About Electric Cooperatives
Electric cooperatives are an integral part of the $354 billion U.S. electric utility industry. They play a critical role in our nation's economy and in local communities.
Electric cooperatives are:
- private independent electric utility businesses
- owned by the consumers they serve
- incorporated under the laws of the states in which they operate
- established to provide at‑cost electric service
- governed by a board of directors elected from the membership, which sets policies and procedures that are implemented by the cooperatives’ professional staff
Distribution cooperatives deliver electricity to the consumer. Generation and transmission cooperatives (G&Ts) generate and transmit electricity to distribution co‑ops.
In addition to electric service, electric co-ops are involved in community development and revitalization projects, e.g., small business development, jobs creation, improvement of water and sewer systems and assistance in delivery of health care and educational services.
Facts at a glance
- 846 distribution and 66 G&T cooperatives
- serve an estimated 42 million people in 47 states
- 18 million businesses, homes, schools, churches, farms, irrigation systems, and other establishments in 2,500 of 3,141 counties in the U.S.
- nearly 13 percent of the nation's METERS are customers of rural electric co-ops
To perform their mission, electric cooperatives:
- own assets worth $130 billion (distribution and G&T co-ops combined)
- own and maintain 2.5 million miles, or 42%, of the nation’s electric distribution lines, covering three quarters of the nation's landmass
- deliver 10 percent of the total kilowatt‑hours sold in the U.S.each year
- generate nearly 5 percent of the total electricity produced in the U.S.each year
- employ 70,000 people in the U.S.
- retire over $500 million in capital credits annually
- pay $1.4 billion in state and local taxes
American's Distribution Cooperatives
Learn more about America's electric cooperatives at www.nreca.coop.
