Albemarle EMC … Helping Bring Lights in Costa Rica

A small border-town community in Costa Rica has many friends in the United States. With the help and support from NRECA International Foundation and its partners, 43 families now enjoy lights in their homes.

Albemarle EMC, of Hertford, North Carolina, is one of the partners that helped bring a smile to the children of the newly-electrified schools. The co-op had three transformers that they were taking down from their system due to advances in technology. But the transformers still had plenty of life in them. So much that they are now changing the lives and helping improve the future for the community in Santa Cruz.

Getting the transformers down to Costa Rica was a challenge in itself. The transformer bushings did not meet NRECA standards for international shipping. But this did not deter Bradley Furr, Manager of Technical Services of Albemarle EMC; he had the bushings removed and the transformers sealed to allow for safe shipment from Hertford to Costa Rica. The co-op was so excited about helping transform lives that the board of directors even decided on paying for the inland transportation within the U.S.

In a recent trip to Costa Rica in January, Vivek Talvadkar, Executive Director of the NRECA International Foundation, visited many of the communities that have benefited from donations of equipment from U.S. co-ops, and volunteer linemen work. “It is amazing to see the transformation in the lives of the people,” he said. “When cooperatives send good, used equipment, and volunteer linemen travel to build the systems, lives are changed forever. People enjoy better health, education, and have a means to make a living for their families.”

Thank you to Albemarle EMC for helping us Electrify the World … One Village at a Time.