course of training and learning to keep updated in an industry that is undergoing transformational change. Each director works to achieve their credentials and Board Leadership Certifications from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). These curriculums, along with ongoing training by national and state associations, provides your Board members the critical skills and knowledge necessary to effectively guide your cooperative. For those who participated by voting, I want to thank you for being involved in one of the most important member responsibilities: election of your representatives to serve on the Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation Board of Directors. Member participation is one of the seven cooperative principles and one of the many benefits of being served by an electric cooperative!
Board Update: Nearly 6,300 members voted in this year’s director elections thanks to convenient options of voting by mail or
internet. Members also had an opportunity to vote during the Annual Meeting which was held Thursday, June 28, at the cooperative’s corporate office in Lenoir. Video updates are online at BlueRidgeEnergy.com.
Directors elected to serve three-year terms were: Kelly Melton, Caldwell district; Joy Coffey, Watauga district; Kenneth Greene, Ashe district; and Mitch Franklin, Alleghany district. The following directors were also elected as officers at the Board’s regularly scheduled meeting in June: Kenneth Greene, president; Jeff Joines, vice president; Joy Coffey, secretary-treasurer; and David Eggers, assistant secretary-treasurer. Page 18
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MEMBERSHIP matters
7/11/18 11:26 AM
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How to Lower Summer Energy Bills Costs for cooling your home can make up a large portion of your summer electric bills. Stay cool and save money with these energy-efficiency tips!
No-Cost Tips • Close blinds and drapes during the day to keep heat out. 78
• Set your thermostat as high as comfortable when you’re home (and higher when you’re away or during a Beat The Peak alert period).
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• Turn off lights and ceiling fans when you leave a room.
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• Air dry dishes and clothes. • Use a microwave instead of your range or oven. Or, grill outdoors!
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Low-Cost Tips • Plant trees and shrubs that shade the exterior of your home in summer. • Replace disposable air filters monthly (or according to your manufacturer’s guidelines). It’s easy to sign up for Filter Easy at BlueRidge Energy.com/FilterEasy. • Use solar lighting to brighten up walkways.
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• Replace light bulbs with LED versions.
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Want to save even more?
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Log into your personalized “My Account” on BlueRidgeEnergy.com. Click on Energy Advisor and Usage Tracker for easy ways to trim your electric bill!
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MEMBERSHIP matters
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7/11/18 11:26 AM
Balancing beauty with reliable, safe electricity In working to ensure reliable electricity for members, it’s important to know that tree contact with power lines is the single leading cause of outages. Your cooperative’s vegetation management program, which is overseen by a certified arborist, addresses the need to protect our nearly 8,300 miles of power lines from dead or danger trees.
go near a downed power line. A clear path for power lines is also a safer working environment for line technicians performing routine maintenance or power restoration. Members can help by avoiding planting trees near power lines. For existing trees directly in the cooperative’s rights of way, Blue Ridge Energy helps with replacement by offering a voucher to local, approved nurseries for a low-growing species. Vouchers may also apply to a larger tree that is planted far away from rights of way.
Keeping trees away from power lines is also a safety precaution. Trees and other objects that come into contact with power lines can become energized, leading to shock or electrocu- For more information, contact Blue tion. Even fallen power lines can still Ridge Energy or visit the Resources tab at BlueRidgeEnergy.com. be energized, which is why no one but our line technicians should ever
Doug Johnson
EDITOR
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Renée R. Whitener
Deadline is September 15
PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
Teachers: apply now for Bright Ideas grants!
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 numbers listed above. OFFICE HOURS: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday Night deposit available.
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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Visit us on the web: BlueRidgeEnergy.com +
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Blue Ridge Energy is celebrating 24 years of lighting up learning in classrooms through the Bright Ideas education grant program. Teachers in K-12 classrooms with innovative ideas for creative learning projects can find and submit an application by visiting ncbrightideas.com. The Since 1994, Blue Ridge deadline is September 15.
Energy has awarded more than $426,000 in Bright Ideas grants impacting over 100,000 students.
Each year, Blue Ridge Energy provides up to $17,000 to fund Bright Ideas grants in the cooperative’s service area. Grant awards range from a few hundred dollars up to the maximum of $1,500 and are announced each November. The grants are designed to fund innovative classroom projects that benefit students and would not otherwise be funded by regular school budgets.
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MEMBERSHIP matters
7/11/18 12:39 PM
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