Albemarle Soundsis published monthly by

Albemarle Electric Membership Corporation

P.O. Box 69Hertford, NC 27944 (252) 426-5735

Gary RayGeneral Manager

Chris PowellEditor

Visit our Web site at:www.aemc.coopFor outages, call1-800-274-2072

Dial Before DiggingYou never really know what’s below the surface when you dig. You may chop right into underground power lines. In addition to causing outages, this is very dangerous. Before digging in your yard, have the underground electric lines located. Please give us three days notice before you dig. Call us at (252) 426-5735.

April 2014 Proudly serving the members of Albemarle Electric Membership Corporation

Albemarle EMC Carolina Country APRIL 2014 21

Members to Receive Capital Credit Refunds

Albemarle EMC is pleased to announce a capital credit general retirement of $382,580.54 in April.

If you were a member in 1987 or in 2012, you should receive a refund. These credits will be stated as a Capital Credit Refund on your bill. If you have several accounts, the sum of the refunds will be credited to only one of them. Members that received power during those years but no longer have active accounts will receive their credits via check.

“We are always pleased when we can return capital credits back to the members,” said Gary Ray, general manager of Albemarle EMC. “A big difference between electric cooperatives and other utilities is that co-op members are also owners and share in any margins that the cooperative

generates.”Capital credits are the year-end margins of the co-op. Once audited and approved

by our Board of Directors, they are allocated to each member, based on their electric usage (patronage) for that year. They are a primary source of equity and are refunded to members when the financial condition of the cooperative permits it.

Allocating and retiring capital credits are two practices that distinguish nonprofit, member-owned cooperatives from for-profit, investor-owned utilities. Albemarle EMC uses a method of capital credit requirement known as First-in, First-out/Last-in, First-out. This means we refund margins for the oldest years and the newest years on our books. This general retirement will refund the $269,013 remaining balance for 1987 plus $113,567.54, which is 8 percent of 2012 margins.

Historically, capital credits were retired during the month of December. However, in 2013 the Albemarle EMC Board of Directors approved shifting any annual general retirements of capital credits to the earlier months of a year, as opposed to the last month. The change allows the co-op to make a more informed decision about the dollar amount and years to retire. There were several end-of-year expenses that affect the co-op’s books. The amount of these entries were not known until after the general retirement had been completed in early December.

Happy Easter!

Albemarle EMC will be closed April 18 for Good

Friday.

Albemarle EMC Carolina Country APRIL 20014 22

A large number of Perquimans members turned out for the Educating Members Countywide forum, recently held at Albemarle EMC’s office, in Winfall.

The hour-long meeting included information on a wide variety of topics. Jonetta Long, manager of corporate services, started off the program with a presentation regarding the cooperative’s new member portal, accessible through www.aemc.coop. Members were instructed how to go the portal to set up an online account. Next, she demonstrated how to go the My Alerts page, and establish text and/or email alerts for issues such as late payments, returned checks and other payment issues.

Long then demonstrated how to access electricity usage by clicking on the Usage tab, then selecting Usage History. By entering a range of dates, members can see their daily and even hourly usage during that period of time. The usage page also shows outside temperatures during the period, so members can correlate their usage with weather trends.

“We think this tool can be very helpful to you,” Long said. “You’ll be able to learn more about how much you use, when you use it, how weather can affect your usage, and you may consider changing habits.”

A new billing method was also discussed, called the Pay As You Go Plan. Still in the testing phase, the new plan will enable members to pay for electricity before electricity is used instead of after.

Because electricity is paid for in advance, members will owe a much lower security deposit. Those who participate will be able to make payments as often as they like and in the amounts they desire. Members will be able to see how much electricity they have left by visiting the co-op’s web page. Members without Internet can set up email, phone and text alerts to notify them when their electricity is low. Testing of the Pay As You Go Plan will be conducted in March and April of this year.

Chris Powell, communications coordinator, gave a presentation regarding the proper use of space heaters. Powell explained to members how to calculate the usage of a typical space heater. Members should use space heaters for limited amounts of time and in confined spaces.

He also spoke about the mini-split ductless heat pump systems, which are a new and growing trend in the U.S. Powell explained that the ductless mini-split heat pump systems are almost as efficient as geothermal heat pump systems but cost much less.

Operations Manager Glenn Parks gave a presentation about portable generator safety. A portable generator should never be connected to a home’s main wiring system. A portable generator should be used to provide power directly to individual appliances. Also, portable generators should never be operated indoors because the motors exhaust carbon monoxide, which can be deadly if

inhaled.General Manager Gary Ray gave the

last presentation, talking about the effects the extreme cold had on power bills for the month of January. Albemarle EMC experienced its highest peak load ever at 77 megawatts. That usage resulted in a $2 million power bill for the wholesale electricity the co-op purchases to distribute.

