Membership Matters
December 2004
Capital Credits Coming Your Way
Blue Ridge Electric is pleased to announce that the cooperative has efficiently managed resources to support a capital credits payment to its members this year. The cooperative will return to its members nearly $1,100,000 in December 2004.
Members due $15 or less will receive a credit on their bill if they have an active account, while members receiving $15 or more will receive a check for the amount mailed separately from their December electric bill.
Capital credits are also known as operating margins, and these funds accumulate over time. Until these capital credits are returned in the form of a cash refund or credit on your bill, they are invested in power lines, transformers, inventory and other necessary items to provide members with electric service.
“Capital credits are one of the great advantages of belonging to an electric cooperative,” said Doug Johnson, chief executive officer of Blue Ridge Electric. “Instead of paying stockholders, we are able to provide payment or credit to the very individuals who own our company – the members who are using our electric services.”
For 2004, capital credits represent 19 percent of the company’s margins from the 2003 fiscal year. The amount includes $686,768 in capital credits the cooperative has already paid throughout the year to estates of members who passed away this year. Each member’s capital credit refund is based on his or her share of the total accumulated credit that builds over time. Allocations are determined by a member’s volume of electricity used.
“Our members trust the cooperative and its board of directors to maintain the health, efficiency, and viability of Blue Ridge Electric,” said Johnson. “Every time we return capital credits, it is another opportunity to demonstrate the power of the cooperative form of business.”
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Members Only News
-For Members of Blue Ridge Electric
Save on Energy Costs
Blue Ridge Electric wants to help you manage your energy costs this winter. One way we do that is by offering Budget Billing, which allows members to equalize their electric bills by paying a set amount over 11 months of the year. In the twelfth month, we even up your account. Blue Ridge Electric also provides assistance through its BREMCare program to help members with heating costs. BREMCare is administered through local helping agencies such as the Department of Social Services and BROC in Alleghany County.
In addition, here are some ways to save on your power bill this winter from John Krigger, Saturn Resource Management:
- Use a programmable thermostat that automatically adjusts your thermostat set point back at night and during the day when no one is home. Or change the temperature set point manually every day.
- If you stay alone in a large house, try to confine your activities to one room and leave the remainder of the house at the low nighttime set point. Heat your daytime activity room to a comfortable temperature with an electric space heater. Be careful not to overload circuits and avoid connecting space heaters with drop cords.
- Use electric blankets or quilts for sleeping comfort and to allow a lower nighttime thermostat setting.
- Change your furnace filter according to manufacturer’s recommendations.
- Make sure large air leaks around plumbing pipes, wires, chimneys, and other penetrations through your floors and ceilings are sealed properly. You can find these from your attic or basement.
- Make sure that all your storm windows are closed during winter weather. Repair or replace them if needed.
- Open drapes and blinds on your home’s south-facing windows during the day to let solar heat in.
- Be sure that your walls are insulated properly and that your attic has at least eight inches of insulation. Nothing can compensate for lack of insulation.
Remember: All products should be used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. And non-electric heating systems should always be used in conjunction with a carbon monoxide detector.
Source: John Krigger,
Saturn Resource Management
www.srmi.biz
The Perspective
An Editorial by Chief Executive Officer Doug Johnson
Adjustment Necessary
Everyone is painfully aware that energy prices are at historically high levels. We most often see this evidenced when we purchase gasoline for our vehicles. Unfortunately, all energy products have experienced dramatic cost increases over the past year and energy cost experts tell us that no relief is in sight for the foreseeable future.
For Blue Ridge Electric, the cost of wholesale power that we purchase for resale to our members is most affected by the price of coal, uranium, and natural gas. While most of our wholesale power contracts contain financial hedges to minimize our exposure to rising prices for these fuels, about 33 percent of our purchases are indexed to market prices for coal and natural gas.
Through the end of the third quarter, our wholesale power costs have been unfavorable compared to budget by about $2.9 million, and we expect that variance to increase to about $4 million by year end. In discussion with the board of directors, I have recommended that the cooperative pay half of this by reducing our annual margins for 2004. In order to recover the remaining cost, we will need to implement a monthly wholesale power cost adjustment (WPCA) of $1.00 per 1000 kilowatt hours (kwh) on members’ bills beginning with January 2005 bills. Our average residential member uses 850 kwh per month, so the WPCA cost for an average monthly residential bill will be 85 cents.
I want to assure you that we are doing everything within our power to contain costs, secure the most reliable power at the best price available, and to support members who need assistance during a time when consumers are paying more and more for all types of energy. While we are disappointed that energy prices have soared beyond our expectations, we will continue to do everything we can to manage the impact on your monthly electric bill.
Capital Credits Due Upon Member's Death
When a member dies, the administrator of the estate should inform Blue Ridge Electric in order to claim the balance of the member’s capital credits account. The administrator must present the cooperative with a death certificate as well as complete necessary paperwork, and Blue Ridge Electric can then issue a capital credits check to the estate. Members should also inform the cooperative if their address changes so that capital credits information and other cooperative information can be delivered promptly.
Published monthly by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation for its 52,400 members.
