georgia`selectric membershipcorporations

GEORGIA’S ELECTRIC
MEMBERSHIP CORPORATIONS
Serving Georgia Together
Turning on the lights. Plugging in the coffee maker.
Just normal parts of your morning routine.
The mission of Georgia’s electric membership corporations is to
ensure that electricity is always there to make these and other
essential parts of your daily life possible. Supporting these EMCs
are Oglethorpe Power Corporation, Georgia Transmission Corporation
and Georgia System Operations Corporation, along with the EMCs’
statewide trade association, Georgia Electric Membership Corporation.
Working together, they serve Georgia in the same manner as other
fully integrated utilities across the country.
This brochure explains each of these organizations and their
relationship to each other.
Georgia’s electric membership
corporations serve more than
70 percent of the state’s
land area.
EMCs: An Historical Perspective
EMCs Are Rooted in Rural America
Electric cooperatives are private, independent electric utilities owned by the members
they serve. Democratically governed businesses, electric cooperatives are anchored
firmly in the communities they serve and are responsive to their consumers’ needs.
Electric cooperatives began to spread across rural America after President Franklin D.
Roosevelt created the Rural Electrification Administration in 1935, an idea conceived at
the Little White House in Warm Springs, Ga. e executive order establishing the REA
and the passage of the REA Act a year later marked the first steps in a public-private
partnership that has lasted more than 70 years. at partnership has bridged the vast
expanse of rural America to bring electric power to businesses and communities willing
to organize cooperatively for the provision of safe, affordable and reliable electric power
on a not-for-profit basis.
Today, there are more than 900 electric cooperatives in the United States, 42 of them
in Georgia. ey provide reliable and technologically advanced service to 40 million
Americans while maintaining a unique consumer-focused approach to business.
Georgia’s EMCs
Altamaha EMC
altamahaemc.com
Amicalola EMC
amicalolaemc.com
Blue Ridge Mountain EMC
brmemc.com
Canoochee EMC
canoocheeemc.com
Carroll EMC
cemc.com
Central Georgia EMC
cgemc.com
Coastal EC
coastalemc.com
Cobb EMC
cobbemc.com
Colquitt EMC
colquittemc.com
Coweta-Fayette EMC
utility.org
Diverse Power
diversepower.com
Excelsior EMC
excelsioremc.com
Flint Energies
flintenergies.com
Grady EMC
gradyemc.com
GreyStone Power
greystonepower.com
Habersham EMC
habershamemc.com
Hart EMC
hartemc.com
Irwin EMC
irwinemc.com
Jackson EMC
jacksonemc.com
Jefferson Energy Cooperative
jec.coop
Little Ocmulgee EMC
littleocmulgeeemc.com
Middle Georgia EMC
mgemc.com
Mitchell EMC
mitchellemc.com
North Georgia EMC
ngemc.com
Ocmulgee EMC
ocmulgeeemc.com
Oconee EMC
oconeeemc.com
Okefenoke REMC
oremc.com
Pataula EMC
pataulaemc.com
Planters EMC
plantersemc.com
Rayle EMC
rayleemc.com
Satilla REMC
satillaemc.com
Sawnee EMC
sawnee.com
Slash Pine EMC
georgiaemc.com
Snapping Shoals EMC
ssemc.com
Southern Rivers Energy
southernriversenergy.com
Sumter EMC
sumteremc.com
Three Notch EMC
threenotchemc.com
Tri-County EMC
tri-countyemc.com
Tri-State EMC
tsemc.net
Upson EMC
upsonemc.com
Walton EMC
waltonemc.com
Washington EMC
washingtonemc.com
THE ABCs OF EMCs
Georgia EMC, OPC, GTC and GSOC exist to serve the
state’s electric membership corporations, or EMCs.
EMCs are consumer-owned and consumer-governed, not-for-profit cooperatives whose
purpose is to ensure safe, reliable and affordable delivery of electricity to homes and businesses.
All but four of the Georgia EMCs meet the majority of their power supply needs from their ownership
in Oglethorpe Power Corporation. ey also have entered into long-term supplemental power
supply contracts with third-party power suppliers and purchase hydropower from the Southeastern
Power Administration. ree EMCs in north Georgia receive their power supply under contract
from the Tennessee Valley Authority and one other from a contract with Southern Power Company.
Today, many EMCs are asked by their consumer/owners to deliver more than electricity.
Responding either individually or in alliance with others, these co-ops often provide other utility
or telecommunication services, from natural gas and geothermal heat pumps to Internet access.
