From booming suburbs to remote rural communities, America’s electric cooperatives are energy providers and engines of economic development. Electric cooperatives play a vital role in transforming communities.
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- Co-ops serve 42 million people, including 92% of persistent poverty counties.
- Co-ops power over 21.5 million businesses, homes, schools and farms in 48 states.
- Co-ops returned more than $1.4 billion in capital credits to their consumer-members in 2021.
- 832 distribution cooperatives are the foundation of the electric cooperative network. They were built by and serve co-op members in the community with the delivery of electricity and other services.
- 63 generation & transmission cooperatives provide wholesale power to distribution co-ops through their own electric generation facilities or by purchasing power on behalf of the distribution members.
Reliably Keeping the Lights On
Electric co-ops rely on a diverse suite of resources to reliably meet the energy needs of their communities.
American families and businesses expect the lights to stay on at a price they can afford. Our nation’s energy policy must embrace this fundamental expectation.
Five issues are impacting the reliability of the electric grid:
- Electrifying the economy
- The disorderly retirement and insufficient replacement of existing generation
- Permitting challenges
- Supply chain shortages
- The availability of natural gas
Keeping Rates Affordable for Residential Consumer-Members
Unlike the rest of the electric sector, electric co-ops sell the majority of their power to households rather than businesses. Keeping rates affordable is especially important for these consumer-members at the end of the line.
Leveraging Infrastructure Funds to Support Rural Communities
Electric co-ops have decades of experience supporting local communities by accessing public and private funding. Today, co-ops are positioning themselves to leverage new infrastructure funds to support their communities. These efforts include work to:
- Advance electric vehicle charging networks.
- