summer

Vacation, warm weather, and a reliable grid

sbradford — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 13:55:13 +0000

Vacation, warm weather, and a reliable grid

August 1, 2025

Summer in Ohio brings hot weather — along with longer days that give us more time to enjoy it. But as we take in the season, it’s worth reflecting for a moment about something we rarely think about yet couldn’t live without: our electric power grid.

America’s power grid is an engineering marvel. It supports nearly every sector of our economy and underpins our national security. It delivers electricity across thousands of miles with remarkable speed and precision, powering everything from air conditioners to smartphones, from traffic lights to hospital ventilators. It keeps homes comfortable, grocery stores running, and factories moving. But it’s easy to take for granted.

For the vast majority of Americans, electricity is available at the flip of a switch, any time of the day or night. Behind that convenience lies a highly complex, carefully balanced system. The grid must constantly match supply with demand — in real time, through all seasons, and in any weather conditions. It’s not just about wires and poles; it also takes coordination, forecasting, cybersecurity, and loads of human expertise.

That’s why even modest threats to the grid’s stability deserve serious attention. Today, your electric cooperative and the entire electric utility industry face significant challenges to their ability to provide that always-on power.

Even as electricity demand continues to rise, especially from energy-intensive sectors like data centers, many of the most reliable sources of generation — coal- and natural gas-fired power plants — are scheduled to retire because of unrealistic environmental regulations and pressure from advocacy groups.

PJM Interconnection, which oversees the electric grid in Ohio and much of the surrounding region, has cautioned that if generation retires too quickly and new resources don’t come online in time, the grid could struggle to keep up, particularly during periods of severe hot and cold weather, when power is needed most.

We all must be thoughtful about how we navigate this situation. Your electric cooperative recognizes how essential a resilient grid is — not just for today’s needs, but for future generations, too. It’s with all that in mind that we’re constantly working with policymakers to support practical solutions that recognize our environmental responsibility but also ensure our ability to protect grid reliability and maintain the affordable electricity that powers our entire way of life.

Craig Grooms is president and CEO of Buckeye Power, the co-op-owned utility that provides the electricity Ohio’s electric cooperatives deliver to their members, and Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc., their statewide trade association.

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summer

reliability

electric grid

power grid

Stay cool!

sbradford — Tue, 27 May 2025 16:20:22 +0000

Stay cool!

June 1, 2025

Catherine Murray

Good Eats

Stay cool this summer with these simple, easy-to-make recipes: Chillin' Melon Ice Pops, Garden Party Gazpacho, Beet the Heat Salad, and Cherry Almond Pudding.

Chillin' Melon Ice Pops

Yield

10 Servings

Preparation time

10 minutes

Passive Time

4 hours

Total time

4 hours, 10 minutes

Ingredients

4 cups fresh cantaloupe chunks

1 cup vanilla yogurt

1 tablespoon honey

5 fresh mint leaves (optional)

Instructions

In a blender or food processor, puree all ingredients together. Pour into ice pop molds, add sticks, and freeze. Once frozen, remove from molds, running water along the outside of the mold if needed to help them release. Place in an airtight container and store in freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

Note: Honeydew or watermelon can be substituted for the cantaloupe.

Per serving: 65 calories, 1 gram fat (0.5 gram saturated fat), 13 grams total carbohydrates, 33 milligrams sodium, 3 milligrams cholesterol, 1 gram fiber, 2 grams protein.

Garden Party Gazpacho

Yield

10 Servings

Preparation time

15 minutes

Ingredients

1 large cucumber (peeled and seeded)

1 green pepper (stemmed and seeded)

1 small yellow onion (quartered)

1 large clove garlic

1 jalapeño pepper (sliced in half and seeded)

small handful parsley (roughly chopped)

5 ripe tomatoes (quartered)

1 lemons (juiced)

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons good-quality olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1⁄4 cup sour cream (optional)

Instructions

For garnish, finely chop some of the ingredients — maybe a bit of parsley, tomato, and/or cucumber. Set garnish aside. With a blender or food processor, puree remaining cucumber along with green pepper, onion, garlic, jalapeño, and parsley. Transfer mixture to a fine mesh strainer over the sink; press down to remove excess liquid. Next, puree tomatoes with vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Transfer tomato puree to a large bowl and stir in the contents of the mesh strainer. Taste and adjust for spice (jalapeño) and flavor (lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper). When serving, garnish with sour cream and/or the finely chopped ingredients. Store in fridge up to 5 days.

