Broad River Electric Cooperative

“Going up in the bucket truck was one of my favorite parts, even though I’m afraid of heights,” says Elizabeth Edson. “Cooperatives seem like a good career to look into. They have a community built into them, and the jobs seem really interesting.” Edson was one of 45 SC students who attended the Cooperative Youth Summit this year. Broad River Electric was thrilled to sponsor the Pacolet native's four-day exploration of our state's capital and glimpse into the cooperative world. Each year, all the cooperatives in South Carolina sponsor students to attend the Youth Summit giving them an opportunity to learn more about civic engagement, enhance their leadership skills and learn how state government works. Learn more about Edson's trip here: https://lnkd.in/enDXjPkJ

Investing in education is an investment in the future of our community 🌟 At the beginning of the school year, we were proud to provide $11,000 in support to 20 schools and two afterschool programs in Cherokee, Spartanburg and Union counties through our Operation Round-Up program! Thanks to the generosity of our members, teachers can use the funds to purchase educational materials for the 2024 - 2025 school year. Together, we're ensuring our students and educators have the resources they need to succeed. Read more about this initiative here: https://lnkd.in/eHDQtZWB

At Broad River Electric, we understand the importance of delivering power when it matters most—just like Andrew Ruppe, Gaffney High School Linebacker, did during his football game on August 30! 🏈 As the FOX Sports Radio Player of the Week, Andrew’s performance in Gaffney’s thrilling overtime win against JL Mann showed true determination. We're proud to sponsor this award and support our local teams as they power through challenges on and off the field, just as we power our communities every day. Read more: https://lnkd.in/exjMZAsn #PlayerOfTheWeek #GaffneyPride #CommunityPowered #HighSchoolFootball #BroadRiverElectric FOX Sports

"You're family, you care about us, the customers," says Broad River Electric Member Judith Ryder. As part of the statewide 'I ❤️ my co-op' campaign, we've heard about what makes our members proud to be a member of Broad River Electric. Being a part of a co-op is special -- it means you have ownership and control over your electric company. It also means that Broad River Electric is always trying to save money where we can to pass along those savings to you, our members. As Judith said, our members are like family and we are committed to providing more than just transactional utility service to you. Hear from more of our fellow Broad River Electric members about why they love their co-op here: https://lnkd.in/eyswmnkj

Join Our Team at Broad River Electric! We're hiring a full-time Meter Specialist/Line Locator. This role is crucial to our operations, involving tasks such as: 1. Locating and marking underground electric cables 2. Reading and recording members' meter readings 3. Connecting or disconnecting members' meters 4. Managing requests for underground electric cable locations If you or someone you know is interested, apply today! Spread the word and find the full job description and application online at https://lnkd.in/ewbqaHzi

🚨 Exciting Job Opportunity! Broad River Electric is hiring a full-time Meter Specialist/Line Locator to join our dedicated team! In this vital role, you'll play a key part in ensuring the safety and reliability of our electrical services by precisely locating and marking underground lines. You'll also be responsible for reading meters, managing meter connections, and handling location requests. If you or someone you know would be a great fit, please apply and help us spread the word! Check out the full job description and apply online at https://lnkd.in/ewbqaHzi

Most people don't think about how electricity works until there is a power outage. Multiple things are going on behind the scenes to get our members' lights back on from the second it goes out. We couldn't do this without our amazing team at Broad River Electric. All employees are part of the effort to get members' power restored as soon as possible from our member services team to our engineers to our dispatchers down to our linemen. It truly takes a village to complete power restoration, and we're incredibly thankful for each and every team member who plays a crucial role in the process! Curious about what else happens behind the scenes of a power outage? Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gXj5YMRu

"Broad River Electric trustee DeCole Gallman uses SmartHub as an educational tool to show her children how to be more savvy with energy savings. I've got two teenagers and a middle-schooler,” says Gallman, who lives in Union. “It’s good stewardship to teach them and make them aware. We can show them when power is being used on SmartHub and on our bills.” Having this knowledge right at your fingertips is powerful — monitor usage in real time, make appropriate adjustments and save money on your bill! How do you use SmartHub? Read more from DeCole on our website: https://lnkd.in/e-az896e

Empowering members to have a say in energy policies 💡 One of the best parts of being a member of an electric cooperative is that democracy is woven into our business model. This means we are always looking for participation from our members and are eager to elevate their concerns to lawmakers. Broad River Electric invites members to join Voices for Cooperative Power (VCP), a nationwide community designed to help co-op members speak up on issues that impact their electric co-op and help them reach elected officials. VCP members can pick which issues are most important to them, receive updates on those issues and when needed, receive information on how to contact their legislators. Learn more about joining VCP here: https://lnkd.in/ebAQHWsk

Grocery prices aren't the only expense that's shocking these days - the cost of everything is rising, including electricity. At Broad River Electric, we're doing everything in our power to keep electricity affordable for our members. Unfortunately, the price of electric transformers has nearly doubled in the past 5 years. We also face several challenges beyond inflation, including failed generation projects in South Carolina and new federal regulations increasing the price of power production. Despite these challenges, we haven't raised our base rates since 2009. We cut costs wherever possible and implemented a new incentive to save money by reducing demand at specific times. Read more about the obstacles facing the energy industry and how we're combating them from CEO Terry Mallard in this month's South Carolina Living: https://lnkd.in/egFjTTYd