Georgia’s EMC system delivers more than 33 billion kilowatt hours of electricity each year to
Georgia’s families and businesses. Of the state’s 42 EMCs, 38 receive wholesale power through
Oglethorpe Power Corporation, and 39 of them rely on Georgia Transmission Corporation for
power transmission. Georgia’s EMCs together have approximately 180,000 miles of transmission
and distribution line — the state’s largest energy distribution system.
A study conducted by Georgia Tech in 2006 indicated that the EMCs have a $6.1 billion economic
impact on the state of Georgia. e EMCs positively affect the state in other ways as well. ey work
as integral partners with their communities. Georgia’s EMC design industrial parks; partner with
local schools to offer scholarships and youth development programs, such as 4-H and FFA; light
Little League fields; sponsor community beautification; and collect and deliver food to families
in need. ese EMCs also partner with their trade association, Georgia EMC, as well as the Georgia
Department of Economic Development and other entities to bring new jobs to the state.
Georgia Electric
Membership Corporation
Oglethorpe Power
Corporation
Georgia Transmission
Corporation
Georgia System
Operations Corporation
Statewide trade associate
for Georgia’s EMCs
Generating power for
38 Georgia EMCs
Delivering power to
39 Georgia EMCs
Controlling and monitoring
electric generation,
transmission and
distribution assets
Enabling the
state’s EMCs to
work collectively
on challenges
Strength in Numbers
Georgia Electric Membership Corporation is the trade association serving Georgia’s 42 electric
membership corporations, Georgia Transmission Corporation, Oglethorpe Power and Georgia
System Operations Corporation. rough Georgia EMC, the state’s electric corporations join
together to maximize their strength and efficiency in addressing the challenges they all face.
e services of Georgia EMC include safety and training programs, legislative advocacy at the
state and national levels, economic development, youth and community programs, media relations
and a monthly magazine for Georgia’s EMC consumers. A 501 (c)(6) not-for-profit association,
Georgia EMC is a member-owned organization governed by a board of directors composed of
one representative from each member cooperative.
For more information, visit georgiaemc.com.
Georgia EMC Offices
Dade
Catoosa
Fannin
Whitfield
Walker
Community and
Economic Development,
Government Relations Polk
Atlanta Office
Haralson
Pickens
Dawson
Banks
Hall
Forsyth
Cherokee
Stephens
Franklin
Madison
Jackson
Fulton
Douglas
Dekalb
Atlanta
Clayton
Coweta
Troup
Jasper
Butts
75
Pike
Lamar
Monroe
Crawford
Taylor
Muscogee
Chattahoochee
Marion
Macon
Webster
Baldwin
Wilkinson
Sumter
Dooly
Taliaferro
McDuffie
Warren
Columbia
20
Richmond
To promote
the EMCs
of Georgia
Burke
Jefferson
by providing member-focused
leadership and Jenkins
a unified
Screven voice
Johnson
through advocacy education
Emanuel
and communication
Washington
Laurens
Bleckley
Pulaski
Lincoln
OurGlascock
Mission:
Twiggs
Houston
Wilkes
Hancock
Peach
Schley
Stewart
Greene
Bibb
Talbot
Hart
Executive, Finance/
Administration
Communications &
Member
Services,
Elbert
& Georgia Magazine
Tucker Office
Oglethorpe
Putnam
Jones
Upson
Harris
Morgan
Newton
Henry
Spalding
Meriwether
Clarke
Oconee
Walton
Rockdale
85Fayette
Heard
Barrow
Gwinnett
Cobb
Paulding
Carroll
Training, Education
& Safety
Smarr Office
Habersham
Lumpkin
Bartow
Floyd
Rabun
White
Gilmer
Murray
Gordon
Chattooga
Towns
Union
Dodge
Candler
Treutlen
Montgomery
Wheeler
Toombs
16
Bulloch
Effingham
Evans
Chatham
The Nation’s Largest Electric Supply Cooperative
Oglethorpe Power Corporation provides power to 38 of Georgia’s EMCs, making it the nation’s
largest electric supply cooperative in assets and kilowatt hours delivered. OPC is a not-for-profit
electric membership corporation owned by those 38 EMCs, who serve approximately two thirds of
Georgia’s land area. OPC manages electric generation assets and contracts, and maintains a diverse
power supply mix of gas, nuclear, coal and hydroelectric plants to provide flexible, reliable long-term
capacity and energy for its members.