Notes

Per serving: 47 calories, 3 grams fat (0 grams saturated fat), 5 grams total carbohydrates, 237 milligrams sodium, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 1 gram fiber, 1 gram protein.

Beet the Heat Salad

Yield

4 Servings

Preparation time

15 minutes

Ingredients

3 large oranges (divided)

8 cups torn green leaf lettuce

15 ounces can whole beets (drained and diced)

3 ribs celery (diced thin)

4 ounces goat cheese (crumbled)

1⁄2 cup crushed pistachios

1⁄3 cup champagne vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon honey

dash of salt and pepper

Instructions

With a knife, peel and dice 2 of the oranges. On a platter (or individual serving plates), lay down lettuce then top with diced oranges, beets, celery, goat cheese, and crushed pistachios. To make the dressing, zest and juice the remaining orange and whisk together with the vinegar, olive oil, honey, and salt and pepper. Pour dressing over top of salad(s) or serve on the side.

Notes

Per serving: 292 calories, 17 grams fat (6 grams saturated fat), 28 grams total carbohydrates, 454 milligrams sodium, 13 milligrams cholesterol, 7 grams fiber, 11 grams protein.

Cherry Almond Pudding

Yield

4 Servings

Preparation time

15 minutes

Passive Time

4 hours

Total time

4 hours, 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 large egg yolks

1⁄3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

pinch salt

2 1⁄4 cups 2% milk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1⁄2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup sweet cherries (fresh or preserved)

1⁄2 cup blanched almonds

Instructions

Place egg yolks and sugar in a medium heatproof bowl; beat until fluffy. Place cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk in a splash of milk until smooth, then add the remaining milk. Cook, stirring continually over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes until bubbly, then lower heat a bit, continuing to cook a few minutes longer until thickened. Remove from heat.

Whisk a few tablespoons of the hot milk mixture into bowl with egg yolks to temper, then slowly whisk in the remaining milk. Return mixture to saucepan, gently boiling and stirring for 2 to 4 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat; mix in butter and almond extract. Transfer to an airtight container and chill in fridge for 4 hours. When ready to serve, spoon into bowls and top with cherries and almonds. For an even more decadent dessert, drizzle amaretto liqueur on top.

Notes

Per serving: 357 calories, 20 grams fat (7 grams saturated fat), 37 grams total carbohydrates, 121 milligrams sodium, 119 milligrams cholesterol, 3 grams fiber, 10 grams protein.

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summer

recipe

healthy recipe

Staying safe

sbradford — Wed, 01 May 2024 16:08:10 +0000

Staying safe

May 1, 2024

Pat O'Loughlin

Up Front

Every year as winter fades, spring brings the promise of a refresh to our landscape. This year, spring also has brought several deadly tornadoes and strong storms, and Ohio’s electric cooperatives continue to assist in the rebuilding of devastated communities and pray for those who have suffered great loss.

Of course, no one can know when or where such natural disasters may happen, so your co-op constantly prepares for severe events like we’ve experienced this year. While we can’t prevent the havoc that powerful spring and summer storms can cause, there are things we can control, and we have our people trained and ready to step in whenever we’re needed to restore essential electric service to your homes and businesses.

It’s a year-round process to be as ready as possible for the severe weather that we know is likely to come our way.

It starts with engineering and planning to be sure our facilities — poles, wires, structures, substations — are up to date and in good working order. It requires consistent, well-planned clearance of rights-of-way and easements to keep trees and brush clear of those facilities.

