Membership Matters

July 2010

Handling CFLs Safely

Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) can help you save money and energy since they use up to 75 percent less electricity than traditional incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer.

However, concerns over the mercury in CFLs have raised questions about their proper disposal. CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury — an average of three milligrams — sealed within the glass tubing. By comparison, older thermometers contain about 500 milligrams. Mercury is an essential part of CFLs: it reacts with the phosphorous coating and argon gas on the inside of the glass tube to produce light while using very little electricity. CFLs are safe to use in your home as no mercury is released when the bulbs are in use and they pose no danger to you or your family when used properly.

The following tips are recommended for safe CFL handling:

Carefully handle CFLs when removing packaging, installing, or replacing them.
Hold the bulb by its base and not the glass part.
Never forcefully twist the CFL into a light socket.

If a CFL breaks, follow these guidelines:

Open a window and have all people and pets leave the room for 15 minutes.
Carefully sweep up fragments, wipe the area with a wet paper towel, and dispose of all fragments (including the used paper towel) in a sealed plastic bag.
Use duct tape to collect small glass fragments from carpet.
Don’t use a vacuum cleaner as it might stir up the remaining dust and vapor.
North Carolina residents can dispose of CFLs in their household trash.

Recycling or disposal:

Recycle CFLs when they no longer work and aren’t broken.
Blue Ridge Electric has helped Caldwell, Ashe and Watauga counties set up CFL recycling programs. Contact your county for convenience center locations.
Most Lowe’s locations began accepting CFLs for recycling earlier this year.

The Perspective

An Editorial by Chief Executive Officer Doug Johnson

Keeping Electricity Affordable

While climate and energy policy legislation is currently mired in a political battle in Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving forward with its plan to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG). In December 2009, the EPA which is part of the executive branch of our federal government, issued its finding under the Clean Air Act that six GHG emissions constitute air pollution that endangers public health and welfare.

The initial finding relates to cars, trucks, planes, and trains only. Unless Congress acts to stop the EPA from regulating GHG under the Clean Air Act, the Agency will move soon to apply the same finding to stationary sources such as coal-fired generating plants.

We believe the Clean Air Act was never intended to be used as a way to regulate GHG. In fact, the word carbon dioxide is never mentioned in the Act. Simply stated, it’s the wrong tool to handle the job and it’s going to cause significant new costs for consumers without having gone through a national policy discussion and legislative action in Congress.

As we look for a common sense energy policy for our country, I believe we can address the GHG concern without creating burdensome new costs for consumers.

Electric cooperatives are asking Congress for legislation that’s fair, affordable, and technologically achievable. Any legislation should also preempt use of the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon. Failure to make this change will only add to costs for consumers and create overlapping regulatory red tape.

Cooperatives have a long history of providing safe, reliable, and affordable electricity. We believe we should embrace a national low carbon energy policy that includes expanded use of nuclear power and natural gas. In addition, we should pursue technologies that allow us to capture and store carbon emissions from coal plants and increase our utilization of renewable and energy-efficiency resources.

We will continue to monitor and work for your best economic interests as this challenge continues to unfold over the next year or so. But we need your help in relaying to Congress just how important it is to keep climate change and energy policy legislation fair, affordable, and technologically achievable. To make your voice heard, join the Our Energy, Our Future® grassroots awareness campaign at www.ourenergy.coop.

Capital Credits Allocation on Your Bill

Your fiscal year 2009 capital credits allocation of the cooperative’s total margins is listed on your July bill. You are not receiving a refund at this time; the allocation is simply one of the first steps in the annual capital credits process. A refund back to members would follow next May upon a capital credits retirement as approved by your board of directors next year.

Your allocation is based on the amount of electricity you purchased last year. This amount is added to the total, ongoing capital credits account balance you have with the cooperative. Capital credits are not held in an account as funds; instead, they are either distributed to members in the form of capital credits payments or reinvested into utility infrastructure. This is an underlying principle of the cooperative business model and is one more way we keep your electric rates as low as possible. Capital credits are one of the benefits of belonging to a cooperative.

More News...

Supporting Local Communities

Awarding scholarships and leadership opportunities to deserving students in the cooperative’s service territory is one way Blue Ridge Electric supports local communities. Following are this year’s winners:

Goodman-Hurt Scholarship Winners:

$2,000 - Nicholas Miller, Roanoke College

$1,000 - Alyssa Bouchard, University of North Carolina, Wilmington; Cody Poarch, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Chandra Houck, Appalachian State University; Amber Haga, East Tennessee State University; Chelsea Jones, Salem College; Jacob Brooks, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Rachel Hoffman, Undecided

$800 - Brandon Malcolm, Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute; Mariah Barnes, Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute; Jessica Scarborough, Wilkes Community College; Christina Coe, Wilkes Community College

$500 - Dustin Roten, Appalachian State University; Stephanie Cox, East Tennessee State University

Charles Suddreth Memorial Scholarship Winner:

$800 - Alaina Wallace, Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute

Youth Tour Winners
Selected for the National Rural Electric Youth Tour in Washington, DC: Sarah Clampett, Ashe District; Kelly Greene, Watauga District; Terra Davis, Caldwell District

For more information on youth opportunities sponsored by Blue Ridge Electric, visit BlueRidgeEMC.com or contact your local Blue Ridge Electric office.

New Ashe District Office Now Open

Blue Ridge Electric’s Ashe District office moved to its new location on Monday, June 21. The new office is located at
2375 NC Hwy. 163, West Jefferson.

Ability to serve the growth in the number of members in the past 40 years since the former office was constructed, as well as safety concerns for large vehicles moving power poles and other equipment in and out of a road that now experiences a much higher traffic level, were key factors behind the need for a new office.

The new office has been carefully planned and budgeted. It has been designed to be energy efficient, fit in well with the surrounding environment, and constructed to serve Ashe County members for at least the next 40 years.

Members Only

An Appalachian Summer Festival Member Discount Available

As part of Blue Ridge Electric’s sponsorship of An Appalachian Summer Festival’s concert featuring Blood, Sweat & Tears, Blue Ridge Electric members are eligible to receive discounts on tickets to the event. The concert will be held Saturday, July 24, starting at 7:30 p.m. in Holmes Convocation Center on the campus of Appalachian State University (ASU).

Members of Blue Ridge Electric can call the box office at ASU at 1-800-841-2787 or order online at the box office link from BlueRidgeEMC.com to receive $5 off the regular ticket price of $30. Tickets for children 12 and younger are $5 each. Members should have their Blue Ridge Electric account number handy when ordering.

An Appalachian Summer Festival is a cultural arts program of ASU. The month-long arts festival features visual and performing arts for all ages. Blue Ridge Electric sponsors An Appalachian Summer Festival as part of its commitment to local communities.

Being Smart with Energy

Electric fans are both functional and decorative. They can provide comfort or ventilation when used in the summer and can effectively reduce your energy usage by creating a cool breeze which allows you to raise your thermostat setting.

Find out how the little changes add up at TogetherWeSave.com.

Correction: In the Blue Ridge Electric Members Foundation Annual Report that was delivered within the cooperative’s overall annual report last month, there was an incorrect notation on page 6 that the financials were listed in “dollars in thousands.” The financials were listed in their actual amounts.

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
Wilkes (800) 451-5474
PowerLine® 1 (800) 448-2383
(PowerLine® is an automated account information and outage reporting system.)

Toll Free 1 (800) 451-5474
(for members outside the service area)

To report an outage at any time,
call one of the numbers listed above.

OFFICE HOURS
8:30 am - 5:00 pm, Monday - Friday
Night deposit available.