The Enlightener

October 2007

Largest Reliability Investment in Blue Ridge Electric History Completed

The largest investment in the cooperative’s history to ensure reliable power continues to flow is being completed this month after nearly two years of construction and over 10 years in the planning.

The nearly $20 million project increased the capacity available to serve the cooperative’s mountain districts by 50 percent. It ensures some 52,000 members in Watauga, Ashe, and Alleghany countieås continue to have adequate, highly reliable electricity to meet their needs now and in the future.

Nearly $20 million was necessary for upgrading or building several miles of higher capacity transmission line. The project also included a new state-of-the art substation in West Jefferson, which now serves as the “hub” for providing power to Watauga, Ashe, and Alleghany counties. The Beaver Creek and Horse Gap substations were also modernized.

Mike High, director of engineering services, said the new system utilizes fiber optics, the latest in protective relaying devices, and other technology that helps Blue Ridge offer members two benefits: high reliability and faster power restoration when an outage does occur.

“Through automated communications between our substations and the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system located in our corporate office dispatch center, we’re able to monitor and control power quality 24 hours a day as if we were standing in the substation,” he explained.

An example would be when lightning strikes a power line. The system will now tell the SCADA system exactly where the “fault,” or problem, is located so that dispatchers can better direct linemen to the location. This allows linemen to correct a problem and restore power quicker. “This is definitely an improvement over the time it could take to patrol the entire line to locate a problem,” High pointed out.

“The new electric facilities and high tech systems allow Blue Ridge Electric to be more proactive in responding to power quality issues in addition to providing the highest in power reliability and restoration to our members,” he said.

Members Only News
- For Members of Blue Ridge Electric

Supporting Renewable Energy

Some 250 members of Blue Ridge Electric have joined 12,000 other North Carolinians to support NC GreenPower, the state’s renewable energy initiative.

Blue Ridge Electric partners with NC GreenPower to give members an easy, affordable way to support renewable energy with tax deductible contributions. Members can contact the cooperative to sign up for as little as $4 to be added to their monthly electric bill. All contributions are forwarded in full to NC GreenPower. Participants can also stop participation at any time.

NC GreenPower is an independent, nonprofit organization established to improve North Carolina’s environment through voluntary contributions toward production of renewable energy. NC GreenPower supplements the state’s existing power supply with more green energy – electricity generated from renewable resources right here in North Carolina. Contributions help offset the higher cost to produce green energy. The program is administered by Advanced Energy, an independent nonprofit corporation in Raleigh.

Just $4 per month adds one block of 100 kilowatt-hours of green energy to North Carolina’s power supply. Large-volume users – usually from the corporate sector – may contribute towards 100 or more blocks at a rate of $2.50 per block.

To sign up for NC GreenPower, call your local Blue Ridge Electric office or visit www.BlueRidgeEMC.com. Producers interested in submitting proposals to provide renewable energy to the program should visit www.ncgreenpower.org for more information.

The Perspective

An Editorial by Chief Executive Officer Doug Johnson

Subsidiary Update

As a member-owner of Blue Ridge Electric, you are also an owner of the cooperative’s propane and heating fuels subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energies, LLC. Through this column, I periodically share updates about your subsidiary.

Blue Ridge Energies offers propane, heating fuels, and hearth products to residential and commercial customers throughout Catawba, Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe and Alleghany counties.

One of the accomplishments at Blue Ridge Energies which I am most pleased to share is our customer service reputation and commitment. The dedication of our Blue Ridge Energies employees consistently earns 9.5 customer service ratings on a 10-point scale.

The subsidiary also benefits members through offsetting some of the operating costs of the cooperative by paying for any services it utilizes from Blue Ridge Electric. For example, the subsidiary pays for the space it leases for the showrooms in our district offices. The subsidiary also pays its portion of the use of certain employees from the cooperative, such as for human resources and safety services.

For 2007, we expect the financial benefit to the cooperative to exceed $1.0 million through Blue Ridge Energies net income and operating costs offsets. The cost offsets help the cooperative operate more efficiently, and the net income is being invested back into Blue Ridge Energies to fund its growth. This reinvestment has enabled us to pay for the subsidiary’s annual customer growth rate of almost 7 percent without any long term debt at Energies.

Energies also benefited members and our communities by contributing $25,000 to the Blue Ridge Electric Members Foundation. Funds from the Foundation are awarded in the form of grants to nonprofit service agencies and programs with the goal of improving the quality of life in our area.

Blue Ridge Energies was created to help meet the heating fuels needs of northwest North Carolina, to add operating efficiencies for the cooperative, and to benefit the members of our cooperative. I’m proud to say the employees at Blue Ridge Energies are doing an outstanding job in achieving our Energies vision!

Energy Efficiency Tips

Your hard-earned money can leak out of your home through drafty doors and windows, or un-insulated attics, walls, and floors. Here are tips to help you conserve energy and save money:

Find air leaks around your home. You can do this by simply wetting your fingertips and running them around door or window frames to feel a draft. Check around fixtures that penetrate walls such as exhaust fans and electrical outlets. Look for unfilled gaps near dryer vents, chimneys and faucet pipes. Make sure all insulating materials are installed according to manufacturers and code specifications.
Seal leaks between moving parts (like a door and its frame) with weather stripping. Fill leaks between non-moving parts (like a window frame and the wall) with caulking.
Replace screens with storm windows and doors, or consider a temporary fix like plastic film kits.
When shopping for new windows, glass doors or skylights, look for the Energy Star® label. These are 40 percent more energy efficient than standard windows, and they can reduce heating and cooling costs.
Have your heating system periodically checked by a professional to ensure it’s operating safely and at its optimal level. Change or clean filters according to the manufacturer’s guidelines.
Consider adjusting your thermostat to a lower temperature when no one is home.

Heating costs typically account for 25-50 percent of a home’s total energy expense in the winter. Following these tips will help you contain costs.

Published monthly by Blue Ridge Electric Membeship Corporation for its 72,385 member consumers.