"If I Knew Then What I Know Now"- Words a Prepared Cooperation Doesn't Have to Say

March Message from Randall Pugh
President/CEO

It would have been nice to have balloons and confetti when we reached our 200,000th meter, but the truth of the matter is that it was just another day. Business went on as usual, power continued to flow through the lines and your lights were on at the flip of a switch. We like a nice celebration as much as the next person; however, we’re happy to keep the power flowing and call it day. We planned for growth decades ago, and even though it took 55 years to have meters in the six digits, we know that our future is moving much faster.

It took us over 50 years to reach 100,000 meters from our beginning in 1939, and in just 13 years, that membership has doubled in size. People and companies realize our communities have a lot to offer. Located just outside metro-Atlanta, we’ve experienced a 66 percent growthin our customer base in the past decade. With most of the growth in Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson counties, our members in those communities have probably noticed the changing face of their neighborhoods, shopping areas and business communities.

Preparing for the Next Decade

We use our resources to be sure electricity is there when you need it. Just last year, we strung an additional 536 miles of energized wire, upgraded 42 miles of existing wire and added four new substations to bring power to local neighborhoods. Improving our infrastructure to keep up with growth ensures you have reliable power in the future. We rely on forecasts and computer data to give us a snapshot of how our territory will look years from now. In the next 10 years, we expect to serve 300,000 meters. Although we work to ensure everything is in place on our end, we sometimes have to rely on larger infrastructure development.

Georgia Transmission Corporation

The Georgia Transmission Corporation (GTC), the cooperative owned by Georgia’s EMCs, transports power over high voltage transmis- sion lines and works to provide reliable delivery of electricity. High voltage transmission lines carry power from power plants to local distribution substations. As our service territory continues to grow, our transmission system must undergo upgrades and expansions to avoid outages and blackouts.

GTC invests more than $125 million each year in upgrades. This year, areas in Barrow and Gwinnett counties are up for high voltage line construction. GTC will hold public meetings to inform and get feedback from affected citizens about these projects. GTC, along with other members of Georgia’s Integrated Transmission System, monitors the performance and capability of Georgia’s electric system. Because of record growth, a recent evaluation revealed that the system serving the Hamilton Mill and Braselton areas requires additional transmission infrastructure in order to ensure it will not exceed its operating capacity under high load conditions.

At Jackson EMC, we believe in providing the highest standards of power reliability. You depend on those high standards, and so will members years from now. Serving 200,000 meters is a milestone, and knowing you can count on us as the meters increase is what makes this job rewarding.

Randall Pugh
President/CEO

Questions?

Anytime you have questions, send them to P.O. Box 38, Jefferson, Ga. 30549, call (706) 367-5281 or e-mail rpugh@jacksonemc.com.