“Almost everyone had higher than normal usage during the month of January,” Ray said.

Ray also spoke about a few weather related outages as well as why extreme cold weather can make it very difficult to restore power. He concluded by reminding members that the co-op had given back almost $900,000 in wholesale power cost adjustment credits during 2013. In addition, $1.8 million in margins for 2013 went to patronage capital, which will be disbursed to members when those capital credits are retired.

Large Turnout for Perquimans Forum

A large showing of Albemarle EMC members attended the recent member forum for Perquimans.

Boys and Girls Club of Edenton-Chowan

Receive Grant

The Boys and Girls Club of Edenton-Chowan recently received a $4,505.47 grant from the Albemarle Community Trust. The funds will be used to purchase new basketball goals and athletic benches at its facility.

Co-op Receives High Marks During Inspection

A recent inspection by the Rural Utilities Service rated Albemarle as satisfactory, which is the highest rating possible.

An RUS inspector reviewed all aspects of Albemarle EMC’s transmission and distribution facilities, operations and maintenance and engineering.

Albemarle EMC relies on low-interest loans from RUS to improve and expand its plant. As such, RUS requires participating co-ops to pass an inspection to ensure the co-ops are operating within certain standards.

“It is important that we meet or surpass RUS guidelines,” said Kevin Heath, supervisor of engineering. “This inspection is a seal of approval regarding how the co-op is run, and it is necessary to remain properly financed.”

How Albemarle EMC works to provide its members with the highest-quality service possible.

At Your Service

Albemarle EMC Carolina Country APRIL 2014 23

Communication with Members is Key to SuccessThe turnout of Perquimans members

for the recent Educating Members Countywide forum was truly reaffirming to someone such as myself.

Having spent the majority of my career informing the public about various topics, there have been times when I

wondered if the messages being sent out were falling on deaf ears. That wasn’t the case this past February when Perquimans

members turned out in record numbers to hear various co-op personnel speak about issues of importance. We can’t stress enough how much it means to us that co-op members are willing to take the time to attend one of these events to learn about their co-op and the role they play in it. Needless to say, the members in attendance that night were polite, respectful and asked good questions.

The employees of Albemarle EMC take communicating with members seriously. Members are also owners and, as such, deserve to be kept in the loop regarding co-op activities. To that end, we conduct member forums, which are now in their second year. Each one is held in the county that members live to lessen drive times as much as possible. Remaining forums for 2014 will be held in Chowan, Pasquotank and Camden counties. At these forums, members receive pertinent information. Members are also given an opportunity to fill out political action cards that the co-op uses

to lobby state and federal legislators on behalf of members.

Equally important, members have the chance to ask questions and meet the employees that work hard to keep the lights on.

Albemarle SoundsOf course it goes without saying that

the flagship of our communication effort is the “Albemarle Sounds” newsletter, which you are reading right now. To make sure that members still desire information in magazine form, we sent out a survey in 2013 that asked which means of communication members prefer. The survey indicated that 57.7 percent of members prefer Carolina Country, which includes the Albemarle Sounds. When asked if they were aware that the Albemarle Sounds’ purpose is to inform members about their co-op, 87.5 percent indicated they were aware, and a similar percentage indicated they read it each month.

We’ll continue to deliver a high quality publication to your mailbox each month. In each issue, you can expect to find the latest news on infrastructure improvements, energy efficiency, technological implementations, member meetings and much more.

Fast InformationWhen we need to get information to

members fast, we have several methods. The tried and true are press releases, which we depend on the local press to run. We also have the home page of our Internet website (www.aemc.coop) where press releases are also published. In addition, we utilize Facebook, which is a

form of social media. Members can find our Facebook page by typing Albemarle Electric Membership Corporation in the search box, then clicking like on our page. Facebook is where members will find concise pieces of information.

On occasion, we also utilize a phone system called Telelink, which enables Albemarle EMC to make automated calls. This feature came in handy when we had to cancel the first Perquimans forum for this year because of snow. When we used Telelink to notify members of the new date for the forum, the response was very positive. It is likely we’ll continue to use Telelink to remind members of upcoming meeting dates. Please stay on the line if you receive one of these automated calls.

Annual Meeting In addition to participation in the

cooperative’s governance, the company’s Annual Meeting provides an excellent opportunity for two-way communication. Each September, the membership meets in Hertford to conduct the co-op’s business. Most years, we have energy efficiency displays, informational videos, handouts and a question-and-answer table staffed with employees from each department.

Lines of CommunicationOf all the methods we have to reach

members, my personal favorite is the one that begins with a handshake, a smile and my undivided attention. Two people meeting as equals to exchange information and ideas — I doubt any better method will ever be developed.