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Spotlight on ElectriCities Safety Instructor Jeff Freeman

Jeff Freeman goes over a job briefing in the training yard during an ElectriCities class

The ElectriCities Safety and Training team brings several careers’ worth of experience and expertise to help lineworkers, meter technicians, and substation technicians throughout ElectriCities member communities gain the skills and expertise needed to work safely and advance their careers.

We’d like you to meet each of our instructors.

So far, we’ve introduced you to Senior Safety & Training Specialist Mark Todd and to Craig Batchelor, ElectriCities’ Manager of Safety & Training.

Next up is Senior Safety & Training Specialist Jeff Freeman.

Jeff is from the northwest part of Gaston County, in the Bessemer City and Cherryville areas. He and his wife have three kids. Their two girls are 24 and 26, their son is 12, and they have a 15-month-old granddaughter. A huge fan of the outdoors, Jeff loves working outside, hunting, fishing, and seeing the world.

He’s been a lineworker for 29 years. This May, he’ll celebrate four years as an instructor at ElectriCities.

How did you get into linework?

I was raised working on a farm. When I graduated from high school, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. My friend’s dad said I would make a good hand on an electric underground residential crew for Pike Electric and gave me a job. I had no idea about electricity or how it worked.

What do you like best about teaching?

Lineworkers demonstrate their skills in ElectriCities’ Climbing School, instructed by Jeff Freeman (blue shirt)

When I see a student pick up on something they didn’t know or understand. This makes me feel like I’m helping them succeed and making them better.

Do you have a favorite class or school to teach?

Basic classes are usually my favorite. These guys are usually new to the industry and are eager to learn. They are sponges soaking up everything you give them.

What’s the most important thing you want students to take away from class?

That they work in a hazardous industry and, by the choices they make by following all safety rules and procedures, they will be safe.

Jeff will be teaching Substation Operations School, April 22-26, in High Point, North Carolina. He’s also slated to teach Climbing School, Aug. 5-9, and Intermediate Lineworker School, Sept. 23-27, both in Maiden, North Carolina.

View the full training schedule here. If you have questions about classes or registration, contact Susanne Taylor, Member Training and Engagement Specialist at ElectriCities.

Tips to Save Energy (and Money!) all Spring and Summer

Are you looking to beat the heat and hold on to more of your hard-earned cash? We’ve got you covered! The following tips can reduce your electric use and lower your monthly energy bill.

Change dirty air filters. Dirty filters make your HVAC unit work up to 15% harder. That means it uses more energy to get results. And using more energy means a higher bill! Ditch the dirty filter and swap it for a fresh, clean one each month. Cheap filters work just as well as the more expensive kind. Your unit (and your monthly bill) will thank you!

Set your thermostat to 78°F. For every degree above 78°, you’ll save 3-5% on cooling costs. The reverse is also true, so for every degree below 78°, your bill will increase by 3-5%.

Use a ceiling fan along with your AC. A fan can make you feel 4° cooler and costs only pennies to operate. But remember: Ceiling fans cool people, not rooms. Turn them off when you’re not in the room.

Close the window shades. Blocking the sun is a simple way to cool your home, especially during the hottest times of the day.

Check the weather stripping around your doors and windows. Try the dollar test. Close a door or window on a dollar bill and try to pull it loose. If it slides out easily, you need to replace your weatherstripping. A 1/8-inch gap around a door or window lets out the same amount of air as a 2 1/2-inch hole in your wall. Yikes! Keep the cool air inside your home!

Get your central AC system checked by a professional once a year. An improperly running unit can bump up your monthly bill.

These tips only touch the surface. For a full spectrum of ideas on using less energy—and reducing the risk of getting scorched by a high electric bill, visit energy.gov/save.

Business Facilities Magazine Names ElectriCities a Top Utility

ElectriCities of North Carolina, Inc., has again been named one of the nation’s top utilities by Business Facilities, a leading economic development and site selection magazine.

Since 2017, the publication has selected its annual list of the country’s leading utilities based on their work in advancing the industry, engaging the community, and helping bring economic development to their coverage areas. ElectriCities has been on the list every year.

Announcing ElectriCities as a top utility for 2024, Business Facilities highlighted ElectriCities’ Industrial Electrification & Efficiency Grant Program, “a powerful new tool available to support existing business and industry within North Carolina’s public power communities,” Business Facilities editors wrote.

