Members can expect to see reduction in rates in October
COVID restrictions made the 2020 annual meeting of Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Corporation look more like the parking lot of a drive-in movie, than a membership meeting. Intermittent rain showers greeted attendees of the electric membership cooperative’s 82nd annual meeting held Sept. 24 at the company’s headquarters in Young Harris.
Registration began at 4 p.m. but rather than waiting in lines of people to register for door prizes and voting as in past years, members remained in their vehicles while waiting in line behind other vehicles. Each driver was directed through the operations gate and into the company’s warehouse, a few cars at a time. Inside, employees greeted drivers, asked their names and presented them with a reusable bag filled with household items like an extensions cord, a wall charger, a nightlight and more. Anyone who had not voted for board members was also able to vote from their cars.
As at previous annual meetings, every member was given an entry ticket for door prizes. However, members did not need to be present to win, as in past years. The names of everyone who voted will be placed in the drawings which will be held Wednesday, Sept. 30. It appeared most people left after they received their prize bag but those who stayed, parked in front of the company’s truck shed to wait for the 5 p.m. business meeting. They remained in their vehicles to hear the meeting via a specified FM radio station. Board of Directors President Ray Cook began with an invocation and welcome for members. Then he gave special recognition by reading a resolution in honor of former BRMEMC Board Director Charles Jenkins who died earlier this year.
Farewell remarks were shared by outgoing General Manager Jeremy Nelms, who thanked the members, employees and board of directors for their support during his tenure at BRMEMC. He also shared successes he had experienced through the four years he spent at the co-op. Then Nelms introduced interim General Manager Erik C. Brinke, who has been a BRMEMC employee for 18 years. Brinke provided a biography, along with the manager’s report for the past year. The most encouraging news for members may be a temporary rate reduction from the Tennessee Valley Authority, which will be passed to members beginning Oct. 1, 2020 through Sept. 20, 2021. The average residential electric customer will see a reduction of around 1.4 percent for their KWH usage.
According to Brinke, the cooperative has maintained a strong financial position in terms of equity and paying down long-term debt. Electric rates held steady over the past year and the company has seen unprecedented growth to its service area. Highlights included: • BRMEMC currently maintains 6,200 miles of electric lines, 54,537 meters, 47,000 members and more than 10,000 broadband customers. • The company added a net total of 400 new members in July and August 2020. • Also in those months, 571 work orders were completed, and BRMEMC’s customer service department took 24,000 calls and served 1,200 walk-ins. • BRMEMC used partnerships with TVA and CoBank to secure $30,000 in monetary funds for food banks in the five counties. • BRMEMC installed its first electric vehicle charging station at the Blairsville/Union Chamber of Commerce. • All of this occurred while the company worked safely through the COVID 19 pandemic and maintained its five-county power grid at the same time. Brinke assured members BRMEMC will continue providing them with the best reliable energy, while also expanding broadband, and offering exceptional customer service. After meeting formalities and nominating committee reports, BRMEMC attorney Charles Autry presented election results from the 5,960 members who voted. The results were: • Board of directors incumbent Jeff Ledford from Clay County, was re-elected. • Board of directors incumbent Bert Rogers from Towns County, was re-elected. • Board of directors incumbent Danny Henson won the contested seat for Union County, Ga. No other director positions were open for the 2020 election.
A by-law amendment passed 77 percent to 23 percent in favor of directors being allowed to remain in their elected position for no more than five consecutive three-year terms from the time of their respective election at a meeting of the members. Cook adjourned the meeting at 5:50 p.m. by thanking everyone who attended, as well as BRMEMC employees for their continuous hard work and a successful meeting. In 2019, the annual meeting location was moved to the company’s headquarters on a weekday as a cost-saving measure. Prior to that, the meetings were held for many years on a September Saturday at the Anderson Music Hall, followed by two years at Union County Schools Fine Arts Auditorium. The 83rd Annual Meeting is scheduled for September 2021. Information is available at: www.brmemc.com/ annualmeeting.