The content of this page was recently deleted and restored. We encourage you to edit this domain page on AboutUs.org in a constructive way. Please see our Help and AboutUs page to learn more. If you are the owner of LocalEnergyMatters.info we invite you to use this page to promote your website, but if you prefer to have bot-generated information removed please see our No Bot Policy.

edit Local Energy Matters!!!

Education, information and activism networking about ENERGY. Resources grouped by topic: Energy Cooperatives, Energy Management, Energy Efficiency, Energy Accessibility, Energy Stewardship, Energy Ecology, and Energy Economy. Networking hub for various (independent) groups and organizations which support and endorse these ideal by and through their work on local initiatives.

edit Logos

edit Discussion

edit Community Reviews

edit Hello world...!!!

Nice to meet you. Please feel free to share your thots about Local Energy Matters by posting comments here, on our discussion board. To ADD YOUR COMMENT, just click the + tab (to the right of the edit tab) above. Thanks!!! ~LocalEnergyMatters

edit Sure 'nuf...

Yup... It works!!! ~Christine

edit Yup it does work

The sites look good, especially for just the few days from idea.

RLR

edit Looks wonderful

Thanks for all your work, the site looks great and I hope to visit it every time I get on line while I'm away. Paulette

edit Some things our 'energy cooperatives' could (should?) be doing...

Following are some things that I personally would like to see local energy cooperatives tenaciously involved with, re: demonstrating leadership in our community (see: The History and Development of Cooperative Principles [1]). Hope others will add their own ideas...

+ Vigorous support for our Volunteer Fire Departments... (ie: benefits programs for all volunteers such as credit on electric bill for active VFD particiaption.

+ Leadership in 'energy efficiency retrofitting' of member homes & businesses (ie: implement 'efficiency credit' sliding scale for electricity consumption which (like carbon-credit trading) rewards those who keep energy consumption to a minimum; implement public awareness campaigns which instruct members about practical 'how tos' of minimizing energy consumption while maximizing quality of life; implement 'retrofit assistance' programs which enable members to implement what they learn.

+ Leadership to make our energy cooperative self-sufficient (ie: here in PJE territory, we could use our own natural gas reserves as we segue to sustainable technologies and renewable fuels such as solar, wind and geothermal to generate our own power for our own membership).

+ Leadership in ecology and environment(ie: what is really the best way to control vegetation on power easements? How about taking all electric line underground...???).

Your ideas...??? ~Christine

(NOTE: You may add to the list above by clicking the 'edit' link directly to the right of the title of this post. You may add your own post by clicking the + tab near the top of this page.)

edit Is PJE a 'good neighbor'?

A few months ago some neighbors found out they had a defective meter on their house. When it was discovered by Petit Jean, they immediately demanded some $1,700 - $1,900 in past-due charges. Of course the people didn't have that kind of money, so Petit Jean finally agreed to continue providing service for an additional payment of $20 per month, until hell freezes over. The customer's name is X and another neighbor has been helping manage X's monthly budget because X is a bit dim-witted about such. Well...

X must pay her bill in cash at PJE office because she cannot be trusted with a checkbook so the neighbor personally drives X to PJE which is how I came to know about this incident. The neighbor was telling me today that the woman at PJE that X has been dealing with is 'a sorry person' and that PJE is 'a sorry company' because no matter the fact that X has been paying the full amount due each month and on time, it doesn't matter. They still send shut-off notices because of the allegedly back-owed amount.

Last month X paid early and got a receipt, yet PJE accused her of nonpayment and issued another shut off notice. The woman in PJE tells X that 'they shouldn't pay early because it doesn't go into the computer right.' The PJE woman also said some pretty snotty things to X and the neighbor was pretty steamed about it, because you know there's just something about telling X that if she wants to pay in person she must show exactly on the due date of each bill; that paying late is out of the question and early is not an option.

Anyway, the neighbor was all cranked up about this most recent episode and I told her she ought to take X to a PJE BoD meeting--except that they would be denied entrance. She was aghast. "But cooperatives are member owned," she said. "They have to let you attend a meeting."

I told the neighbor that was not the way it works with PJE and the neighbor became incensed. I asked whether it would be acceptable for someone to perhaps call X and discuss this. The neighbor said that wasn't too viable because X, admittedly, has a difficult time keeping thoughts together. So I said, "What about you? You have all X's bills and receipts, and the info. Would you mind if someone were to call you to inquire about this?" Well, the neighbor was really steamed and readily agreed to discuss it with anyone who might be curious enough to inquire. I told her I would pass the sad story along, along with mention of her willingness to make an example of PJE's total disregard for their customers. Note here that the neighbor is an Entergy customer, as am I, so can't personally protest the PJE actions.

Also, here's another PJE-related question: Would Entergy have hired the same herbicide spraying contractor, using the same (allegedly) illegal aliens that PJE hired? I believe you reported that someone on the board said they had a local person do the spraying. And there's something in a crevice of my mind telling me that Entergy supposedly used someone from Texas. I am nearly 100% sure that the Entergy sub-contractor used illegals--at least they couldn't speak English.

