Kiwanis Learns About EMC

Christy Chewning with Central Georgia Electric Membership Corporation (CGEMC) spoke to the Monticello Kiwanis Club Monday about Operation Round-Up and about solar energy.

She began by saying the EMC is a not for profit corporation, meaning that all the money that it makes belongs to the members. The cooperative is 80 years old this year, and has more than 54,000 accounts in 14 counties that it serves.

Mrs. Chewning explained that for Operation Round-Up, cooperative members, “round up” their bill to the next dollar, leaving whatever change to be given away to worthy projects. Some $2 million has been given away since the program began in 2006. CGEMC funds health and human services projects and education needs. She explained the average contribution is $6 a year, and can be no more than $11.88. She encouraged everyone who was not already signed up to do so and to spread the word. Some 69 percent of Jasper County members participate already.

Mrs. Chewning then talked about solar energy, which she described the wave of the future. However, rooftop panels are often not the most efficient, and can be very costly. She told how CGEMC is in a cooperative with Green Power to provide solar energy. CGEMC customers can get the benefits of solar without actually installing it themselves. One way solar energy is being produced is taking farmland and installing solar panels to produce electricity.

For more information on EMC, visit www.cgemc.com.