2020-07-BRE MM

JULY 2020

matters MEMBERSHIP

A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FROM BLUE RIDGE ENERGY

Assistance is Available Blue Ridge Energy understands the impact COVID-19 has had on many local households and is asking members who are experiencing payment difficulties to contact us for assistance.

“For those who have been able to return to work, now is the time to contact us for a customized payment plan or crisis energy bill assistance available through our In This Together COVID-19 relief fund,” said Renee Whitener, director of public relations. “We want to prevent local residents from being surprised or facing additional financial burdens when disconnects and late fees begin in August.”

While Blue Ridge Energy was already extending the date of waiving disconnects and late fees until August, Gov. Cooper issued Executive Order 142 on May 30 outlining the same timeline. However, Blue Ridge Energy is concerned about those with mounting bills and wants to prevent local families from facing additional financial burdens as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Blue Ridge Energy offers the following resources to help: •

Crisis energy bill assistance from our “In This Together” campaign. To apply, contact your local helping agency listed at: BlueRidgeEnergy.com/relief or call us.

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Customized payment plans to spread out large balances to avoid late fees and disconnection.

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FlexPay members who have accumulated large balances are also encouraged to call if a customized payment plan or funds from In This Together can help.

We encourage those who have accumulated a large balance on their account during COVID-19 to call 1-800-451-5474 as soon as possible. Energy specialists will personally assist with the best options and plan.

To learn more about In This Together, visit BlueRidgeEnergy.com/Together.

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From Blue Ridge CEO Doug Johnson

A Brighter Future for All From the time we were formed by local community members, Blue Ridge Energy has been committed to building a Brighter Future for the people, businesses and communities we serve. Our original mission was to bring electricity and new opportunity to our region, and it has since expanded to include the pursuit of new energy solutions, community enrichment and economic development initiatives that provide us new ways to deliver value to our members.

demand on the electric system. We’re also excited about plans to install a utility-scale solar facility to generate and feed solar energy into the grid for the benefit of our members. Once constructed, this system will produce more than 19 million kWh annually that will help control wholesale power costs to keep rates stable.

In addition to powering our communities, we are also contributing to a Brighter Looking to the decade ahead and Future by empowering those beyond, we remain focused on we serve. Concern for providing you electricity that is community is a hallmark of reliable, affordable and the cooperative difference, environmentally responsible. To and our commitment to achieve this low-cost, low-carbon community support has been amplified by the future, Blue Ridge Energy is working with the state’s other unprecedented circumstances electric cooperatives to reach of the past few months.

Blue Ridge Energy has five Community Solar significant carbon reduction goals, We want to make sure that Gardens throughout its service area. Members can our communities have the targeting a 50 percent drop in participate by subscribing to panels. carbon emissions from our 2005 strength to succeed no matter levels by 2030, and net zero carbon the challenges we face, which emissions by 2050. To meet these sustainability goals is why we continue to offer our “In This Together” while upholding our commitments to reliability and COVID-19 relief fund and invest in education grants, scholarships, Rural Economic Development grants and affordability, our efforts will be focused in areas that loans in partnership with the US Dept. of Agriculture, make the electric grid more flexible, efficient, resilient and capable of supporting new energy solutions and and other efforts aimed at improving the daily lives of our members. Because we are located in and belong to the vitality of our communities. the communities we serve, we understand local needs Our commitment to providing members with the firsthand and remain driven to make a real difference, now and in the years to come. lowest cost electricity possible remains strong as we explore and utilize new technologies such as solar energy, battery storage, smart thermostats and electric To learn more about the ways we are vehicle charging stations to balance supply and ensuring a Brighter Future for all, visit

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BlueRidgeEnergy.com.

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Blue Ridge Energy Named to Best Employers List Blue Ridge Energy has been named among the best employers in the state, according to Business North Carolina magazine. The electric cooperative and propane and fuels subsidiary were ranked among the top of state employers based on evaluations measuring workplace policies, business philosophy, systems and employee culture.

The list of the Best Employers in North Carolina was created by Business North Carolina magazine, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and NC State Council and Best Companies Group.

