embership
MATTERS
Did you know a tax credit is available on Energy Star heat pump water heaters?
You can claim 30% of the project cost, with a $2,000 maximum amount credited. The credit is provided through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
Heat pump water heaters are an energy-efficient way to heat your home’s water. They work by transferring heat from the air to heat water. They help you save up to hundreds of dollars annually on your water heating costs.
The Inflation Reduction Act includes tax credits and rebates for a wide range of home energy efficiency improvements, including exterior doors, windows, central air conditioning, and more. To learn more about these incentives for home upgrades, as well as how to claim them, visit energy.gov/save/home-upgrades.
Perspective
THE International Year of Cooperatives: Honoring Our Past, Powering the Future
As we celebrate the International Year of Cooperatives, Blue Ridge Energy is reflecting on the cooperative difference and what it means for you—our member-owners.
For many of us, electricity has always been a given. But generations ago, it was a hard-won achievement in our rural mountain and foothill communities. Nearly 90 years ago, local families came together to form what is now Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation. Investor-owned utilities had no interest in serving these areas, so neighbors took a leap of faith, contributing what little they could to bring power—and progress—to their homes and farms. It wasn’t just about lights; it was about changing lives.
That same spirit drives us today. Blue Ridge Energy continues to deliver reliable electricity, while also expanding broadband, offering propane and fuels services, supporting economic development, and improving quality of life for the communities we serve.
Blue Ridge Energy has also been part of international efforts to bring electricity to remote villages around the world, helping others experience what our communities did generations ago. In 1962, we helped form CRE (Cooperativa Rural de Electrificación) in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, providing engineering and leadership support that helped it grow into the world’s largest electric cooperative. More recently, Blue Ridge line technicians joined others in bringing first-time electricity to the remote Bolivian village of Laphia—changing lives just as our founding members did decades ago.
This year, we proudly celebrate a business model built on cooperation— one that’s improving lives across the U.S. and around the world. Together, we’re still building a brighter future.
From Blue Ridge Energy CEO Katie Woodle
Community Solar Savings
Does your home’s energy use seem high?
Community solar may help save you money if your usage averages more than 1000 kWh a month.
Blue Ridge Energy operates five community solar gardens in the counties we serve. This program offers members easy access to solar energy without the upfront cost and maintenance of owning their own solar array.
Community solar makes solar energy available to renters and members whose roofs are not ideal for installing panels.
Our community solar program allows members to subscribe to one or more panels f or only $3.75 per panel per month. In return, you receive a bill credit for the energy produced by the solar garden AND a discount on kWh consumed off the grid.
If you’re interested in signing up or learning more, please call our Energy Solutions Department at 828-572-6062, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, or visit our website.
Capital credits: allocations vs. refunds
Members receiving notice of capital credit allocations
During the month of July, members will receive notice of capital credits allocations from the previous year. This notice will come on the back of your July billing statement. For FlexPay members, this notice can be found on our website after logging into your account. Please be aware this is NOT a refund — refunds were issued in May.
Here’s more about the difference between capital credit allocations and refunds:
• Allocations are based on the amount of electricity a member purchased the previous fiscal year. This annual allocation amount is added to your overall membership capital credits balance, which reflects all the years in which you had service with Blue Ridge Energy.
• Refunds occur when your Board of Directors approve a capital credits retirement. This involves refunding a portion
of your overall membership capital credits balance. The rotation of these funds over time allows the cooperative to build and maintain power lines, substations, rights of way, and other areas to ensure safe and reliable electric service. It also reduces the need for loans, which keep costs down for members while still allowing for refunds to the member-owners of Blue Ridge Energy.
Capital credits are a benefit of belonging to a cooperative. This not-for-profit business model is used by thousands of cooperatives to balance debt and equity to help keep member rates low and provide reliable electric service.
Your annual capital credits allocation notice communicated in July is NOT a refund, but rather one of the first steps in the annual process. Refunds were issued in May.
Blue Ridge Energy EARNS AN ACSI® 2025 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AWARD
Blue Ridge Energy is honored to have earned a 2025 Customer Satisfaction Award* from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®) based on our member survey results. Members were asked to rate their overall satisfaction with us, how well we lived up to their expectations, and how well we measured up to their ideal co-op experience. While these were not the only questions in the survey, we included these specifically because they are the core components of the proprietary ACSI methodology.
Blue Ridge Energy’s ACSI score substantially outperforms the industry average score earned by publicly measured utilities reported in the 2025 ACSI Energy Utility Study. This Award is a testament to Blue Ridge Energy’s ongoing
efforts to provide the best possible member experience.
The 2025 Customer Satisfaction Award affirms that Blue Ridge Energy’s hard work has been noticed by its members. Blue Ridge Energy is grateful for its members and will continue to strive for excellence through constant dedication to improvement.
*Award criteria are determined by the ACSI® and are based on customers rating their satisfaction in a survey independent of the syndicated ACSI Energy Utility Study. For more about the ACSI, visit www.theacsi. org/badges. ACSI and its logo are registered trademarks of the American Customer Satisfaction Index LLC.
Katie Woodle
EDITOR
Renée R. Walker PRODUCTION
Puckett