Portfolio Diversity
Formed in 1974, OPC is one of Georgia’s
largest privately owned corporations, with
annual revenues of $1.2 billion and assets of
more than $4.8 billion. e corporation spun
off its transmission and system operations
Hydro
12%
Gas
40%
Other
2%
Nuclear
20%
Coal
26%
Other
6%
Hydro
Gas 4%
9%
Nuclear
39%
Coal
42%
business units in 1997, forming the affiliated
organizations Georgia Transmission Corporation
2007 Capacity
2007 Energy
and Georgia System Operations Corporation.
OPC maintains a balanced, diversified generation portfolio that includes wholly owned,
co-owned and managed resources, as well as power purchase contracts. e company works
closely with Georgia System Operations Corporation and Georgia Transmission Corporation to
ensure its business strategies are aligned with one another and are in the members’ best interests.
Environmental compliance and stewardship are vitally important to OPC. By 2015, the corporation
will have invested more than $1 billion to maintain compliance with various regulations. Oglethorpe
Power is committed to preserving the environment through various environmental initiatives,
including a carbon sequestration program, community participation and research.
OPC supplies energy to its members from 4,744 megawatts of owned and leased generating
capacity, and secures the remainder from a variety of other sources. e corporation also helps its
members explore power supply options to meet the growing needs of consumers. Over the next
10 years, OPC plans to construct a variety of new generation assets to help meet those needs.
For more information, visit opc.com.
One of the state’s largest privately
owned corporations, with assets
of more than $4.8 billion
To meet Georgia’s electricity
demands, GTC constructs about
$200 million in new transmission
facilities each year.
Meeting the Demands of Dynamic Growth
GeorgiaTransmissionCorporationischargedwithprovidingasafeandreliableelectric
transmissiongridfor4millionpeopleandgettingitreadyformillionsmore.Tomeetgrowing
demand,thecorporationconstructsabout$200millioninnewhigh-voltagepowerlinesand
substationseachyear.GTCisanot-for-profitcorporationownedby39ofthestate’sEMCs,andit
servesasthelinkbetweenpowergenerationandtheEMCs’individualelectricdistributionsystems.
GTCprovidesplanning,constructionandmaintenanceforatransmissionsystemofnearly
3,000milesoflinesandmorethan600substations.Maintenanceincludessystemmonitoring
andinspection,vegetationmanagement,loadplanning,upgradesandrepairstokeeppower
outagestoaminimumthroughoutthestate.
rougharareandprogressivearrangementintheelectricutilitybusiness,morethan17,000miles
ofthestate’selectrictransmissionassetsarejointlyplannedandoperatedbyGTC,GeorgiaPower,
MEAGPowerandDaltonUtilities.UnderasetofIntegratedTransmissionSystemagreements,these
organizationsworktogethertosetguidelines,reduceduplicationoffacilitiesandincreaseefficiency.
Facilitiesarejointlyplannedandoperated,andindividuallyowned,builtandmaintained.
For more information on GTC, visit gatrans.com.
1997
39
$1.47Billion
• 1997, when Oglethorpe
Power divested itself
of the transmission
business
• 39 electric
• Nearly 3,000 miles
of transmission line
membership
cooperatives
• More than 600 substations
A Powerful Partnership
GeorgiaSystemOperationsCorporationensuresreliablesystemoperationsbycontrollingand
monitoringelectricgenerationandtransmissionassetsownedbyOPC,GTC,thememberEMCs
andtheirsupplementalpowersuppliers.GSOCalsoworkswithOPCandGTCtodeliverwholesale
electricpowertoits38memberEMCs.GSOCservestwooperationspurposesfortheEMCs,
OPCandGTC.
Onthegenerationside,GSOChandlestheenergydemandsmomentbymomentfortheEMCs,
balancingloadwiththeeconomicdispatchofgenerationplantsandeconomyenergypurchases.
GSOCalsoschedulesandmonitorshourlyenergytransactionsthroughGTC’sportionofthe
IntegratedTransmissionSystem.
Onthetransmissionside,GSOCcapturesthedatanecessaryforoperatingandmonitoring
GTC’stransmissionassetsandforbillingpurposes.GSOCalsohelpsrestorepowerandmanage
equipmentoutages.
GSOCcomplieswithallNorthAmericanElectricReliabilityCorporationandSERCReliability
Corporationoperationalandreliabilitystandards.
More information on GSOC is available at gasoc.com.
