MTEMC
Online Home Energy Evaluation Want two compact fluorescent lightbulbs and an energy-use thermometer gauge ... for free? Then go to MTEMC’s website at www.mtemc.com and select “Home Energy Audit” under the “Hot Topics” section of the home page. You’ll be able to fill out an online survey designed to help you understand your overall energy use and costs. The survey identifies specific actions you can take to reduce your home energy bills. After completing the information and submitting the results, a free energy conservation kit will be mailed to you. “This is a great opportunity for members,” MTEMC Residential Marketing Supervisor Tom Moreland said. “With summer almost here, which is one of the peak times of year for energy use, those compact fluorescent lightbulbs can help you save on your home’s energy bills.”
Did you know? Tennesseans use more residential electricity per capita than any other state in the country. Source: Energy Information Administration
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The Tennessee Ma g a z i n e
The Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation
Ways to beat the heat on summer electric bills W
Another area to closely inspect and e know we can’t control the summer temperatures that cause be mindful of as you prep your home is ductwork. By repairing air leaks and electric bills to go up, but there are things you can do to help cut costs on sealing and insulating your ductwork, you can be sure there isn’t any disrupyour summer electric bills. tion of airflow and that When the summer air isn’t escaping before months are the hottest, it makes it into your the demand for electricihome. ty increases. This causes A well-landscaped a spike in home energy yard with trees, especialuse and leads to higher ly on the south side of bills for the consumer. your home, decreases Heat-and-air units, your cooling load by which account for more providing necessary than half of electric shading and is another bills, have to run longer way to improve your and work extra hard to home’s efficiency this beat the summer heat. summer. In addition, Since heating and Frank Jennings closing the drapes on the cooling are a major part President sunny side of your house of home energy use, it’s Middle Tennessee Electric during the day is another important to take the Membership Corporation idea to cut costs. necessary steps and These are only a few ensure the effectiveness of many efforts that can help members of this process. One way to achieve this is to caulk lower their electric bills. Although these tips primarily focus on stabilizand weather strip around doors and windows to stop air leaks. Also, seal ing air loss, the box at the bottom of gaps in floors and walls around pipes this page lists other steps to cool down and electrical wiring. If a home isn’t summer electric bills. Also, check out the column on the tightly sealed, the home’s ability to left side of this page to learn about our maintain a consistent temperature is Online Home Energy Evaluation, and disrupted. This causes the heat-andsee page 17 to learn about how you air unit to work much harder and can take advantage of our In-Home ultimately raises the cost of your Energy Evaluation. electric bill.
Five simple ways to cut costs on summer electric bills 1. Replace incandescent lightbulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. 2. Change your air filters monthly and keep them clean. 3. Turn off lights, televisions and computers when no one is in the room to use them. 4. Purchase low-flow showerheads to cut water use in showers by 50 percent to 70 percent. 5. Purchase and install dimmer light switches, which use less electricity.
MTEMC
The Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation
June 2010
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MTEMC
The Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation
MTEMC hosts local youth at leadership summit in Nashville highly competitive and selecannon County High tive process they undergo to School juniors Kayla earn a spot, it’s no surprise.” Head and Drew Gannon got Their two days of activito see firsthand how governties began with leadership ment works recently as Middevelopment programs at dle Tennessee Electric spontheir hotel and visits from sored them on a visit to the special guests, including state Capitol in Nashville. 2009 Miss Tennessee SteThe visit, which included fanie Wittler. meeting state legislators and The second day included sitting in on Senate and the committee meeting visits House committee meetings at and an overview of the legLegislative Plaza, was part of the Tennessee Electric Coop- Cannon County high school juniors Drew Gannon and islative process from TECA Kayla Head, right, both sponsored by Middle Tennessee Director of Government erative Association’s annual Electric Membership Corporation, visit with Sen. Mae Affairs David Callis and two-day Youth Leadership Beavers at the 2010 Youth Leadership Summit in Nashville. State Rep. Phillip Johnson. Summit. The students learned about the importance of electric Head is the daughter of Ronald and Jacquelin Head co-ops through activities where they formed their own of Readyville, and Gannon is the son of Randy and cooperatives and worked to “buy” and “sell” power disJulie Gannon of Woodbury. Both students were among tribution supplies. 44 high school juniors from across the state — two “It’s a privilege to provide these students with the each from 22 Tennessee electric cooperatives — who opportunity to learn about state government and electric attended. “We had another excellent group of outstanding young cooperatives,” MTEMC Community Relations Coordinator Cathy Mitchell said. “It’s great to see so many leaders at this year’s summit,” Joe Jackson, TECA director of youth and member relations, said. “Considering the motivated students in our service area.”
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Post no bills: Attaching signs to utility poles presents safety hazards — and it’s illegal
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lthough seemingly innocent enough, putting signs or other items on utility poles creates serious safety hazards. Staples, nails and tacks used to hang signs — as well as the signs themselves — pose dangers to Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation lineworkers who must climb poles when either restoring power following storms or while performing routine maintenance to ensure system reliability. Posters or other objects (birdhouses, balloons, flags and even basketball hoops) can cre-
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Th e Te n n e s s e e M a g a z i n e
ate dangerous obstacles. Also, the nails and tacks left behind from signs can snag utility workers’ boots or puncture safety clothing, making lineworkers vulnerable to slipping or even electrocution. In addition to being hazardous, tampering with utility poles can be costly. Posting signs or attaching other objects to utility poles is also against the law. MTEMC encourages co-op consumers to contact local zoning officers to inquire about where signage can be posted legally.
