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Rising Costs lead to Rate Adjustment Average member will see additional $5 on their monthly bill beginning in October After nine years with no rate increases, rising wholesale power and materials costs are driving the need for an overall 3.5 percent rate adjustment recently approved by the Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation’s (d/b/a Blue Ridge Energy) Board of Directors after a thorough cost of service study. Beginning in October, the typical Blue Ridge Energy member using approximately 1,000 kWh monthly will see an additional $5 on their monthly electric bill.
is critical to providing members with reliable service and capacity to meet current growth. Energy prices are being impacted by inflation, shortages and delays, global factors and the rising cost of natural gas and other power generation resources. Materials costs have also increased: transformers, conductors and other supplies by 36 percent, with some supplier estimations of an additional 10 to 110 percent increase as compared to last year. Fleet costs for service vehicles have also risen along with fuel.
“We’re committed to providing the lowest cost, most reliable electricity to our members so it’s never easy to pass along an increase— we only do so when absolutely necessary,” said Chief Executive Officer Doug Johnson. “We realize it is especially difficult during a time when inflation is impacting every sector in the economy and all households and businesses,” he added.
Blue Ridge Energy wants to help members keep their bills as low as possible. Tips and energy efficiency information are available on BlueRidgeEnergy.com, where members will also find programs such as Budget Billing, our “pay as you use” FlexPay option and Usage Tracker, which shows daily electricity usage, helping members make changes if needed to get ahead of high bills.
Increasing energy and material costs to maintain and operate the electric system are major drivers of the need for a rate adjustment, as well as a transmission system upgrade, which
Look for more details in the Perspective on the next page and on the cover of this magazine.
For information on ways to save and energy efficiency tips, visit BlueRidgeEnergy.com/Save
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Perspective THE
Working to manage costs in a rising costs environment
As a cooperative we exist to provide at-cost electricity and to work for the best interests of our members, so it’s never easy to pass along an increase. I’m pleased, however, that the upcoming rate adjustment of 3.5 percent overall is lower than what we see coming from many other utilities in the state and country. While we’ve been able to avoid any rate increases for the past nine years—and even provided temporary rate reductions to lower our member’s bills—a recently completed cost of service study shows an increase is unavoidable. The key drivers are cost increases for wholesale power and electric system investments necessary to keep our electric system reliable and resilient. The cost of investments in power lines and substations has increased significantly due to inflation and material supply disruptions. Some of our suppliers have indicated material costs may rise another 10 to 110 percent over the next year. The cost of energy—the wholesale power we purchase to energize homes, businesses and communities—is also rising. This is a result of the increasing cost for natural gas and other power generation fuel sources. Fleet costs for service vehicles and line trucks for line
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From Blue Ridge CEO Doug Johnson
technicians and operations employees have also risen in cost. And, of course, fuel costs to operate our service fleet have risen significantly. Another factor is the transmission upgrade we recently completed to continue providing reliable service and meet the growing capacity needed to serve our mountain areas, now and for years to come. Blue Ridge Energy is working hard to keep members’ bills as low as possible as we continue working to manage rising costs. Employees are also doing their part. Through our WorkSmart program, employees have initiated operating efficiencies worth $56 million in avoided costs for members since it was formed in 2009. Rising costs will affect our nation and your cooperative for the foreseeable future, but our commitment to you, our members, is that we will do everything possible to mitigate these costs while providing the best reliability and member service in the nation. Even in a rising costs environment, we are committed to the cooperative principle of keeping your bill as low as possible.
Membership MAT TERS
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Do you have money waiting? To help our former members receive refunds due to them through the cooperative’s capital credits retirements, all unclaimed capital credits are listed on our website. To check the list, visit BlueRidgeEnergy.com and click the “Residential” tab. Click the “Money Back to You! Capital Credits” and scroll to the bottom of the page to find the “Unclaimed Capital Credits” link.
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Unclaimed capital credits are funds waiting for our former members for whom we don’t have a valid address. This is an important reason to always contact us any time your address changes. If you are on the list, please contact us Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Proof of identity will be necessary to receive the refunds.
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Telephone Town Hall coming soon! Join us for our Telephone Town Hall on Tuesday, October 18, at 6:30 p.m. To participate, simply answer the phone when we call at this time. You’ll hear Chief Executive Officer Doug Johnson discuss timely updates about your cooperative. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions. We will call members the day before the event as a reminder of the date, time and how to participate. The primary phone number on member’s accounts will be used, so please contact us today to be sure we have the number you prefer 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 PowerLine* (PowerLine* is an automated account information and outage reporting system)
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