11/2/2009 2:55:28 PM

On October 30, Virginias electric cooperatives filed their 2009 Conservation, Efficiency, and Renewable Resource Self-Assessment Report with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC). The comprehensive report was prepared for the Governor and General Assembly in response to legislation passed by the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates during the 2009 Session. The purpose of the report is to help legislators and governmental officials obtain a better understanding of the differences in the organizational and financial structure of the Commonwealths member-owned, not-for-profit cooperatives and that of other electricity providers, such as investor-owned and municipal utilities. The report will be reviewed by the SCC for completeness and accuracy and submitted to the Governor and General Assembly on or before December 1, 2009, with evaluation and comments from the SCC staff.

"We are pleased that the Commonwealths leaders recognize that there are differences between Virginias electric cooperatives and other types of utilities, and that our structure of being owned by all of our customers means that we sometimes need to take a different road to reach the same destination as other utilities," said Richard Johnstone, executive vice president of the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives (VMDAEC), which prepared and submitted the report on behalf of the 13 electric cooperatives that do business in the state.

The report notes that Virginias electric cooperatives currently serve over 475,000 meters throughout the state, which could increase to around 580,000 pending the proposed acquisition of territories now served by Allegheny Energy. These combined service territories cover over one-third of the states land mass but only 15% of the total electric load, which reflects the rural heritage of the cooperative program.

Virginias cooperatives are proud of our legacy of proactive leadership in conservation, demand response and energy efficiency initiatives over many years, Johnstone said. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with policy makers, regulators, other utilities, other stake-holders, and most of all, our member-consumers, as we work together to ensure that Virginias future continues to include reliable, affordable power and a clean, healthy environment.

The electric cooperatives that collaborated in the preparation of the 2009 Conservation, Efficiency, and Renewable Resource Self-Assessment Report are A&N Electric Cooperative, BARC Electric Cooperative, Central Virginia Electric Cooperative, Community Electric Cooperative, Craig-Botetourt Electric Cooperative, Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative, Northern Neck Electric Cooperative, Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC),Powell Valley Electric Cooperative, Prince George Electric Cooperative, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative;, and Southside Electric Cooperative.

The 2009 Conservation, Efficiency, and Renewable Resource Self-Assessment Report of the Virginia Electric Cooperatives to the Governor and the General Assembly will be available for viewing on the Virginia State Corporation Commission web site: www.scc.virginia.gov .