“It pains me to think people say we’re not doing the right thing. “I’ve had many hours worth of conversations with Mr. Waive the customer service charge for anyone at or below poverty level, waive the reconnect fee one time and send a liaison from the board of directors to organizations such as Hope House in Union County. Pyle also asked why business members have not had an increase in several years, and why there is not more transparency about profit being made by the fiber-optics division.įrank Wilson, who identified himself as a retired Episcopal priest, proposed some policy changes to Blue Ridge Mountain EMC. I am stating very clearly, there is a conflict.” We would like to see a copy of this contract and the section you cannot. “You say TVA says excess revenue cannot be returned to its members. “Bylaws says surplus revenues may be distributed to the members,” the letter says. Marshall also read a letter by Lois Pyle asking for more transparency and saying excess revenues should be returned to the members. Member Terri Marshall thanked the company for working hard and keeping the power from going off like it used to. Another member spoke asking why the customer charge increased 27 percent from 2014-19 when the cost of living has only gone up about 8 percent. Martin also asked why the company is not releasing the customer service charge analysis by Chris Mitchell. It needs to include the business member classes, which have not gotten an increase in their customer charges in years.” “Blue Ridge Mountain needs to be equitable. “Why not institute it or come up with a better plan,” he said. Mazie gave the group’s website as He suggested applying a credit to the electric side of the bill to offset the increase in the customer charge. Furthermore, the TVA has not increased their rates,” he added. “This policy is discriminatory and causes disparate treatment of members in the same member class. “If you are on fixed income, use solar power, monitor your electric usage to keep your bills low, can’t afford to buy new energy efficient equipment, pay your monthly customer charge, even though you don’t use your home for an extended period of time, you may be facing an increased bill, and you will be subsidizing high-energy users whose bills will decrease.” Mazie said Blue Ridge Mountain EMC is not being transparent. Coop members who use less than approximately 970 kilowatt hours each month will face higher electric bills. “Blue Ridge Mountain EMC’s new pricing structure is unfair. “I have a petition signed by more than 120 people in less than one month,” Mazie said, reading from the petition. Randy Mazie addressed the group on behalf of FAIR –Families Against Inequitable Rates. However, because it requires a rolling 20-year commitment, it is important to ensure your EMC does its due diligence to provide the best energy solutions for its members, both now and for the long term.”ĭespite low attendance, several members also took time to express concerns about the customer charge increase effective Oct. “In addition, the TVA has recently introduced a long-term partnership amendment to its power contract. I believe it’s worth noting to our members that your EMC has not had an increase for its own benefit for the past six years,” Nelms added. “After six years of rate increases from TVA, our members and your EMC welcome this much-deserved relief. Be assured, each member is paying their fair share, which will amount to 76 cents a day for the average EMC user’s customer charge. “As a not for profit, we believe it should be spread fairly among all members. “I think it’s in everyone’s best interest to address it and move on,” he said. General Manager Jeremy Nelms told Martin the total savings would have to be calculated after meeting expenses were paid.ĭuring his manager’s report, Nelms said he expects the customer service charge to be part of the public commentary. The Blue Ridge Mountain EMC Board of Directors voted earlier this year to change the meeting to a weekday to potentially save the company from paying Saturday overtime to employees. “This is not a good venue, and there are only about 70 people here,” he said. Gene Mason from Union County, Cory Payne from Clay County and Ray Cook from Cherokee County were all re-elected to another term. According to some members, attendance numbers were low because of the weekday meeting.ĭespite this, a quorum allowed three incumbents to be re-elected to the board of directors without opposition. – Changing the meeting day may have kept some members away from the 2019 annual meeting of Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Cooperative.įor decades, the meeting has been held on a September Saturday, but the 2019 meeting was held at 3 p.m.
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