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MATTERS

Keeping costs low Why Beat The Peak?

Looking for an easy way to keep costs down for yourself and all members? Blue Ridge Energy’s Beat The Peak program is for you!

Participating is simple and voluntary! Sign up to receive the alert of your choice via text or email to let you know when a peak will occur. Then, take action to help “Beat The Peak” by shifting some of your electricity consumption outside of peak hours.

Peaks occur when a majority of people are using the most electricity in a short amount of time and power producers must generate enough electricity to meet that demand. In our area, this is usually between 2-7 p.m., on the hottest summer weekdays. The cooperative also performs internal demand reduction measures during these times to help reduce costs.

If members voluntarily reduce their electricity usage 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!

Learn more at BlueRidgeEnergy.com/BTP.

Teachers: Apply now for Bright Ideas grants!

Teachers in K-12 classrooms with innovative ideas for creative learning projects can find and submit an application by visiting ncbrightideas.com. The deadline is September 15 and winners are announced in November. Blue Ridge Energy will provide up to $20,000 to fund Bright Ideas grants in the cooperative’s service area! Individual grants are awarded at a maximum of $1,500.

Bright Ideas 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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Perspective THE

Cost-of-ser vice study under way

As a cooperative, we are committed to ensuring the lowest possible cost and most reliable electricity for our members. For the past nine years, your cooperative has been able to avoid a rate increase due to a combination of managing our largest expense of wholesale power, careful planning of grid improvements to keep your electricity reliable, and internal cost controls.

In today’s world, we are all impacted by inflation, shortages or delays, and rising costs for all goods and materials. Energy prices in particular have been impacted by rising costs of natural gas, coal and other generation sources as well as global factors, strong consumer demand, and lingering impacts from the pandemic.

Due to these increases, your cooperative is conducting an in-depth cost-of-service study to ensure the adequacy of current member rates and to ensure they will allow your cooperative to be financially sound, able to continue to operate and provide reliable, safe electricity.

Some examples of rising costs that have impacted all areas of operation for your cooperative include: transformers, conductors and other supplies necessary to maintain the electric system have increased 36 percent.

Suppliers tell us that future prices for critical materials such as insulators, crossarms, reclosures and more will likely increase from 10 percent to as high as 111 percent when compared to last year!

Fleet cost of our service vehicles is rising dramatically, both for fuel and the vehicles

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From Blue Ridge CEO Doug Johnson

themselves. Vendors who have never, or rarely increased costs, are now forced to pass along increases. The cost of wholesale power we purchase to distribute to members is also increasing and the impact is being felt by utilities and consumers across the nation.

Through planning and internal efforts, we’ve been able to mitigate normal operational increases over the last nine years. This has been achieved through favorable wholesale power costs, internal cost control savings and benefits produced by the cooperative’s propane and fuels and fiber subsidiaries.

As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, we only implement a rate adjustment when absolutely necessary — and we work hard to benefit members with savings. In fact, we were able to temporarily reduce rates in 2014-2017 as a result of lower wholesale power cost, allowing us to cut member bills by $27 million. In 2019, we gave members $7 million in the form of bill reductions due to wholesale power cost savings. And once again in 2021, wholesale power cost savings enabled us to give members $6 million in the form of bill reductions. We’ve been able to return over $5.6 million in capital credits to members in May! Our commitment to you, our memberowners, is that we will continue working to manage energy and the economic challenges our cooperative and nation face. You can be assured that your cooperative is working to contain costs, to provide reliable electricity, and to support the communities and members we serve in northwest North Carolina.

Membership MAT TERS

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What is the number one cause of outages?

If you answered this question by saying trees coming into contact with power lines, you would be right! In fact, trees and other vegetation such as vines or shrubbery contribute to over half of our outage time.

That’s why your cooperative has a dedicated, year-round vegetation management program, overseen by two certified arborists, to help protect electric reliability across 8,300 miles of power lines on the Blue Ridge Energy system. Balancing reliability with the beauty of scenic western North Carolina is also important.

Keeping trees away from power lines is an important safety precaution. Trees and other objects that come into contact with power lines can become energized, leading to shock or electrocution. Even fallen power lines can still be energized, which is why no one but our line technicians should ever go near a downed power line.

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A clear path for power lines creates a safer working environment for line technicians, whether they’re performing routine maintenance or power restoration.

Members can help by avoiding planting trees and large growing vegetation near power lines. For existing trees that are directly in the cooperative’s rights of way, Blue Ridge Energy helps with removal and also with replacement by giving members a voucher for a low-growing species at local, approved nurseries. Vouchers may also apply to a larger tree that is planted farther from rights-of-way.

For more, contact Blue Ridge Energy or visit BlueRidgeEnergy.com/ROW.

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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.

We work to provide members the lowest cost electricity! These tips can help keep your bills lower:

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Air dry dishes and clothes.

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Use a microwave instead of your range or oven. Or grill outdoors!

No-Cost Tips

Low-Cost Tips

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Close blinds and drapes during the day to keep heat out.

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Plant trees and shrubs that shade the exterior of your home in summer.

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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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Replace disposable air filters monthly (or according to your manufacturer’s guidelines).

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Turn off lights and ceiling fans when you leave a room.

Use solar lighting to brighten up walkways.

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Replace light bulbs with LED versions.

Board update Over 5,000 members voted in this year’s director elections, thanks to convenient options of voting by mail or internet. Members could also vote at the cooperative’s corporate office in Lenoir during the annual meeting held June 23.

Directors elected to serve three-year terms were: Jeff Joines, Caldwell district; J.B. Lawrence, Watauga district; James Young, Ashe district; and Bryan Edwards, Alleghany district.

Updates of annual meeting reports are online at BlueRidgeEnergy.com.

At their regular June meeting, your Board of Directors elected the following board officers: Jeff Joines, president; Johnny Wishon, vice president; Kelly Melton, secretary-treasurer; and J.B. Lawrence, assistant secretary-treasurer.

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 PowerLine* (PowerLine* is an automated account information and outage reporting system)

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

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