For more than 80 years, the hard-working people of Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative have helped to provide power to homes, businesses, factories, schools and houses of worship in Oconee, Pickens, Anderson, Northern Greenville and Northern Spartanburg counties. We are your neighbors, friends and family.

As a not-for-profit utility cooperative, Blue Ridge is an electric distribution company and does not generate its own power. We were created to bring power to areas of the Upstate that investor-owned utilities refused to serve due to the cost of construction in rural and rugged areas. In other words, they simply could not earn a profit due to low population density and higher construction costs. Blue Ridge serves over 73,000 locations and affects the lives of at least 250,000 people daily and those numbers continue to grow. The power we provide is purchased from Duke Energy and Santee Cooper, and then distributed to our members.

Since we announced the emPOWERment rate structure change for residential and general services members, we have received some feedback that there is confusion, as well as misconception, on how the rate structure change will impact our members, and conversely, how Blue Ridge may benefit from it. The rate structure change is revenue neutral for Blue Ridge, meaning that we won't make additional revenue from the change in billing.

The restructured rate rate significantly reduced the kilowatt hour charge and added a demand component, which does two things: (1) gives members more control over their bills, and (2) bills members the same way Blue Ridge is billed by our wholesale power suppliers. In fact, research indicates that more than 80% of members on this new rate structure will see a decrease or nominal change in their bill, even if they choose to not reduce their energy use during the three hour "peak window" each day.

In response to  concerns about power usage during peak hours, we would never suggest that our members go without power or critical appliances at any time, much less during the three hour peak window. While there are many factors that go into determining your bill, the new rate structure puts more emphasis on WHEN you use power and less on HOW MUCH power you use.

Peak hours represent the time that electricity usage is at its highest across the state. Summer peak hours run April 1-October 31 from 3-6 p.m., and winter peak hours are November1-March31 from 6-9 a.m. During those hours, you can control your power consumption and potentially save money by avoiding using major appliance at the same time, like your dishwasher and dryer, and by using a programmable thermostat or water heater timer. The peak charge of $13 per kilowatt is for the single highest hour of consumption during peak times on one single day per billing cycle, not every day.

We encourage you to use the resources at BlueRidge.coop/empowerment to learn more about how it works, strategies for optimizing your power usage and maximizing your savings under the new rate structure change. You are always welcome to contact our member services team at 800-240-3400 to have them walk you through how the emPOWERment rate structure change affects you.

Everyone who works at Blue Ridge Electric lives in the Upstate, and many of us, including me, are co-op members as well. As your co-op, as well as your neighbors, friends and family, we want to help members understand how best to take advantage of this new change.

Jim Lovinggood

President & CEO

Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative