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Vegetation management: Balancing power reliability with scenic beauty The single major cause of power outages is damage to power lines from trees and limbs during severe weather such as high winds, heavy snow, ice or lightning. With over 8,000 miles of power lines to protect, Blue Ridge Energy works year-round on vegetation management to ensure members have the most reliable electricity possible. Blue Ridge ranks among the most reliable electric providers in the nation and in recent years has added another method to help achieve reliability in a safe, environmentally friendly manner — aerial tree pruning. This method utilizes specially trained helicopter pilots who carefully conduct pruning along rights of ways. Trained “spotters” are located on ground level and are in constant communication with the pilot. Used by utilities across the nation for years, aerial tree pruning is approved by the American National Standards Institute. The process is less intrusive to member property and the environment than traditional methods. As with all vegetation management, members are notified in advance of pruning. Debris is removed from maintained areas, while in non-maintained areas, debris is either left or bush hogged to the ground. Our vegetation management program combines several growth control methods that balance scenic beauty with safe, reliable power. For more information, visit BlueRidgeEnergy.com/ROW.
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Perspective Giving back: Member s Foundation There’s no better feeling than giving back. That’s the tradition of the Blue Ridge Energy Members Foundation and the power of partnership between members and your electric cooperative. Now in its 18th year, the Members Foundation will exceed $3 million in crisis heating assistance to help local families stay warm! Just last year, nearly 1,170 families received crisis electric or fuel bill assistance, thanks to the help of a special campaign and the support of members, employees and our Board of Directors to meet the needs last year of dramatically rising energy prices that affected all energy sources. The Foundation also awarded $130,000 last year in community grants to 22 local non-profit organizations that provide additional support services to our members and to promote community development in making the area we all call home a better place to live, work and raise families. This would not be possible without the support of members like yourself giving to Operation Round Up®! I want to say a sincere thank you to all members who round up their bill to the next dollar amount, or give even more through Operation Round Up Plus®, to help households right here in local communities. Still others contribute their annual capital credits refunds (learn more about this on this magazine’s cover wrap and insert).
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From Blue Ridge Energy CEO Doug Johnson
Our subsidiary companies, Blue Ridge Energy Propane and Fuels and RidgeLink, which were formed to benefit members, also give an average of $50,000 to the Foundation each year since 2007, with the amount now totaling $800,000. How are these funds used? A portion of Operation Round Up funds are used each year for crisis heating assistance. The remainder goes to the Foundation to award community grants to help support local not-for-profit organizations that provide other types of critical support for our members. The Foundation also contributes $25,000 annually to support scholarships and Bright Ideas grants to improve local education. 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. I’m pleased to say that every penny of donations goes toward the assistance and grants that the Members Foundation provides. It’s the cooperative spirit of our members and communities that make programs like this successful. Working together, I’m proud to say that we’re making life better for the people and communities we serve!
Membership MAT TERS
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Attention, high school students! Scholarship and leadership opportunities are available as part of Blue Ridge Energy’s support of local communities. To qualify for these opportunities, high school students must join Blue Ridge Energy’s Leadership Track in their freshman or sophomore years, or as early as possible during high school. To join or learn more, visit: BlueRidgeEnergy.com/LeadershipTrack.
renewable scholarships for students seeking a four-year degree. Awards are based on leadership performance, resume development and a personal interview. Leadership camp opportunities as well as college bound workshops are also available to high school students in the Blue Ridge Energy Leadership Track. Learn more at: BlueRidgeEnergy.com/LeadershipTrack.
In February, qualifying seniors involved in Blue Ridge Energy’s Leadership Track will be invited to apply for up to eight $4,000
Visit us on the web: BlueRidgeEnergy.com CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Doug Johnson EDITOR Renée R. Walker PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Jacob Puckett
Membership MAT TERS
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DISTRICT OFFICES Caldwell Watauga Ashe Alleghany PowerLine*
TOLL FREE (828) 754-9071 (828) 264-8894 (336) 846-7138 (336) 372-4646 (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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