The competitive grant program enables commercial and industrial electric customers to make energy efficiency improvements within their facilities. ElectriCities piloted the program in 2023 and is considering expanding it in 2024.

Business Facilities also highlighted two recent ElectriCities-driven economic development successes in North Carolina public power communities:

1) Redevelopment of an abandoned and previously contaminated former furniture manufacturing site in the public power community of Drexel, North Carolina.

“ElectriCities assembled a group of partners, including federal, state, and local level agencies and grantors, to acquire the property, clean up the environmental contamination, and raise more than $6 million to add the infrastructure required for a modern, rail-served industrial site,” wrote Business Facilities editors.

2) Siemens Mobility breaking ground on its $220 million advanced manufacturing and rail services facility at one of ElectriCities’ shovel-ready Smart Sites in the public power community of Lexington, North Carolina.

“ElectriCities also helped Siemens meet its environmental and sustainability goals by working with the company to develop a strategy to support facility operations with renewable energy,” wrote the editors.

“The projects Business Facilities cited exemplify the diverse opportunities in public power communities across North Carolina, where one size does not fit all,” said Carl Rees, Manager of Economic and Community Development at ElectriCities. “ElectriCities works with each community to attract businesses and grow their economies according to each community’s unique strengths.”

Learn more about how ElectriCities supports economic development in North Carolina public power communities at www.ElectriCities.com/EconDev.

Excellence Lives Here: People

ElectriCities of North Carolina, Inc., presented 15 North Carolina communities with Public Power Awards of Excellence at ElectriCities’ 2023 Annual Conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The awards reflect public power’s strategic priorities, recognizing exceptional achievement in the following categories: Future-focused, Strengthen Public Power, Provide Superior Power, Customer-centered Innovation, and People.

To continue the celebration, we’re sharing more about each award category and highlighting a few of the communities whose efforts stand out. As you learn about the endeavors in public power communities throughout our region, it becomes clear that excellence lives here.

The People Award celebrates communities that leverage our people as our greatest asset. Maintaining a culture of service excellence in the face of a changing workforce and technology landscape demands that communities attract, develop, and retain a new, diverse generation of utility leaders.

2022 Winners:

  • Albemarle
  • Fayetteville PWC
  • Greenville Utilities Commission
  • Kinston
  • Maiden
  • New Bern
  • New River Light and Power
  • Rocky Mount
  • Statesville
  • Wilson

Fayetteville Public Works Commission (PWC) promotes success for their People through several initiatives that expand career pathways for employees at all levels.

To expand early-career pathways, Fayetteville PWC attends career fairs and school-organized events to teach students about careers in public power. Fayetteville PWC partners with Cumberland County Schools to employ students for six weeks during the summer and offers a summer intern program for college students.

Fayetteville PWC employees receive training and resources, mentorship, and an individualized plan to help them progress in their careers.

Through these initiatives, Fayetteville PWC proves how much it values its people and exemplifies the spirit of our People-focused Public Power Award of Excellence.

The City of Kinston proves it values People as its greatest asset with a new pay scale for full-time employees, including those in the electric and customer service departments.

With the new transparent pay scale, employees receive a promotion and a salary increase for completing ElectriCities’ career development programs.

The career development programs encourage lineworkers and customer service employees to advance their careers while improving their knowledge and skills.

Continue learning about the excellence that lives here by reading about the Future-focused Award, the Strengthen Public Power Award, the Provide Superior Power Award, the Customer-centered Innovation Award, and the communities that exemplified them in 2022.

Spotlight on ElectriCities Safety Instructor Craig Batchelor

The ElectriCities Safety and Training team brings several careers’ worth of experience and expertise to help lineworkers, meter technicians, and substation technicians throughout ElectriCities member communities gain the skills and expertise needed to work safely and advance their careers.

Over the next several months, we’ll introduce you to each of our instructors. We kicked off February introducing you to Senior Safety & Training Specialist Mark Todd. We’ll close out the month getting to know Craig Batchelor, ElectriCities’ Manager of Safety & Training.

Craig Batchelor, Manager of Safety & Training at ElectriCities

Craig is from Nashville in eastern North Carolina—the original Nashville, he said. 😉 He worked on his uncle’s farm from middle school through high school. Craig is engaged and has two children. His 12-year-old son is in middle school, and his 17-year-old daughter is heading to ECU in the fall.

