Replacing meters
PROUD OF OUR
PROGRESS
Utilizing “Smart Grid” techno
Replacing lights with LED
Providing battery back-u
Offering a PrePay option
Purchased solar Ren
able Energy Certificate Installed a solar array
Offers an Electric Vehicle Rate
charging stations Provided Classroom Technology grants
Awarded Bright Ideas teacher gra
Gave scholarship Issued grants to local nonprofit agencies
initial deployment of a “self-healing” grid Wake Electric 2 017 A N N U A L R E P O R T
wemc.com info@wemc.com
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CEO AND BOARD PRESIDENT MESSAGE
PROUD OF OUR
PROGRESS Over the past 20 years, Wake Electric has been among the fastest growing electric cooperatives in North Carolina. Nationally, the average number of meters served by a typical co-op is 14,300. Wake Electric, at more than 43,000 meters, is three times larger. Not only has Wake Electric provided affordable and reliable electricity during this time of explosive growth, the co-op has also become one of the most technologically progressive utilities in the nation. In December 2017 and January 2018, central North Carolina experienced extraordinarily cold weather, causing members to use much more electricity to heat their homes and water than they normally would at this time of year. During such times of demand and high usage, Wake Electric does not increase rates and our members pay the same rate amount that they do at any other time of the year. Some members used two to three times more power than usual to keep warm, causing a higher monthly bill. Wake Electric’s system was able to efficiently handle these high loads, thanks to system made strong by continuous upgrades and improvements. Wake Electric is here for you, working all year to maintain a healthy, balanced system. That work has included:
Replacing all of our meters with Advanced
Metering Infrastructure (AMI), which allows our members access to their hourly usage.
Utilizing “Smart Grid” technology to pinpoint fault locations, which means faster restoration. Automated switches provide fast isolation of outage areas and improved system resiliency.
Replacing all of our area lights, parking lot
lights and streetlights with new LED units at no additional costs to members.
Providing battery back-up on all traffic lights in our territory. The batteries can power the traffic lights for four hours. This enhances public safety when there is a power outage in our area.
Offering a voluntary PrePay option to pay
electric bills. This allows members to pay no late fees, transaction fees, or connection/disconnection charges. No deposits are required. More than 1,700 members have selected the PrePay option.
Reliability and customer satisfaction are top priorities of Wake Electric. For outage times, Wake uses the major event day method for calculating the system average interruption duration index (SAIDI). In 2017, our index was 72.8 minutes. The five-year average is 73.5 minutes. A regional for-profit utility reported its SAIDI of nearly double that of Wake Electric at 144 minutes for 2016, which means their customers were without power twice as much as Wake Electric members. The co-op also participates in surveys to evaluate our members’ satisfaction with their electric service. Our score for the fourth quarter of 2017 was 83, a higher score than many other utilities in the region.
Renewable energy and electric vehicles are also a focus of the co-op. Wake Electric:
Purchased solar Renewable Energy Certifi-
cates (RECs) equal to 65 million kilowatt hours. This is equivalent to 10,000 residential rooftop solar installations.
Installed a solar array at our Wake Forest facility. Offers an Electric Vehicle Rate, and provides EV charging stations at our offices in Wake Forest and in Youngsville. We also provide stations at the Louisburg Airport in Franklin County.
2 PROUD OF OUR PROGRESS
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Not only has Wake Electric provided affordable and reliable electricity during this time of explosive growth, the co-op has also become one of the most technologically progressive utilities in the nation.
Wake Electric is an engaged corporate citizen. As you’ll see in this report, in 2017, we provided:
Classroom Technology grants Bright Ideas teacher grants Scholarships for college and community college tuition, basketball camps, and youth tours to Washington, D.C.
Grants to local nonprofit agencies
Wake Electric’s progressiveness continues.
Our distribution system is already 43 percent underground.
Wake Electric completed initial deployment of its self-healing grid in 2012. In 2017, the co-op continued improving efficiencies, making us one of the fastest healing grids in the nation.
We think when you read this year’s report, you’ll see that our members are enjoying the benefits of grid modernization. We operate with the same commitment and conviction that electrified rural North Carolina more than 75 years ago. Our employees demonstrate the spirit, strength and imagination to meet the challenges of today and the future.
