What Blue Ridge Mountain EMC does

Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Corporation (BRMEMC) is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative founded in 1937-1938, headquartered in Young Harris, Georgia. The cooperative provides electric distribution service to approximately 55,000-58,000 meters across five counties in North Georgia (Towns, Union, Fannin) and Western North Carolina (Clay, Cherokee), maintaining over 6,300 miles of power lines and more than $330 million in physical infrastructure assets including substations, fiber optics, and distribution equipment. BRMEMC has expanded into broadband services over the past two decades and currently provides fiber optic internet to over 14,000 subscribers across 990+ miles of fiber network under the BRMEMC SmartFi brand, with symmetric gigabit speeds and no data caps.

The cooperative's core products are electric distribution and fiber internet, supported by AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure), SCADA grid management, and an Outage Management System. The broadband portfolio includes residential (SmartFi), business (SmartBiz), and outdoor Wi-Fi services with speed tiers ranging from 100 Mbps ($42.95/month) to 1 Gbps ($109.95/month), plus VoIP telephone, static IP, filtered internet, and inside wire maintenance add-ons. Electric service is billed at $24.51 customer charge plus $0.09543/KWH with TVA hydroelectric credits. Revenue is generated through monthly recurring subscriptions across residential and small business members, with the cooperative structure meaning margins are reinvested into infrastructure and rate stability rather than distributed to external shareholders.

BRMEMC's business model is direct-to-consumer via an exclusive service territory, with member acquisition occurring through community engagement, cooperative governance (annual member meetings, board elections), and word-of-mouth. The cooperative has pursued aggressive broadband expansion funded primarily by state and federal grants, securing over $32 million from USDA, NC GREAT, and NCDIT programs to extend fiber into underserved rural areas. Strategic partnerships with TVA (for power supply and EV infrastructure), Seven States Power Corporation, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and local municipalities support both grid operations and new product lines including EV fast charging stations. The organization is led by General Manager Allan Glidewell (since March 2021) and employs a senior team including a Director of Broadband and Director of Member Services, operating with 51-100 employees based on the firmographic data.

Name

Blue Ridge Mountain EMC

Legal name

Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Corporation

Website

https://brmemc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1937

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Blue Ridge Mountain EMC is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative providing electric distribution and fiber broadband services to approximately 58,000 meters across five rural counties in North Georgia and Western North Carolina, with over 14,000 fiber internet subscribers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rural Electric Cooperative and Broadband Services

NAICS

Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (51711)

SIC

Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Choice Aggregators with Distribution Operations (CCA + Wires, where applicable) (EUADABAK)

Keywords

• Electric distribution services
• Fiber broadband internet
• Rural electric cooperative
• Fiber-to-the-home
• VoIP telephone services

Headquarters

HQ city

Young Harris

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Electric Service: BRMEMC provides electric service to over 55,000-58,000 member-customers across five counties. Revenue is generated through monthly electric bills based on KWH usage with a minimum monthly charge. As a not-for-profit cooperative, revenues are used to maintain and improve infrastructure and provide stable rates to members.
2. Fiber Internet Service: BRMEMC provides residential and business fiber optic internet service with multiple speed tiers ranging from 100 Mbps to 1 Gigabit. Additional revenue streams include VoIP telephone service, static IP addresses, filtered internet service, and inside wire maintenance.
3. Value-Added Services: Additional services including water heater protection program, surge protection, heat pump financing, GenerLink generator connections, and Green Power Switch renewable energy options. VoIP packages provide local calling and nationwide long distance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Blue Ridge Mountain EMC (BRMEMC) is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative that distributes electricity to over 55,000-58,000 member-customers across five counties in North Georgia and Western North Carolina. The cooperative also delivers fiber optic broadband internet under the BRMEMC SmartFi brand to over 14,000 members, offering residential, business, and outdoor Wi-Fi services with symmetric gigabit speeds. Additional offerings include VoIP telephone service, EV fast charging stations, and value-added programs such as water heater protection and surge protection.

