Carroll EMC, your local not-for-profit electric provider, is committed to providing Members with the best service possible. To continue meeting exacting standards, we must occasionally adjust pricing to reflect the rising costs of maintaining and enhancing services. Thankfully, your cooperative has been able to put off a significant rate increase for several years. However, the time has come for Carroll EMC to adjust prices to better match expenses.
Starting February 1, the average residential bill will increase by approximately $11 a month. This includes a monthly base charge increase of $6. All rate classes, including commercial and industrial accounts, will see an overall increase of 6.58%. The new residential rate will now be a single, consistent calculation all year and no longer vary by season. We understand any price change can be an inconvenience, so we are introducing new and improved programs to help offset this adjustment.
1. Extended payment period. Carroll EMC’s billing timeline will change. You will now have an additional week to pay your bill each month, offering more flexibility and time. Friendly reminder letters will no longer be mailed, but you will continue to receive due date reminder phone calls, when necessary.
2. More discount options. We are expanding our discount offerings, giving you more opportunities to save money on your electric bill.
• Senior citizen discount. The current senior citizen discount of $2.50 a month is increasing to $5 a month. To qualify for this discount, the account holder must be 62 or older.
Discounts can be combined!
If you’re 62 or older and sign up for the senior citizen discount, enroll in electronic billing and use automatic bank draft, you can get a $10 credit on your bill every month!
• E-bill discount. We are now offering a NEW discount available to anyone who currently is, or who signs up for, paperless billing. If you elect to receive only an electronic bill, your account will receive a credit of $2.50 a month. You will no longer receive a paper bill in the mail but will receive an email notification each month with a link to view your statement.
• Bank draft discount. Don’t forget: Carroll EMC offers a $2.50 a month credit if you sign up for automatic bank draft.
3. New time-of-use (TOU) rate option. In addition to our standard residential rate, we will offer an optional time-of-use rate that gives Members the opportunity to save money by shifting their electricity use to off-peak periods. Visit carrollemc.com to learn more about the times and pricing for this rate.
4. Levelized billing plan. For your convenience, Carroll EMC offers a levelized billing plan that helps make your monthly bills more predictable. It takes a rolling average of your electric use for the most recent 12 months, which guards against drastic changes in your bill, even during the coldest and hottest months.
If you have questions or would like more information about new or existing benefits, please don’t hesitate to visit carrollemc.com or call our Member Services team at (770) 832-3552.
Stronger Together: Cooperation Among Cooperatives
Some events in American history you simply never forget. Their names carry a heavy weight even years down the road. You might be thinking of the tragedy of September 11, 2001, or the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Both continue to stir heartache across generations for the suffering that was endured. But there is more than just heartache to remember. There is unity, compassion and kindness—all reminders that we need one another amid human suffering. Hitting close to home more recently was Hurricane Helene, a storm that will not soon be forgotten.
In late September, Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend as a major Category 4 hurricane. Moving quickly with extremely high winds, the storm caused record-breaking storm surge and flooding as it moved inland toward Georgia, and eventually to Tennessee and North Carolina, resulting in a 500-mile path of utter destruction. Loved ones and livelihoods were taken away with the snap of a finger. Life for many will never be the same.
With a storm of this caliber, its direct path is never certain. Slight shifts in direction mean deliverance for some and doom for others. Metro Atlanta had not braced for an inland hurricane since Opal in 1995. Now, a denser population means the rebuild is much more extensive with exceedingly more homes, businesses and power lines to serve them. Electric membership cooperatives (EMCs) in Georgia were aware of the imminent threat but could not fully grasp exactly what they would wake up to the next morning.
When the sun came up, EMCs in south central, southeast and east Georgia were faced with a peak total of 435,000 power outages. The path had shifted and spared those to the west, including Carroll EMC, but when any EMC is affected, whether in-state or out-of-state, we all are. Our mutual aid network is like no other and stretches across the entire country. Crews from Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama joined forces with those in Georgia to help rebuild the distribution systems that were brought to the ground.