GSOC 10-year Peak Load Growth*
In megawatts*
GSOC ensures reliable system
operations by controlling and
monitoring electric generation
and transmission assets.
Green Power EMC has
generated more than
123 million kilowatt
hours of green energy.
Maximizing the Potential of Renewable Energy
and Conservation
Georgia’sfirstrenewableenergyprogram,GreenPowerEMC,provideselectricitythroughits
39memberEMCstomorethan4millionGeorgians.Anonprofitcorporation,GreenPowerEMC
usesgreenresourcessuchaslow-impacthydroelectricplants,biomassorlandfillgas,solar,wind
andpoultrylittergeneratingfacilitiestogenerateelectricity.
GreenPowerEMChasbroughtonlinetwolandfillgeneratingsitesandalow-impact
hydroelectricfacilitysince2001.isbringsGreenPower’stotalrenewablegeneratingcapacity
to7.3megawatts,enoughtosupplytheenergyneedsof4,540homes—orenoughpowertomeet
theenergyneedsofeveryhomeintownsthesizeofNewnanorCartersville.Another23megawatts
ofelectricity—enoughgreenelectricitytoserve16,800homes—willbebroughtonlinebythe
endof2009.
Sinceitsinception,GreenPowerEMChasgeneratedmorethan123millionkilowatthours
ofgreenenergy,providingthesameenvironmentalbenefitsastaking122,000carsoffGeorgia’s
roadsorplanting174,000acresintrees.AportionofallGreenPowerEMCenergysalessupports
continuedgrowthofenergygeneratedfromthesecleanerresources.
In2005,GreenPowerEMCintroducedSunPowerforSchools,aprogramthateducatesstudents
in14middleandhighschoolsaboutrenewableenergyanditsimpactontheenvironment.It’sthe
firststatewideprogramtoshowcasesolarenergybenefitsbyinstalling1-kilowattgrid-tiedphotovoltaicsystemsthatharnesstheenergyfromthesunandprovideonlinedatamonitoringtothe
classrooms.Moreschoolsarebeingaddedtotheprogrameveryyear.
InadditiontoGreenPowerEMC,Georgia’sEMCshelpedtheirmember-consumersrealizemore
than28,580,000kilowatthoursinenergysavingsduring2007.EMCsalsoreducedthe2007summer
peakby135megawattsbyusing144,500loadmanagementswitchesinstalledonairconditioners,
waterheatersandirrigationsystems.
For more information, visit greenpoweremc.com.
27.3
122,000
28,580,000
135
e available capacity
by the end of 2009, which
equates to enough green
electricity to serve more
than 21,000 homes
e equivalent number of cars
taken off Georgia’s roads through
Green Power EMC’s initiatives
e amount of energy savings
Georgia’s EMCs helped their
members-consumers
realize in 2007
e reduction in summer
peak the EMCs created
by using 144,500 load
management switches
Georgia’s Electric Suppliers Assigned Service Areas
In1973,theGeorgiaTerritorialElectricServiceActwascreatedbythe
GeorgiaGeneralAssembly,assigningpowersupplyareasthroughout
thestate.estate’s42electricmembershipcooperativeswereassigned
73percentofthestate’slandarea,withtheremainingareadesignatedto
GeorgiaPowerCompanyormunicipalpowersystems.ismapisa
graphicdepictionofthoseserviceareas.
ElectricMembershipCorporations
GeorgiaPowerCo.(GPC)
MunicipalElectricAuthorityofGeorgia(MEAG)
Unassigned
ElectricPowerBoardofChattanooga
andCityofDalton
EMCBoundaries
Key to Electric Membership Corporations
1.NorthGeorgia
2.Tri-State
3.BlueRidgeMtn.
4.Amicalola
5.Habersham
6.Hart
7.Jackson
8.Sawnee
9.Cobb
10.GreyStone
11.Carroll
12.Coweta-Fayette
13.SnappingShoals
14.Walton
15.Rayle
16.Jefferson
17.Washington
18.Tri-County
19.CentralGeorgia
20.SouthernRivers
21.Upson
22.DiversePower
23.Flint
24.Oconee
25.Planters
26.Excelsior
27.Canoochee
28.Altahama
29.LittleOcmulgee
30.Ocmulgee
31.MiddleGeorgia
32.Sumter
33.Pataula
34.reeNotch
35.Mitchell
36.Irwin
37.Satilla
38.Coastal
39.Okefenoke
40.SlashPine
41.Colquitt
42.Grady