CEO Blog

January 6, 2009

I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s Holidays. 2009 is fully upon us now and I hope for all of our sakes that it is a good year. Today, the new Congress goes into session and there will be many discussions on Capital Hill that could directly impact Joe Wheeler EMC and all of our members. President-elect Obama plans to hit the ground running and is asking Congress for legislation on an economic stimulus bill that could be more than $1 trillion. Energy matters could very likely be a part of this legislation. Congress also seems determined to address the issues related to Climate Change and energy will definitely be a central part of this legislation.

Electric cooperatives, through our national association, are letting the Obama transition team and Congress know that they need to remember affordability needs to be remembered when addressing the economy and climate change. Let’s face it; our national economy is in pretty sad shape. Any legislation that adds to the costs of electricity will not be good to help us heal the economy. Electricity, whether at the residential or industrial level, needs to remain affordable. Adding costs to electricity to address climate change issues in the middle of a recession does not make good sense to me. Let’s hope that both the Senate and the House of Representatives take a cautious approach when these matters are up for consideration.

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November 17, 2008

Quite a few of our members have been in touch with us asking that we get in the business of providing internet broadband service through the power lines (BPL) to our service area. There have been a couple of stories in our local papers that are fueling this interest. The most recent story was pretty balanced and did a good job of pointing out why Joe Wheeler EMC continues to monitor the development of BPL.

An article that appeared in the November 15 edition of the Decatur Daily accurately reports that there are currently about 1,400 customers being served by International Broadband Electric Communications, Inc. (IBEC). A very large power company in Texas, Oncor Electric Delivery Co., was mentioned in the article too. They have decided to abandon plans to provide broadband service to their 2 million customers.

The investment to install broadband systems is significant. In order for the signal to go through the power lines, amplifiers must be installed about every half mile. Joe Wheeler EMC operates approximately 4,300 miles of electric distribution power lines. That means that we would need to install about 8,600 amplifiers. Amplifiers require a power source and that could mean the addition of quite a few new transformers in order to provide power to the amplifiers.

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November 11, 2008

THANK YOU VETERANS

To all of you who have so valiantly served our country, thank you from the bottom of my heart for fighting and serving to preserve our freedom and way of life. Ninety years ago today, World War I ended. It was supposed to be the war to end all wars. I wish that had been true. Just a little over twenty years later our country was plunged into World War II when our forces at Pearl Harbor were attacked. World War II ended in 1945 and then the Korean Conflict began within the next four to five years. The 1960’s found us in Vietnam. In 1990, we were in the Middle East to assist Kuwait after Iraq had invaded their country. Later in the decade we saw action in Africa and Eastern Europe. Today, we have forces engaging in the fight for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Our nation would not enjoy the freedoms that we have today were it not for the sacrifice of many of our country’s finest young men and women. We all owe a debt to these who have given time and in far too many cases their lives to protect and preserve this country. Thank you!