Blue Ridge Electric Announces Corporate Rebranding

LENOIR, NC (October 11, 2016)…To reflect plans for growing energy services and solutions to its consumers, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, a member-owned cooperative, and its propane/heating fuels subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energies, have announced they will do business under the single name of Blue Ridge Energy starting next spring.

Coming Changes Reinforce Company’s Vision as an Innovative Energy Solutions Provider…

The rebranding initiative will become effective in April 2017. Blue Ridge Chief Executive Officer Doug Johnson made the announcement before the company’s 220 employees during an all-employee annual training meeting held in the Walker Center at Wilkes Community College. The meeting included strategic goals for 2017 for all areas of operation to continue as a top performer in all areas of service to consumers.

“From the start, our vision has been to deliver the best energy solutions with extraordinary service and care for our communities,” Johnson said. “While our mission, values and commitment to cooperative principles—and our valuable employees—will remain the same, we are bringing together our two energy businesses, Blue Ride Electric and Blue Ridge Energies, into a single brand.

“Our new identity will be easier for the consumers we serve. It also helps position us to meet our vision for continuing to be the best provider of innovative, forward-thinking energy solutions to the consumers we serve,” he said.

“Having a corporate presence that is unified enhances our ability to provide the latest in electric, propane, heating fuels, and solar energy solutions as well as our plans to expand our offerings in home automation for comfort, security and energy efficiency,” said Johnson. “This is an exciting time for Blue Ridge Electric, Blue Ridge Energies and all our employees as we evolve into an even more powerful energy solutions partner with our consumers.”

The company will officially roll out its new brand in April, 2017.

The cooperative’s second subsidiary, RidgeLink, LLC, a business-to-business provider of dark, high capacity broadband fiber, will continue to be known as RidgeLink but will also receive an updated logo.

Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, a Touchstone Energy affiliate, serves approximately 73,700 consumers in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, and Alleghany counties and parts of Wilkes, Alexander and Avery counties in North Carolina. Its propane and heating fuels subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energies, LLC, serves customers in northwest North Carolina counties of Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Avery, Catawba, and Burke counties as well as in southern Virginia. RidgeLink serves business customers such as cellular providers, government, health care, education and other businesses in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. For more information, visit www.BlueRidgeEMC.com and www.BlueRidgeEnergies.com.