The latest edition of the Current Communicator member newsletter has mailed and will be landing in mailboxes soon! The newsletter includes key updates, announcements, and highlights about CVEC projects, achievements, and upcoming events. We encourage members to take a moment to read through it once it lands in your mailbox. The web version is available on the Current Communicator Newsletter page.
Letter from the President (Excerpt from the December 2024 edition of CVEC’s Current Communicator)
The holiday season is upon us, and at CVEC, we have much to be grateful for. We deeply value the opportunity to serve our member-owners and are thankful for the leadership of our Board of Directors, as well as the dedicated employees who work tirelessly to advance our mission of transforming lives.
CVEC held its 87th Annual Meeting on September 18 at our Headquarters in Arrington. While most member-owners cast their votes via mail-in ballots, several attended in person to witness the election of Directors, who will represent them for the upcoming terms. The meeting was recorded and can be viewed on the Annual Meeting page.
In September, our sister cooperatives faced significant challenges when Hurricane Helene impacted their service areas. CVEC sent a team of six linemen to assist BARC in Virginia and Blue Ridge Energy near Boone, NC with restoration efforts. Cooperation Among Cooperatives, one of the seven cooperative principles, is one of many examples of what sets us apart from traditional utility providers. We extend special thanks to the CVEC crew who worked away from home for 15 days until power was fully restored.
Several changes are coming in 2025. We are bidding farewell to Roberta Harlowe, our second-longest serving Director, who has represented the Eastern District and our members for 41 years. In October, she announced her plan to step down, though she has graciously agreed to serve until her replacement is selected in early 2025. CVEC is immensely grateful for Roberta’s dedicated service and the time and talent she has shared with the Cooperative and its members.
CVEC will be impacted by a sudden volatile increase in wholesale energy capacity costs in the PJM market, from which we purchase power. The Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) rider on your monthly bill is adjusted to match actual costs and this increase in wholesale costs will cause a large increase in the PCA charges beginning in June 2025. This capacity market increase is driven in large part by the combination of significant new loads like data centers and the lack of new power plant capacity coming online in our region.
CVEC has joined with our sister co-ops and trade associations to alert local, state, and federal officials about the imbalance between supply and demand for energy and want to assure you that your best interests are at the forefront of every decision we make. Additionally, we are accelerating the implementation of strategic initiatives designed to minimize the impact on our members and will soon introduce programs to help you monitor and reduce your energy usage.
CVEC cannot prevent the cost increase, but we are committed to providing you with education and tools to help you manage your energy usage and control your costs. We encourage all members to take advantage of these resources in the coming months.
Gary E. Wood
President & CEO