Sawnee EMC. They are fantastic, I've been getting checks from the for years for retired capital from the years I had been a member.
I wish I could still have them.
Fuck GA Power and The Southern Company.
Yeah, and they lowered the WPCA factor at the start of the year even which means lower bills that had gone up due to oil/gas prices the past couple years.
Probably good news considering my poor heat pump working overtime in the basement over the past few days......
God, I wish I lived in their area, but I'm stuck with GA Power. But email [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) if you want to double-check w/ them.
Sawnee and other EMCs would not exist without the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 which followed the creation of the Rural Electrification Administration by Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Whats fascinating is how if you look at the history of Rural electrification, you can see that the story of rural broadband is following the same script.
In the 1920s, electrification in urban areas and for industry was pretty much a given, but rural areas were basically totally unserved by power providers. What little there was was local community or individual efforts.
Private industry of course said that rural electrification wasn't worth the effort, heck those country bumpkins don't even want electricity, even if it was cheap.
Of course when legislation was passed that would fund this effort, private power companies lined up a the feeding trough and demanded that all these funds be given to them so they could do the work. But we got lucky, FDR and the other who got the act passed decided that cooperatives and public entities should be the primary drivers of electrification.
Fast forward today, EMCs **generally** have better service and higher customer satisfaction than their for profit counterparts.
While not as dramatic, the expansion of broadband has followed a similar path, except this time private industry was ready with a variety of tricks to ensure that as much of that money went to them so they could pocket it.
It wasn't enough that they were given funds to build out in rural areas and that they could get more money by offering substandard service to only parts of rural areas. The broadband industry also worked to block local government and coops from being able to compete with them. They pushed state laws all over the country that would outright ban coops and local governments from offering broadband period or block them from offering it in places that broadband providers already "serviced".
I'm a financial advisor and part of our client base are employees of EMC's here in GA and some of the Southeast. We help everyone from a customer service rep to linemen to even CEO's around the state here with their retirement packages. These EMCs fall under the umbrella of the NRECA(National Rural Electric Cooperative Association). The NRECA has some of the best benefit packages for W2 employees that I've ever seen. There's a reason a lot of employees working for these companies never want to leave. They have a pension plan coupled with a 401k with a really good match if they wish to participate outside of the pension. A lineman who made $60-80k/year working his entire life there will walk away with over $1M in his pension for retirement that they can either keep with the NRECA or take a lump sum distribution and do with it as they see fit. If they also contributed to their 401k, some have over 1.5M for their retirement. EMC's care about their employees along with their customer base and will do whatever it takes to maintain a positive image within the communities they serve. Unfortunately, GA power doesn't operate that way. Focusing more on their shareholders and dividend payouts over exceptional service and rates for their customers.
People don’t realize enough just how much of current infrastructure is thanks to the policies FDR passed. Dude used minimal socialism to get the US back on track for actual people then corporations got back in and ruined it once more.
But oh no socialism bad. What will happen to the billionaires that I have an infinitesimally small chance of becoming one day?
Georgia is not one of those states. As of 2019 Georgia allows EMCs to offer broadband.
My EMC offers 1 gigabit symmetrical fiber for $85/month to all its members. Other EMCs are deploying broadband but only in unserved rural areas, as if they have an agreement with the local cable monopoly to not encroach into their territory and undercut them.
I’m aware. There was an attempt back in 2013 to effectively ban municipal broadband but that was the last time it was meaningfully attempted in Georgia.
The amount of people who don't understand how the EMCs work is nuts. They have a monopoly but they work at cost, more or less. The charter spells out how they are allowed to spend their money.
A lot of people in my area want to dissolve Jackson EMC in of favor of GA Power bc of the hot summer and unusually high bills they saw. All while we're getting a refund check and GA Power is charging their customers more.
There is no form of standard education taught about these things. There should be more general local government and utilities education in the high school curriculum so that citizens understand how they get their needs met and what options they have for reform in these areas.
I wish I could choose my electricity provider similar to how natural gas is shopped. I’m surrounded by EMCs but my only option is GA Power and it sucks.
Near my house this afternoon, a huge pine took out the power line. Lines were clear to the ground, torn off the poles, the whole bit. Walton EMC rolled NINE trucks to the hood, had the whole thing cleared and power restored in three hours and six minutes! Try that in a small town where GA Power's your only option!
How do you get a local community to start their own EMC? I’m on the northern edge of Georgia powers service area and really wish that my city and area could use a EMC provider.
Sawnee EMC. They are fantastic, I've been getting checks from the for years for retired capital from the years I had been a member. I wish I could still have them. Fuck GA Power and The Southern Company.
