Over the last several years, your Board of Directors and management of Grady EMC have been positioning your cooperative for the betterment of all members in various ways.  First of all, we are acutely aware of both the high level and high quality of service you as members of Grady EMC have come to expect over the years.  In addition to this, you have tasked us with providing the most economical cost of power to all of us as members.  These, to say the least, have been tremendous challenges to accomplish.  However, these requests and tasks have been met head on and have been successful through the insight and action of your elected Board of Directors.  Planning that was put in place several years ago has come to fruition in key areas of the cooperative’s operation.  Grady EMC was one of the first cooperatives in the nation and the first in this area to implement TWACS (Two Way Automated Communications System) meter reading system.  TWACS is a totally electronic, computerized meter reading system that utilizes our own power lines and infrastructure.  One of the assets of this system is to allow re-distribution of personnel from the daily, costly tasks associated with this method of reading meters.  The data from the TWACS system has proven invaluable in assisting members with where and when energy consumption takes place in their homes.  TWACS has proven to be well worth the investment.  Data derived from TWACS affords the engineering department with load requirements not only for the system as a whole but for individual feeders as well.  The information technology group is able to amass all this information and to utilize that data to make the cooperative even more efficient.  It is important to note that TWACS IS PAID FOR.   

Grady EMC’s automated power outage answering telephone system has come into its’ own.  It has occurred directly as a result of your requests, over the years, to speed power restoration to our homes and services.  You have continually increased the use of this system as knowledge, understanding, and patience have all come together.  The automated outage reporting system, used in conjunction with the TWACS system has provided the membership with the easiest, quickest way to report outages and to have power restored in the safest, fastest way possible.  Our twenty four hour, seven days per week (24/7) local (yes, we still have live, local human beings that can be talked to) dispatch center has crews rolling to power outages more quickly with precise outage specifics.  Personnel in the field, through the use of technology, have the same capabilities and “set of eyes” to see what is happening to the system, just as the dispatch center does.  This simply benefits us as members to have power restored the safest, quickest, and most economical way to our services.  It is important to note the AUTOMATED POWER OUTAGE ANSWERING TELEPHONE SYSTEM IS PAID FOR. 

The reliability and quality of power that we receive in our homes comes from many factors.  In your cooperative, Grady EMC is approaching the completion of a multi-year project in updating the infrastructure distribution delivery system.  This project is involving the change-out, replacement of defective poles and associated hardware with new poles where needed, and new wiring converting the system from 7,200 volts to 14,400 volts throughout Decatur, Grady, and Thomas Counties.  This a tremendous asset to us as Grady EMC is now positioned, not only, for future growth, but also, should provide us with an immediate level of security that we have a totally solid, secure system.  We can depend on the safe, reliable distribution of electricity for many years to come with our existing as well as future members.  It is also important to note that INFRASTRUCTURE CONVERSION WILL BE PAID FOR UPON COMPLETION.   

The most integral part of maintaining the reliability in an electrical distribution system is how well the right-of-way is maintained.  Over the years, as a result of your cooperative’s right-of-way program, the number of power outages  as well as the duration of those outages have decreased, excluding extended outages as a result of storms, catastrophic events, etc.  We acknowledge the frustration to some members that has been created by the right-of-way program, but we trust they will understand the reasoning for it. 

Through sound business practices and planning, your elected Board of Directors and management have placed Grady EMC, your cooperative, in a highly enviable position within its’ industry.  These accomplishments have not been inexpensive, but through their foresight and the diligence of your employees, Grady EMC has still not had a basic residential rate increase since 1992.  Yes, there have been the power cost adjustments placed on all of us due to the volatility of the oil industry, but your cooperative has stayed true to this mission of providing us with the lowest cost electricity available.  How many other businesses can we name that can truly say that in today’s global economy? 

As Grady EMC looks toward the future, we are now focusing on some much needed and neglected repairs on the physical plant itself.  With the aforementioned projects that have been implemented over the years with the costs involved, Grady EMC has foregone some basic problems with our office complex.  We have already repaired (patched) the flat roof several times due to severe water leaks into the administrative offices.  We literally placed buckets around to catch the water and covered computers, electronic equipment, furniture, etc. with plastic to keep them from being damaged.  If you have been to the office in recent weeks, you probably noticed a lot of digging going on around the complex.  This has been a result of water drainage pipes simply collapsing due to age and to the amount of drainage water placed on the system.  Drainage issues on the back of the main office building has just been completed, and for the first time, water has not come through the building as a result of a heavy rain.   

This cooperative’s headquarters building was built and started operations in 1952.  Fifty-seven (57) years has taken a toll on the building, and it is now our intention to bring your offices of Grady EMC up to the standards which you deserve and one which you can be proud of.  In order to keep our members abreast of operations at your cooperative, we wanted to inform you of where Grady EMC stands at this point in time and where we are headed.  With whatever changes are made at Grady EMC, it will be dealt with as in the past, using sound business practices and financial judgment, for the betterment of all of us as members of Grady EMC.