LENOIR, NC (June 9, 2017)…The public is invited to an open house on Friday, June 16, for the new district office of Blue Ridge Energy located at 100 Cooperative Way. The new office combines member/customer service and operations for both the electric cooperative and its propane and fuels subsidiary, both of which were formerly located in facilities on Nuway Circle.
A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Light refreshments and facility tours will be ongoing throughout the day to share how the new facility is built for safe operations and to better meet the needs of those served by Blue Ridge Energy.
One-day only discounts and specials will be available June 16, including: 30 percent off all gas logs and fireplace items, greater discounts on clearance showroom items, and $7 propane grill cylinder refills. Smart home automation technology will be demonstrated in the facility’s new, expanded showroom that includes a wider array of gas and electric appliances including indoor and outdoor fireplaces, gas logs, water heaters, hearths, fire tables, space heaters, and generators.
More than 23,000 cooperative members and propane and fuels customers will be served from the new location. The 17-acre site includes: covered warehouse for trucks, tools and other operations equipment; a pole yard for storing and loading power poles and large equipment; a propane filling station, operations centers for line technicians and propane and fuels technicians.
The facility also features a community meeting room that can accommodate up to 120 people. The room will be used for company meetings but can also be reserved by community and civic groups needing meeting space. Groups should call the Caldwell office in advance to discuss availability and reservations.
Operations staff see a key benefit of the new facility as enabling staff to provide faster, more efficient response to outages and cold weather operations with an expanded garage and warehouse.
“Line technicians and our entire service fleet will be able to better respond to emergencies as well as regular maintenance work,” said Jeff Benfield, Caldwell operations manager for the cooperative. “The larger warehouse will store supplies needed for system maintenance and repairs,” adding that the facilities can also now better accommodate visiting crews when needed during times of emergency response for widespread outages.
Ray Mull, Caldwell district manager for propane and fuels, said the larger facilities also help propane and fuels staff operate more safely and efficiently during severe weather or routine work. “As our customer base continues to grow and as our company expands, the additional space and facilities allow us to operate safely and respond to our residential and commercial customer needs,” he said. Mull added that the new propane filling station is also more accessible and convenient for customers.
Other features include a drive-through service window and a second drive-through with a payment kiosk available any time of the night or day for electric and propane payments using cash, check, debit or credit card.
“We’re looking forward to serving our Blue Ridge Energy members and customers from our new office,” said Wongalee Thomas, Caldwell district manager. “It will give our consumers more convenience and more options and the large community meeting room is definitely an added value that will be well used by our company as well as community and civic groups,” Thomas said.
The new Blue Ridge Energy district office located at 100 Cooperative Way is accessible from Blowing Rock Blvd. and is open from 8:30 to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Blue Ridge Energy serves some 75,000 cooperative members primarily located in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, and Alleghany counties and serves propane and fuels customers in Caldwell, Catawba, Burke, Watauga, Ashe, and Alleghany counties as well as Grayson County, Virginia. Learn more at BlueRidgeEnergy.com.