Blue Ridge Energy employs approximately 224 electric and propane and fuels employees in

Capital Credits: Allocations vs. Refunds

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On their July bill, members receive notice of capital credits allocations from the previous year. Please be aware this is NOT a refund: refunds were issued in May. The allocation is one of the first steps in the annual capital credits annual process.

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Here’s more about the difference between capital credits allocations and refunds:

Your annual capital credits allocation listed on your July bill • Allocations are based on the amount of electricity a member purchased is NOT a refund, but rather one of the previous fiscal year. This annual allocation amount is added to your the first steps in the annual process. overall membership capital credits balance, which reflects all the years Refunds were issued in May. in which you had service with Blue Ridge Energy.

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Refunds occur when your Board of Directors approve a capital credits retirement. This involves refunding a portion of your overall membership capital credits balance. The rotation of these funds over time allows the cooperative to build and maintain power lines, substations, rights of way, and other areas to ensure safe and reliable electric service. It also helps reduce the need for loans, which helps keep costs down for members while still allowing for refunds to the member-owners of Blue Ridge Energy.

Capital credits are a benefit of belonging to a cooperative. This not-forprofit business model is used by thousands of cooperatives to balance debt and equity to help keep member rates low and provide reliable electric service.

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six offices with product showrooms in Lenoir, Boone, West Jefferson, Sparta and Morganton along with corporate headquarters in Lenoir, NC. The electric cooperative serves some 76,000 members in NC and the propane and fuels business serves over 27,000 customers in NC and Virginia.

MEMBERSHIP matters

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Ideal Plants for Right-of-Way Areas

Plants to consider

Planting new trees can be one of the best ways to accent your property and add beauty to the landscape around your home. Before taking a trip to the plant nursery, it’s important to consider the location of power lines and right-of-way areas. Keep these tips and guidelines in mind to assure that the balance of beauty and electric reliability is maintained for years to come.

What is a Right-of-Way? Blue Ridge Energy is one of the top performers in the nation when it comes to keeping the lights on with a 99.98 percent reliability rating. An important aspect of this rating involves managing the tree and large shrub growths within our power line right-of-ways. It is imperative that these power line “avenues,” ranging from 30 feet (15 feet on each side of the power line) for our distribution power lines to as much as a 250-foot corridor for our large transmission lines, remain clear.

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

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 Kiosk available 24/7 + Night deposit Visit us on the web: BlueRidgeEnergy.com +

Shadblow Serviceberry American Hornbeam Eastern Redbud Fringetree Flowering Dogwood Crape Myrtle Common Smoketree Chinese Witch Hazel Sourwood Common Winterberry Japanese Red Maple Amur Maple Saucer Magnolia Radiant Crabapple Dwarf Fruit Trees

Amelanchier Canadensis Carpinus Caroliniana Cercis Canadansis Chionanthus Virginicus Cornus Florida Var Rubra Lagerstroemia Indica Cotinus Ooggyria Hammelis Mollis Oxydendrum Euonymus Bungeanus Acer Palmatum Var Atropurpureum Acer Ginnala Magnolia Soulangeana Malus Radiant

Rush Hour Rewards for Nest Owners!

North Carolina’s electric cooperatives and Blue Ridge Energy are partnering with Nest smart home thermostats to offer the Rush Hour Rewards program.

This complements the cooperative’s Beat The Peak effort to control wholesale power costs during high demand periods when peaks in electricity usage are occurring. These efforts benefit all members by helping keep rates lower.

Rush Hour Rewards participants receive a one-time $50 bill credit just for signing up for the program and a bonus incentive for participating throughout the summer!

Upon joining the program, the thermostat adjusts heating and cooling when Blue Ridge Energy calls a Beat The Peak event. This typically occurs on only the hottest summer afternoons, between 2 pm and 7 pm. Controls are limited to no more than four consecutive hours and no more than three days in any given week. Nest owners retain the ability to change their temperature settings at all times.

Visit: BlueRidgeEnergy.com/Nest Google and Google Nest are trademarks of Google LLC This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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