Jim Mangum CEO
Reuben Matthews Board President WAKE ELECTRIC ANNUAL REPORT 3
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PROUD OF OUR
PROGRESS
Operation RoundUp grants to nonprofits
$36,839
Bright Ideas teacher grants
$50,000
College scholarships
$23,000
COMMITMENT TO
COMMUNITY
Sent 2 students to Touchstone Energy Sports Camps at NCSU and UNC-Chapel Hill
Wake Electric & employee contributions to United Way
$10,000
Classroom Technology grants to public schools and community colleges
Strong supporter of local chambers of commerce.
Sent 2 high school students on Youth Tour to D.C.
Give us an “A” program granted Visa gift cards to students with “A” grades on report cards
$20,000
$3,200
4 PROUD OF OUR PROGRESS
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COMMITMENT TO
SERVICE
Every year, Bright Ideas grants fund interesting projects.
PrePay grew to over 1,700 members; a no deposit, pay-as-you go program Wake offered a residential Time of Use pilot program — 80% of participants remains on the rate after the pilot was over
ns
Over 50% of members have signed up for SmartHub, our online service Call volume continued to drop, even with meter growth on the system. More and more members choose to use SmartHub and other electronic means for bill payment and communication with the co-op. 75% of all payments made in electronic form
Electric vehicles on our system increased to 40
WE Care Recap for 2017 BEGINNING BALANCE 1/1/2017
Contributions Received Bank Fees/Check Reorder Interest Earned TOTAL FUNDS AVAILABLE
$194,856
147,610 – 1,067 $343,533
Community Grants lice Aycock Poe Center A Franklin County Education Foundation Middlesex Volunteer Fire Department Optimist International Special Olympics of NC Wake Forest Area Crisis Tri-Area Camp Kanata Pillow Packs Assistance League of Triangle Franklin Granville Vance Smart Start American Red Cross Autism Society of NC Bailey Fire Department Brassfield Volunteer Fire Dept Feeding Franklin, Inc Franklin County Cooperative Meals on Wheels of Wake County Northeast Wake Backpack Buddies Vance County 4-H Care & Share of Franklin County Transitions Lifecare COMMUNITY GRANTS TOTAL
$(36,839)
Educational Achieved 99% AMI deployment 11 members installed residential solar panels, bringing total to 75 members
Bright Ideas Teacher Grants Classroom Technology Grants 2017 Rural Electric Youth Tour Wake Electric Scholarships Give Us An “A”
(49,364) (19,000) (6,800) (23,000) (3,248)
EDUCATIONAL GRANTS TOTAL
$(101,412)
MEMBER ASSISTANCE ENDING BALANCE 12/31/17
(11,000) $194,282
WAKE ELECTRIC ANNUAL REPORT 5
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COMMITMENT IN THE FIELD
2017 innovations and successes include: Upgrading the Franklinton substation Saving hundreds of thousands of dollars through conservation voltage reduction (CVR) Converting vast majority of residential and commercial street lights to LED lighting Achieving a distribution system of 43% underground
Our Consumers 2016
41,935
2017
43,593
TOTAL CONSUMERS
2016
39,562
2017
41,264
RESIDENTIAL CONSUMERS
RESIDENTIAL KWH SALES (EXCLUDING SEASONAL)
$565,464,741 in 2016 $575,800,788 in 2017 TOTAL KWH SALES
732,471,000 in 2016 747,869,863 in 2017 AVERAGE MONTHLY KWH/RESIDENTIAL CONSUMER
1,215 in 2016 1,163 in 2017
T otal miles of line Transmission 2016 58 2017 58 Overhead 2016 1,850 2017 1,847 Underground 2016 1,315 2017 1,371 Total Miles Energized 2016 3,223 2017 3,276
6 PROUD OF OUR PROGRESS
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THE FINANCIALS
Wake Electric continues to be one of the fastest growing co-ops in North Carolina and in the nation. We continue to balance costs, affordability, and reliability as part of our continued commitment to our members. Consolidated Balance Sheets
How your co-op dollar ASSETS Utility plant was spent in 2017 AS OF DECEMBER 31
