Wiktor Wise
Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, also known as Blue Ridge Electric Coop, is a member-owned utility cooperative that provides electricity to 12 cities across South Carolina, including Clemson, Powdersville CDP, Seneca, Welcome CDP, and Central. The cooperative was established on August 14, 1940, and has since grown to serve more than 70,000 customers across five counties, with a total of 72,845 customers as of 2023. Blue Ridge Electric Coop offers competitive rates and is known for its commitment to member-driven operations and reliable service.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of establishment | 14 August 1940 |
| Number of members at establishment | 1,680 |
| Current number of customers | 72,845 (92.50% residential, 7.42% commercial, and 0.08% industrial) |
| Area served | 5 counties, 12 cities including Clemson, Powdersville CDP, Seneca, Welcome CDP, Central, Anderson, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, and Spartanburg |
| Miles of power lines | 7,100+ |
| Average residential price per kWh | 16.86 cents |
| Average monthly electricity bill | $168.81 |
| Average number of minutes for an outage | 168.84 |
| CEO | Jim Lovinggood |
| Net metering | Yes |
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What You'll Learn
Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative's history
Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, a member-owned utility, was formed on August 14, 1940, with 1,680 members. It now serves over 70,000 customers across 5 counties, spanning more than 7,100 miles of power lines.
The cooperative's mission is to provide reliable electric service to its members, with a human touch, ensuring that members receive the highest priority. Blue Ridge Electric is committed to the guiding philosophy of the cooperative business model, where every aspect of the operation is member-driven, not profit-driven.
Blue Ridge Electric has been instrumental in promoting economic development within its 1,800-square-mile territory. Since the creation of the Rural Development Act (RDA) in 1996, the cooperative has allocated over $6,000,000 in RDA funds towards various initiatives, including industrial-park land purchases, building construction, and infrastructure improvements.
The cooperative currently supplies electric power to areas in Anderson, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, and Spartanburg counties, with a focus on dependable service and cutting-edge technology. Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative member CB Dunson has been a lifelong member, highlighting the cooperative's long-standing presence in the community.
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The cooperative's service and business model
Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative was formed on August 14, 1940, and has since grown to serve over 70,000 customers across five counties, spanning more than 7,100 miles of power lines. As a cooperative, Blue Ridge Electric is a democratically governed enterprise that is jointly owned by its members. Each member has an equal vote in electing the board of directors, and profits are either reinvested into infrastructure or returned to members.
Cooperatives are often formed to meet common economic, social, and cultural needs through shared ownership and democratic control. They can take many forms, including worker cooperatives, consumer cooperatives, producer cooperatives, and hybrid cooperatives. For example, a worker cooperative is owned and managed by the people who work there, while a consumer cooperative is owned and managed by its customers. Cooperatives can operate across a wide range of industries, including agriculture, insurance, banking, and energy.
The cooperative business model offers several advantages. From a business perspective, cooperatives provide members with limited liability, meaning they are not personally responsible for the cooperative's financial difficulties or wrongdoing. Cooperatives also allow for the transfer of shares between owners. Socially and democratically, cooperatives help to rebalance power and distribute wealth more equitably. They promote shared prosperity and enable broader participation in the economy.
The cooperative model also fosters direct benefits for its members, including market information, technical assistance, collective bargaining power, bulk purchasing advantages, and access to external markets. Additionally, cooperatives can provide financial self-sufficiency through sales to members and commercial markets, with surpluses used to subsidize member services. In the case of utility cooperatives, such as those providing electricity or water, profits can be reinvested in infrastructure improvements or distributed to members as patronage or capital credits.
Overall, the cooperative service and business model of Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative aligns with the broader principles and advantages of cooperatives. Through democratic governance and joint ownership, cooperatives like Blue Ridge Electric aim to meet the economic, social, and cultural needs of their members while contributing to a more equitable distribution of wealth and power.
