Four County Electric Membership Corporation held one of several community meetings at Wesley’s Chapel UMC multi-purpose building Tuesday evening. Over 70 coop members registered, enjoyed a burger, chips and a soft drink and heard company representatives give an update on their energy supplier.
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Before the formal meeting began, Seventh District Congressman David Rouzer made a brief visit.
Four County VP Dan Allen provided an update on damage from the recent storms. According to Allen, damage was widespread, but the Tobemory and White Oak areas suffered more intensive damage. He explained that key transport lines must be restored before residential concerns can be dealt with.
Allen then spent considerable time explaining the relationship between new solar systems and power companies, including Four County EMC. He said Four County supported and used power provided by solar systems. However, solar systems are not bound by law to provide a set amount of power and Four County must have a source that can be depended on all the time. He mentioned the swine waste operation near Bladenboro that provides electricity for 300 homes in the area as a good source of power.
He discussed electric rates and a rate study that will be undertaken shortly and his predication was the usage continues to rise and the cost will as well. The majority of power distributed by Four County is provided by Duke Power Progress, and it is the most dependable source of energy.
Four County offers numerous ways to help control the cost of electricity.
Peggy Bennett, another Four County spokesperson continued the discussion promoting the use of Energy Star appliances and reminded those in attendance that rebates were available on refrigerators, dishwashers, and some other appliances. Members were encouraged to get more info by contacting a Four County office. She also warned of Scam Alerts.
Chris Ingram, Four County Marketing Manager then spoke of new features designed to save on the cost of electricity. What’s in the future and how technology has caused utilities bills to rise.
About half your monthly bill each month if for heating or cooling. Other sources account for the other 50%, and one of the fastest rising portion relates to technology needs, according to the speaker.
Ingram cautioned about heating and cooling systems that had mechanical problems, how unreliable thermostats, space heaters, old refrigerators in a storage room and clogged filters could affect your EMC bill. Undersizing and oversizing of heating and cooling systems is a problem as well. And according to Ingram, systems should be serviced by a certified technician a couple of times a year.
Four County has numerous help programs. Consumers are encouraged to contact them for more information and to sign up.
The Tuesday meeting is one of several in the Four County service area.
Four County is a cooperative owned by the consumers.
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