And when bad weather strikes, it takes dedicated and well-trained employees willing to respond as quickly and safely as possible. Right away, we’ll work to determine the scope of the problem and mobilize people and equipment needed to make the area safe for the public and other first responders (even calling on neighboring co-ops when necessary). Only then can we begin the hard work of rebuilding whatever nature has broken or destroyed. It takes special training and discipline to neutralize the threat that electric facilities can pose when they’re knocked out of their normal operation. That’s why we always ask you to stay clear until we can be on the scene to assess, make safe, and repair.

Rest assured, thanks to our planning and preparation, we’re ready to take on whatever Mother Nature sends us. Please be sure your family has plans in place to stay as safe as possible when severe storms strike, so we can all enjoy the lovely spring and summer days ahead.

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Cold and creamy

sbradford — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 17:32:43 +0000

Cold and creamy

July 1, 2022

Vicki Reinhart Johnson

Features

It's no surprise that Ohio ranks in the top 10 of ice cream-producing states. Its rural heritage provides a steady supply of the main ingredient — and several families through history began traditions that remain in place today. There are countless ice cream shops in large and small towns throughout Ohio — enough that Ohio now has its own ice cream trail.

Here are seven of Ohio’s first families of frozen fun.

Velvet Ice Cream

Utica, 1914

Immigrant Joseph Dager arrived in Ohio in 1903 and began making ice cream in Utica in 1914. Within two years, he was producing 200 gallons of ice cream every month, and the creamy, velvety texture inspired the name Velvet Ice Cream.

In 1960, an old grist mill became the company’s permanent home. Ye Olde Mill houses a turn-of-the-century ice cream parlor that opened in 1970 and welcomes 150,000 guests each year.

Today, 108 years later and in its fourth generation of family ownership, Velvet produces a variety of flavors such as Buckeye Classic, Cookie Dough Extreme, and Raspberry Fudge Cordial.

Ye Old Mill
11324 Mount Vernon Road, Utica, OH 43080; 800-589-5000
www.velveticecream.com

Young’s Jersey Dairy

Yellow Springs, 1960

Young’s Dairy started in the mid-1940s when Hap Young bought land that had been the family farm since 1869. In 1958, the family started to sell milk directly to the public, and by 1960, they had opened a dairy store and started to sell ice cream as well.

Since then, Young’s has expanded into a farm-themed family fun center featuring restaurants, a bakery, cheese, Udders & Putters miniature golf, a driving range, and batting cages as well as farm-education tours for 1.2 million people each year.

Ice cream — as well as gelato and sorbetto — continues to be an attraction with flavors such as Caramel Chocolate Toffee, Farm Sunrise, and White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl.

Young’s Jersey Dairy
6880 Springfield-Xenia Road, Yellow Springs, OH 45387; 937-325-0629
www.youngsdairy.com

Dietsch Brothers

Findlay, 1937

Dietsch Brothers was started as a candy company in the late 1920s by Edward Dietsch, and after his passing, it was reopened in 1937 by his younger brothers, Chris and Don Dietsch, who bought a bakery and changed its products to chocolates and ice cream using Ed’s recipes.

In 1956, the business expanded and moved across the street in downtown Findlay. In its 85 years, the family has developed a wide variety of ice creams, sherbets, and seasonal flavors in addition to its chocolates in two Findlay locations:

Dietsch Brothers
Main Store: 400 West Main Cross St., Findlay, OH 45840; 419-422-4474 / 419-422-4486
East Store: 1217 Tiffin Ave., Findlay, OH 45840; 419-423-3221
www.dietschs.com

Graeter’s

Cincinnati, 1922

Graeter’s started in Cincinnati in 1870 when Louis Charles Graeter began selling his homemade ice cream on the street from two carts. In 1900, he and his new wife, Regina, opened a store. After her husband died in 1920, Regina and her sons continued the business, opening the Hyde Park location in 1922 and then expanding.

Today, 100 years since the Hyde Park location opened, Graeter’s can be found at more than 15 Cincinnati locations as well as many locations in Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton, Oxford, Kentucky, Indianapolis, and Chicago.