For some Members, power would not be restored for weeks, even with hundreds more boots on the ground. Carroll EMC sent two, eight-man crews to Coastal Electric Cooperative, Canoochee EMC, Little Ocmulgee EMC and Altamaha EMC across a four-week span.
“This is one of the worst storms I’ve ever seen,” says David Baskin, Journeyman for Carroll EMC. “You’re driving along and looking around, thinking it’s not that bad, and then you come over a hill and there’s 15 broken poles on one stretch of line.
“We worked, and I mean worked, for days in a certain area, and we’d only get five people back on,” he adds.
Days and nights alike were long but not just for linemen. Michael Wilburn, Lead Warehouse Materials Handler for Carroll EMC, traveled to Jefferson Energy Cooperative to help their warehouse team manage inventory and provide crews with materials they needed throughout the 16-hour workday.
“It opened my eyes to all the working parts of a major storm,” Wilburn says. “I worked as a contractor previously, so I know what it’s like out in the field but had never seen the operations of a warehouse during a complete system rebuild.”
Mutual aid extends even beyond the warehouse. Carroll EMC’s Communications Director Kelly Jimenez assisted Canoochee EMC with their communication efforts by sharing posts on social media. Josh Walker, one of the co-op’s mechanics, hit the road when the trucks needed servicing. It is an all-in kind of mindset.
As the dust settles and we look back at another hurricane season, we breathe a sigh of relief with those who made it through unscathed, and we mourn with those who lost much. Helene will become a name, much like Katrina, that is remembered for the devastation it caused, but we will not quickly forget what might be the greatest lesson—we are more resilient together.
From left, Carroll EMC linemen Steve Harvey, Russell Williams, Wyn Denney, Wes Benefield, Bebo Thompson, Ivan Powell, Landon Heath and Eddie Baughn were one of two teams to travel south and help with storm restoration.
Caring About You Looks Like This…
Impact Grant Applications Open January 6
The Carroll EMC Foundation aims to provide assistance to area organizations and projects whose primary purpose is to improve the quality of life for residents in communities within Carroll EMC’s service area. To qualify for an Impact Grant, applicants must be classified as a 501(c)(3) organization. Potential areas of funding include but are not limited to:
• Education
• Health and human services
• Food outreach programs
• Community service
• Environmental protection
• Safety
Eligible organizations must complete an online application during the annual grant cycle. The foundation's Board of Trustees reviews the applications and selects each year’s winners. Impact Grants are only made possible through Member participation in the Operation Round Up program.
Applications are online at carrollemc.com/impactgrants starting January 6. Applications are due March 10. For more information, contact Taylor Key at (770) 830-5736 or taylor.key@carrollemc.com.
To report a power outage, call (770) 832-3552, option 1.
Remember: If you have multiple accounts, you will need to enter your account number for that location.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
WeMakeSafetyaPriority
Students: Apply for Free Money Today!
Walter Harrison Scholarship
• $1,000 scholarship; 17 scholarships will be awarded in Georgia in 202512.
• Recipients must be enrolled in an accredited program (full- or part-time) and be an undergraduate student or high school senior.
• Carroll EMC selects one finalist from its service area to compete at the state level.
• Application deadline: January 31
Lerlie and Millard Copeland Scholarship
• $800 scholarship
• Check the University of West Georgia website for details and deadline information: westga.edu/scholarships
Washington Youth Tour
• June 13-20
• A weeklong, all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C.
• Two high school students sent by Carroll EMC.
• Students must be at least 16 years old by the trip departure date.
• Application deadline: February 14
Please Update Your Contact Information
Let Carroll EMC know if your email address and phone number have changed. This helps the cooperative respond to your power outage faster, thus ensuring a quick restoration time, when possible.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Carroll EMC offices will be closed Monday, January 20, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Please use the PaySite kiosks, mobile app, text-to-pay, website or automated phone payment system to make a payment during this time.
Carroll EMC has personnel on standby 24/7, year-round. Even on holidays, Carroll EMC is prepared for storms and outages.
