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Ac tions and savings add up!
Beat The Peak Members participating in Beat The Peak as well as other cooperative efforts are producing positive results! Blue Ridge Energy members participating in Beat The Peak, combined with the cooperative’s other electric demand reduction programs, have produced power cost savings of around $1.5 million since the program began in 2018. The amount saved in 2020 totaled nearly $600,000, which is almost 10 percent more than the program savings from 2019. Since wholesale power cost is the single largest utility expense, efforts to reduce this cost benefits members by helping hold down member rates. The power of joining together is growing! Members are signing up for Beat The Peak alerts by text, phone or email at BlueRidgeEnergy.com/BTP. Alerts are sent when extreme temperatures cause energy demand from consumers to reach critically high levels, which are typically a few hours on the coldest winter mornings or hottest summer afternoons. Beat The Peak is voluntary. By signing up to receive alerts, members can plan to take a few simple actions during the peak period. For example: adjust thermostats a few degrees, delay using large appliances such as clothes washers and dryers, and turn off any unnecessary lights.
Even small actions help. Sign up today using one of the options below! •
Sign up online at: BlueRidgeEnergy.com/BTP
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Text BTP to 70216 to receive text alerts
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Download our mobile app and enable notifications
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THE
Perspective Helping Secure Federal Funds For A Brighter Future Powering a Brighter Future for the communities we serve is a key role for an electric cooperative like Blue Ridge Energy. One way we do this is by securing federal funds for local projects through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s competitive Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program (REDLG). The program funnels zero-interest loans and grants through cooperatives to fund projects that REDLG selects. Since 2005, Blue Ridge Energy has helped garner over $9 million in REDLG funds for projects in our service area. Members benefit in tangible ways. For example, companies have expanded to offer more well-paying jobs for local residents. Hospitals are being modernized. Clean water and sewer projects help residents and businesses as well as keep our environment healthy. Public safety and emergency response are improving with the addition of fire stations, fire trucks and safety training equipment. This year, two additional zero-interest loans have been made: $1.3 million for land purchase and site development for an Ashe County Industrial Park to attract more jobs; and $240,000 for expansion of the Wilbar Volunteer Fire Department in Wilkes County. We’re also working to improve local communities through grants to bring broadband for high-speed internet access to
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From Blue Ridge CEO Doug Johnson
pockets of our service area lacking this critical service. We’re excited about our first grant worth $3.8 million from the NC GREAT Grant program to bring broadband to northern Caldwell County (this project includes $100,000 from Caldwell County in assisting funds). The grant was one of several awarded by the NC Department of Information Technology to deploy more broadband in rural areas. We’ll be partnering with SkyBest Communications, a fiber-optic internet provider, to bring high-speed internet access to around 412 member homes and businesses in northern Caldwell County. Because high-speed internet access is necessary for not only business but also resident’s home lives, we’ll be pursuing additional state and federal grants for other parts of our service territory. Much like federal funds were critical in the 1930s to help with the very high cost to build electric infrastructure for rural communities, they are needed today for high-speed internet access to reach these areas. Blue Ridge Energy and other electric cooperatives are involved in the REDLG and broadband programs because of our unique business calling to strengthen the communities we serve. I’m pleased Blue Ridge Energy has been able to secure funds that improve quality of life for you, our members, and our local communities.
Membership MAT TERS
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Ridge hnson
Direc tor Prox y Commit tee To Be A ppointed
As part of the director election governance process giving members an option to vote for cooperative directors by mail or internet, a Director Proxy Committee will be appointed by the Board of Directors at their regular March board meeting. This committee will be made up of three directors whose terms are not expiring and who are not running for re-election this year to the Board of Directors. As stated in the cooperative’s bylaws, the Proxy Committee serves multiple roles for the membership. First, the committee will cast votes for all members designating their preferences selected on their submitted electronic or paper proxy forms. Secondly, the committee will serve as a proxy for any member wishing to assign their vote for director elections to the committee. Lastly, the committee will cast votes for members who return their proxy but do not make a choice on the voting options. Director election kits will be mailed, or sent by email to members who have requested to receive this information electronically, on May 26, 2021. The notice of Annual Meeting along with information about board candidates will be part of the director election kit. Members have convenient options to vote by internet or mail and, therefore, are not required to attend the Annual Meeting in order to vote for directors.
However, members who have not voted by the deadline date of June 16, 2021, or who voted by internet or mail but wish to change their vote, must attend the Annual Meeting in order to do so. Members wishing to be considered for nomination to serve on the Board of Directors have two options: the Nominating Committee or Nomination by Petition. Interested members must first submit a director application packet, which is available by contacting Julie O’Dell, chief administrative officer, Blue Ridge Energy, at jodell@blueridgeenergy.com or by calling 1-800-451-5474, ext. 3202. The completed packet is due by 5 pm, Monday, March 1, when using the Nominating Committee process or by 5 pm, Thursday, April 1, when using the nomination by petition process.
For a complete list of qualifications and requirements to serve as director of the cooperative, please refer to the cooperative’s Bylaws available at BlueRidgeEnergy.com under Company>Board Governance>Corporate Documents or by contacting any Blue Ridge Energy office.
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Power Out? Check Your Breaker Fir st Severe weather can cause outages but sometimes power can be affected only at your home for other reasons. You may be able to get power back on quickly if it’s simply an issue with your home’s circuit breakers. If your power goes out, first check your home’s breakers by following these steps:
structure or pole, your main breaker may be located here. If there are no tripped breakers and these steps do not restore power, report your outage to Blue Ridge Energy in one of the following ways: •
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Go to the main circuit breaker (electric panel) in the house or building.
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Locate the breaker switch that has • tripped and is now located about halfway between the “off” and “on” positions. • Next, move the switch all the way to its “off” position, then back to “on” to reset • the tripped breaker
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Please note that if you live in a mobile home, apartment, condominium or a residential service where the meter is located on a member-owned
Call our PowerLine at 1-800-448-2383. Have the phone number and service address listed on your account handy, or, your Blue Ridge Energy account number. Log into “My Account” at BlueRidgeEnergy.com to report it online. Use the Blue Ridge Energy mobile app. Text your outage when you sign up for Outage Texting by texting START to 70216, then “OUT” to report an outage. You must use a cell phone number that is currently listed on your account.
Visit us on the web: BlueRidgeEnergy.com CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Doug Johnson EDITOR Renée R. Whitener PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Jacob Puckett
Membership MAT TERS
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DISTRICT OFFICES Caldwell Watauga Ashe Alleghany Wilkes Powerline*
TOLL FREE (828) 754-9071 (828) 262-8894 (336) 846-7138 (336) 372-4646 (800) 451-5474 (800) 448-2383
(800) 451-5474
OFFICE HOURS: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM Monday - Friday Kiosks available
(Powerline* is an automated account information and outage reporting system.)
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