Rural Electric Cooperative Case Studies
1 State, 31 Co-ops:
Big Results
A recent study found that in South Dakota alone,
between 1997 and 2001, the state’s 31 electric cooperatives:
• Generated 800 new jobs through sponsorship
of revolving loan funds.
• Invested $10.8 million in economic development activities.
• Provided nearly $15 million in development loans to
88 different organizations.
• Donated more than $1.2 million to civic and community
development activities.
• Contributed 52,000 volunteer hours to local projects
in one year through their employees.
Source: SD Rural Electric Association and NRECA,
2003
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The nation’s nearly 900 consumer-owned
electric cooperatives provide electricity for 37 million people
in 47 states. But they do much more than that. Owned and governed
by the consumers in hundreds of small communities, electric co-ops
have been demonstrating strong commitment to their local communities
since they turned on the lights in rural America in the 1930s. Today,
they generate jobs and income, support local causes through charitable
contributions and volunteerism, improve the environment, support
education, and invest in new community businesses. Here is a sampling
of how rural electric co-ops contribute to their communities.
Building Opportunity
East River Power Cooperative,
Madison, South Dakota. In 1998, with commodity prices fluctuating,
Lake County corn farmers wanted to form their own ethanol plant
to increase income and create jobs. But to secure financing for
the $40 million plant, they had to raise $16 million in equity.
East River and Sioux Valley Energy Co-op helped raise that equity
by developing the value-added loan program. The program allowed
nearly 600 members of the electric co-ops to use their co-op equity
as collateral for loans for the ethanol plant. Today, Dakota Ethanol
has a $1.2 million payroll and adds $50 million to the economy in
the Madison area.
Wharton County Electric Cooperative,
El Campo, Texas. Through its own business incubator service, the
Wharton County Electric Cooperative helped catfish farmers create
the Texas Aquaculture Cooperative. After identifying the strong
demand for catfish, WCEC sponsored seminars, provided seed money
for legal fees, financed a feasibility study and provided design
and technical expertise for the cooperative. The cooperative now
enjoys national markets for its products and recently broke ground
on its own processing plant. The plant will contribute $17 million
to the local economy and create 35 new jobs.
Brunswick Electric Membership Corporation,
Shallotte, North Carolina. Hard hit by the decline in textile and
other manufacturing industries, southeast North Carolina needed
more jobs and new income opportunities. With funding and support
from a variety of public and private partners, Brunswick Electric
Membership Corporation, an electric co-op, created three business
development centers that provide affordable space to professional,
service and manufacturing businesses. The centers lower overhead
costs for the new businesses and simplify the startup process. They
offer graduated rental rates to help businesses get off the ground.
To date, the centers have housed 49 new businesses that have created
nearly 800 new jobs. Similar business incubation projects have been
launched by other co-ops around the country, including Lorain-Median
Rural Electric Co-op and North Central Electric Co-op in Ohio, and
Bayfield Electric Cooperative in Wisconsin.
N.W. Electric Power, Cameron,
Missouri. In the early 1980s, as farm prices plummeted, many residents
in Northwest Electric’s service area left family farms for
employment elsewhere. Jobs disappeared, property values fell and
declines in government revenues forced cutbacks in services. Local
officials lacked the resources to establish economic development
programs that could attract new employers. When mounting residential
vacancies and business closings threatened local distribution co-ops,
N.W. Electric organized a community-business coalition to spur economic
growth and create jobs. Formed in 1988, the NW Roundtable pooled
the resources of eight electric distribution cooperatives, 28 county
commissions, 41 city councils, and 13 chambers of commerce. It funded
professional development, helped with budgets and fund raising,
and eventually won state and federal grants for studies and marketing
efforts. In addition to promoting the region to prospective industries,
the NW Roundtable developed solutions to community problems that
were obstacles to economic growth, such as housing shortages. Since
N.W. Electric Power started the Roundtable, the coalition has attracted
companies that employ more than 4,000 workers.
Caring for the Community
Palmetto Electric
Cooperative, Ridgeland, South Carolina. Fourteen years
ago, Palmetto Electric Cooperative launched Operation Roundup®,
which allows the its members to round up their electric bills to
the nearest dollar and donate the difference to a fund supporting
community organizations and individuals in need. The donations,
about $6 per member per year, have generated more than $3 million
in charitable contributions and become a model for other cooperatives.
Through how-to materials and an instructional video, Palmetto has
helped some 230 other electric cooperatives launch their own programs
using the Operation Roundup brand. In Georgia alone, 15 electric
co-ops have contributed more than $4 million through Operation Roundup
programs to aid their communities.
Northwest Iowa Power
Cooperative, Le Mars, Iowa. Demonstrating its commitment
to help seriously ill or injured children in its area, the cooperative
has raised more than $100,000 for the Children’s Miracle Network.
For the fifth straight year, the co-op held a Touchstone Energy®
golf invitational benefiting the charity. This year, the event raised
more than $26,000, nearly tripling funds raised in its first year.
Eighteen local, regional and national co-ops and co-op organizations
were sponsors. All of the funds raised stay in the community to
offset the medical expenses of local “miracle families,”
those with ill or injured children requiring extensive medical attention.
The 2004 funds will offset the medical expenses of a family whose
child was born premature and badly underweight, requiring weeks
of intensive care at St. Luke’s Hospital in Sioux City.
Coastal Electric Cooperative,
Midway, Georgia. A little individual effort by a lot of people can
go a long way. Coastal Electric Cooperative raised more than $16,000
for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life fundraiser
in 2004. CEC employees raised most of that money by hosting a series
of small fundraisers, including a yard sale, golf tournament, car
wash, bake sales and a raffle. Corporate sponsorships provided $3,000.
Barron Electric Cooperative,
Barron, Wisconsin. After recognizing the importance of having defibrillators
in its vehicles, Barron Electric Cooperative began providing the
units to others in the community. The co-op donated 15 defibrillators
to local organizations, including five high schools. The American
Heart Association estimates that access to defibrillators could
save 115,000 lives per year.
Caring for the Environment
Salem Electric Cooperative,
Salem, Oregon. The small streams in the Salem area are home to economically
and environmentally important trout and salmon species that are
threatened by development and pollution. The cooperative is working
to improve the habitat for those species through a partnership with
the Pacific Salmon Watershed Fund. Co-op members can donate $5 per
month to the fund when they pay their monthly electric bills. So
far, co-op members have contributed $17,000, which the state matches
dollar for dollar. Funds are used to re-vegetate landslide scars,
recreate deep pool habitats in streams, and protect stream banks.
Committed to Children
Jackson Electric Membership Corporation,
Atlanta, Georgia. At the request of a local high school, Jackson
EMC built an electric vehicle education program that expanded statewide
and is now being tested in several states. The program provides
practical experience in energy conservation, science and technology.
When Jackson EMC realized the benefits the project offered, it promoted
to other schools in its 10-county area. As interest grew, Jackson
EMC lobbied local leaders to start a statewide program. In 2001
Jackson EMC and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s
Cooperative Research Network started a national pilot program involving
hundreds of students at 40 schools in three states.
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