Latest Headlines
Please visit this page often for the most up-to-date information regarding Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative. It is possible to view the entire documents by clicking the "more" links below.
7/7/2010 SVEC REQUESTS THAT MEMBERS CURB ELECTRIC USAGE
MT. CRAWFORD – A request is being made by Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC), that due to extreme heat conditions and excessive energy consumption across the east coast, members make every attempt to conserve electricity during the peak demand time this evening, from 1-7 p.m.
Any unnecessary electrical usage should be curtailed to a minimum during this time, as electricity supplies are tight. SVEC members can take simple electricity conservation steps:
- If health permits, set air conditioner thermostats higher than usual.
- Close curtains and blinds to keep out the sun and retain cooler air inside.
- Postpone using major electric household appliances such as stoves, dishwashers, and clothes dryers until the cooler evening hours.
- Turn off electric appliances and equipment that you do not need or are not using.
Following these guidelines to reduce the use of electricity will help avoid possible electric power shortages later. SVEC is carefully monitoring the situation and we are doing everything possible to keep power flowing to our members.
5/17/2010 Sale of Allegheny Energy's Virginia Territory Approved
Fredericksburg and Mount Crawford, Virginia; Greensburg, Pennsylvania, May 17, 2010 – The Virginia State Corporation Commission, on Friday, gave final approval allowing Rappahannock and Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperatives to acquire the Virginia distribution assets of Allegheny Energy, Inc. (NYSE: AYE). Customers in the existing territory of Allegheny’s Potomac Edison subsidiary can expect a smooth and seamless transition to service provided by the cooperatives.
“After many months of hard work and planning, both cooperatives are looking forward to providing electric service to our respective new members currently being served by Potomac Edison,” said Myron Rummel, President and CEO of Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative. “Former Potomac Edison customers can be assured that they will receive the same safe, reliable and affordable power that current members of both cooperatives have enjoyed for generations.”
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5/3/2010 SVEC MEMBERS TO RECEIVE CAPITAL CREDITS
MOUNT CRAWFORD – Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) has announced that Virginia members for 2009 will receive capital credits, one of the benefits of being a member/owner of the Cooperative.
“We are pleased to announce that approximately $1,674,454 will be returned to members in the form of a credit on their bills, or mailed to former members and large power accounts as a check,” said SVEC President & CEO Myron D. Rummel. “This credit returned to our member/owners is part of the cooperative advantage.”
Capital credits are amounts of revenue in excess of operating costs and expenses received for a given accounting year and are maintained in a capital account for each member by the Cooperative. By board action, certain amounts of these capital credits may be paid or refunded to the member/owners.
With this 2009 retirement/refund, SVEC has returned in total more than $44 million in capital credits to their member/owners, since the Cooperative started returning capital credits in 1960.
4/30/2010 SVEC ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
MOUNT CRAWFORD – Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) is pleased to announce the four winners of their 19th annual scholarships, in the amount of $1,000 each. The students attend three of the high schools in the four counties that SVEC serves.
Two of the recipients, Audrey Bierly and Whitney Kite, attend Spotswood High School. Raneé Sager attends Broadway High School, and C. Matthew Wertman attends Wilson Memorial High School. The four winners were chosen from a pool of 39 applications that SVEC received from 12 different area high schools.
“Part of SVEC’s dedication to their communities is making an investment in the youth,” SVEC President & CEO Myron D. Rummel said. “With these scholarships, we hope to lessen some of the burden on students looking to further their education, and in turn, help the community.”
To be considered for the SVEC scholarship, the student’s parent or guardian needs to be a member/owner of the Cooperative. Audrey Bierly is the daughter of Hilary and Paul Bierly of Harrisonburg. Whitney Kite is the daughter of Kandi and Larry Kite of Elkton. Raneé Sager is the daughter of Vernon and Gail Sager of Broadway. C. Matthew Wertman is the son of Charles and Tammy Wertman of Crimora.
A four-person scholarship committee reviewed the students’ essays, letters of recommendation, participation in school and community activities, high school classes attended, and the grade-point average earned. The scholarship committee consisted of Kelly Snell, assistant to the president at Blue Ridge Community College; Ande Banks, director of special projects and grant management for the city of Harrisonburg; Susan Vass, retired educator from Augusta County schools; and John Hulvey, director of sponsored programs administration and accounting for JMU.
Since 1992, SVEC has awarded scholarships to deserving high school seniors in the four-county region that it serves. These students have earned the scholarships with excellence in the classroom, extracurricular activities, and contributions to the community. In the years since the scholarship has been awarded, the Cooperative has given back more than $50,000 to the community.
4/28/2010 KEY PARTIES REACH AGREEMENT ON SALE OF POTOMAC EDISON'S VIRGINIA ASSETS
Fredericksburg and Mount Crawford, Virginia; Greensburg, Pennsylvania, April 28, 2010 – Executives from Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC), Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC), and Allegheny Energy, Inc. (AE) announced that they had reached a stipulation agreement concerning the acquisition of Allegheny Energy’s Potomac Edison (PE) electric distribution assets in Virginia. The Office of the Attorney General of Virginia and the County of Frederick also joined in the stipulation agreement.
