Grid Service Charge | Blue Ridge Energy

*If you would like to receive a detailed monthly bill each month, please contact your local Blue Ridge Energy office and request an "unbundled" billing statement.

The Key to Reliable Electric Service

Many monthly utilities, such as your home phone, cell phone, cable or satellite TV service utilize some form of monthly charge to cover the cost of providing service to your home. For each Blue Ridge Electric member, this monthly charge is called the Grid Service Charge. It is a monthly, fair share investment that assures you have power when you need it.

When you need electric power, all you have to do is flip a switch or plug into an outlet. What happens before that flip of the switch is a significant commitment of time, equipment, facilities and people your cooperative already has in place to ensure that power is there when you need it.

Recent reliability ratings rank Blue Ridge Electric as keeping the power on 99.98% of the time. Our customer service scores rank among the top performers in the nation, 13 points higher than the industry average. Our commitment to you is superior reliability and customer service, now and in the future. This high level of service requires an equal investment from each Blue Ridge Electric member.

The Grid Service Charge ensures that your expectations for continuous power and outstanding customer service are met. It gives each member a fair and equal share in the cooperative's operation. It provides funds that must be invested now to ensure that electricity is delivered now and in the future. We are looking out for you and want to help you understand just what it takes to keep the power on. It is our commitment to each member to continue providing reliable power that produced recent reliability ratings of having the power on 99.98% of the time and customer service scores that rank your cooperative among the top performing utilities in the country.

*If you would like to receive a detailed monthly bill each month, please contact your local Blue Ridge Energy office and request an "unbundled" billing statement.

Services Covered

The power delivery system (substations, distribution lines, transformers, power poles, etc.)
Maintenance crews and equipment and the circumstances they work in:
Severe winter weather that increases repair and replacement costs
Mountainous terrain which requires more of an investment of time and money for equipment installation
Operations centers, local offices and staff
Attentive 24/7 customer service
Billing and account information
Metering

Works for Every Member

The Grid Service Charge means every member is Equal.

Many things go into providing reliable power. Blue Ridge Energy operates, maintains and continues to improve the entire system for every existing and future member. When present and future costs of operating and upgrading our grid services as well as the administrative, maintenance and service are included, the average expense per member for residential service reaches thousands of dollars. These costs are shared by the membership in the form of a fee called the Grid Service Charge. This figure was determined through a cost-of-service study that revealed the fair share amount each member should contribute to ensure reliable service now and in the future.

We continue to invest in all our systems and operations so each member, no matter where they are, enjoys reliable power.

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