CEO Chris Spears

As the peak of hurricane season in North Carolina approaches, South River EMC remains focused on grid resiliency and preparedness efforts. This year-round effort to limit power outages and recover quickly from those that do occur includes conventional efforts like tree-trimming to keep limbs away from powerlines, as well as efforts that incorporate advanced technologies and support our commitment to power a brighter future.

As technology evolves, we see new energy assets added throughout the electric system in households, businesses, substations and elsewhere – often called “distributed energy resources” – as an exciting opportunity. These resources can be large enough to power several homes, like a microgrid or utility-scale solar farm, or as small as a smart thermostat inside your home. By working with electric co-ops statewide and other partners, South River EMC is exploring opportunities to add flexible local resources to our energy toolbox and coordinate them to work together across the grid. By integrating and synchronizing these assets, we can maximize the benefits to the grid and all cooperative members.

Resilience is one important benefit. Integrating grid resources closer to homes and communities provides local power options, while also diversifying the resources we can call on to provide power. Statewide, electric cooperatives have integrated five microgrids that can power local areas when needed and also support the grid as a whole. While new resources support resiliency, we are proud that the grid today is already very reliable. Our reliability rate is 99 percent, and we will continue working to maintain and improve even further.

Coordinating distributed energy resources also supports our sustainability goals. Take solar power: It can present a challenge because it is only available when the sun is shining, but our members need reliable power all the time. By pairing solar generation with flexible resources such as batteries, South River EMC and our power supplier can make intermittent generation sources into stronger grid assets while also increasing sustainability.

Managing costs to keep them as low as possible is always part of South River EMC’s mission. As prices for new energy resources are decreasing, the economics for implementation are improving. And, by deploying distributed resources in a coordinated way, we can use the grid more efficiently and better manage energy distribution. This helps us save, not only by reducing demand for power when energy consumption peaks and wholesale electricity is most expensive, but also by delaying or even avoiding the need to invest in expensive new infrastructure, like substations. Because cooperatives like South River EMC are not-for-profit and provide power near cost, savings directly benefit co-op members.

These technologies also have created opportunities for our members, like you, to partner with us to achieve shared value like when you participate in smart thermostat programs, such as Connect to Save. This program enables you to purchase a Nest or ecobee smart thermostat at a significantly reduced rate, in exchange for helping us to use less energy during peak times. This provides a benefit to you and the Cooperative. The Carina water heater device works under the same premise. You can have a Carina water heater device installed for free and we will be able to control it during peak times. The Carina device will make sure you don’t run out of hot water and it will send a message when it indicates that you might have a problem developing in your water heater – this is a win-win for everyone. An added bonus is that you receive a $50 incentive for each thermostat and water heater device enrolled after each year that you participate in the Connect to Save program.

Electric vehicles, or EVs, also provide a big opportunity. Not only do EV drivers benefit from lower costs, but also reduced maintenance, better performance, zero tailpipe emissions and more convenience. Additionally, by charging at home overnight, when most people are not using large amounts of power, EV drivers can help the co-op can utilize its infrastructure more efficiently, which benefits all members.

By adopting proven technologies and deploying distributed resources at scale, South River EMC can provide many benefits to members: added resilience, enhanced sustainability through renewable generation, optimization of the grid, cost savings, and new services for members, to name a few. We see these benefits compounding over time, especially as more of our members, from large commercial businesses to residents interested in a smart thermostat, decide to participate with us in building the grid of the future. This storm season and beyond, as part of our Brighter Future vision, you can count on South River EMC to continue to take steps to enhance grid resiliency and deploy resources that bring real benefits to members.