PoleAttachment
Legislation
‘Killed’:
SCC
Directed to
Study
Issue
By LaTina Lewis
22
“Customer-owners should know that
we’re pleased with the outcome of our
discussion with legislators about House
Bill 1439,” says Mike Curtis, NOVEC’s
vice president, public relations.
“Traveling to Richmond was definitely
well worth the trip.”
On Monday, Jan. 24, members of
NOVEC’s board of directors, leadership
team, and staff spent time in Richmond,
Va., discussing HB 1439 with Northern
Virginia legislators. As a result of these
and earlier discussions, HB 1439 — the
“pole-attachment bill” — was “killed”
and all stakeholders agreed to a study to
be conducted by the State Corporation
Commission.
“We believe a study that enables all
stakeholders to lay all the facts on the
table is a good result,” says Curtis. “The
issue will be thoroughly studied by the
SCC before any further action is taken.
NOVEC is very much a part of the team
defining the scope of the study, and we
are confident that the facts will support
pole-attachment fees in the future that
fairly recover the extra costs associated
with joint use of our infrastructure. We’re
supportive of the study.”
For several months, before HB 1439
was pre-filed in December, NOVEC met
with legislators to inform them about the
pole-attachment issue and maintained
close contact with the NoVa delegation
throughout the legislative process to
protect the interest of the Co-op and its
customer-owners. The bill sought to cap
the rates electric cooperatives can charge
cable TV and telephone service providers
to attach their equipment to cooperativeowned poles. The end result would have
been a subsidy from cooperative
customer-owners to large, out-of-state
telecom companies such as Comcast and
Cox Communications, Inc. Fortunately,
after considerable time and effort, a
reasonable compromise was reached
before the bill was taken to vote.
“If legislators merely ‘killed’ the bill
without recommending a study, the
telecommunications industry would have
likely brought it back again next year,”
explains Donna Snellings, NOVEC’s
public relations liaison. “The study will
enable all parties to work toward a final
resolution instead of dealing with the
issue multiple times.”
Susan Rubin, vice president of
Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative
Subcommittee 3 of the Commerce and
Labor Committee. However, there was
enough interest on the part of the
legislators to agree to an SCC study of
community net metering. The third study
to go to the SCC is a result of HB 2159,
which addresses service termination of
customers with a serious medical
condition. The Commission is directed to
adopt regulations by Oct. 31, 2011.
Senator McDougle’s Senate Bill 1393,
which deals with vehicles transporting
utility poles, will be sent to the Division
of Motor Vehicles to evaluate and make
recommendations.
Opposite Page • Sen. Charles Colgan
(second from left) stands with Vice
Chairman J. Manley Garber (extreme left);
NOVEC Senior Vice President,
Administration, Substations, and
Telecommunications Jim Moxley; and
NOVEC Chairman Wade House. •
Garber (second left) stands with three
NOVEC employees, (L-R) Leslie Perry,
customer service representative; Eric
Stewart, lead line technician; and Reese
Hoffman, equipment operator. This Page
(clockwise) • NOVEC President and CEO
Stan Feuerberg (left) and Delegate Scott
Lingamfelter. • NOVEC Public Relations
Liaison Donna Snellings (left) and
Delegate Richard Andersen. • Delegate
Mark Keam (left) speaks with NOVEC
representatives. • Snellings (left) and
NOVEC board member Cynthia Gilbride
discuss legislation with Delegate Luke
Torian (right). • Feuerberg (right) speaks
with Sen. David Marsden about HB 1439.
Photos by Bill Sherrod, Vikki Heath and Jeb Hockman
governmental affairs for the Virginia,
Maryland & Delaware Association of
Electric Cooperatives, wrote in her
summary review of the Legislative Day:
“Beyond the House, the people we have
to thank include: every cooperative
employee, staffer, and CEO who spent
untold hours arranging meetings with
members of their delegation, setting up
district meetings and meetings in
Richmond, sending e-mails, etc., on
behalf of defeating HB 1439. Also, a big
thanks to cooperative members who
responded to the grassroots campaign
and, we are told, sent e-mails at a ratio of
10:1 against the cable bill. … because of
their efforts, we were successful in
defeating the cable bill.”