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Energy loss and rates
Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, which was founded on August 14, 1940, currently serves over 70,000 customers across 5 counties. The company does not produce its own electricity but purchases it at wholesale rates for resale to end users. The average residential power bill for a Blue Ridge Electric Coop customer is $168.81 per month, with a rate of 16.86 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Energy loss is an inevitable part of the electricity transmission process, and companies must report these losses to government agencies. Blue Ridge Electric Coop has reported an average energy loss of approximately 3.63% of its total electricity production, ranking them 19th best out of 44 providers in the state.
Blue Ridge Mountain EMC, which supplies electricity to 5 counties and 5 cities, has reported a slightly higher energy loss of 5.61% annually. This ranks them 1154th out of 3530 suppliers nationwide.
Blue Ridge Electric Coop offers various rate schedules and programs to its customers. For instance, Schedule GS is available to commercial and general service members with a maximum load requirement of less than 25 kilowatts. The company also offers net metering, which allows customers with solar and other alternative energy sources to sell unused kilowatt hours back to the grid.
Additionally, Blue Ridge Electric Coop provides opportunities for members to offset their energy requirements with member-owned renewable energy generation systems. These systems can be wind-powered, photovoltaic, or micro-hydro, with a nameplate rating of up to 25 kilowatts.
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Blue Ridge Electric's coverage area
Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative was formed on 14 August 1940. Since then, it has expanded its customer base from 1,680 members to over 70,000 across five counties and more than 7,100 miles of power lines.
Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative is committed to keeping its customers informed about service disruptions. The cooperative provides an online Outage Map that customers can use to check the status of outages in their area. The map provides up-to-date information on the total number of customers without power and the affected areas. Customers can enter their address or zip code to narrow down the map and view detailed summaries of outages in their immediate vicinity.
Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative offers a range of residential and business electric rate plans, including single-rate, time-of-use, and peak-rate plans for residential members. Customers can also take advantage of the cooperative's online payment portal to make payments and view their bill history.
The cooperative also provides a 24/7 customer service hotline that customers can use to report outages and ask questions. Additionally, customers can mail in their payments, use the online "Pay My Bill" feature on the Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative website, or visit one of their many local payment centers to make in-person payments.
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How the cooperative generates power
Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative was founded on August 14, 1940, and has since grown to serve over 70,000 customers across five counties, utilising more than 7,100 miles of power lines. As a not-for-profit utility cooperative, Blue Ridge does not generate its own power. Instead, it purchases power from wholesale suppliers like Duke Energy and Santee Cooper, and distributes it to its members.
Blue Ridge was established to bring power to areas that investor-owned utilities refused to serve due to the high construction costs and low population density. Today, it provides power to a diverse range of locations, from homes and businesses to factories, schools, and houses of worship. The cooperative's mission is to ensure reliable electric service for its members, with a focus on the Upstate region.
The cooperative's rate structure is designed to give members more control over their bills. It emphasises the time of power usage rather than the amount consumed, aligning with how Blue Ridge is billed by its wholesale power suppliers. This innovative approach has resulted in decreased or nominal changes in bills for the majority of members, even during peak hours.
Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative is committed to empowering its members with knowledge about their power usage. They provide resources and strategies to help members optimise their power usage and maximise savings under the new rate structure. The cooperative encourages members to contact their member services team to understand how the rate structure changes affect their individual circumstances.
The cooperative's dedicated staff, many of whom are also co-op members, are neighbours, friends, and family to the people they serve. This sense of community is integral to the cooperative's success and its ability to provide reliable power to the areas it serves.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Blue Ridge Electric is a cooperative that provides electricity to its members.
Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative currently serves more than 70,000 customers across five counties, with 72,845 customers in 12 cities in South Carolina.
The average residential bill is $168.81 per month, with rates highest in September and the highest average bill in July.
Blue Ridge Electric Coop purchases power through the wholesale electricity market. In 2023, they bought 1,158,732 megawatt hours on the wholesale market.
Blue Ridge Electric Coop prioritises its members over profits. They employ cutting-edge technology and a human-centric approach to provide dependable service to their members. They also promote economic development within their territory and have invested in various community development initiatives.