Property, plant, & equipment Less: accumulated depreciation Net plant Construction work in progress T OTAL NET UTILITY PLANT
2017
$243,384,575 (60,488,793) 182,895,782 5,816,831 188,712,613
2016
$233,881,588 (55,828,364) 178,053,224 3,832,545 $181,885,769
Interest expense Margins 7.1¢ 6¢ Administrative expense Customer 4.7¢ Taxes service 1.4¢ 4¢
OTHER ASSETS Investments in associated organizations 18,232,039 16,643,638 1,598,317 1,518,172 Economic development project investments 1,810,879 1,810,879 Other investments 306,246 1,510,472 Nonutility property TOTAL OTHER ASSETS
21,947,481
$21,483,161
CURRENT ASSETS & DEFERRED CHARGES Cash & cash receivables 693,115 516,799 10,505,188 9,544,003 Accounts receivable, net 5,316,312 4,566,471 Other current assets 517,406 757,296 Deferred charges TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS & DEFERRED CHARGES 17,032,021 $15,384,569 TOTAL ASSETS
$227,692,115
$218,753,499
Operations & maintenance
Cost of purchased power
EQUITIES & LIABILITIES 62.2¢ 6.6¢ Equities Depreciation Membership fees $191,660 $183,995 8¢ Patronage capital 77,699,823 70,416,351 Other equities 4,966,994 4,780,688 TOTAL EQUITIES 82,858,477 $75,381,034 TOTAL LONG-TERM DEBT
114,413,846 $117,206,465
CURRENT LIABILITIES Current portion of long-term debt 1,834,000 1,731,000 Operating line of credit 5,924,122 8,983,468 Accounts payable & deferred credits 18,983,427 12,067,633 Other accrued liabilities 1,952,142 1,731,361 Consumer deposits 1,726,101 1,652,538 TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES $30,419,792 $26,166,000 TOTAL EQUITIES & LIABILITIES
$227,692,115
$218,753,499
Consolidated Statement of Operations As of December 31 OPERATING REVENUE
2017
2016
$88,481,742
$86,566,286
OPERATING EXPENSES Cost of purchased power 54,966,226 55,625,038 Operations & maintenance 5,833,429 6,038,434 Consumer accounting 2,988,012 2,998,010 Consumer service & information 559,414 534,743 Administrative & general 4,251,387 3,704,061 Depreciation 7,063,129 6,774,547 Taxes 1,225,748 1,785,328 TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSE 76,887,345 $77,460,161 OTHER INCOME/EXPENSES Interest expense on debt (5,292,616) (5,411,904) Patronage capital from other cooperatives 2,595,594 2,542,086 Wake Electric’s financial records were audited by McNair, Other income/(expenses) (238,615) 78,564 McLemore, Middlebrooks & Co., LLP of Macon, Georgia. TOTAL OTHER INCOME/EXPENSES (2,935,637) ($2,791,254) The reports for the fiscal years ending December 31, 2017 NET MARGINS
$8,658,760 $6,314,871
and 2016 are available for review at the cooperative’s facility in Wake Forest, NC.
WAKE ELECTRIC ANNUAL REPORT 7
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CEO AND BOARD PRESIDENT MESSAGE
PROUD OF OUR
PROGRESS
Granville
Wake Electric’s board members focus on regulatory and compliance matters, strategy, risk management, leadership development, affordability, and reliability. Our board understands that co-ops must continuously evolve and embrace new technology as the electric grid becomes smarter and smarter.
Vance
Durham
Franklin
Nash
Wake
Reuben Matthews PRESIDENT
Suzy Morgan VICE PRESIDENT
Joe Eddins SECRETARY
Middlesex, District 9
Wake Forest, District 5
Zebulon, District 8
Mike Dickerson TREASURER
Greg Fuller
Joe Hilburn
Zebulon, District 2
Raleigh, District 4
Bob Hill
Allen Nelson
Rodney Privette
Wake Forest, District 6
Stovall, District 1
Rolesville, District 7
Johnston
Wake Electric is headquartered in Youngsville and serves 43,500 consumers across its service territory. The co-op’s Customer Service Center is located in downtown Wake Forest.
Oxford, District 3
P.O. Box 1229, Wake Forest, NC 27588 919.863.6300 800.474.6300 wemc.com 8 PROUD OF OUR PROGRESS
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