“This agreement is the product of many hours of negotiations and hard work,” Myron Rummel, President and CEO of Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative, said. “With State Corporation Commission approval, it will allow the acquisition to proceed while providing additional protections against significant rate increases for Potomac Edison’s consumers, in addition to limiting the rate increases that SVEC’s existing consumers would otherwise have experienced. It is truly a win-win for all parties involved.”
“This agreement will protect consumers from potential large rate increases for years to come and helps to ensure that their transition to the cooperatives will be smooth,” said Rodney L. Dickens, President, Allegheny Power.
Under the stipulation agreement:
- Potomac Edison will contribute $27.5 million between July 1, 2011 and July 1, 2014 to reduce the impact of any rate increases through June 30, 2015 for former Potomac Edison ratepayers transitioning to service provided by the cooperatives.
- Potomac Edison will contribute an additional $35 million that will be applied to decrease the purchase price, which will reduce base rates for all consumers of the cooperatives.
- The cooperatives agree that Potomac Edison consumers will see no base rate increases before July 1, 2014, extending a rate agreement that previously only existed through 2011. The cooperatives further agree, for 2014, 2015 and 2016, to cap distribution rate increases so that total member bills in those years will not increase by more than 5% as a result of distribution rate increases.
- The bylaws of both cooperatives will be revised to ensure that there is representation for transitioning ratepayers on the board of directors of their respective cooperative.
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4/23/2010 SVEC TO START CLEARING RIGHTS OF WAY USING HELICOPTER
The helicopter used for clearing SVEC rights of way will officially start Friday, April 23 in the Rockingham district. It will be in Rockingham County through April 31, move to Shenandoah County for two weeks, and then move to Augusta County for two weeks. That rotation will continue, working two weeks in each county, until work is complete. Blinking lights and/or outages may occur as a result of this clearing, but SVEC will work to minimize these outages during the clearing process. Thank you for your patience!
3/24/2010 SVEC'S MEMBER/OWNERS SAVE AS A RESULT OF LOAD MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
MOUNT CRAWFORD - Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) is pleased to announce positive financial results regarding its Load Management program. For 2009, the program saved the Cooperative and its members $1,443,100. The return on investment is extremely high for this program, and the investment is recovered in about 1.5 years. From 2008 to 2009, SVEC added about 1,150 switches to their system, bringing the total to 7,794 switches.
“By far, this is the quickest return on investment for Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative and provides all of our member/owners with savings in their energy bills. Since the program’s inception, we have saved our members over 33.8 million dollars in power costs,” said SVEC President and CEO Myron D. Rummel.
The largest component of SVEC’s Load Management program consists of a switch placed on a member’s hot water heater. The switch allows the Cooperative to automatically turn the electric water heater off during peak demand periods when electricity is most expensive for the Cooperative to purchase. This action directly results in a reduction of wholesale power costs, which account for 73% of the Cooperative’s total expenses. Since water heaters are insulated storage devices, members still have the hot water they need, and usually don’t even know when the Load Management system is operating.
“This is yet another way that SVEC is seeking to incorporate technologies to improve efficiencies that benefit our members and the environment.” Rummel added, “We encourage all of our members that may be interested in having a hot water switch installed to contact us, as the installation of each switch helps reduce the future cost of electric service.”
SVEC member/owners can get more information about the Load Management program, or how to sign up, here at the Web site, under the “Our Environment” tab, or by contacting their district office.
3/17/2010 SVEC PREPARES FOR TREE TRIMMING
Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative has contracted with a company using a helicopter to trim trees along power lines in the areas below beginning April 2010 and continuing through July 2010.
Augusta County: Lofton, Pekin, Greenville, Steeles Tavern, Raphine, Swoope, Middlebrook, McKinley, Newport, Mount Solon
Rockingham County: Singers Glen, Greenmount, Wengers Mill, Sparkling Springs, Hopkins Gap, Rawley Springs, Clover Hill, Sangersville
Shenandoah County: Woodstock, Toms Brook, Maurertown, Deer Rapids, Zepp, Black Bear, Alonzaville.
Every effort will be made to minimize outages that can occur while SVEC is working.
However, you may experience some sporadic blinking which is normal and unavoidable. As a precaution, please contact the District office that serves the area where the trimming is taking place if you have livestock or other outdoor animal life that may be disturbed by the sound from the helicopter.
Staunton Office: Staunton: 540-515-0011
Waynesboro: 540-941-0011
For those outside the local exchange area, contact us using 800-234-7832.
Dayton Office: 540-434-2200
Mt. Jackson Office: 800-234-7832
Thank you for your patience during this process, so that SVEC may better serve you!
3/12/2010 SVEC LOWERS ENERGY RATES TO VIRGINIA MEMBERS
MOUNT CRAWFORD – Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) has announced that a reduction in fuel adjustment cost for March 2010 will decrease VA members’ energy bills by approximately 4.6 percent from what was charged in December 2009.
