Beyond the WireCentral Valley Electric Cooperative Keeping the Lights on for 75 years April - June 2012

In this IssuePage 2 ............... Smart Meter Technology

Page 3 ............... Co-op Spirit Gone Global

Page 4 ...................CVE Yesterday & Today

Page 4 ..................................Co-op Tidbits

Board of Trustees•Darrell Atkins, President

District 3 - Lake Arthur/Cottonwood•Chuck Wagner, Vice President

District 6 - North of Roswell•Wesley Pilley, Secretary/Treasurer

District 4 - Dexter/Hagerman•Jack Case, Trustee

District 1 - Artesia/Lakewood•Jason Ciempa, Trustee

District 2 - Loco Hills•Larry Benedict, Trustee

District 5 - South of Roswell•Michael Bennett, Trustee

District 7 - Hope

Central Valley Electric Cooperative, Inc.

PO Box 2301505 N. 13th Street

Artesia, NM 88211-0230

(575) 746-3571 Artesia/Dexter/Roswell(575) 752-3366 Hagerman

(575) 746-4219 Fax

www.cvecoop.orgOffice Hours

8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.(Monday - Friday)

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CENTRAL VALLEY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC.

NEW Healthy Savings Benefits Added to Co-op Connections CardCentral Valley Electric Cooperative's CO-OP

CONNECTIONS® CARD program is about to save you even more. The card that offers discounts at over 25 local merchants and has saved CVE members almost $3,000 (in only seven months) on prescrip-tions now offers members significant savings on lab and imaging services, chiropractic, dental, vision and hearing care.

The new Healthy Savings package is available at no cost to members who print paper cards from www.heathlysavings.coop and show it at partici-pating providers along with their plastic cards. This paper card is a temporary option, and new cards (with the new logos and information on the back) will be mailed to you in April. This brand-new benefit is part of a commitment to help members save money. The Healthy Savings package will help members stretch their paychecks and emphasize that CVE is always looking out for its members.

To locate providers that participate in the Healthy Savings program, call 1-800-800-7616 with your card handy or visit www.healthysavings.coop. Savings examples include:

• 10%to60%offEyeglasses,ContactLenses&EyeExams• 20%to40%offonarangeofDentalCareservices• 30%offChiropractictreatments

Many insurance plans do not include provisions for dental, hearing and vision care. With the new Healthy Savings package, CVE members get no-cost access to five discounted health benefit areas: VISION, DENTAL, HEARING, LAB IMAGING and CHIROPRACTIC CARE.

Detailed information on available savings and how to take advantage of the entire Healthy Savings package is posted at www.healthysavings.coop. If you do not have access to the internet, please call CVE at 575-746-3571 and someone will assist you.

IntroducingNEWHealthy SavingsDiscounts

Central Valley Electric Cooperative 2

Electric Meters:More than Kilowatt CountersNo matter the size, style,

or age, all homes across the country have one thing in common: a small meter, constantly keeping a tally of electricity use. Some duti-

fully track, kilowatts with spinning discs – a technology that dates back to 1888 – while many have been upgraded to handle the information demands of our digital age.

Most digital meters, in fact, contain chips that enable them to send meter readings to your electric cooperative, called automated meter reading, or AMR. Some units go a step further and can send and receive signals from a co-op, opening up a world of possibilities. This allows co-ops to install advanced meter infrastructure systems, or AMI.

AMR has existed in one form or another since the mid-1980s. Initially it was simply a more efficient way to conduct monthly meter readings. Today, the collection of monthly meter reads is just the tip of the iceberg. Faster, two-way systems allow the co-op to view meter reads once an hour and in some cases even more often. When teamed with other automated equipment at substa-tions and on distribution lines, AMR can evolve into an advanced meter infrastructure system.

Once AMI systems are in place, a wide range of appli-cations can become available, including electricity theft detection, outage management, and remote disconnect and reconnect among others.

AMR and AMI are also key components of what's called a "smart grid," an evolving, "self-healing" transmis-sion and distribution network that can track the flow of electricity with great precision and efficiency.

THE SMART GRID

Maybe you have heard of the smart grid on the news? But not everyone knows what the grid is, let alone the "smart grid." The grid," refers to the electric grid, a network of transmission lines, substations, transformers, and more that deliver electricity from the power plant to your home or business.

Our current electric grid was conceived more than 100 years ago when electricity needs were simple, power

generation was localized and built around communi-ties. Most homes had only small energy demands, such as a few light bulbs and a radio. The grid was designed for utilities to deliver electricity to consumer's homes and then bill them once a month. This limited one-way interaction makes it difficult for the grid to respond to the ever changing and rising energy demands of the 21st century.

The smart grid introduces a two-way dialogue where electricity and information can be exchanged between the utility and its customers. It's a developing network of communications, controls, computers, automation, and new technologies and tools working together to make the grid more efficient, more reliable and more secure.

The smart grid is not just about utilities and technolo-gies; it's also about giving people the information and tools they need to help them make choices about their energy use. So with member's participation as informed energy users, the smart grid will replace the aging infra-structure of today's grid, and utilities can better commu-nicate with members and start to help them manage their electricity needs.

CVE to Evaluate Smart Meter Technology

CVE will be launching a pilot program to test automated meters, or smart meters, in the oilfield area around Loco Hills. CVE is not new to this technology. In the early 90s, CVE tested automated meters, however, there has been great advances in the technology and CVE will again test automated meters.

