4 S O U T H C A R O L I N A L I V I N G | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009 | S C L I V I N G . C O O P

Co-opConnection

President and CEOE. LeRoy “Toy” Nettles, Jr.

Chairman, Board of TrusteesJames A. Goodson

TrusteesJule Conner

Preston Gainey

David Howell

Louise Kelley

Hamer Parnell

Fred Riales

W. F. Rogers

LaShon Sellers

Don Teal

Pat Thomas-Toney

Office Hours8 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Friday

Corporate Headquarters1355 East McIver RoadPO Box 491Darlington, SC 29540

District Office 1811 North 501 BypassMarion, SC

Report Power Outage (843) 665-4070 Toll-Free (866) 747-0060

Web sitePeeDeeElectric.com

Co-op News Editor Tom Kinard

MARCH IS A GOOD TIME TO CONSIDER ONE OF

the “greenest,” most environmentally friendly energy sources, wind power.

We’re excited that one of our power suppliers, the state-owned utility Santee Cooper, is conducting tests into the potential of wind power along the SC coast. We have high hopes for

wind and other sources of “homegrown” power.

Earlier research indicated there are virtually no onshore wind resources for large-scale power generation in SC. As for offshore wind, it’s estimated that would be productive only 25 to

35 percent of the time. Folks in our industry refer to wind power plants as “intermittent generation.” But our members expect non-stop electric service, not on-again, off-again power.

PDEC plans far ahead to secure long-range contracts for the most reliable, affordable power available. Our generation and transmission co-op, Central Electric Power Co-op, contracts with Santee Cooper and, now, with the investor-owned utility Duke Energy. We resell this electricity to our members on a not-for-profit basis.

Co-ops continue to support the development of renewable resources. We give our members a chance to help. Thanks in part to your support of the Green Power program, Santee Cooper is growing its fleet of Green Power generating stations.

Construction has begun at the Georgetown County Landfill for the system’s fifth landfill-gas powered station. It’s projected to be completed

next spring and will generate about 1 megawatt (MW) of electricity. The fuel is naturally occurring methane, a potent greenhouse gas captured from decaying garbage.

Four existing landfill power plants, including one in Bishopville produce 52.6 MW of power. In the grand scheme of things, that’s a fraction – 1 percent or less – of power supplied to co-op members and Santee Cooper customers. Still, it’s nothing to sneeze at.

Landfill generation is not fickle, like wind. At times like early January, when Arctic air pushed temperatures way down and power demand way up, we need all the “juice” we can get. Wind power plants might be able to help at these times. Key word there: might.

And while the wind may be “free,” large-scale wind power plants aren’t. No power plant comes cheap. That’s one reason PDEC promotes energy efficiency. After all, the cheapest power plant is the one you never have to build. That’s also why we give you tools to help you manage your energy use, including advice in this magazine.

At Pee Dee Electric we continue to seek out renewable energy sources that are environmentally responsible, economically reasonable and as reliable as possible. There’s nothing intermittent about that commitment.

E. LeRoy “Toy” Nettles, Jr.President and CEO

A Commitment That’s Not Intermittent“Green” is good, but not always reliable.

S C L I V I N G . C O O P | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009 | S O U T H C A R O L I N A L I V I N G 5

News

Speaking of Water Heaters . . . .

What are the Advantages of Paying My Bill Online?THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ADVANTAGES TO PAYING ONLINE.

First, it's fast: When you pay online, we credit your payment to your Pee Dee Electric account as soon as we receive authorization from your credit card company, which is virtually immediate.

Second, you know we've received your payment and when.

Third, convenience. You can pay your bill anytime, day or night.

Fourth, it will save you money and time on stamps, trips to the post office, waiting in line, etc.

Fifth, convenience. It takes just a few key strokes and you’re done!

Sixth, go paperless. Sign on to your E-Bill account and follow the prompts.

Need more reasons?

Access our Web site PeeDeeElectric.com.

Call customer service: 843-665-4070 or866-747-0060 toll free.

TOM KINARD

Jeff’s Energy TipThe government will pay you to save money. See the details on page 20A. It’s for March.

If you’re a pine board, but not at least 80 years old, Clark Nolan doesn’t want you. The story of Clark’s Antique Wood starts on page 20B.

Page 20D has more details on the SC Appliance Rebate program that begins on March 31st.

PDEC has helped power up a Web site full of educational tools for teachers and fun learning experiences for students.

PalmettoPower.com includes activities, lesson plans and materials about electricity and energy that correspond with the S.C. Department of Education standards for science. Central Electric Power Cooperative, the generation and transmission co-op for Pee Dee Electric Cooperative is a major sponsor of the site.