Graeter’s Hyde Park (the original)
2704 Erie Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45208; 513-321-6221 | hydepark@graeters.com
www.graeters.com

Aglamesis Brothers

Cincinnati, 1908

Greek immigrants Thomas and Nicholas Aglamesis arrived in Cincinnati in the late 1800s and in 1908 opened their first ice cream parlor in Norwood, east of Cincinnati, where they made ice cream to be delivered to fashionable homes.

In 1913, the brothers opened a second location in Oakley, adding an ice cream-making plant nine years later. The company became known as Aglamesis Brothers, and it has been continued by the family, retaining Old World methods.

Today, 114 years since it started, the business provides a variety of ice cream and Italian ice flavors as well as seasonal flavors and chocolates from two locations:

Aglamesis Brothers
Oakley Square: 3046 Madison Road, Cincinnati, OH 45209; 513-531-5196
Montgomery Square Shopping Center: 9899 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati, OH 45242; 513-791-7082
www.aglamesis.com

Handel’s

Youngstown, 1945

In the summer of 1945, Alice Handel began making ice cream using fresh fruit from her backyard and her personal recipes. As the homemade treat became popular locally, the company expanded, selling franchises and adding vegan recipes, sorbets, sherbets, and ices as well as fat-free and sugar-free variations.

Seventy-seven years later, the company has 18 Ohio locations, mainly in the northeast, Columbus, and Toledo areas, as well as locations in 10 other states.

Handel’s South Side
3931 Handel’s Court, Youngstown, OH 44512; 330-788-0356
www.handelsicecream.com

Toft’s

Sandusky, 1940

It’s been 82 years since the ice cream tradition began, but Toft’s Dairy began in the early 1900s when Chris and Matilda Toft began selling raw milk in Sandusky by horse-drawn wagon. As the dairy grew, it moved to increasingly larger facilities and started to offer ice cream products in 1940.

In 1985, the Toft family built its production facility and ice cream parlor, which showcases 70 flavors of ice cream and frozen yogurts such as those named for regional icons — Lake Erie Cookie Island Monster, Muddy’s Sea Salt Slam, and Cedar Point Cotton Candy. It has three locations, including one at Cedar Point.

Toft’s
3717 Venice Road, Sandusky, OH 44870; 419-625-4376
Knoll Crest Shopping Center: 4016 E. Harbor Road, Port Clinton, OH 43452; 419-732-8857
www.toftdairy.com

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Beat the peak

sbradford — Tue, 31 May 2022 17:07:14 +0000

Beat the peak

June 1, 2022

Jeff McCallister

Power Lines

Sometime soon — perhaps sometime this month, but certainly in July and August — you’re likely to see a “peak alert” notice from your electric cooperative.

It could be an email or text or it could be on social media. Whatever form that alert takes, members across the state should know that while it’s not an emergency or a shortage of electricity, it IS an opportunity for them to save money.

“As we head into the summer months and hot, humid weather, we provide our members with peak alert notifications to help raise awareness of the power grid status, especially during busy periods in the mornings and evenings,” says John Metcalf, president and CEO of Mid-Ohio Energy Cooperative in Kenton.

What’s the peak?

It’s important that consumer-members are aware of those peaks because electric rates for the entire year are based on the highest points of usage during the year, referred to as “peak demand.”

On the hottest days of the summer, when air conditioners and heat pumps across the state are often turned up full blast (it also happens during the most frigid days of winter), the demand for electricity generation inches higher. When your co-op and Buckeye Power — the generation and transmission cooperative that provides the electricity your co-op brings to its members — see that demand heading toward a new peak, they do everything they can to avoid that peak that would trigger a higher rate for the coming year.

While reducing usage during those potential peaks won’t lower rates, it will keep future bills from going higher. Kevin Zemanek, assistant vice president of operations at Buckeye Power, says beating those peaks can save the co-ops $6.5 million to $7.5 million annually.

“As much as 25% of a member’s bill can be affected by those peaks that happen in six hours of the year,” says Ben Wilson, director of power delivery engineering at Buckeye Power. “If we’re able to hold them down through our various measures, it saves the co-ops money as they purchase electricity, and of course, the not-for-profit co-ops in turn pass those savings on to their members.”