Product overview

Blue Ridge Mountain EMC operates as a member-owned electric cooperative offering a bundled portfolio of utility and broadband services. The core offerings consist of electric distribution service and fiber optic internet under the BRMEMC SmartFi brand, which includes residential (SmartFi), business (SmartBiz), and outdoor Wi-Fi services. VoIP telephone service is offered as an add-on to fiber internet customers. Multiple speed tiers are available for residential fiber ranging from 100 Mbps (Premium at $42.95) to 1 Gbps (Platinum at $109.95), all featuring symmetric upload/download speeds with no data caps. Additional services include static IP addresses, filtered internet, inside wire maintenance, water heater protection, and EV charging stations. The cooperative has been a pioneer in rural broadband for over 20 years and maintains a fiber network spanning over 990 miles serving approximately 14,000 fiber customers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BRMEMC SmartFi: Fiber optic internet service brand offering residential and business internet packages with speeds up to 1 Gigabit
• BRMEMC SmartFi IQ App

Products and services

• Electric Service
• BRMEMC SmartFi (Residential Fiber Internet)

Quantifiable outcome

• Serving over 58,000 meters across five counties
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, regional and minor.

• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 August 2023TVA is BRMEMC's power provider and strategic partner for EV charging infrastructure through the Fast Charge Network. TVA provides 80% of project cost funding for EV fast chargers. BRMEMC participates in TVA's EnergyRight programs and passes through Pandemic Recovery Credits to members.
• Seven States Power CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 August 2023Seven States Power Corporation assists local power companies in designing, developing, and deploying EV projects as part of TVA's Fast Charge Network covering major travel corridors across TVA's seven-state service area.
• City of BlairsvilleregionalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 August 2023City of Blairsville partnered with BRMEMC, TVA, and Blairsville-Union Chamber of Commerce to install two EV fast chargers in downtown Blairsville.
• Blairsville-Union Chamber of CommerceregionalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 August 2023Blairsville-Union Chamber of Commerce provided the required grant match for EV fast charger installation project and partnered on first EV charging station at their location.
• Fiber Broadband AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 March 2023BRMEMC is a member of the Fiber Broadband Association and received All Fiber Certification. Director of Broadband Alex King recognized in Fiber Under Forty article.
• Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI)regionalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022BRMEMC works closely with the Tribal Historic Preservation Office of EBCI to ensure culturally significant assets are protected during fiber construction in areas near Trail of Tears.
• Graves Directional DrillingminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2022Sub-contracting company awarded contract to assist in Pine Log fiber project after request for proposals were received and reviewed.
• Survey and Ballot SystemsminorOthers · 1 January 2020Third-party organization presiding over the ranked choice voting process for BRMEMC's Annual Meeting elections.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Oglethorpe Power Corporation: Generation and transmission cooperative supplying power to 38 Georgia EMCs, including BRMEMC's power supplier network — comparable as a larger-scale electric cooperative system relevant to BRMEMC's wholesale power and ecosystem.
• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): Federal corporation and BRMEMC's wholesale power provider and EV-charging partner; a broad incumbent relevant to comparable utilities in TVA's service area and to the EV-charging program BRMEMC participates in.

Direct peers

• Kit Carson Electric Cooperative: New Mexico rural electric cooperative that built a fiber-to-the-home network across its territory using grants and cooperative capital — directly analogous rural cooperative broadband playbook to BRMEMC.
• North Georgia Electric Cooperative (NGEMC): Member-owned electric cooperative serving a rural multi-county territory in North Georgia — comparable in rural electric distribution focus, member ownership, and regional footprint to BRMEMC.
• Jackson EMC: Largest EMC in Georgia and one of the largest in the U.S., providing electric distribution and additional services across northeast Georgia counties — comparable in cooperative structure, geography, and member-driven model.
• Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative: Tennessee-based electric cooperative operating an FTTH broadband subsidiary across rural counties — closely comparable in business mix of electric distribution plus fiber-to-the-home.
• Sawnee EMC: North Georgia electric membership corporation serving residential and commercial members across multiple counties with electric service and fiber broadband — direct peer in cooperative electric-plus-fiber model.
• Habersham EMC: Member-owned electric cooperative serving Habersham and surrounding counties in North Georgia with electric distribution and an integrated broadband offering, making it a structurally and geographically close comparable to BRMEMC.
• Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation: Tennessee electric cooperative that has built out fiber broadband across its multi-county service area — directly comparable to BRMEMC's electric-plus-fiber rural cooperative model.

Emerging players

• BrightRidge: Tennessee public power utility that has expanded into fiber broadband and other adjacent services, comparable as a smaller utility actively diversifying into telecom alongside core electric distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/blueridgemtnemc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCXk7Lb4X4SFCX9MIwFvywQQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/BRMEMC
• Instagraminstagram.com/blueridgemtnemc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blue-ridge-mountain-electric-membership-corporation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Blue Ridge Mountain EMC