Log on today!

PalmettoPower.comEmpowers Teachers, Kids

HEATINGCOSTS

COOLINGCOSTS

HEATINGCOSTS

COOLINGCOSTS

$ $Jeff’s Energy Tips

Jeff Singletary • PDEC Energy Expert

With the very cold weather during the winter and the forecast of a hot summer ahead, it seems like our power bills are skyrocketing. Yes and no. A lot of people have a “knee jerk” reaction to cold temperatures and automatically turn their thermostat much higher than needed to try and warm their home quickly. When the bill comes in, these folks find that turning the heat above 68 degrees cost a lot of money.

Heat pumps respond to your wishes and will use the built-in heat strips to warm a home to whatever temperature you set. The problem is heat strips are like sponges ― they love electricity. Although heat strips are not involved in the summer, turning the temperature below 78 degrees on hot days cost money ― a lot of it.

Each month, we try to get information to all the members of Pee Dee Electric Cooperative through South Carolina Living magazine, brochures, radio

ads, billboards and other methods. This information, if used correctly, can actually hold your power bill down. Yes, even at 68 degrees in the winter, your heat pump will work harder because the outside temperature is very low. In the summer, your cooling system will work harder just to keep the inside temperature at 78 because, many times, the outside temperature is 20 to 30 degrees warmer (hotter!).

But how do you do this and still stay comfortable ― especially now? You use all the tips you can and you even get the federal government to help you. And now is the time to get that help.

The idea of living in a more efficient home and paying lower utility bills has widespread appeal. But finding ways to pay for the needed improvements can be difficult during hard economic times.

Fortunately, the federal government offers two ways to recover some of your

expenses when planning upgrades: energy efficiency tax credits and renewable energy tax credits.

Uncle Sam offers a personal tax credit of up to to $1,500 for energy-efficiency measures made on existing homes in 2009 and 2010. You can recover 30 percent of the cost of adding insulation materials and exterior doors, windows and roofs designed to help reduce your home’s heat loss or gain. The credit also covers efficient central air conditioners, air-source heat pumps and biomass stoves.

Go online for complete guidelines: EnergyStar.gov, keyword “tax credits.”

You can also find the booklet, “101 Low-Cost/No-Cost Home Energy Saving Measures” online at the PDEC Web sitePeeDeeElectric.com or you may drop our office and pick one up. These booklets will save you money. Call me with questions: 843-665-4070 or toll free 866-747-0060.

Quik Quiz

Want to save money on your bill?

Want a free in-home display unit to track your energy use in near real-time?

If you answered “yes” to both quiz questions and if you’re a member of Pee Dee Electric Cooperative, you may be eligible to apply for the program. Log on to HelpMyHouse.org/powermonitor for complete details.

Applications are due no later than

April 30.

In reality, any of the above answers would be partially correct. The wood is between 80 and 200 years old and comes from parts of three old houses. The parts were put together like a jigsaw puzzle in 1995 - making the house, technically, only 15 years of age.

The top floor of this house on the Highway 501 By-Pass near Marion is the home of Clark Nolan, a Pee Dee Electric member since 1991. The first level is a showroom filled with beautiful wood products including tables, newel posts and a double, tile-topped vanity, all displayed on recycled pine, tongue and groove flooring. The flooring is made in a large milling/warehouse building behind the old house. The business is Clark’s Antique Wood.

At one time the wood being converted was removed from long deserted houses, but for the last several years, Mr. Nolan has been buying southern pine from northern mills. An explanation: After the Civil War one of the few commodities the south could sell to the north was timber, especially pine. This pine

This House/Showroom is: 15 Years Old

110 Years Old

200 Years Old

was not like the evergreen we’re used to seeing today. Most of the pine today is planted in long rows and harvested after a certain number of years. The grain of today’s pine is much wider and the wood actually softer than that produced by nature over many years of growth. The pine marketed in northen states to provide construction material for industrial plants was sold in long, wide planks of nominal measure.

Now, with plant closings and jobs being outsourced in other lands, many of these factories are being demolished. “Mr. Clark” buys the planks, has them shipped to his operation in Marion and mills this beautiful wood into luxurious wood flooring. All wood is at least 80 years old and some is as old as 200 years.

TOM KINARD

TOM KINARD

Clark Nolan told the writer, “If this house had been built 200 years ago, you would see 7 or 8 chimneys sprouting from the top and sides.” Clark’s Antique Wood on the 501 By-Pass in Marion is open Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.

