2021 General Manager Annual Report
This year has been a year of change for all of us at Pearl River Valley Electric Power Association. In January, I began my new position as CEO/general manager for the Association. I have worked at Pearl River Valley Electric for 22 years, first as a system engineer, next as the Wiggins office district manager and eventually manager of operations for the entire Association. The electric cooperative world runs in my blood. My uncle was a general manager of a sister Mississippi cooperative and my father was the assistant general manager at Cooperative Energy. Throughout my life those two taught me about the important role that an electric cooperative plays in the community. In addition to my family, I have also had the opportunity to see first-hand the skillful leadership that Pearl River Valley Electric has had. During my time at PRVEPA I learned valuable leadership skills from our previous general manager, Randy Wallace. He successfully guided PRVEPA into the 21st century, and I plan to continue that strong leadership while expanding on the great legacy of our Association.
Over the last 18 months the pandemic changed everything for us at Pearl River Valley Electric. I would like to personally thank our members for understanding our desire to keep our employees and the public safe with our COVID-19 protocols.
As if the pandemic wasn’t enough, the beginning of 2021 started off with an ice storm in February. The ice storm brought extensive outages and damage to Pearl River Valley Electric’s infrastructure. At the height of the storm, we had over 3,500 members without power. Over the course of three days, linemen and servicemen battled through inclement weather to restore power. Most of the damage came from limbs and trees coming down on power lines. The frigid temperatures also forced our power provider, Cooperative Energy, to issue warnings regarding high electric use due to extreme low temperatures. Thankfully, rolling blackouts were limited and short. Thanks to everyone who helped restore power throughout our territory.
Fiber Internet Update
Our biggest announcement this year was the formation of PearlComm, our fiber internet subsidiary. The pandemic spotlighted the importance of this utility and the need for greater access to it in rural areas. Previous studies had shown that it wasn’t financially feasible for us to pursue this project, however money awarded through the FCC Rural Digital Opportunity (RDOF) made it possible. In October, Pearl River Valley Electric joined the Rural Electric Consortium, a bidding entity of over 90 cooperatives to secure RDOF funds. Overall, $1.1 billion was awarded. We received over $25 million through this fund. Since our announcement in January, we have been working hard to bring this service to our members.
In March, we announced the first phase of our fiber roll out which includes areas around Columbia, Foxworth and Maxie. We began putting up fiber on our poles in June with the goal of providing internet service to our first members in the third quarter of 2021. We are on pace to achieve this milestone. We expect the first phase of the project to be finished in the third quarter of 2022. If you haven’t pre-registered for internet service, please do. No commitment is required, and you will be able to receive updates on our fiber internet progress.
New Look for our Cooperative
You may have noticed a new logo for Pearl River Valley Electric this year. When we launched PearlComm, the decision to refresh Pearl River Valley Electric’s brand was made too. The new logo showcases our Association’s rich heritage and ties to the Pearl River located near our headquarters in Columbia. The logo was created by the graphic designers from Conexon, who also helped us design the PearlComm logo for our fiber internet subsidiary. The new brand is also meant to have design elements that match PearlComm. We look forward to showcasing the new logo on everything from signage to printed materials.
System Growth and Improvement
For 2020, the number of meters served by the Association increased 1.34% From 50,466 to 51,145 while our annual sales of electricity — 123,112,060 kilowatt hours (kWh) — were about 1.8% below 2019.
Maintaining reliable service to our members requires continual planning and upgrading of our lines and equipment. In 2020, our crews add nearly 26 miles of new overhead and underground lines to our system, which has 6,166 miles of lines and 25 substations throughout our 12-county service area.
Right-of-Way Trimming
Right-of-way (ROW) trimming is an essential part of our maintenance program. Our goal is to rotate through our entire system every 10 years, which means we trim nearly 500 miles of ROW annually.
This year we used a combination of trimming and cutting trees along with the application of economical and environmentally friendly herbicides. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we work to maintain a safe and reliable system for our members.
System Maintenance and Outages
Pearl River Valley Electric has an excellent outage record that is well below the national average. Typically, our members experience very few outages lasting only short amounts of time, which is remarkable when you consider that electric service is a 24/7 commodity. However, despite our best efforts to provide excellent service, we are still at the mercy of severe weather, like the ice storm in February.
