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Cold weather is coming Tips to manage winter bills Cold weather is coming! Higher bills can result from heating as well as increased use of lighting since more time is spent indoors as the days get shorter. To manage your winter electric bills, Blue Ridge Energy offers these following tips: Be energy efficient. Simple steps help! Set your thermostats to the lowest comfortable level. Open curtains on sunny days to let in natural heat; close them at night. Only run full loads in dishwashers. Use cold water for washing clothes. Limit shower times to reduce hot water usage. Turn off unnecessary lights. Try FlexPay. You control your payment schedule and amounts with FlexPay! Pay as you use by phone, kiosk or online. No late fees or deposits, but you must maintain a positive account balance to keep electricity flowing. Use Budget Billing. Equalize your payments for 11 months. In the 12th month, your account is “evened up” with a final payment billed or credit applied. Help paying your bill: • Be sure to contact your local social services agency for special assistance options, including Operation Round Up® or state and federal crisis assistance programs. • You can also call Blue Ridge Energy to set up a payment arrangement plan.
Free to members: Usage Tracker! This daily electricity tracker alerts you to high electricity usage, which can help you avoid a high bill! Go to BlueRidgeEnergy.com > My Account > Usage Tracker or click “Usage Details” on the Blue Ridge mobile app to monitor your daily usage.
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Perspective Giving back: Member s Foundation Giving back is a cooperative tradition. That’s why we formed the Blue Ridge Energy Members Foundation. It’s the power of partnership between members and your electric cooperative. Because of our member’s generosity in donating to Operation Round Up®, which helps fund the Foundation, this year we have been able to meet the needs of our members struggling to pay their energy bills as well as allocate $150,000 in community grants to local, not-for-profit helping organizations. The cooperative’s two subsidiaries, Blue Ridge Energy Propane and Fuels and RidgeLink, also contribute $50,000 annually to the Foundation. This year, we received a record number of applications for community grants — 90 in total. Last year as many experienced the financial impacts of COVID, we had a record number of members requesting assistance to help pay their energy bill and all Foundation funds were used to meet this need. With the level of crisis bill assistance requests now decreasing, we are pleased to be able to once again award community grants to local organizations that help our members in so many ways with critical needs and assistance. In fact, Blue Ridge Energy has prioritized its community grant program to focus on economic and community development programs and projects that improve local quality of life. The Blue Ridge Energy Members Foundation seeks new grant
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From Blue Ridge CEO Doug Johnson
applications each spring and summer and awards are made based on needs identified in our communities. I want to give a sincere thank you to our members who contribute to Operation Round Up. Without you, this level of assisting local communities and members wouldn’t be possible. Many even donate more by enrolling in Operation Round Up Plus® and still others opt to donate their capital credits refunds in the spring. You’ll learn more about how to donate in this and other issues of the newsletter and Carolina Country. Finally, I want to also say thank you to the members who help guide the Foundation. A Foundation Advisory Committee, made up of volunteer members, reviews grant applications annually and makes recommendations to the Foundation’s Board of Directors for funding approval. Working together, your Members Foundation is helping improve the quality of life for people in our area while also serving those in need of a helping hand!
To learn more about the Blue Ridge Energy Members Foundation visit: BlueRidgeEnergy. com/members-foundation. To learn more about Operation Round Up, see the cover wrap on this issue of Carolina Country or visit BlueRidgeEnergy.com/community/ operation-round-up.
Membership MAT TERS
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Outdoor lighting: security and beauty
Ridge hnson
Outdoor lighting available from Blue Ridge Energy can enhance the safety, curb appeal, and landscaping of your home! Select from a variety of lighting styles, including LED options. Outdoor security lights can be added to your monthly electric bill. For more information, visit blueridgeenergy.com/outdoor-lighting.
STATEMENT OF NONDISCRIMINATION In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http:// www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form.To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
(2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or
(3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
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Did you know ... Blue Ridge Energy maintains over: • 5,550 miles of overhead power lines • 2,880 miles of underground lines • 115,000 poles • 30 substations
Bylaws, Service Rules & Regulations updates:
At their regular board meeting held on September 23, 2021, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation’s Board of Directors approved two updates to the cooperative’s Bylaws and Service Rules and Regulations. Redline versions indicating changes as well as final documents are available online at BlueRidgeEnergy.com > Company > Board & Governance.
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) 264-8894 (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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