Now, a residential member/owner, located in Virginia, using 1000kwh will pay $108.49. The same member/owner paid $122.28 for the same usage in March 2009. The reduction represents the lowest fuel factor SVEC has charged its Virginia member/owners since November 2005.
“SVEC is happy to pass along this reduction in energy costs to our member/owners in these uncertain economic times,” said SVEC President and CEO, Myron D. Rummel. “With this reduction in the fuel billing factor to SVEC’s Virginia consumers, they are being charged $13.79 less per 1000kwh of monthly use in March of 2010 when compared to March of 2009.”
3/11/2010 SVEC SCHEDULES POLE INSPECTION MAINTENANCE
SVEC is planning to start pole inspection maintenance around April 1. The crews doing this work are with a company called Utility Pole Inspections, Inc. They have white trucks with this identification on the sides and crew members wear a uniform that includes a hard hat and a florescent vest. They will be traveling on foot along SVEC's circuits and excavating around the base of the poles as needed. They do not knock on member/owners' doors to identify themselves, but they will walk the properties. There will be crews in Augusta, Rockingham and Shenandoah counties, but not Hardy County, WV.
3/10/2010 SVEC ANNOUNCES NEW WEB SITE DESIGN
MT. CRAWFORD – Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) is pleased to announce the roll out of their new Web site (www.svec.coop), which has been re-designed to ease navigation, and enhanced with drop-down menus and “quick links”. The page layout is simple and clean, with a link to current SVEC headlines and a Kids’ Zone area.
“We have worked to make this the best possible site for our member/owners, by combining the services they have come to expect with a crisp, modern look,” said Myron D. Rummel, SVEC President & CEO. “Plus, we have added some new features. By making the site easier to use and informative, we hope to be offering member/owners a resource they will visit time and time again.”
The information regarding energy savings, safety, and the SVEC outage map is still available, plus links to other tips and tools. In the design of the new site, SVEC attempted to include anything that might be helpful to their member/owners, including a place on the home page of the site for member/owners to enter their e-mail address for future mailings of an e-newsletter.
2/12/10 CO-OPS FILE TESTIMONY SUPPORTING THE BENEFITS OF ACQUISITION TO MEMBERS
Fredericksburg and Mount Crawford, Virginia – February 12, 2010 – Executives from Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC) and Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) filed formal testimony with the Virginia State Corporation Commission today rebutting inaccuracies and misconceptions about the proposed acquisition of Allegheny Energy’s Virginia service territory. SVEC and REC use facts to demonstrate the benefits of the acquisition to the customers of Allegheny and the current members of REC and SVEC.
Pursuant to the official schedule established by the Virginia State Corporation Commission, REC and SVEC filed the testimony of six witnesses and experts specifically rebutting inaccuracies and misperceptions of a consultant and others, who questioned the benefits of the acquisition of Allegheny Energy’s Virginia service territory.
2/09/10 SVEC Restores Power from February 5 Storm, Awaits Next Winter Blast
MT. CRAWFORD – As of late Monday night, Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) had restored power to all of its members following the February 5 winter storm that deposited a deep, heavy snow on the Valley. The storm had caused outages in Augusta, Rockingham, Shenandoah, and Hardy Counties of Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative’s four-county service region.
2/04/10 SVEC Encourages Preparation for Potential Winter Storm
MT. CRAWFORD – With snow in the forecast for parts of Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative’s four-county service area, SVEC has pulled together key staff members responsible for working these types of situations and has implemented a plan of action to coordinate our response to the severe weather.
SVEC has extra support staff on standby, ready to respond, should the situation require additional help. SVEC would like to remind our member/owners that now is the time to prepare for possible inclement weather. The predicted amount of snowfall, and projected high winds present the chance for power outages. “Blinking” of lights may also occur, and this is a normal condition during an event such as this. In addition, with the forecast amount of snow, there is a chance for an outage to last an extended period of time.
2/01/10 CO-OPS CONFIDENT OF BENEFITS OF ACQUISITION TO MEMBERS
Fredericksburg and Mount Crawford, Virginia – February 1, 2010 –Executives from Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC) and Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) said they are confident that the acquisition of Allegheny Power’s Virginia service territory will benefit the customers currently served by Allegheny as well as current Cooperative members.
Asked if they were concerned with the recent report by Liberty Consulting Group, a consultant hired by the State Corporation Commission that examined the proposed acquisition, “The out-of-state consultant who prepared the report does not seem to understand the nature of electric cooperatives in general or the financial strength of our Cooperatives in particular; and therefore, many of the report’s premises and conclusions are based on these misunderstandings. Like our current members, Allegheny Power ratepayers will experience stable long-term energy costs and top-notch member service once this acquisition is complete,” said Kent D. Farmer, President and CEO of Rappahannock Electric Cooperative.
Myron D. Rummel, President and CEO of Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative, added, “The Cooperatives are confident that once the State Corporation Commission hears the evidence it will also see the benefits of this transaction for people and businesses that make up the service territories.”