Along with our ROW maintenance, we continue to implement a pole inspection program to change out bad poles that could possibly cause power outages. As always, over the past year we also replaced, upgraded, or retired equipment and facilities as needed.
Safety
All our employees are committed to working safely. They have adopted a full-time culture of safety and strive to work accident free each day. An effective safety program not only ensures the well-being of employees, but it also saves your Association money.
Along with existing safety standards we have improved the sanitation of offices, vehicles and equipment due to COVID-19. Over the course of the pandemic, we have made personal protective equipment available to employees to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Member Programs
One of the changes everyone has made due to the pandemic is the way they do business. Now more than ever, the importance of having alternate ways for our members to access their information along with being informed about important events and issues is a priority.
Online Tools:
We have recently renovated our website making it easier for handling your day-to-day needs. Through our website PRVEPA.com you can pay your bill, access your energy use history and report outages. In addition, we have added the ability to apply for service as well as access our levelized billing and bank draft forms. In addition, the new site houses a Help Center which contains all our information from bill payment options to energy efficiency brochures. The website’s member service portal has also received a make-over. Now called “EmPowered”, the portal is more user friendly. This is a wonderful tool for keeping up with your electricity use and payments.
While our website is our flagship for communication, we also understand that much of our member’s work is done on mobile devices. We offer a mobile app that offers similar services to our website. You can access the app by searching for “PRVEPA” in your app store. It is free. You may also call us about home energy audits, advice on the proper sizing on heating and air-conditioning systems, and educational programs for civic groups and schools.
@MyPRVEPA
It’s important for our members to stay informed, especially during severe weather and large-scale events like the COVID-19 pandemic. For this reason, we use our Facebook and Twitter pages to supply up-to-date information. These sites are meant to educate and inform our members about our cooperative. During large scale outages, we can update you about restoration efforts. In addition, these sites will be used to alert members to important information such as scam alerts, program and policy information and news about the positive impact your cooperative is having in the community. These sites aren’t monitored 24/7, so we ask that you refrain from posting outage notifications.
Round Up for Education
This will be our ninth year of operating Round Up for Education, a community college scholarship program designed to encourage members and their children to continue their education. Most of our members are rounding up their bills each month, which is providing the money to fund the scholarships. Over the past eight years, more than 1,600 students have received nearly $1.4 million in scholarships to help with their education costs, and this year we have more than 180 applicants. Without doubt this program is a unique and collaborative way to improve the quality of life for hundreds of families in the communities we serve. It is an outstanding example of what can be accomplished by cooperative members working together.
Youth Leadership Program
Our Youth Leadership Program has been altered significantly due to COVID-19. This year, like the year before, we were forced to provide a scholarship instead of the annual trip to Washington D.C. Each year, Pearl River Valley Electric sponsors an essay contest for junior class students in high schools located within our service area. A judging committee reviews the essays and selects the winners. Normally, the winners then attend a three-day youth leadership workshop in Jackson and during the summer travel with other Mississippi students to Washington, D.C. for the week-long Youth Tour. This year’s scholarship winners were Sterling Robbins of Presbyterian Christian High School and Will Watson of Columbia Academy.
We hope to get back to normal in 2022 by attending the Washington D.C. trip. In addition, we are planning to expand our Youth Leadership Program by doing a Cooperative University in October. Many cooperatives already use the Cooperative University format which entails a daylong event where students learn about electric cooperatives and the power industry. Schools in our service territory will choose two representatives to attend. We are excited to bring this new aspect of our Youth Leadership Program to you.
Commitment to Our Members
Pearl River Valley Electric was established in the 1930’s to bring electricity and its modern conveniences to rural areas. Now with PearlComm, we are recommitting to this purpose. Please keep an eye out for future updates on our fiber rollout through our Today in Mississippi magazine, social media, and our website PRVEPA.com.
It is extremely exciting and rewarding to look at the bright future for Pearl River Valley Electric and our subsidiary PearlComm. The potential for both these companies is what drew me to the position of CEO/general manager, and I hope you find the future of our cooperative as exciting as I do.