Legislators told NOVEC
representatives they received several
hundred e-mails and phone calls
regarding this pole-attachment issue.
Curtis acknowledges, “We couldn't
have done it alone. NOVEC’s customerowners, and those of other electric
cooperatives, provided a tremendous
amount of grassroots support with their
e-mails, phone calls and letters, and that
always gets the attention of legislators.
We really appreciate their willingness to
get involved in this critical fight.”
The SCC study on pole-attachment
rates is to be completed by Dec. 1, 2011.
Legislators will then determine the next
steps to be taken. This is just one of four
studies, so far, that Virginia’s electric
cooperatives will be involved in this
coming summer.
Delegate Toscano’s HB 1685, which
deals with community and agricultural
net metering, was defeated in
March-April 2011
23
Keeping Warm This Winter Is a
Challenge for NOVEC’s Less Fortunate
Neighbors
By Donna Snellings
“Colder weather combined with the economic downturn
has caused an increase of area residents asking for heating
assistance,” says NOVEC’s Public Relations Vice President
Mike Curtis. “Unfortunately, contributions to Operation
Round Up® are also down. Customers haven’t been as active
in this program as in past years.”
Currently, fewer than 5 percent of NOVEC’s customers
participate in ORU, but NOVEC customers can help local
families heat their homes this winter by contributing to ORU.
“Small acts of kindness will make ORU robust once again,”
says Curtis.
When customers join ORU, they authorize NOVEC to
round up their monthly electric bills to the next dollar. For
example, if the bill is $69.74, NOVEC will round
up to $70 and the extra 26 cents
goes in the ORU fund.
Customers who participate
donate an average of $6
each year.
Since its inception in
1997, Operation Round
Up® has distributed
approximately $540,000 in heating
assistance. Last winter ORU provided
$44,000 to more than 300
families in need. One
hundred percent of
customer contributions
go toward helping
families who would
otherwise not be
able to pay their
24
winter heating bills. NOVEC pays for all administrative costs.
Rebekah McGee, ACTS deputy director and program
director of ACTS Emergency Assistance Program, says, “As
the weather turns colder, we witness the growing need for
heating assistance. A warm haven is something that is easy to
take for granted. Families who were once able to make ends
meet are wondering how to keep their families warm this
winter season. The NOVEC ORU funds allow us to help our
neighbors in need keep their homes and their families warm
during the brutal winter months.”
The ORU board allocates donations among six local social
service organizations, and these organizations distribute the
funds to help customers pay their heating bills:
• ACTS — Prince William County;
• SERVE, Inc. — Prince William County;
• SERVE, Inc. — Stafford County;
• The Salvation Army — Fairfax County;
• The Salvation Army — Loudoun County; and
• The Fauquier County Community Action Program —
Fauquier County.
More participation means more assistance for the less
fortunate families in our community. Please help us spread
some goodwill this winter season and join today.
To Join ORU:
• Log on to www.novec.com/oru1
• Call the customer service center at 703-335-0500 or 1-888335-0500, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative
Boy’s Best Friend
is a Service Dog
By Priscilla Knight
NOVEC HELPS, or Hands
Engaged in Local Public Service,
might substitute “Paws” for
“Hands” with a new project. Ginger
Hamlin, a HELPS officer, read a story in
the Bull Run Observer about a NOVEC
customer’s son who was born with
multiple disabilities. The article said the
boy’s parents and community members
were working to raise $13,000 for a
specially trained dog to help the boy
handle his challenges. The story played
on Hamlin’s compassion chord and she
asked NOVEC HELPS to get involved.
dress himself, or speak easily,
his smile warmed the Whites’
hearts and they made him their
own in February 2009.
