ECG Communities in the News

Energy Efficient Housing in LaFayette

A new construction project is taking root in the City of LaFayette: energy efficient public housing. In partnership with Southface, a non-profit organization that for more than 30 years has promoted energy-, water- and resource-efficient workplaces, homes and communities throughout the Southeast. The City of LaFayette and Southface's "Building America" program are looking forward to contributing to an energy efficient community.

"Building America" helps in partnership with the City of LaFayette to move to zero-energy buildings. In LaFayette's public housing development, the unique characteristics of the building include a heat pump, water heater and a semi-conditioned attic space.

ECG's event theme for 2013 is "A Proactive Approach". The City of LaFayette is demonstrating their proactive approach to energy efficient development.

Calhoun Celebrates 100 Years of Public Power

Congratulations to the City of Calhoun for 100 years in the electricity business!

Engineering Adapts in Sylvania

A large piece of equipment needed for the construction of Plant Vogtle rolled through Sylvania last Friday. Moving the first Deaerator Vessel requires a great deal of preparation as an over-size load. The Deaerator Vessel is 148 ft. long and 19 ft. wide.

Beginning in November of last year, the City of Sylvania and ECG Engineering worked with Southern Company, Georgia Power, Planters EMC, Barnhart Cranes and many other utilities and contractors to ensure a safe journey for the well-planned route from the Port of Savannah to Plant Vogtle. The move required re-routing powerlines, installing taller poles, and temporarily grounding transmission lines to accommodate the vessel.

The day of the move, in addition to the Electric Department and ECG staff, other City personnel from Public Safety and the Gas Department were on-hand, ready to assist. At one of the railroad crossings, a crane was in place to lift and move the steel lighting structure, but one of the bolts was stripped and could not be removed. The Sylvania Electric Department came to the rescue, resolved the issue, and allowed the move to continue.

How do you move a 300-ton vessel? See the photo evidence here!

The convoy and vessel move at speeds of only 15-20 mph, so the team decided that Sylvania was a good halfway point for the first day. A large pad was cleared and prepared to park the truck overnight in the parking lot of a local restaurant.

This project was the first of many equipment transports to come as construction of Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 begin to take shape. The City of Sylvania and ECG will be ready to assist when they come. Congratulations, Sylvania, on a job well done.

Jackson Presented with Century Award

The City of Jackson was presented with the APPA Century Award honoring APPA member utilities that have served their communities electricity for 100 continuous years.

Suzanne Powell, ECG Manager of Education, Training & Development, presented the award to the city in November.

The community investment and dedication that is exemplified through this milemarker shows the enormous impact of public power communities.

Congratulations to the City of Jackson!

Georgia Cities help 'Turn the Lights On' in Chattanooga

The cities of Acworth, Cartersville, Elberton, Covington & Dalton sent crews over the weekend to help turn the lights on in Chattanooga following some destructive storms. Public power utilities lend a helping hand to other communities selling public power through Mutual Aid Agreements.

See photos from the storm restoration by clicking on the Flickr icon at the bottom of this page!

Norcross Mayor: MAMA Chairman with GMA

Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson steps into new role as the Chairman of Metro Atlanta Mayors Association (MAMA) with GMA (Georgia Municipal Association.

Click here to read more from GMA's website.

Jacks of All Trades: City of Whigham

A young tradesman and his mentor find that be it electrical, welding or carpentry, there's nothing they can't do together

When asked for advice to young people interested in work in the skilled trades, Josh Ausburn said, "Soak up any info you can find." Josh is a 22-year-old lineman working for the city of Whigham in south Georgia. But as the younger half of a two-man team [with Neil Mayer, Whigham Utility Director] in charge of all the city's technical needs, it's hard to place any label on him besides "renaissance man in training."

The grandson of a mechanic...

Click on the picture to read the full article on Neil Mayer and Josh Ausburn of the city of Whigham from GoBuildGeorgia.com, a special publication of the Georgia Office of Workforce Development.

GoBuildGeorgia.com

Retail Bus Tour Rolls through Norcross

Last week, the Georgia Retail Bus Tour stopped by the City of Norcross for lunch. The Bus Tour brought 180 people interested in new development and redevelopment to see what makes Norcross a great place to live and work.

Mayor Bucky Johnson spoke to the group and described the many assets Norcross has to offer to potential businesses, including a willingness to continually build partnering relationships.

Rusty Warner, Economic Developer with the City of Norcross, coordinated with Jason Fritz, ECG Retail-Commercial Development Associate to bring the Retail Bus Tour to Norcross. "My biggest thanks goes to Jason Fritz of ECG for making this happen," said Rusty. "Over the years, help from him and ECG has been incredible and fruitful."

This type of opportunity allows an ECG Community to attract a busload of developers and site locators to see with their own eyes an area that they may not otherwise visit. That kind of visibility is one of many things that Jason Fritz works to develop among retail partners.