embership M
03 TWENTY TWENTY TWO
MATTERS
Beat T he Peak Actions and savings add up! Members participating in Beat The Peak as well as other cooperative efforts are producing positive results! Members participating in Beat The Peak, combined with the cooperative’s other electric demand reduction programs, have produced power cost savings of around $2.1 million since the program began in 2018. The amount saved in 2021 totaled nearly $602,000, which is the most annual savings achieved in the four years of the program. Since wholesale power cost is the single largest utility expense, efforts to reduce this cost benefits members by helping hold down member rates. The power of joining together is growing! Members are signing up for Beat The Peak alerts by text, phone or email at BlueRidgeEnergy. com/BTP. Alerts are sent when extreme temperatures cause energy demand from consumers to reach critically high levels, which are typically a few hours on the coldest winter mornings or hottest summer afternoons. Beat The Peak is voluntary. By signing up to receive alerts, members can plan to take a few simple actions during the peak period: adjust thermostats a few degrees, delay using large appliances such as clothes washers and dryers, and turn off any unnecessary lights. Sign up today using one of the options below! • • •
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Sign up online at: BlueRidgeEnergy.com/ BTP Text BTP to 70216 to receive text alerts Download our mobile app and enable notifications
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THE
Perspective T hank you f or your ser vice! I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize a very dedicated individual who diligently represented you on the Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation (Blue Ridge Energy) Board of Directors and has retired effective January 31, 2022. Joy Coffey, of Watauga County, served on the Board for 25 years and was secretary-treasurer for 14 years. She also served on many board committees, including chair of the Compensation Committee. During her career in banking, she held both vice president and senior vice president positions. This made her uniquely well qualified as she served Blue Ridge Energy with the highest levels of professionalism and care.
From Blue Ridge CEO Doug Johnson
During her distinguished service to the cooperative, Joy earned her Director Gold, Board Leadership, and Credentialed Cooperative Director certifications from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the service organization for more than 900 not-for-profit electric cooperatives providing service to 42 million consumers in 47 states. Joy is also to be commended for her involvement and dedication to her community—a foundation upon which a cooperative is built.
She served as former Board member and officer of WAMY Community Action, Inc. and charter member of the Rhododendron Charter Chapter of American BusiLike the other members ness Women’s Association, of your Board, Joy repreas well as director/treasurer sented the entire of Watauga Hunger Coalition membership of Blue Ridge and as a fund raiser for the Energy. In addition to American Heart Association, regular Board and American Cancer Society, Joy Coffey committee meetings, your Watauga Medical Foundation directors spend hundreds of hours each year and CCC&TI Foundation. She served in various roles for Oak Grove Baptist Church where in state and national training to stay informed she’s been a member for 48 years. She and and knowledgeable in every aspect of the her husband, Lewis, a retired high school electric utility industry to perform their fiduciary duties and serve in the best interests principal, live in the Foscoe community. of the membership. This training includes Please join me in recognizing Joy Coffey and cooperative governance, policy development, in giving her our sincere appreciation for her strategic planning, power supply, risk management, technology, safety and dedication, leadership and outstanding service government affairs. to Blue Ridge Energy, our members and our communities!
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Director Proxy Committee to be appointed
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As part of the director election governance process, giving members an option to vote for cooperative directors by mail or internet, a Director Proxy Committee will be appointed by the Board of Directors at their regular March board meeting. This committee will be made up of three directors whose terms are not expiring and who are not running for re-election this year to the Board of Directors. As stated in the cooperative’s Bylaws, the Proxy Committee serves multiple roles for the membership. First, the committee will cast votes for all members designating their preferences selected on their submitted electronic or paper proxy forms. Secondly, the committee will serve as a proxy for any member wishing to assign their vote for director elections to the committee. Lastly, the committee will cast votes for members who return their proxy but do not make a choice on the voting options. Director election kits will be mailed, or sent by email to members who have requested to receive this information electronically, on May 25, 2022. The notice of Annual Meeting, along with information about board candidates, will be part of the director election kit.
Membership MAT TERS
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Members have convenient options to vote by internet or mail, and therefore, are not required to attend the Annual Meeting in order to vote for directors. However, members who have not voted by the deadline date of June 15, 2022 at 5 pm, or who voted by internet or mail, but wish to change their vote, must attend the Annual Meeting in order to do so. Members wishing to be considered for nomination to serve on the Board of Directors have two options: the Nominating Committee or Nomination by Petition. Interested members must first submit a director application packet, which is available by contacting Julie O’Dell, chief administrative officer, Blue Ridge Energy, at jodell@ blueridgeenergy.com or by calling 1-800451-5474, ext. 3202. The completed packet is due by 5 pm, Tuesday, March 1, when using the Nominating Committee process or by 5 pm, Friday, April 1, when using the Nomination by Petition process. For a complete list of qualifications and requirements to serve as a director of the cooperative, please refer to the cooperative’s Bylaws available at BlueRidgeEnergy.com under Company>Board Governance> Corporate Documents or by contacting any Blue Ridge Energy office.
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Power Out? Check Your Breaker First Severe weather can cause outages, but sometimes power can be affected only at your home for other reasons. You may be able to get power back on quickly if it’s simply an issue with your home’s circuit breakers. If your power goes out, first check your home’s breakers by following these steps: •
Go to the main circuit breaker (electric panel) in the house or building.
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Find the breaker switch that has tripped and moved to about halfway between the “off” and “on” positions.
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To reset the tripped breaker, move the switch all the way to its “off” position, then back to “on.”
Please note that if you live in a mobile home, apartment, condominium or a residential service where the meter is located on a member-owned structure or pole, your main breaker may be located here as well.
If there are no tripped breakers and these steps do not restore power, report your outage to Blue Ridge Energy in one of the following ways: •
Call our PowerLine at 1-800-448-2383. Have the phone number and service address listed on your account handy or your Blue Ridge Energy account number.
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Log into “My Account” at BlueRidgeEnergy.com to report it online.
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Use the Blue Ridge Energy mobile app.
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*Text your outage when you sign up for Outage Texting by texting START to 70216, then “OUT” to report an outage. You must use a cell phone number that is currently listed on your account. * Message and data rates may apply. Frequency may vary. Go to
BlueRidgeEnergy.com/outagetexting for privacy and terms information.
Visit us on the web: BlueRidgeEnergy.com CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Doug Johnson EDITOR Renée R. Whitener PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Jacob Puckett
Membership MAT TERS
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DISTRICT OFFICES Caldwell Watauga Ashe Alleghany Wilkes PowerLine*
TOLL FREE (828) 754-9071 (828) 264-8894 (336) 846-7138 (336) 372-4646 (800) 451-5474 (800) 448-2383
(800) 451-5474
OFFICE HOURS: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM Monday - Friday Kiosks available
(PowerLine* is an automated account information and outage reporting system)
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