“Words cannot express what we
feel for Jayden,” the boy’s mother
says. “He is the sunshine in our
lives every day.”
The Whites’ love for Jayden has given
them relentless energy to help their
small, 30-pound son. “We’ve taken him
to every specialist under the sun,” Kerry
White explains.
Canine Companion
Jayden White and Fetal
Alcohol Syndrome
by
P
risc
illa K
nig
ht
Doctors believe Jayden White, 5,
suffers from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. His
birth mother apparently drank alcohol
while pregnant and the liquor affected
Jayden’s development. In 2006, John and
Kerry White of Bristow and their
daughters Morgan, 20, and Whitney, 17,
took in the fragile, physically challenged
boy and became his foster family. They
began dealing with Jayden’s severe
Attention Deficit Disorder, sleeping
difficulties, fainting spells, acid reflux
and asthma, as well as vision and heart
problems. Despite all of these conditions
and Jayden’s
inability to
feed
and
The Whites will now bring a specialist
to Jayden — a dog. Kerry White
discovered 4 Paws for AbilityTM Inc., a
nonprofit group that trains shelter dogs
to help special-needs people, including
disabled veterans in the Wounded
Warriors program. Some of 4 Paws’ dogs
work with FAS children specifically. If a
FAS child becomes ill, service dogs are
trained to alert the caregivers. If the child
wanders off and becomes lost, the dog
will track his or her scent. The Whites
say a service dog would be the ultimate
watch dog and protector for Jayden,
because their son needs to be guarded
and comforted constantly.
“Jayden relies on deep pressure touch
for calming him and a service dog would
be trained to apply that pressure with its
body,” Jayden’s mother explains. “The
companionship a dog would provide
would work wonders for a lonely child
who cannot relate to or play with his
peers.”
The Whites worked to raise $13,000 by
February 2011 for a service dog from the
Xenia, Ohio, canine company.
“The 4 Paws for Ability organization
required us to raise funds by promoting
their charity and raising awareness for
the wonderful work that service dogs do
for disabled people,” Kerry
White said. “Just like any
other charity participation, we
asked friends, neighbors, loved ones
and strangers to open their hearts,
minds and wallets to help all disabled
children be as independent as possible.”
Jayden attends kindergarten at Victory
Elementary School in Bristow. The school
joined the 4 Paws fundraising effort by
selling cheesecakes. Brentsville District
High School students sold T-shirts
showing a boy with a service dog.
At Hamlin’s recommendation, NOVEC
HELPS donated $1,500. Wounded
Warriors and Virginia Search & Rescue
Dog Association are two NOVEC HELPS
charities. Hamlin said to Kerry White,
“Many of us on the [NOVEC HELPS]
committee have young children and some
of us have special connections with
animals, including rescue dogs, so this
story really caught our attention. We
truly hope Jayden gets his dog.”
Jayden’s mother responded: “Thank you
for NOVEC HELPS’ support!
With the help of the Co-op and the
community, the Whites met the $13,000
goal. 4 Paws is training a canine
companion for Jayden and his dog will
join the family in August.
The Whites encourage everyone to
donate to 4 Paws to help the organization
raise and train more service dogs. Kerry
White says, “There are many more
children still waiting for their special
dogs and they are listed on the website,
www.4pawsforability.org, under ‘Make a
Dream Come True.’”
For more information about Jayden,
visit the Whites’ website,
www.giveaboyadog.yolasite.com.
Ph
oto
“He is the sunshine in our lives every day.”
March-April 2011
25
NOVEC Affiliates:
By LaTina Lewis
NOVEC Solutions and NOVEC Energy Solutions
NOVEC Solutions and NOVEC Energy
Solutions have been wholly owned
affiliates of NOVEC for nearly 10 years
and provide customers with additional
products. As a NOVEC customer-owner,
your business interests include the
affiliates owned and operated by NOVEC.
