Currents

COMPILED BY VICTORIA SCHARF DECASTRO

North Georgia EMC employees Mark Pace, right, and Ken Bain lead a crowd of walkers in the 2008 North Georgia Memory Walk. (Photo by Jeff Rancudo, North Georgia EMC.)

Memory Walk

More than 30 employees at Dalton-based North Georgia Electric Membership Corp. (NGEMC), along with their friends and family, participated in the North Georgia Memory Walk for Alzheimer’s last September at Dalton State College in Dalton. NGEMC employee Mark Pace, age 94, who lost his wife, Alva, to the illness in December 2007, served as honorary chairperson.

Special T-shirts, which read “On PACE to beat Alzheimer’s,” were made in Pace’s honor for the NGEMC walkers.

Before the walk, Pace spoke to the crowd of more than 200. “God bless you. God bless Dalton. And God bless America,” he said.

In 2008, NGEMC raised almost $7,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association through various fund-raising activities.

FBI: Copper theft poses national security risk

A new FBI report warns that copper theft has become a national security issue.

“They are currently disrupting the flow of electricity, telecommunications, transportation, water supply, heating, and security and emergency services, and present a risk to both public safety and national security,” the report says of copper thieves.

Despite warning signs, copper thieves risk their lives breaking into substations, an act the FBI warns is a threat to the nation’s critical infrastructure. (Photo by S. Sheppard/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM.)

The FBI’s intelligence assessment notes that several states are responding with tougher laws governing scrap metal sales.

With fines low and jail time short in many cases, the report says Americans can expect copper theft to be a problem for the foreseeable future.

“The global demand for copper, combined with the economic and home-foreclosure crisis, is creating numerous opportunities” for thieves, the report says, noting that empty homes are enticing targets.

Tucker-based Georgia Electric Membership Corp. (EMC) has been out front unifying co-ops, investor-owned utilities, phone companies, law enforcement and others in combating metals theft.

“In Georgia, we’re continuing to battle this epidemic by coordinating with businesses, local prosecutors, chiefs of police and sheriffs to increase awareness of theses crimes and to encourage arrests and convictions,” says Bill Verner at Georgia EMC.  

—Source: Electric Co-op Today

Carroll EMC employees wore pink to show their support on Breast Cancer Awareness day at Carroll EMC last October. Back row, from left, Carol Carmichael, Lori Large, Chip Jakins, Kim Daily, Kathy Moravec and Renee Carroll. Front row, Jo Ann Bennett, Kathy Stephens, Lawana Jones, Donna Pullen, Susan Lester, Dana Dixon, Latasha Vaughn and Lorin Cooke. (Photo by Trina W. Farris, Carroll EMC.)

A great place to work

Georgia Trend magazine recently selected Carroll EMC in Carrollton as one of the best places to work in Georgia. The magazine’s editorial staff selected the winners from more than 400 nominations submitted by employees of various businesses across the state, including government offices, educational institutions and nonprofits. Carroll EMC and the other selected companies were featured in the November 2008 issue of Georgia Trend.

“We strive for a family atmosphere at Carroll EMC,” says CEO Chip Jakins. “Everyone looks out for one another, and we care about our fellow employees both personally and professionally, which ultimately helps us to better serve our members and the community.”

Georgia’s Energy Outlook

Water vapor coming out of cooling towers at nuclear power plants is completely safe. (Photo by Joe Gough/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM.)

More nuclear power in Georgia’s future

Be honest. When you woke this morning and reached for the bedside lamp, did you consider, for even one second, that it might not come on? Did you wonder whether your electric razor would be charged and ready to go? Or, whether there would be hot water for that much-anticipated shower?

Chances are it probably never entered your mind. Except in rare cases or an extreme weather event, we generally take for granted that electric power will be available to light our homes, power our appliances and make our lives easier.

But, electric power does not magically appear out of the air. Like other commodities, it must be manufactured and shipped into our homes, schools or businesses.

One of the most reliable and affordable ways we generate round-the-clock electricity in Georgia is with the state’s two nuclear plants, Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro and Plant Hatch near Baxley. These facilities, which were placed into service in the 1970s and 1980s, have operated effectively and safely since they went on-line, pumping out millions of kilowatt-hours of electric power for our use 24 hours a day.

Most EMC (electric membership corporation) consumers in the state are able to benefit from these plants because Oglethorpe Power Corp., an EMC-owned power supply cooperative, is one of the owners of both plants. Oglethorpe Power, which serves 38 Georgia EMCs, owns a 30-percent interest in the Vogtle and Hatch facilities and receives 30 percent of the power they produce. This power is then supplied to Oglethorpe Power’s EMC owners. 

The impact of these nuclear plants is considerable. In 2007, for example, Hatch and Vogtle produced nearly 40 percent of all the electricity supplied by Oglethorpe Power to its member EMCs.

Now, plans are under way to expand Plant Vogtle and roughly double its output. The operator of the plant, Southern Nuclear (a Southern Co. subsidiary) has applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a combined construction and operating license. If granted, this would allow Southern Nuclear to begin construction, with plans to bring these new nuclear units into service around 2016.

Like the existing generating units at Plant Vogtle, these new units will be owned by Oglethorpe Power, Georgia Power Co., MEAG Power (supplier to municipal utilities in Georgia) and City of Dalton Utilities.

Plant Vogtle’s planned expansion is part of a nuclear power revival in the U.S. that is being encouraged by several factors. First, the regulatory process has now been streamlined, making it easier to anticipate and control costs and schedules. Second, the NRC will review and preapprove standardized equipment designs that can be used across the industry. Finally, anticipated climate change regulations are likely to severely restrict carbon emissions from fossil-based plants in the future, making no-emission nuclear plants even more attractive.

Alternative forms of power generation, conservation and energy-efficiency measures will all be a part of our energy future in Georgia. However, as Georgia continues to grow, the new Vogtle units will play a vital role in producing the steady supply of electric power necessary to help make sure that we can all enjoy our computers, flat-screen TVs and, someday soon, maybe even our electric cars.

Co-ops and Congress: Together we can keep electricity affordable

In these hard economic times, many are struggling to afford the basics: food, housing and energy.

Increases in the price of electricity have been more moderate in Georgia compared to the rest of the country. But, costs will continue to rise—and today’s electricity supplies won’t be able to keep pace with future demand.

We need an answer right now to keep our electricity affordable.

The solutions won’t be easy—but America’s electric cooperatives are ready to work with Congress toward an energy plan we can all afford.

Ask your elected officials to work with America’s consumer-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperatives. Together we can face these hard times with resolve to build a brighter future. Visit www.ourenergy.coop and get started.