2024 Annual Report
Still Climbing: Celebrating 85 Years of Service
Improving quality of life. Making a difference in the community. Changing lives. It has been 85 years since Okefenoke Rural Electric Membership Corporation, Inc. (OREMC) came into existence on the courthouse steps in Nahunta, Georgia, in 1939. While the driving forces may be different, the underlying mission of your cooperative is the same today as it was then: to provide safe, reliable and affordable energy to our members.
“Bringing the lights” was the focus of OREMC’s formation in 1939. The cities were ablaze with lights and modern conveniences while the farms and rural countryside remained in the dark without electricity. Everything from pumping fresh water, to chopping wood for heating and cooking and doing laundry involved manual labor from dawn to dusk. The change from dark to light came by the sheer determination of community citizens who organized, incorporated and built OREMC from the ground up, pole by pole and line by line. New members wanting to invest in progress signed on with each new line extension. Modern conveniences made life easier, more efficient and business and communities more prosperous. All thanks to the flip of a switch.
While 85 years ago the focus was on building the infrastructure, at an affordable price, so electricity could power everyday life, today the focus is on keeping the lights on (reliability). Electricity is integrated into every aspect of our lives from transportation, the internet of things, technology integrated into our work, entertainment, communications, safety and security.
Without power, none of it works.
OREMC members appreciated the opportunity to have electricity in the 1940s . . . today it is expected, and more of it. Staying true to our mission, we are upgrading our distribution system, rebuilding and building new substations to address demand for power and implementing technologies that will enable our system to self-heal and minimize power disruptions to impact the fewest number of people for the shortest amount of time.
And in 2024, we acknowledge it is not enough to simply provide energy but also be conscious of how it is produced. That is why our wholesale power generation represents a diversified mix of carbon-free nuclear, renewables (solar), natural gas, hydro and coal. Why coal? This is where the focus on reliability comes in. For OREMC to meet member demand for power, we have to ensure we have “alwayson” power available at the ready. Nuclear can’t be turned off and on, solar only produces when the sun is shining, and we have to mindful of gas pipeline capacity limitations. While we are investing in additional solar and power generation that is more environmentally friendly, we must take a sensible approach to ensure we don’t compromise reliability.
By the community, for the community. OREMC is not just poles and wires, but rather the people behind the power that are committed to making a difference every day. We power youth education, community development and economic growth, and support access to care and services to meet community needs.
It is our honor to be at your service.
John Middleton
Robert W. Combs
PRESIDENT
Installing Comfort and Convenience
OREMC partners with to offer whole-house backup generators
Jeff Padilla, of Kingsland, was on the OREMC website looking at billing options, when he noticed the slider promoting the home generator program offered in partnership with GRESCO.
“I grew up in Florida and my wife is from the south, so we’ve lived through hurricanes before,” Jeff noted. “We had a 15-watt construction grade, portable Generac generator that we’ve used over the years during outages and storms. After seeing the ad for the whole house generator, I talked to my wife, and we agreed it was time to pursue a more permanent option. ”
Back in July, Jeff made the call to GRESCO to get the ball rolling. Within days GRESCO Field Service Technician Walt Warren was meeting with him to discuss generator sizing and location options, given he already had propane coming to the house. From call to install was two weeks for his new 22 kW whole house generator.
“It runs everything . . .lights, appliances, air conditioning have to have air conditioning,” insists Jeff. “Once the power goes out there is about a 15 second delay and the generator kicks on automatically. And there is no indication that it has turned off once the power comes back on. I have to look and listen out my window to tell whether or not it is still running. With the 120-gallon gas tank, I can run my whole house up to four continuous days.”
Comfort and convenience were the driving forces behind Jeff’s decision to install the backup generator. Jeff noted that working with Angela at GRESCO was very efficient. She helped them secure financing, so they have an 18-month loan with zero percent financing. She also offered surge protection from a lightning strike. Jeff said, “We’ve already had one lightning strike in the yard, and you don’t think it
will strike twice, but I wasn’t taking any chances.” Combined with the warranty program and service plans, Jeff couldn’t be happier with his choice to work with GRESCO through OREMC to purchase his new Generac generator. Several of his coworkers were also installing generators either themselves or through other vendors at the same time he was. “I definitely had the better experience and got the better deal,” he said.
GRESCO’s Renewable Technology Specialist Dylan Buzbee was pleased with how seamless the process worked from inquiry to installation. Buzbee explains, “The partnership between GRESCO, OREMC and Generac is what really makes our program special because of the pricing and service options available to OREMC members.”
OREMC’s Director of Communications & Marketing Michele Hutchins agrees, “We were excited to introduce the home backup generator program earlier this year and are thrilled with the member response and satisfaction working with everyone at GRESCO. Now we offer that value-added service where one call does it all, and everyone works together to ensure quality, safety and peace of mind.” You
Jeff Padilla talks with GRESCO’s Dylan Buzbee about his generator installation.
’No, we aren’t talking about the always popular, floor filling, line dance. Rather, the statement is in reference to the four new electric school buses that have become part of the Charlton County School District fleet. At first glance the buses look like your regular, everyday, yellow school bus. Stepping aboard you are greeted by rows of the familiar high back, bench seats. The Bus Driver Stanley Sims turns the key. For a few seconds you hear a hissing sound as an air compressor powers up the pressurized braking system. Then, silence.
