April 2009
Members See Huge Savings with Co-op Connections® Card
Members using their Blue Ridge Electric Co-op Connections® card are realizing huge savings at pharmacies and participating local businesses through this special card available only to cooperative members.
The Co-op Connections card is a Touchstone Energy® program involving electric cooperatives across the country that allows card holders to receive discounts from any participating business or pharmacy across the nation. Blue Ridge Electric first sent its members Co-op Connections cards in 2006 when it launched the program. More than 100 local businesses across the cooperative's service area continue to offer discounts unique to their business or service to card holders.
In December 2007, the card was resent to Blue Ridge members because a valuable new feature was added: local and national pharmacies agreed to offer 10 to 60 percent savings on many prescriptions at over 48,000 independent and national pharmacy chains including CVS, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, and Target.
To date, Blue Ridge members have used their Co-op Connections card to fill more than 8,000 prescriptions and saved more than $325,000. This is an average savings of 35 percent!
To locate participating area pharmacies, go to www.locateproviders.com and search by using your zip code, telephone number or pharmacy name. Look up discount prescription prices at www.rxpricequotes.com.
Many other discounts are available at local restaurants and retail stores displaying the Co-op Connections sign. To locate the most current listing of participating businesses, go to www.BlueRidgeEMC.com and click on the Co-op Connections link at the top of any page.You can also find a full list of participating businesses nationwide at http://co-opconnections.com.
“We hope all our members take advantage of the Co-op Connections card and the savings it can provide,” said Renee Whitener, director of public relations.
Members Only News
- For Members of Blue Ridge Electric
Meet Your Board Candidates
You have the opportunity to meet the candidates for your cooperative's Board of Directors during “Meet the Candidate” forums being held in each local Blue Ridge Electric office on the following dates:
- Caldwell District May 12
- Watauga District May 14
- Alleghany District May 18
- Ashe District May 21
Each forum begins at 7 p.m.
Representative Cullie Tarleton met with Blue Ridge Electric President Kenneth Greene, of Ashe County, and Secretary- Treasurer Joy Coffey, of Watauga County, as cooperative officials recently traveled to Raleigh with other North Carolina electric cooperatives as part of the group's governmental relations efforts. Cooperatives advocate for issues that benefit the
communities they serve, especially to keep the cost of electricity affordable. Rep. Tarleton has worked tirelessly on many different issues to benefit those he represents in Watauga and Ashe counties.
The Perspective
An Editorial by Chief Executive Officer Doug Johnson
National Budget Will Raise Electricity Prices
At Blue Ridge Electric, our mission is first and foremost to deliver affordable and reliable power to our member-owners. It's why electric cooperatives were created, and it's our most important commitment to you. We are now experiencing, however, one of the most challenging times in our history to maintain affordability. The cost pressure is primarily due to four key philosophical shifts that are driving public policy: global climate change, renewable energy portfolio standards, an anti-coal movement, and a tax on carbon (coal) as proposed in President Obama's recent budget. Over the next several months, I will address each of these areas, but for this month let's look at the proposed carbon tax (cap and trade plan).
President Obama's budget plan will increase electricity prices for consumers as it seeks to raise $80 billion a year, starting in 2012, by adopting a “cap-and-trade” system where limits would be set (capped) on how much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that industries can emit. Industries such as electric generation utilities would incur significant additional costs to buy allowances for carbon emissions. These cost increases would then be passed on to distribution utilities like Blue Ridge Electric. The President's budget projects the plan will raise $645 billion from these sales between 2012 and 2019.
Unfortunately, this plan will cause substantial electric rate increases for states that receive a lot of electricity from coal generation. The hardest hit will be states like North Carolina where almost 50 percent of our power is generated from coal plants. While we are currently evaluating the estimated rate impacts for this plan, we estimate it could mean an additional retail rate increase of 15 – 20 percent depending on the price of emission allowances.
While we support a long term effort for our nation to achieve a cleaner environment and to become more energy independent, we differ from some of those crafting legislation on Capitol Hill on how to achieve these goals. We believe we should consider the best interests of consumers by balancing the cost to consumers while achieving environmental goals over a longer period of time.
One of the most concerning points about the proposed plan is that most of the money generated from this plan would be used for government programs and initiatives, budget shortfalls, and tax relief. We do not believe it's the best solution for a carbon emissions tax which produces revenue for the federal government to be used for other programs. In essence, this plan will extract significant amounts of money from the south and mid-west areas of the country and redistribute it to other regions.
Now more than ever, we should all be concerned about what rising electricity costs will do to the average family and to additional manufacturing job losses in North Carolina. Let me assure you that Blue Ridge Electric will advocate strongly for a balanced solution that keeps in mind cost impacts for our members. But we need your help to be successful. It will take everyone working together and making our voices heard on Capitol Hill to keep electricity reasonably priced.
Please join with us to ask our elected officials in Washington, D.C., to balance any votes they cast about electricity with the need to keep it affordable. Diversifying our nation's energy portfolio, reducing carbon emissions, and making our country more energy independent are critical issues; how-ever, we need to take a longer-term approach that doesn't put so much additional financial strain on North Carolina families and businesses at this time.
We're asking all of our members to use the web site or toll free telephone number created by the North Carolina electric cooperatives to allow consumers to easily and effectively contact our representatives in Congress. Visit www.findabalancedsolution.com to find a sample letter to which you can add your own comments or send as is. You can also call the toll free 1-877-40-BALANCE to contact your elected officials.
Doing the right thing for the environment is important. As a cooperative, we believe doing the right thing for our member's pocketbooks is equally important. We can balance environmental goals with affordable electricity. We urge you to join with us in this goal by visiting findabalancedsolution.com and make your voice heard.
An Appalachian Summer Festival Finale Concert
with Kenny Loggins
Saturday, July 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Holmes Convocation Center, Appalachian State University
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Adult tickets with Blue Ridge Electric member discount - $25 (regularly $30)
Children's tickets - $5
*All tickets must be purchased through ASU
Sponsored by: Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation
Energy Tips: Your Water Heater
Water heating is the third largest energy expense in your home. It typically accounts for about 13 to 17 percent of your utility bill. Here are several ways to lower your water heating bill:
- Insulate your electric water heater storage tank
- Lower your thermostat setting to 120 degrees
- Install aerating, low-flow faucets and showerheads
- Repair leaky faucets promptly
- Purchase a new, more efficient model
Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Published monthly by Blue Ridge Electric Membeship Corporation
CORPORATE OFFICE
PO Box 112 • Lenoir, NC 28645
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Doug Johnson
EDITOR
Renée R. Whitener
PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
Susan Simmons
DISTRICT OFFICES
Caldwell (828) 754-9071
Watauga (828) 264-8894
Ashe (336) 246-7138
Alleghany (336) 372-4646
From Wilkes (336) 838-4655
PowerLine®: 1 (800) 448-2383
(PowerLine is an automated account information and outage reporting system.)
Toll Free: 1 (800) 451-5474 (for members outside our service area)
To report an outage at any time, call one of the numbers listed above.
OFFICE HOURS
8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday - Friday
Night deposit available
