The Enlightener

August 2007

Educator Grants Available Through
Blue Ridge Electric -
Deadline is September 30

Teachers and principals are encouraged to apply now for Bright Ideas grants totaling $17,000 being awarded by Blue Ridge Electric in conjunction with North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation for the 2007-’08 school year.

Bright Ideas grants provide educators with funding of up to $1,500 per grant for innovative classroom projects that benefit students and would not otherwise be covered by the school budget. Bright Ideas has financed a variety of hands-on projects, including activities in music, art, history, language, reading, science, math, and information technology. Proposals can come from any area of the curriculum.

Blue Ridge Electric is in its fourteenth year of providing Bright Ideas grants as part of its support of youth and education in the communities we serve. To date, the cooperative has awarded over 270 grants worth almost $232,000 benefiting thousands of students. Bright Ideas reflects Blue Ridge Electric’s commitment to community and support of local education.

The application deadline for Bright Ideas grants is September 30. Projects must directly benefit students, provide ongoing benefits, and use innovative teaching methods. This year, a special emphasis will be placed on applications incorporating environmentally- friendly ideas or projects.

Applications and full details of the Bright Ideas program can be found at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com or http://www.ncbrightideas.com. Please note that applications are no longer accepted by mail. All applications must be submitted on line at the web sites above. For more information, please contact Grey Scheer, director of community relations, at gscheer@blueridgeemc.com.

Members Only News
- For Members of Blue Ridge Electric

Meet Your New Officers

Your Cooperative’s board of directors recently elected new officers. Kenneth Greene is the president of Blue Ridge Electric. Greene has served on the board since 1988. He previously served as vice president and before that as secretary-treasurer. He lives in Ashe County with his wife, Dorothy. Greene replaces outgoing president John Woodruff, who retired from the board effective at this year’s annual meeting after serving 39 years as a director and as president of the cooperative since 2002.

Jeff Joines was elected vice president, and most recently served as secretary-treasurer. A member of the board since 1998, Joines lives in Caldwell County with his wife, Rita.

Joy Coffey was elected secretary-treasurer and previously served as assistant secretary-treasurer. She lives in Watauga County with her husband, Lewis, and has been a board member since 1996.

Charity Gambill was elected assistant secretary-treasurer. Serving as director-at-large, Gambill lives in Alleghany County and has been a board member since 1976.

The Perspective

An Editorial by Chief Executive Officer Doug Johnson

Investments Stay Local

Businesses make financial investments every day. They have to in order to keep their operations running smoothly, to stay competitive, and to meet customer expectations.

Like all businesses, electric cooperatives must make investments, too. The primary difference between a cooperative and other businesses is the purpose of the investment.

Most businesses invest to make money. When your cooperative makes investments, our primary goal is to benefit our members and the communities we serve. The primary investment benefit is better service reliability. We achieve this by utilizing more “smart” equipment and technologies that enable us to isolate and restore outages much more quickly.

We’re also investing in advanced metering technology infrastructure and customer information systems in order to provide state-of-the-art billing and usage information to our members.

Electric generation utilities are also making significant investments to meet consumers’ demand for power. National Electric Reliability experts say the nation may need to build between 1,300 and 1,900 new power plants to meet the expected 43 percent rise in electricity demand over the next 20 years. Other infrastructure – transmission and distribution lines, substations and other electric plant facilities – are also needed to modernize the nation’s electric delivery system.

Blue Ridge Electric is no different. Much of our system was originally built in the 1950s and 1960s. The beauty of this area has led to significant growth in households, jobs, and businesses since that time. Technology has also exploded, and today’s household power demands cannot even compare with the comparatively simple lifestyles of the ‘50s and ‘60s. Not unlike what other electric utilities are experiencing, these factors have placed an enormous demand on our electric delivery system.

To address the need and ensure reliable power, we have already begun a significant effort in modernizing and rebuilding the transmission and distribution system that provides power to our mountain districts. Work has also occurred in our Caldwell district, where much of the original system built in the 1930s and 1940s has already been rebuilt.

Our responsibility to members is to manage these investments in a manner that enables us to deliver outstanding service at a competitive and affordable price. That’s our mission and it’s a major part of how we are looking out for our members’ best interests every day!

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For Your Safety

Fire, rescue, EMS and law enforcement agencies need your help in ensuring your house numbers are visible so that your residence can be located as quickly as possible in the event of an emergency.

General guidelines for displaying house numbers (your “911 address”):

Be clearly visible from the end of your driveway in both directions or placed within three feet of your door.
If your home is more than 100 feet from the road, place numbers at both your door and driveway.
Numbers should be at least 3 inches tall or taller.
Trees or shrubs should not block the view of your numbers.
Use reflective material for your numbers to ensure nighttime visibility.

Published monthly by Blue Ridge Electric Membeship Corporation for its 72,025 member consumers.