These meters will give the co-op the ability to send and receive billing and operations information. With automated meters, CVE will be able to read meters remotely from the co-op's headquarters. Remote meter reading will save time, labor and money. CVE expects smart meters will improve the efficiency of billing and operations, and electricity delivery, which will help keep costs down for members.

Throughout this pilot program, CVE will be evaluating these auto-mated meters and will keep you updated on the progress. If you have questions about this pilot program please give us a call.

At CVE, taking advantage of new technologies is one more way we are looking out for our members.

A Touchstone Energy® Cooperative 3

Co-op Spirit Gone GlobalElectric co-ops join worldwide celebration of member-owned businesses during International Year of Cooperatives By Megan McKoy-Noe

• Co-ops provide 2 million jobs with annual sales of $652 billion.

• More than 900 electric co-ops deliver elec-tricity to 42 million consumers in 47 states.

• Electric co-ops own and maintain 42 percent of the nation's electric distribution lines, which is over 75 percent of America's landmass.

• Two million farmers are members of nearly 3,000 farmer-owned cooperatives.

• More than 7,500 credit unions offer finan-cial services to 91 million members.

• Approximately 233 million people are served by insurance companies organized as or closely affiliated with cooperatives.

• Around 50,000 families use cooperative day care centers.

• Roughly 1.2 million Americans in 31 states are served by 260 telephone cooperatives.

• More than 1.2 million families live in hous-ing owned and operated through coopera-tive associations.

SOURCE: International Cooperative Alliance

The United Nations General Assembly has designated 2012

as International Year of Cooperatives under the banner "Cooperative Enterprises Build a Better World." The resolution recognizes the vital role cooperatives play in the economic and social well-being of nations around the globe.

Cooperatives are democratically governed businesses that operate on an at-cost, not-for-profit basis.

"At a t i me when fol k s a re losing faith in big corporations, International Year of Cooperatives 2012 offers us a great opportunity to showcase the many ways the local, consumer-owned and member-controlled cooperative form of business benefits communities all over the world," says Glen English, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. "It gives cooperatives a perfect venue to contrast how we differ from profit-driven companies."

Co-ops Are EverywhereEvery day, more than 29,200

cooperatives supply essential prod-ucts and services to American consumers, touching our lives in almost every way. Check your morn-ing newspaper. The articles labeled "Associated Press" or "AP" were written by individual reporters but distributed by a cooperative news organization.

If your breakfast includes freshly squeezed orange juice, it may be from Sunkist, a cooperative formed

by California and Arizona citrus growers.

And the list goes on: Land O' Lakes butter, Ocean Spray cranberry juice, Sun-Maid raisins, Welch's grape jelly, Nationwide Insurance, Blue Dia mond a lmonds , Ace Hardware, REI outdoor gear – they are all cooperatives.

Cooperatives, such as Central Valley Electric, differ from "typical" businesses in a big way: They work for the benefit of their members, not single owners or stockholders.

For Example:• Credit unions fought off the destructive cycle of payday loans by creating salary advance loans with low rates that placed part of the borrowing into a savings account – helping members escape a cycle of debt.

• Marketing cooperatives added food nutrition labels to products long before it was required by federal law.

• Electric cooperatives lead the way in smart-grid implementa-tion – close to half have installed advanced metering infrastructure, with 30 percent currently integrat-ing it.

It's in every co-op's DNA to serve members in the best way possible. That's why co-ops remain the best type of business around.

To find a cooperative near you, visit www.go.coop.

America's 29,200 Cooperatives Build a Better World

Did You Know?If you had a lamp on the moon wired to a switch in your home, it would take only 1.26 seconds after you flipped the switch for electricity to light the lamp 238,857 miles away!

SOURCE: Austin Energy

Youth Tour Representatives

Erin Simmons and Kullen Wooton will represent CVE at the Government-In-Action Youth Tour

in Washington, D.C., this summer. Simmons is a senior at Hagerman High School and the daughter of Amber Reed. Wooton is a junior at Goddard High School and the son of Smiley and Shannon Wooton.

Scholarship Applications Due

April 15!

Co-op TidbitsIn the early days of electric coop-

eratives, it took strength of mind, body and spirit to bring electric power to the rural areas. It required people working together, with a common vision, strong leadership, an entrepre-neurial spirit and assistance from an agency called, the Rural Electrification Administration (REA). That spirit of cooperation brought farmers, home-owners and businessmen together in the quest to modernize rural New Mexico. And members of Central Valley Electric Cooperative still benefit from the hard work and foresight of yesterday's co-op pioneers.

CVE was incorporated June 23, 1937, and received a loan for $164,000 from REA. With the loan, CVE built 80 miles of distribution line, which provided electricity to about 100 members. On October 5, 1938, CVE energized those lines and became the first member-owned electric coopera-tive in New Mexico.

Today, 75 years later, co-op electric-ity still makes barns and basements brighter, homes more comfortable and businesses more competitive. But

co-op members have also seen changes over the years. Changes in the cost and kind of energy that powers our lives, and we've all benefitted from improved appliances, better equipment and modern technology. In 75 years, CVE has built almost 4,000 miles of distribution line and provides electric-ity to more than 13,000 meters (3,800 members).

But one thing hasn't changed – the mission to provide members with safe, reliable and affordable electric service. CVE is owned, governed and served by members who directly use, pay for and benefit from the co-op's electric service. And just like the co-op pioneers of 75 years ago, co-op's represent an American ideal that personify the value of individuals working together for the good of many to provide the energy that powers our lives.

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CENTRAL VALLEY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC.

CVE Yesterday and Today

Erin Simmons

Kullen Wooton