MTEMC
The Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation
Q&A ®
Green Power Switch What is Green Power Switch? Green Power Switch is a renewable energy initiative offering consumers in the Tennessee Valley a choice in the type of power they buy. The Tennessee Valley Authority and local public power companies, working with the environmental community, developed the program to bring green power — electricity generated by cleaner, renewable resources such as solar, wind and methane gases — to Valley consumers.
How much does it cost? Green Power Switch is sold to residential consumers in 150-kilowatt-hour blocks (about 12 percent of a typical household’s monthly energy use). Each block adds $4 to the customer’s monthly power bill. Consumers can buy as many blocks as they like. Green Power Switch is also marketed to commercial and industrial consumers, who are asked to buy blocks based on the amount of energy they use.
Does it benefit the environment? The environmental impacts of traditional energy sources such as coal, natural gas, oil and nuclear power can be significant. Although no source of energy is impactfree, renewable resources create less waste and pollution. In fact, an investment of an additional $8 per month on your power bill buys enough green power to equal the environmental benefits of planti-
Sign up! Just fill out this form, cut it out and bring it by your local
Where does green power come from?
ng an acre of trees in the Tennessee Valley.
How is green power produced? TVA built the first commercial wind-powered turbines in the Southeastern U.S. on Buffalo Mountain in Anderson County. Solar generation sites are located in the service areas of participating public power companies. And methane gas is providing power at the Allen Fossil Plant in Memphis, where a methane waste byproduct from the city’s wastewater treatment plant is used for co-firing.
Wind Modern wind machines transfer the wind’s momentum into energy.
How does the green power get to its subscribers? Physical laws determine where electricity is consumed, so power from these sources will go into TVA’s electric system as part of the Valley’s total power mix, rather than to individual homes or businesses.
How many consumers does Green Power Switch serve? Approximately 12,000 households and 513 businesses have signed up for green power in the Tennessee Valley. TVA and more than 100 distributors of TVA power offer green power.
Solar Photovoltaic systems, consisting of semiconductor cells, convert sunlight into energy.
How do I sign up? Fill out and mail in the form below, log on to www.mtemc.com or call your local Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation office at 1-877-777-9020.
What amount of green power would you like monthly? 150 kilowatt-hours ($4)
600 kilowatt-hours ($16)
300 kilowatt-hours ($8)
750 kilowatt-hours ($20)
450 kilowatt-hours ($12)
Other _______________
Name____________________Phone___________
MTEMC office, mail it in with your
Account #_________________________________
bill or simply mail it in by itself.
Signature_________________________________
Methane Methane gas is produced when organic wastes in landfills decay. Generators at methane sites operate year-round. June 2010
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MTEMC
The Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation
April 2010 donations Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee — Rutherford, Williamson and Wilson counties — $3,000 ABLES Recreation Association Inc. — Rutherford County — $4,000 Native American Indian Association of Middle Tennessee — Rutherford, Williamson and Wilson counties — $4,000 Almost Home Animal Rescue — Rutherford, Williamson and Wilson counties — $5,750 You Can Make It Home Ownership Center Inc. — Rutherford County — $4,000 Alert Community Development Inc. — Rutherford County — $10,000 Wilson County 4-H Livestock Group Project — $4,000 Nashville Children’s Theatre — Rutherford, Williamson and Wilson counties — $6,000 Muscular Distrophy Association — Rutherford, Williamson and Wilson counties — $5,600 Cystic Fibrosis Foundation — Rutherford County — $2,500 Wilson County Farm Days — $3,900 North Rutherford YMCA — $5,000 Total — $57,750
Williamson County Red Cross Disaster Relief volunteers display a replica check for $20,000 donated by MTE Customers Care. Red Cross chapters in Rutherford, Wilson and Williamson counties each received $20,000.
MTE Customers Care Inc. Giving back to the cooperative’s communities
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iddle Tennessee Electric Customers Care has donated $60,000 of Operation Round Up funds to the American Red Cross chapters of Rutherford, Wilson and Williamson counties for disaster relief efforts in the aftermath of the May floods that ravaged Middle Tennessee. “Middle Tennessee Electric members can know they are providing relief, comfort and hope to these hurting families devastated by the flood,” said Williamson County
Red Cross Chapter Director Susan Shreve. “This donation will go a long way to provide immediate help.” Operation Round Up is a program where members round up their bills to the next dollar and contribute that change to go back to worthy community causes. Begun in 2003, Operation Round Up has distributed more than $3 million into MTEMC’s communities. For more information, log on to www.mtemc.com or call 890-9762.
Middle Tennessee Electric Customers Care Statement of Finances ROUND UP
Rutherford
Williamson
Wilson
Cannon
Total
Beginning balance
$46,727.74
$16,963.98
$52,937.02
$380.48
$117,009.22
Contributions (incoming) March 2010 March funds available
$18,919.28 $65,647.02
$25,513.90 $42,477.88
$16,188.22 $69,125.24
$2,217.07 $2,597.55
$62,838.47 $179,847.69
Grants (outgoing) April 2010
$33,250.00
$9,900.00
$14,600.00
$0
$57,750.00
*Ending Balance
$32,397.02
$32,577.88
$54,525.24
$2,597.55
$122,097.69
*Leftover balance is awaiting future grant applications. 20
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