(Clockwise from Top Right) 1) Clark Nolan points to mitered boards in showroom floor. The major inventory is Southern Select or Country Classic wood flooring, but the company also sells to the hobbyist. “We’ll sell one board or a thousand.” 2) A shiny custom door front. Clark’s offers design service to finished product. Mr. Nolan’s daughter and son work with him in the business. 3) A round, pedestal dining table. 4) A heavy, trestle table that was made on site. If you like, they’ll tell you how to build this project, sell you the wood, plus explain how to get the lustrous, matte polyurethane finish. 5) Not many samples look this good. The collection of newel posts is just an example of the custom work available. Notice, too, the quilt racks, ready to keep grandma’s favorite winter-warmer ready for duty at the foot of the bed.

5)

4) 3)

Nothing goes to waste. The old nails pulled from this south-to-north-and-back-to-south wood is sold as scrap, sawdust is sold to paper mills, shavings are sold in big bags for pet bedding, garden mulch , and many uses on the farm and, of course, some of the most charming wood flooring anywhere.

Clark’s wood flooring is in great demand. Oprah Winfrey has it in one of her homes. Famous Aussie Golfer Greg Norman enjoys his shiny pine flooring. Racing icon Roger Penske had it installed in his Hilton Head mansion. And, maybe, many people in South Carolina’s low country and the Charleston area are walking on remilled and refinished boards originally sold by some of their forebears.

TOM KINARD

TOM KINARD

TOM KINARD

TOM KINARD

Clark Nolan told the writer, “If this house had been built 200 years ago, you would see 7 or 8 chimneys sprouting from the top and sides.” Clark’s Antique Wood on the 501 By-Pass in Marion is open Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.

(Clockwise from Top Right) 1) Clark Nolan points to mitered boards in showroom floor. The major inventory is Southern Select or Country Classic wood flooring, but the company also sells to the hobbyist. “We’ll sell one board or a thousand.” 2) A shiny custom door front. Clark’s offers design service to finished product. Mr. Nolan’s daughter and son work with him in the business. 3) A round, pedestal dining table. 4) A heavy, trestle table that was made on site. If you like, they’ll tell you how to build this project, sell you the wood, plus explain how to get the lustrous, matte polyurethane finish. 5) Not many samples look this good. The collection of newel posts is just an example of the custom work available. Notice, too, the quilt racks, ready to keep grandma’s favorite winter-warmer ready for duty at the foot of the bed.

1)

3)

2)

Background photo is actual pine flooring at Clark’s Antique WoodTOM KINARD

20D S O U T H C A R O L I N A L I V I N G | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009 | S C L I V I N G . C O O P

appliancerebates.sc.gov

ApplianceRebate Levels

Clothes WashersDishwashersRefrigerators

Room AirConditioning Units

Central AirConditioning Units

Heat PumpGeo-Thermal

Heat PumpGas Furnace

Gas-CondensingWater Heater

Electric Heat PumpWater Heater

Hi-Efficiency GasStorage Water HeaterHi-Performance Gas

Storage Water HeaterGas TanklessWater HeaterSolar ElectricWater Heater

Solar GasWater Heater

$100

$500$200

$50

$50$50

$100

$400

$400

$500$500

$400

$400

$400

$200

South Carolina residents can receive rebates ranging from $50 to $500 for the purchase of new, ENERGY STAR certified, refrigerators, dishwashers, certain water heaters and other appliances starting March 31, 2010. This program is funded by our state’s share of federal stimulus funds earmarked for appliance rebates. Each state operates its own program and the Palmettos State’s program is operated by the Budget and Control Board’s SC Energy Office.

► Program launches March 31. Purchases prior to March 31, 2010 are not eligible for rebates. Program ends when funds ($3.9 million) are exhausted.

► Vendor Information and Applications are on the Web site.

► For appliances bought in-store, the rebate will be applied instantly at the register. Installers of whole-house equip- ment such as water heaters and HVAC systems will re- serve rebates online and provide customers with mail-in forms. No rebates on on-line items.

► Customers who purchase a new appliance must allow contractors and retailers to remove and recycle their old appliance. Recycling insures inefficient appliances are removed from the power grid.

► For Pee Dee Electric members, although state rebates are not available for energy efficient electric water heaters, the H2O Select water heater program continues to pay you up to $250 for your purchase of a new, electric water heater. See PeeDeeElectric.com or call 843-665-4070 (toll free 866-747-0060) for complete details.

► Pee Dee Electric Cooperative also offers rebates when you install a Dual Fuel heat pump ($500 per system - limit two per household) or a Geo-Thermal heat pump system ($200 per ton, up to $1,000). South Carolina rebates are in addi- tion to Pee Dee Electric’s rebates.