All in it together

Those peak alerts the co-op sends out are one way to “beat the peak” — asking members to voluntarily reduce their consumption. Consumer-members can help by avoiding the use of high-energy appliances such as clothes dryers, electric ovens, dishwashers, and the like during those times, or by turning the thermostat up a few degrees to run those cooling units a bit less. Turning off unneeded lights and smaller appliances, while always a good idea to reduce your electric bill, also helps during those peak alerts.

Co-ops can also decrease some of that usage themselves, by controlling some individual water heaters or air-conditioning units. With the member’s permission, some co-ops will install a radio-controlled switch on one or both of the units, and as a potential peak approaches, Buckeye Power can send a signal that cycles those appliances on and off for a short period.

Behind the scenes

There are more than 100,000 water heaters and 15,000 A/C units around the state that members have allowed the co-op to enroll in the load management program — often in exchange for a rebate or bill credit (the programs differ around the state, so call your co-op to see if and how they participate). Most members who sign up for the program report that they have never noticed when the switching takes place.

While one remote switch on a single water heater may not make a huge difference, the overall impact of the program conserves a large amount of electricity — and saves everyone money.

“The reason we do anything is for the benefit of our members,” says Consolidated Cooperative CEO Phil Caskey. “Whether it’s load management, another rebate program, or anything else, our goals are to provide reliable service at a reasonable price and to improve the quality of life for the people we serve.”

How to use less

In times of extremely high electricity usage (usually during the hot afternoon and early evening hours in the summer), consumer-members can help reduce the overall volume and hold down future rate increases with some simple steps:

Defer tasks like doing laundry, running the dishwasher, or charging electric vehicles until after the peak alert has passed.
Use programmable thermostats, with the settings adjusted so your heating/cooling system syncs up with the off-peak rate period — or simply adjust the thermostat a few degrees upward (or downward in frigid weather).
Use automatic timers to run hot tubs, pool pumps, water heaters, and other appliances during off-peak hours.
Close window shades or curtains to keep your house cooler during the hottest parts of the day.
Take shorter showers.

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Hello, sunshine!

sbradford — Tue, 31 May 2022 16:41:05 +0000

Hello, sunshine!

June 1, 2022

Pat O'Loughlin

Up Front

After a damp and chilly spring, most of us were more than ready for the arrival of bright days filled with warmth and sunshine. Your electric cooperative is ready for summer, too.

Every year at this time, we make sure we’re ready to keep your lights on and your air conditioning powered up — even on the hottest days of the year, when the demand for electricity is typically 20% to 30% higher than on an average summer day. In fact, the demand for electricity between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on those hottest of days can be more than double what it was just a few hours earlier. That means our power generators and distribution equipment needs to be ready for duty.

For decades, Ohio’s cooperatives have helped you save money by showing you ways to use electricity wisely and trim unnecessary demand — especially during those peak periods when systems are strained and costs are higher. It’s particularly important now, when we already can expect higher prices due to higher fuel costs.

We also recognize that because many older power plants across the country have shut down in recent years, our overall grid is more vulnerable during those peak periods. Rest assured that Ohio’s cooperatives have maintained a sufficient supply of generation to meet your needs every hour of every day of the year, but we are just a small part of the overall grid.

So when your cooperative issues a peak alert to let you know summer power is in particularly high demand, you can both save some money and keep our grid more secure by paying attention and doing even small things to reduce your usage (see our story about peak alerts here or on page 4 of the June 2022 issue of Ohio Cooperative Living).

Meanwhile, your cooperative will keep working to make sure we meet your needs. We invest in our existing power plants to make them as reliable and environmentally responsible as possible, and we’re also steadily adding new resources to our supply mix. A little later this summer, in fact, our next solar facility, located in Hancock County, will begin to contribute to powering your homes and businesses. It’s just another way we work to maintain a diverse, reliable supply of electricity to keep your lights on and your A/C cool.

Hope you all enjoy a great summer.

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