Craig has been an ElectriCities instructor for nearly 7 years and a lineworker for 25. At ElectriCities, he was originally hired to teach the Lineworker Career Development Program for our member cities. After a few years, he transitioned to facilitating our safety schools at Nash Community College.

Now, as Manager, Craig oversees ElectriCities’ Safety & Training programs, including safety schools and career development programs.

How did you get into linework?

After trying college out for a year, I came home and decided that wasn’t for me. Dad told me I had to get a job. I had some high school friends who worked at Wilson Energy, and they were able to get me an interview. I started my career in linework in August 1999 at Wilson Energy and was there for almost 17 years.

What do you like best about teaching?

My favorite part of teaching is seeing students “get it.” Fortunately, our Safety & Training team shares the importance of helping students understand what’s being taught.

Do you have a favorite class or school to teach?

Craig Batchelor (right) works with an ElectriCities member to demonstrate bucket truck self-rescue techniques at the NCAMES Lineman’s Rodeo in May 2023. Craig, along with ElectriCities Supervisor of Safety and Training Ross Whitehurst, also taught the crucial techniques at the 2023 Public Power Lineworkers Rodeo in Kansas City, Missouri.

I have two: Climbing School and the Leadership Skills for Crew Leaders workshop.

Climbing School because most of these guys are new to linework and are sponges for the information presented to them.

Leadership Skills because these folks are prepping to take a crew leader role at their city and are no longer shielded from the public and management. We go in depth in this class about what conversations and situations may arise and how to professionally handle them. I see a different side of lineworkers in this class, because they’ve spent their career learning a trade to get to a crew leader position and sometimes don’t realize that managing a crew is just one part of what they’ll face ahead.

What’s a favorite moment from class?

My favorite moments from any class are when the students become the teachers. It’s evident as an instructor when we see students that stand out and other students reach out to get a peer perspective on what’s going on.

That lets me know two things. 1) The information and instruction are reaching the students. 2) The students are making lifelong contacts in the industry while adding to the discussion and overall effectiveness of the school.

What’s the most important thing you want students to take away from class?

The number one thing we want students to take away is the knowledge to work safely, no matter the task. We also want them to have the confidence to ask questions at their city or town when they think there could be a safety issue. Finally, I want them to know I’m available if they have questions, during the class or after they’ve returned home.

Anything else you’d like to share?

The Safety & Training staff are no different than the potential students. We started in this industry the same way they did. We can relate to and understand what it takes to get from where they are now to where they want to be.

Craig will be teaching Leadership Skills for Crew Leaders, March 19-20, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

View the full training schedule here. If you have questions about classes or registration, contact Susanne Taylor, Member Training and Engagement Specialist at ElectriCities.

Tips to Save Energy (and Money!) all Winter

Cooler temperatures don’t have to mean a higher energy bill. These simple tips will help you save energy and money all winter long. (Some tips might surprise you!)

68 is the magic number. Set your thermostat to 68˚F or lower when heating your home. Every degree above 68 can increase your heating costs by a whopping 3% to 5%!

Save while you’re away. Take advantage of programmable thermostats. Depending on your system, you can set your thermostat to automatically turn the heat down at night and when you’re out of the house.

Small isn’t always mighty. Despite what you might think, space heaters use a lot of energy and can increase your monthly bill. If you have energy-efficient central heating in your home, use that instead.

Hello sunshine! Sunlight helps heat your home for free. Open drapes to let the sun stream in!

Remember your maintenance. Be sure to do these three things regularly:

  • When you’re not using your fireplace, make sure your damper is closed.
  • Check or replace air filters once a month.
  • Clean air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators, making sure they aren’t blocked.

For more energy-saving tips and resources, contact your public power provider or visit http://www.energy.gov/energysaver/energy-saver.

Excellence Lives Here: Customer-centered Innovation

ElectriCities of North Carolina, Inc., presented 15 North Carolina communities with Public Power Awards of Excellence at our 2023 Annual Conference. The awards reflect public power’s strategic priorities, recognizing exceptional achievement during 2022 for the following categories: Future-focused, Strengthen Public Power, Provide Superior Power, Customer-centered Innovation, and People.

To continue the celebration, we’re sharing more about each award category and highlighting a few of the communities whose efforts stand out. As you learn about the endeavors in public power communities throughout our region, it becomes clear that excellence lives here.