The only indication the bus is on is a green light icon on the dash. There is no sound of a rumbling motor or the typical smell of diesel. Easing on to the road for a short test ride, there is a low-level hum emanating from a noise generator that can be heard as long as the bus is traveling 20 miles per hour or less. “The noise generator is a national safety measure,” explains Dustin Marshall, Regional Bus Sales Representative with Rush Bus Center, Charlton County’s bus vendor. “The buses are very quiet and can sneak up on you, so the noise generator makes you aware of the bus’s presence.”
For Charlton County School District’s Director of Transportation Jeff Highsmith, the chance to get the electric buses came at a time when the fleet was in need of upgrades. He says, “I heard about the national EV bus program from Clinch County. It is a lottery grant program funded through the Environmental Protection Agency providing electric school buses and EV chargers free of charge to those counties/school districts selected, and rural communities were deemed a high priority. ”
“It really was a no-lose opportunity,” notes Charlton County Schools Superintendent Dr. Brent Tilley. “If we won the lottery, we received four buses free of charge. If we didn’t, we would have moved forward with the fleet upgrades as budgeted. The benefit to winning was four buses using clean, zero-emission fuel option and saving taxpayers a half million dollars.”
Highsmith worked with OREMC to string the line and provide power to the two EV chargers, each with dual-charging capability. All four buses can be charged at the same time and ready to roll out each morning. They began using the buses back in February. While they have a range of 120 miles, each of the four bus routes runs about half that. “The EV bus routes are all within the city limits of Folkston,” Highsmith says. “The students don’t really know the difference between buses, but our bus drivers like them and they drive the same as the diesel buses.”
What is different, is there aren’t any oil or air filters to change. There isn’t a radiator, but there is a battery thermal management system to maintain optimal temperature. Fuel wise, Marshall says it costs about 22 cents per mile to run the EV buses versus 37 cents per mile for the diesel buses.
“I didn’t think the fuel costs would be less, but the whole program has to be viewed as a gift and a blessing, insists Tilley. “It was a novel idea, and the funds we are saving on transportation allow us to do other things, to make our dollars go further in educating our kids. That is our job at the end of the day.”
OREMC Year In Review
For the second year in a row, OREMC participated in the Glynn County Teacher Externship Program, hosting five Glynn County educators over two days, immersing them in the day-to-day operations and getting to know the people behind the power. From a ride in a bucket, feeling the weight of the lineworker’s utility belt, being briefed on the “big screen” in the Control Center and seeing a demonstration of a self-healing electric system of the future, the educators quickly realized there was more to electricity than simply flipping a switch. Pictured is Eric Benson, Glynn County Assistant Superintendent, Grades 6 12, getting a feel for the lineworker’s rubber gloves and sleeves.
OREMC’s Annual FFA Wiring Contest Practice Session, in conjunction with Brantley County High School, was held in early January ahead of the regional competition. For FFA advisors, the annual OREMC wiring contest practice session offers valuable, real-world application ahead of the regional and state competitions. Open to high school students in grades nine through 12, the wiring competition is an Agricultural electrification Career Development Event sponsored by the Georgia FFA Association and the Georgia Electric Membership Corporation representing the state’s 41 electric membership co-ops.
OREMC was voted the Tribune&Georgianreader’s choice for Best Utility Provider in Camden County. We were pleased and honored to be selected and thank our OREMC members for their votes. It is a testament to the member service we strive to provide in powering your lives every day. Accepting the award on behalf of the co-op was OREMC’s Kingsland office crew.
Just six months after hosting its 2023 Golf Tournament and donating a recordbreaking $25,000 to the Southeast Cancer Unit, Inc., OREMC moved the annual event back to spring and held its 2024 Golf Tournament in April. The tournament raised another $23,000 for the Southeast Cancer Unit. These funds will directly benefit cancer patients undergoing treatment in Brantley, Pierce and Ware counties with medical and travel expenses related to their care.
The OREMC Foundation celebrated its third anniversary having awarded 144 grants totaling over a half million dollars. The OREMC Foundation is a launchpad for community development supporting education, community health and economic development in the six Georgia and two Florida counties OREMC serves. OREMC unclaimed capital credits are the primary funding source. The Foundation Trustees meet quarterly to review applications and make grant awards based on funds available.
Financial Report
Financial Statements for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, reflect the sound statue of Okefenoke Rural Electric Membership Corporation.
Each year we retain the services of independent Certified Public Accountants to perform an audit of the corporation’s accounting records. This year’s audit, conducted by McNair, McLemore, Middlebrooks and Co., LLP, included an examination of the Cooperative’s balance sheet, statement of revenue, expenses and remarks concerning each. Copies of the complete audit are on file at OREMC’s headquarters office in Nahunta, Georgia, for your review.
The figures present in this report represent our summary of the year’s operation.
Receivable (Net of Accumulated Provision for
Credit Losses of $31,033 and $21,084 in 2024 and 2023, respectively)
Cristi B. Koncz | SECRETARY/TREASURER
