|
If all 30,000 of Wake Electric
Membership Corporation’s members
purchased and used six energy efficient
light bulbs (known as compact
fluorescent lamps or CFLs), the savings
could be major. In fact, over the life
of the bulbs, consumers could save as
much $276 on their light bill and in
total could save about $8.2 million over
time.
That was one of the messages
that Wake Electric’s General Manager Jim
Mangum shared with members attending the
co-op’s recent annual meeting at
Louisburg College in Franklin County.
In order to drive the point
home, members were treated to a free
six-pack of bulbs to begin the
transition to saving both energy and
money.
(State Representatives
Pricey Harrison of Greensboro and Susan
Fisher of Asheville have sponsored House
Bill 838, which would prohibit the sale
of incandescent light bulbs by 2016, the
same year Phillips, which produces
bulbs, has promised to stop making
them.)
“If members want to keep the
cost of their electricity rates from
rising, saving energy will be crucial,”
Mangum said. “Energy supply is a
critical issue for Wake Electric since
counties in this area are growing so
rapidly.”
The amount of energy needed
to power homes and business in the
co-op’s service territory, which
includes Wake, Durham, Franklin,
Granville, Vance and Nash counties, will
almost double in just eight years,
according to engineers at Wake Electric.
The sky-rocketing rate of
growth in these counties will create a
need of about 1 billion kWh per year.
To put this number into perspective,
Mangum said that the average home uses
around 1,200 kWh on a monthly basis.
Members also learned that in
2006, $50,000 was awarded to local
teachers through Wake Electric’s Bright
Ideas grant program; $7,500 was given in
scholarships, and another $13,500 was
granted in Classroom Technology Awards.
Three members were elected
to the Cooperative’s Board of Directors
to serve three-year terms. They are
Allan Nelson of Stovall for District 1,
Joe Hillburn of Raleigh for District 4
and Joe Eddins of Zebulon for District
8.
Nearly 1,000 people attended
the meeting, including 572 registered
members. Drawings were held for a
variety of electronics and cash prizes.
Cash prize winners include Toni Howard
of Kittrell, $1,000; Isabele Reid of
Bullock, $500; J.V.C. of Wake Forest,
$250; and Queenie Nelson of Oxford,
$250.
Wake Electric, based in Wake
Forest, is a nonprofit electric utility
serving 32,000 consumers in parts of
Durham, Granville, Franklin, Johnston,
Nash and Wake counties.
A number of people in the
Town of Wake Forest are Wake Electric
customers.
(This was written, except
for a few editorial inserts, by Angela
Perez, the new public relations and
communications specialist for Wake
Electric.) |