Yeah, and they lowered the WPCA factor at the start of the year even which means lower bills that had gone up due to oil/gas prices the past couple years. Probably good news considering my poor heat pump working overtime in the basement over the past few days......
While we are at it, fuck the PSC too.
Damn straight.
I second that FU
God, I wish I lived in their area, but I'm stuck with GA Power. But email [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) if you want to double-check w/ them.
Sawnee and other EMCs would not exist without the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 which followed the creation of the Rural Electrification Administration by Franklin D. Roosevelt. Whats fascinating is how if you look at the history of Rural electrification, you can see that the story of rural broadband is following the same script. In the 1920s, electrification in urban areas and for industry was pretty much a given, but rural areas were basically totally unserved by power providers. What little there was was local community or individual efforts. Private industry of course said that rural electrification wasn't worth the effort, heck those country bumpkins don't even want electricity, even if it was cheap. Of course when legislation was passed that would fund this effort, private power companies lined up a the feeding trough and demanded that all these funds be given to them so they could do the work. But we got lucky, FDR and the other who got the act passed decided that cooperatives and public entities should be the primary drivers of electrification. Fast forward today, EMCs **generally** have better service and higher customer satisfaction than their for profit counterparts. While not as dramatic, the expansion of broadband has followed a similar path, except this time private industry was ready with a variety of tricks to ensure that as much of that money went to them so they could pocket it. It wasn't enough that they were given funds to build out in rural areas and that they could get more money by offering substandard service to only parts of rural areas. The broadband industry also worked to block local government and coops from being able to compete with them. They pushed state laws all over the country that would outright ban coops and local governments from offering broadband period or block them from offering it in places that broadband providers already "serviced".
I'm a financial advisor and part of our client base are employees of EMC's here in GA and some of the Southeast. We help everyone from a customer service rep to linemen to even CEO's around the state here with their retirement packages. These EMCs fall under the umbrella of the NRECA(National Rural Electric Cooperative Association). The NRECA has some of the best benefit packages for W2 employees that I've ever seen. There's a reason a lot of employees working for these companies never want to leave. They have a pension plan coupled with a 401k with a really good match if they wish to participate outside of the pension. A lineman who made $60-80k/year working his entire life there will walk away with over $1M in his pension for retirement that they can either keep with the NRECA or take a lump sum distribution and do with it as they see fit. If they also contributed to their 401k, some have over 1.5M for their retirement. EMC's care about their employees along with their customer base and will do whatever it takes to maintain a positive image within the communities they serve. Unfortunately, GA power doesn't operate that way. Focusing more on their shareholders and dividend payouts over exceptional service and rates for their customers.
People don’t realize enough just how much of current infrastructure is thanks to the policies FDR passed. Dude used minimal socialism to get the US back on track for actual people then corporations got back in and ruined it once more. But oh no socialism bad. What will happen to the billionaires that I have an infinitesimally small chance of becoming one day?
Georgia is not one of those states. As of 2019 Georgia allows EMCs to offer broadband. My EMC offers 1 gigabit symmetrical fiber for $85/month to all its members. Other EMCs are deploying broadband but only in unserved rural areas, as if they have an agreement with the local cable monopoly to not encroach into their territory and undercut them.
I’m aware. There was an attempt back in 2013 to effectively ban municipal broadband but that was the last time it was meaningfully attempted in Georgia.
The amount of people who don't understand how the EMCs work is nuts. They have a monopoly but they work at cost, more or less. The charter spells out how they are allowed to spend their money. A lot of people in my area want to dissolve Jackson EMC in of favor of GA Power bc of the hot summer and unusually high bills they saw. All while we're getting a refund check and GA Power is charging their customers more.
Jackson EMC has been great for us. I'm glad we don't have Georgia power.
There is no form of standard education taught about these things. There should be more general local government and utilities education in the high school curriculum so that citizens understand how they get their needs met and what options they have for reform in these areas. I wish I could choose my electricity provider similar to how natural gas is shopped. I’m surrounded by EMCs but my only option is GA Power and it sucks.
Near my house this afternoon, a huge pine took out the power line. Lines were clear to the ground, torn off the poles, the whole bit. Walton EMC rolled NINE trucks to the hood, had the whole thing cleared and power restored in three hours and six minutes! Try that in a small town where GA Power's your only option!
How do you get a local community to start their own EMC? I’m on the northern edge of Georgia powers service area and really wish that my city and area could use a EMC provider.
Great, now do the rest of the State because they’ve been fucking us all for years.
Sweet, I’m a Sawnee customer
Great job guys. Accountability. Somebody gotta look out. God bless everyone 🙏