Directors Elected, Updates Given at Blue Ridge Electric's Annual Membership Meeting
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383 ext. 3213; Pager:1-800-471-1323; or E-mail: Renee Whitener
West Jefferson, North Carolina (June 14, 2003) – Four directors were elected to the board of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation today during the cooperative’s Annual Membership Meeting held at Ashe County High School.
Re-elected in uncontested elections to serve three-year terms on the board were: Kenneth Greene of Ashe district, Charity Gambill, director-at-large, Joy Coffey of Watauga district, and Oren Teague of Caldwell district.
President John Woodruff welcomed the crowd of approximately 2,500, followed by Jeff Joines, secretary-treasurer, who reported that the cooperative is in sound financial condition and remains one of the strongest cooperatives in the nation.
Chief Financial Officer Lee Chase reaffirmed that message, adding that Blue Ridge Electric retired $1.1 million to members in capital credits for 2002, providing additional savings for the members. Chase added that the more normal winter weather led to a 3.6 percent increase in kilowatt-hour sales.
Doug Johnson, chief executive officer, reported on key strategic issues for the cooperative.
Referencing the tough economic conditions and significant issues with honesty and integrity some companies in the business world are facing, Johnson said there is good news when it comes to the cooperative way of doing business.
“I’m pleased to say your cooperative has confronted these tough times by staying true to our core values and principles,” he said. “At Blue Ridge, we have used five guiding principles throughout our history that have enabled us to operate this cooperative for 67 successful years. Those principles are to operate with honesty and integrity, be service-minded so that we can deliver exceptionally good customer service, respect and appreciate our employees, demonstrate our commitment to safety and environmental stewardship, and support our communities.
“During these days when many companies seem to have lost their moral compass, I’m pleased to tell you that your cooperative has and always will embrace honesty and integrity in all business dealings and decisions,” he added.
Johnson went on to say that three top service attributes measure how the cooperative is serving its members: reliability, rates, and courteous, competent employees.
“Even in one of the harshest winters in recent history, we were able to keep your power on 99.94 percent of the time last year,” Johnson said. One demonstration of Blue Ridge employees’ commitment to reliability occurred on Christmas Eve, he said, when power was interrupted just as many were sitting down to dinner. “It takes a real team effort to walk away from your families on Christmas Eve. And our employees are that dedicated to serving our members.” Johnson said the current upgrading of transmission lines across the Blue Ridge
system will maintain the cooperative’s strong record of power reliability for the some 65,000 consumers it serves.
Noting that the first rate increase in nearly a decade occurred in 2002, Johnson explained that the cooperative received a 16 percent increase in the price it pays for power to distribute to members. Members saw a 4 percent rate increase along with a wholesale power cost adjustment on their monthly bills. To help control rising costs and eliminate the wholesale power cost adjustment, Johnson said last year the cooperative initiated an extensive power supply study.
“By September, we will have completed a comprehensive power supply study on wholesale power and the Board will decide, upon recommendation from me, whether we will make a change in the way we purchase wholesale power for our members,” Johnson said.
Johnson added that while the cooperative has experienced challenges over the past year, he is very proud of the fact that employees remain committed to meeting members’ needs. “I am convinced that you cannot have the kind of member relations this cooperative enjoys without having a top-notch employee team,” he said. “That’s why I am very proud that the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) shows our overall customer satisfaction ratings put this cooperative in the top 10 electric utilities in America—that’s not the top 10 percent, that’s one of the top 10 companies in the U.S.!, Johnson said.
Johnson also reported on the cooperative’s subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energies, LLC. The subsidiary is on track to meet business plan projections and the vision is to “share the fruit from Blue Ridge Energies” with our member-owners, Johnson said. “We are beginning to set strategy for the profits of the subsidiary to put them back in our communities…in areas such as our schools and hospitals—things that contribute to our quality of life.”
Johnson concluded by saying, “Our promise to you is that we will remain a people-first business for all our member-owners.”
To read about more information regarding Blue Ridge Electric’s year 2002 operations, see its annual report
on-line at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com.