The Customer-centered Innovation Award celebrates communities that innovate and invest to better serve their customers. Meeting customer expectations in the long term requires listening to customers today to prioritize and deliver valuable energy solutions and programs. These winners excelled in this capacity.

2022 Winners:

  • Apex
  • Fayetteville PWC
  • Gastonia
  • Greenville Utilities Commission
  • Maiden
  • New Bern
  • New River Light and Power
  • Rocky Mount
  • Wilson

The Town of Maiden exemplified Customer-centered Innovation by launching the Maiden Mobile app, available for free on any mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet.

The Town listened to customers who requested the ability to pay their utility bills online. Now, through Maiden Mobile, customers can do that and more. Customers may also contact the utility, receive notifications about planned or unplanned power outages, and report issues like downed power lines, power outages, and trees near power lines.

Customers have shared positive feedback with the Town about the accessibility the app provides.

New River Light and Power (NRLP) showcased Customer-centered Innovation by implementing its Green Power Program, a renewable energy initiative offering customers the option to become carbon neutral.

Participating in an ElectriCities Retail Customer Survey, NRLP learned that 76% of residential customers would pay for renewable energy to offset their carbon usage. To meet their demands, NRLP created the Green Power Program.

Through the program, customers pay $5 per month for a 250-kWh block of clean hydroelectric power. The average customer uses approximately 750 kWh of electricity monthly, so most customers can become carbon neutral for as little as $15 per month.

The Green Power Program is also successful with commercial customers, including the Town of Boone, Watauga County, and Appalachian State University, which have all met or exceeded their carbon neutral goals through the program.

Continue learning about the excellence that lives here by reading about the Future-focused Award, the Strengthen Public Power Award, the Provide Superior Power Award, the People-focused Award, and the communities that exemplified them in 2022.

Welcome 2024 ElectriCities Board Members

The newly elected and re-elected members of the ElectriCities Board of Directors have officially been sworn into office. Please join us in welcoming everyone!

New to the board are:

  • James M. Johnson (Wilson)
  • Lloyd Payne (Concord)
  • Thurman Ross, Jr. (Cornelius)

Re-elected to the board are:

  • Whitney Brooks (Lexington)
  • Troy Lewis (Tarboro)
  • John M. Stiver (Newton)

The 2024 officers of the ElectriCities board are:

  • Chairman: Troy Lewis (Tarboro)
  • Vice Chairman: Costi Kutteh (Statesville)
  • Secretary: Charles D. Nichols, III (Laurinburg)

Remaining board members are:

  • Mayor Eddie Braxton (Scotland Neck
  • Anthony C. Cannon (Greenville Utilities Commission)
  • Jim Gallagher (Gastonia)
  • Rick Howell (Shelby)
  • Randy McCaslin (High Point)
  • Kipling D. “Kip” Padgett (Wake Forest)
  • Jonathan Rynne (Fayetteville Public Works Commission)
  • Robert “Robbie” Swinson, IV (Kinston)

ElectriCities’ 16-member Board of Directors advises and directs the activities and policies for North Carolina Municipal Power Agency Number 1, North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency, and ElectriCities of North Carolina. Board members serve three-year terms.

Judge Allegra Collins (far right) swore in newly elected and re-elected ElectriCities board members on Jan. 26, 2024. Board members, left to right: Lloyd Payne; Thurman Ross, Jr.; Troy Lewis; John M. Stiver; Whitney Brooks; and James M. Johnson.

Board members were sworn in and officers were elected during the ElectriCities Board of Directors meeting on Jan. 26, 2024.

“Congratulations to our newly elected and re-elected members and to this year’s officers,” said ElectriCities CEO Roy Jones. “A big thank you to outgoing Board Chairman, Randy McCaslin, for his service and leadership this past year as the Board’s work has continued on public power’s strategic plan.”

“Many thanks also to Judge Allegra Collins from the North Carolina Court of Appeals for joining us again this year to swear in the newly elected and re-elected board members,” Jones said. “I look forward to working with this distinguished group dedicated to helping ensure a bright future for public power in our region.”