NOVEC Solutions provides many
value-added products and services,
including electric and natural gas water
heaters, standby generators and transfer
switches, and surge protection plans. NS
also provides dark fiber service and
lighted optical data networking service,
which includes wholesale high-speed
Internet services for
medium to large businesses and
governmental agencies.
NOVEC Energy Solutions, a wholly
owned NOVEC affiliate, competes in the
deregulated natural gas markets in the
greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan
area and Pennsylvania.
Currently, NES provides competitive
natural gas service to approximately
20,000 natural gas customers, largely
residential. These customers live or work
in the territories served by Washington
Gas Light Company (Virginia, Maryland,
and the District of Columbia), Baltimore
Gas and Electric Company, Columbia Gas
of Virginia, and Columbia Gas of
Pennsylvania.
“Natural gas is one of the most
efficient methods for heating water,
cooking, and warming homes,” says Gil
Jaramillo, NOVEC Energy Solution’s vice
president and chief operating officer.
“Natural gas users can enroll in the NES
PriceOne Plan for a guaranteed low
monthly price throughout the year.”
NES and other Competitive Service
Providers buy natural gas on the
wholesale market and resell it to
consumers. The incumbent gas utility
provides the pipe and connection to the
home and delivers natural gas to the
consumer. The consumer receives a
single bill from NES, which breaks out
the cost of delivery from the incumbent
utility and the cost of the gas supply
from NES, another CSP, or the incumbent
utility. This type of billing is called an
“unbundled” bill and is similar to how
NOVEC’s electric bill is designed.
For more information about NS, visit
www.novec.com/ns. For more
information about NES, visit
www.novecenergysolutions.com.
Load Management Helps Customers
By LaTina Lewis
Holding the line on electric rates is a
major concern of the NOVEC board of
directors and staff. Participants in our
Load Management program help to hold
that line by reducing peak-electrical use
and thereby lowering wholesale power
costs.
Load Management switches may be
installed on electric water heaters and/or
central air conditioning systems
(including heat pumps). Installation is
done at no cost and at the customer’s
convenience.
During NOVEC’s “rush hours” of peak
demand for electricity, the switch
typically turns your water heater off for
two hours or less and/or your central air
conditioner off for 10 minutes every
half-hour. The peak demand periods
usually occur only a few days each
month and last for just a few hours.
Customers with a Load Management
switch installed on their electric water
heater qualify for our free water heater
repair program. NOVEC will provide
26
same-day response to complaints about
no hot water and will replace elements,
fuses, thermostats, and reset buttons at
no cost for as long as the switch is
installed. Note: The replacement of a
leaking water heater is not covered since
this is a plumbing problem.
Installation of a Load Management
switch on your appliances will not void
manufacturers’ warranties. If you find
the program to be incompatible with
your lifestyle, NOVEC will remove the
Load Management switch at your
request.
The winners for NOVEC’s fall 2010
Load Management membership push
were S. Adusumilli, Richard Caufield,
Kenneth Gigiello, Visiamy Loughrie,
James Pimpedly, and James Singsank.
Each received a $50 gift card.
Customers who sign up for NOVEC’s
Load Management Program between
March 1 and May 31 will be entered into
a drawing for a chance to win one of six
$50 gift cards.
Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative
March-April 2011
27
INVESTING IN OUR COMMUNITY
HELPS Makes Strides in the Spring
By Herb Lupton
28
“Hello! I am Ashley's mom. We attend
the GRADS LAB in Stonewall Jackson High
School. I want to tell you thanks for the
gifts that you provided for all the children
of the daycare. We had a good time, and I
am so grateful to you and the NOVEC
staff who made this possible. THANK YOU
NOVEC!”
Henshaw says, “It’s such a blessing to know we are making
a difference. Sometimes it’s the smallest things that leave the
biggest impact.”