Another of my neighbors, at the end of the PJE line, probably knows about these things. They got sprayed and cut from both sides. There had to be some kind of herbicidal collusion going on between various electric companies this year; I can see where they might have shared some of the same contractors.

edit What is PJE's #1 Priority?

re: X and PJE... double-wow. That is a tragedy. Especially in light of the fact that I've heard tell when the PJE Board approved the 2006 final budget at their last meeting, after our small group was out of their hair, they wrote-off $27,204.89 in uncollected customer debts. And undoubtedly, those folks who were 'forgiven' were, of course, the 'dead beats' of our hometown community.

To my mind, there should be some sort of 'member arbitration committee' to address circumstances like this and set an appropriate course of action. IMHO, X was not treated fairly. As a Member of PJE, I am appalled. This is NOT the way I would want to be treated, nor does such activity define to me as 'good business practice' which *must* to my standards put 'individual human well-being' ahead of all else.

~Christine

edit Fuel Source Standard: natural gas vs coal

The Fuel Source Standard would be a good thing for Arkansas. I can't believe that natural gas would cost 5 times what Wyoming coal costs after shipping. There are 700 carloads of coal brought from Wyoming each week. What would natural gas cost if you owned the wells?? Here [in North Central Arkansas] we are sitting on one of the biggest gas reserves around and it is being transported through a pipeline to Indiana. Without the pipeline costs, the price of natural gas should be reasonable.

In reference to PURPA Standards, Alabama must be about 25 years behind the power curve if they are just now evaluating demand side management programs. I have a letter from 1979 that states that the Arkansas Public Comission mandated the use of physical load management systems in the late 70's. Petit Jean does not need Time-Based metering because they cannot even maintain something as simple as a radio controlled water heater switch. Their Load Management system is in shambles and I see no hope for an improvement in the near future with the present management team in place.

P.S. I got a call from a friend who said he read Bob's letter to the editor. He could not believe that no one could attend the meetings. He said "isn't that against the law if they receive any type of Federal funding???"

edit Federal Assistance to Electric Utilities

According to Nobel Laureate economics professor, Lawrence R. Klein of the University of Pennsylvania, all types of utilities -- Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs), Municipal Owned utilities and electric cooperatives -- enjoy some form of local, state or federal subsidy, ref: NRECA

~Christine

edit Demand Charges

My disappointment with the present PJE Board and Management is that they have abandoned the load management system which can reduce their demand charges by around $400,000.00 per year. My guess is that if they still use it, about 5% of the switches are still working. Petit Jean sets the output voltage on all voltage regulators at 124 Volts. If they would drop the voltage to 120 Volts, their demand would drop a little over 3 megawatts for a savings of around $300,000.00 per year. Your light bulbs would last a lot longer at 120 Volts also. When you operate a 100 watt light bulb designed for 120 Volts at 124 Volts, it draws 106.7 Watts instead of 100 watts. Your monthly bill would drop a little because all of your light bulbs would draw a little less current. If you have a electric water heater, It would use the same amount because when you lower that voltage, it takes a few more minutes to heat the water. To make a long story short, The Directors have no clue about load management or how to think outside the box to reduce the operating costs of Petit Jean Electric.

edit Cooperatives 'owned and controlled' by those they serve.

PJE is a member of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association which overwhelmingly approved at its 57th annual membership meeting in March 1999 The Electric Consumer Bill of Rightswhich reads in part: "Electric cooperatives are owned and controlled by the consumers they serve. The co-op difference resides in consumer ownership and control."

~Christine

edit Net Metering in Arkansas

From: Robert Reed Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 10:19 PM Subject: Arkansas Net Metering Needs

Dear Elected Officials;

After HOURS of research here is the real facts on Arkansas Net metering. Even though it is law to allow net metering there are HUGE holes in the law and regulations.

1. If you are approved for net metering the, utility can increase your rate as they deem necessary for power used on grid.

2. The pay back to the customer is only to the amount of power you use off the grid. "net Zero" This means that if you use 100kwh of power but generate 150kwh, the utility does not pay for the extra power generated over 100kwh! (they get this without having to pay for it, and resell it for windfall)

3. The SAFTEY equipment is bogus. It is required to have a "disconnect inverter" If this is in the system and the grid goes down so does YOUR power system!!!

• NO requirement for a manual lockout disconnect! (to protect line workers)
• NO equipment for a AUTOMATIC Power Relay disconnect (to protect line workers)

4. The utility can assess any fees, equipment charges they deem necessary for grid connection.

To boil all this down, as the rules are written, the system is UNSAFE, does NOT benefit the consumer, utility companies, add additional power to peak-demand hours, promote power conservation, or PROMOTE the use alternate ENERGY and therefore WILL NEVER assist in power reduction/generation in this state.

As an example, as of last month no matter how much power I put on grid,(where the power company sells it or how much money I spent), I would only receive $60.07 in credit, this after a substantial investment.

We have a HUGE issue here!! Is there any legislation this session to work on this issue?

Thank You for your time.

R.L.Reed, 295 Elan Trail, Dennard AR 72629, 501-745-6341,

edit Does PJE Receive Federal Funding?

The question of whether PJE receives federal funding was raised. The answer is, yes, they have and they do. Perhaps this is covered in their Annual Report (which is still not posted on their website). Petit Jean is a borrower from the USDA RUS, according to the USDA website. The borrower's list only identifies those entities, does not specify how much and what for, or whether they get direct funds or loan guarantees.

edit External Links

• Alexa: LocalEnergyMatters.info
• WHOIS for LocalEnergyMatters.info