Excellence Lives Here: Provide Superior Power

ElectriCities of North Carolina, Inc., presented 15 North Carolina communities with Public Power Awards of Excellence at ElectriCities’ 2023 Annual Conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The awards reflect public power’s strategic priorities, recognizing exceptional achievement during 2022 for the following categories: Future-focused, Strengthen Public Power, Provide Superior Power, Customer-centered Innovation, and People.

To continue the celebration, we’re sharing more about each award category and highlighting a few of the communities whose efforts stand out. As you learn about the endeavors in public power communities throughout our region, it becomes clear that excellence lives here.

The Provide Superior Power Award celebrates communities that deliver reliable, affordable, and sustainable electric power.

Communities that received this award created programs that benefit the municipality and the customers while providing the safest, most reliable power.

2022 Winners:

  • Fayetteville PWC
  • Greenville Utilities Commission
  • Kinston
  • New Bern
  • New River Light & Power
  • Rocky Mount
  • Tarboro
  • Wilson

Wilson Energy, the City of Wilson’s electric and gas divisions, Provides Superior Power by implementing energy reduction efforts across its electric system.

Wilson Energy uses multiple touchpoints to reduce energy, including generators, load control switches, newly replaced capacitor banks, and voltage reduction. Wilson Energy also replaced all active street, area, and floodlights with energy-efficient LED luminaires.

Upon request, Wilson Energy customers can receive free residential energy audits. During these audits, Wilson Energy personnel show customers ways to lower their utility bills.

The City of New Bern Provides Superior Power by enhancing demand-side management efforts with demand response programs such as the City’s CONNECTS Load Management Rewards program. Customers who participate in the program receive credits on their utility bills for installing devices on water heaters, heat strips, air conditioners, and water sources such as pool pumps. The City also has an appliance rebate program for upgrading HVAC and water heaters.

New Bern’s dynamic electric vehicle charging rates encourage off-peak charging, further enhancing load management.

Continue learning about the excellence that lives here by reading about the Future-focused Award, the Strengthen Public Power Award, the Customer-centered Innovation Award, the People-focused Award, and the communities that exemplified them in 2022.

 

Spotlight on ElectriCities Safety Instructor Mark Todd

The ElectriCities Safety and Training team brings several careers’ worth of experience and expertise to help lineworkers, meter technicians, and substation technicians throughout ElectriCities member communities gain the skills and expertise needed to work safely and advance their careers.

Over the next several months, we’ll introduce you to each of our instructors.

Mark Todd, ElectriCities Senior Safety & Training Specialist

We learned a bit about Senior Safety & Training Specialist Mark Todd in his article, “‘It’s a Wonderful Life’: Acknowledging and Safeguarding Our Blessings,” published in Incident Prevention magazine.

Now let’s find out a bit more.

Mark has been an ElectriCities instructor for 12 years and a lineworker for over 30. He’s a Navy veteran who grew up in Rockingham, North Carolina. Mark’s best friend is his wife. They have four children and four grandchildren.

How did you get into linework?

I never wanted to be average. For me, this means performing a job or having a career that the average person could not do, and most people would not do. As a young boy growing up and having a father who was a lineman, I saw how people respected what he did. I remember how family and friends would call the house to check on him during a major storm. I was hesitant about trying to follow in his footsteps at first. I knew I would never be the lineman that he was. My father taught me to take pride not in the career I chose, or the title I may hold, but in how well I did the job.

What do you like best about teaching?

Being given the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life and career. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing former students become successful in their career and to think I may have had something to do with that.

Do you have a favorite class or school to teach? I enjoy teaching all the schools, but Climbing School has always been a favorite because the students are young and eager to learn.

What’s a favorite moment from class? When I began teaching, I incorporated “Words of Wisdom.” On the last day of every school before everyone goes home, we instructors share last words of wisdom that we feel may help the students work safely throughout their careers.

Mark Todd teaches lineworkers about equal potential grounding.

What’s the most important thing you want students to take away from class? Do not get distracted, stay focused, and stay safe. Accidents and injuries that we think could never happen to us happen all the time to SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE.

Anything else you’d like to share? I believe that getting a person to follow the safety rules cannot be enforced. It must be inspired. In my class, whether you like it or not, that’s exactly what you’ll will get.

Mark will be teaching Basic Electric Meter School Feb. 20-22, in Newberry, South Carolina.

View the full training schedule here. If you have questions about classes or registration, contact Susanne Taylor, Member Training and Engagement Specialist at ElectriCities.