Portables can be helpful in a power outage, but users should practice caution
Portable generators may be a godsend during a prolonged electrical outage, but they can be dangerous and owners should be extremely careful while operating one. A portable generator typically runs on gasoline, although some use diesel or propane. Portables are by far the most frequently used type of generator, and can cost from about $400 up to $2,500. Many are purchased at large home-improvement stores.
All across the Bluebonnet service area are remarkable examples of partnerships with our best friends
Stories by Clayton Stromberger -- Photos by Sarah Beal
Many millennia ago, somewhere in Asia, a gray wolf — hungry, curious, wary — cautiously inched its way toward a human campfire. Eye contact was made, perhaps a scrap of food was tossed over. In an ancient world where survival was elemental, a new partnership was forged.
Projects of all sizes crisscrossing the Bluebonnet service area are planned in the coming years to smooth the flow of traffic
Story by Melissa Segrest l Photos by Kelly West
POP QUIZ. Which is worse?
A: Being trapped in traffic, creeping ever so slowly, because the road you’re on wasn’t built to handle the weekday rush-hour crush.
B: Being trapped in traffic, still creeping slowly, because the road you’re on is under construction for a few years so that overpasses, lanes, wider shoulders and medians can be added.
Solar power, battery storage and EVs were the talk of the day
By Sidni Carruthers
The morning started off overcast and chilly, but that did not deter almost 100 Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative members from attending the co-op’s 2022 Energy Expo on Oct. 22. It was Bluebonnet’s seventh renewable energy event for members.
Commuting subsided during the pandemic, but many Bluebonnet-area drivers have returned to the weekday trek. Some of them never stopped.
Sharon Jayson l Photos by Laura Skelding
Rick Gaskamp is a Brenham native who loves his hometown so much that rather than move, he's spent the past 21 years as a weekday commuter to Houston. He's got 414,000 miles on his 2013 black pickup, which is just the latest in a series of trucks and vans he's driven to and from work most weekdays.
This October marks a decade since Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative began working to recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the communities it serves.
To bring attention to the cause, Bluebonnet has illuminated its five member service centers in pink, field crews have put on pink hard hats, service trucks have sported pink ribbon decals and employees have been wearing pink shirts on select days.
Being a cooperative member has its advantages
It's National Cooperative Month – a time to celebrate you, the members of the co-op!
A group of neighbors banded together and organized Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative more than 83 years ago. They worked together for the benefit of the whole community, and the newly established electric lines helped power economic opportunity in our community.
Haven’t spotted any of the highly anticipated Ford Lightning electric trucks on the roads? That’s because they’re very hard to get.
Ford unveiled the all-electric F-150 in May 2021 and began production at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Mich., in April 2021. A year later, the vehicle officially launched and the first deliveries began arriving at Ford dealerships in May 2022.
The Tesla backup switch — designed to simplify installation of the company’s Powerwall solar battery storage system — was tested by Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative in 2021.
Bluebonnet reviewed the device for use in conjunction with Bluebonnet meters. It switches automatically between using stored renewable electricity and Bluebonnet-distributed electricity. Bluebonnet approved the backup switch for use on its system last year.