Manager’s Message – September 2023

Dear Members:

The 2023 annual meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 7 at the Sierra Valley Grange Hall in Vinton. The August issue of Ruralite contained voting materials for the director election. You can watch the meeting live on YouTube by visiting our website and clicking the link on the banner at the top of the page or on YouTube.

Up for election are District 6 (North Doyle, Milford, and Herlong areas) served by Tom Hammond, and District 7 (Edgemont and Levitt areas) served by Nancy Miller. You can find our YouTube channel by clicking on the link.

We hope you will join us for an informative evening with updates, election results, and a Q&A session. We encourage you to submit questions in advance via email.

Rates
As mentioned in our previous column, the cooperative has reduced our wholesale power cost adjustment by 25% or 1 cent per kilowatt-hour. We are watching power supply conditions in the Nevada and California markets before we make any other adjustments.

Wildfire Season/Public Safety Power Shutoffs

As we get into the height of fire season, we want everyone to be prepared for potential outages. In the past, when PG&E had public safety power shutoffs, we have been able to stay on due to our backup power line to Nevada. However, this feed from Nevada is also subject to power safety shutoffs. If all our feeds go down, we will be without power. We’ve been lucky in that the conditions facing western Plumas County are different enough from eastern Sierra and Nevada counties that these outages haven’t occurred at the same time.
Please be prepared for outages. We maintain our system as best as we can, but we are subject to outages caused by our transmission providers.

Telecommunications

PST crews are finishing the final construction work in the Lake Davis area. Please call our office at (530) 832-4261 to schedule your installation and see if you are eligible for free installation.

Earlier this summer, PST submitted thirteen additional grant applications to the California Advanced Services Fund in Plumas, Sierra, and Lassen Counties to continue the expansion of broadband coverage to the hardest-to-reach parts of our service area. We will not know officially if we have received these grants until February 2024. PST will apply for additional CASF grants next year.

PST will be applying later this year for federal grant funding through the Last Mile Federal Funding Account that is administered by the California Public Utilities Commission. If you haven’t already signed up for service or want to be added to our interest list, call (530) 832-4261 or visit the Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative website.

WRAP Program

Income-qualifying members can receive discounted rates through our Winter Rate Assistance Program. The discounted rate is available for November through April electricity use. For more information and an application, visit the Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative website or call (530) 832-4261.

Affordable Connectivity Program

The Affordable Connectivity Program is a Federal Communications Commission benefit program that helps ensure households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare, and more. The benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. The Affordable Connectivity Program is limited to 1 monthly service discount and 1 device discount per household. For more information, visit the Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative website or call (530) 832-4261.

Youth Opportunities

As part of our commitment to the communities we serve, PSREC and its subsidiary offer life-changing opportunities to local youth, such as our scholarship program. Keep an eye out for the Youth Tour Scholarship application in the November edition of Ruralite. Area high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors have the chance to win an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., next summer to participate in the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s Electric Cooperative Youth Tour leadership program. One local winner will be among 1,500 high school students chosen from across the nation to tour Washington, D.C., in June 2024. These programs provide enriching experiences to help young people discover themselves and their roles as citizens. They also introduce them to the cooperative way, teaching the value of involvement and commitment to their communities. If you have any questions, please call (800) 555-2207 extension 6076, or email Bob Marshall.

Sincerely,
Bob Marshall
General Manager