Photo by LaTina Lewis
NOVEC HANDS ENGAGED IN LOCAL PUBLIC SERVICE
Thank You from GRADS Student
NOVEC HELPS supported the
Graduation, Reality and Dual Role Skills
program at Stonewall Jackson High School by
purchasing gifts for the children in the program this Holiday
season. Wendy Henshaw, coordinator for the holiday
collection program, received the following “thank you” note
from one of the teen moms:
GRADS program participants pose with NOVEC’s Vince
Cullen, ‘Santa Claus.’
Upcoming Events
Multiple Sclerosis Walk
On Saturday, April 9, at 9 a.m., Ed Shifflett
will captain the team as HELPS walks for the
National Multiple Sclerosis Society at James
Monroe High School in Fredericksburg. MS is
the most common neurological disorder
diagnosed in young adults.
March of Dimes’ March for Babies
Carol Cancelmi will lead the HELPS
team, on Saturday, April 9, at 1 p.m. at
Airlie Park in Fauquier County. March
for Babies helps more than half-a-million babies born
prematurely and the money raised funds research and helps
mothers-to-be have healthy, longer-term pregnancies. HELPS
member Brigette Adkins will captain another NOVEC team on
Sunday, May 1, at 9 a.m. at Harris Pavilion in Manassas.
Alzheimer’s Memory Walk
On Saturday, May 21, HELPS will
participate in the memory walk for the first
time. The walk will begin at 9 a.m. Lori Spence will lead the
way after her team gathers at the Harris Pavilion in Manassas.
This walk is part of the Alzheimer’s Association’s largest effort
to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support, and
research.
Call on HELPS
Hands Engaged in Local Public Service is a
501(c)(3) organization. Donations made to
NOVEC HELPS are tax-deductible to the
extent allowed by law, and are used to assist
causes and charitable programs that add value to
Northern Virginia communities. Readers who have special
needs or have ideas on ways NOVEC HELPS can help the
community, please notify HELPS at www.novec.com/HELPS or
www.facebook.com/NOVECHELPS.
HELPS supports many local organizations financially or
with the volunteer resources of employees, family, and friends.
Organizations requesting help must be tax-exempt under IRS
section 501(c)(3) and focus on issues related to health,
education, youth programs, the community, or the arts.
Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative
NOVEC mailed more than
7,300 legislative guides to 37
schools, the Prince William County
Registrar’s Office, and other
agencies in NOVEC service
territory. The guide contains all
2011 Virginia state senators,
delegates, and elected officials,
and was included in the January
issue of Cooperative Living.
Customers interested in receiving
another copy of the 2011
legislative guide should contact
Shirley Rice at 703-392-1627 or
toll free at 1-888-335-0500, ext.
1627, or visit www.co-opliving.
com/community.
NOVEC
Board of Directors
Chairman:
Wade C. House
District 5
Nokesville/Haymarket/Bull Run
Vice Chairman:
J. Manley Garber
District 7
Woodbridge/Dale City/Montclair
Secretary:
Michael Ragan
District 6
Lake Jackson/Buckhall/
Bristow/Manassas Park, east of Route 28
Treasurer:
Walter Grove
District 8
Fauquier/Stafford counties
William Zilliott
At-Large Director
James Chesley
District 3
Fairfax County, south of I-66
Cynthia Gilbride
District 9
Fairfax County, north of I-66/
Loudoun County, South Riding
Harry Harris
District 2
Loudoun County, except South Riding
Ann Wheeler
District 4
Manassas/Gainesville/Manassas Park,
west of Route 28
Stan C. Feuerberg
President and CEO
Keeping Current Local Pages
Graphic Designer — Nina G. Cosgriff
Editor — LaTina Lewis
March-April 2011
P.O. Box 2710
Manassas, VA 20108-0875
703-335-0500 or 1-888-335-0500
www.novec.com
29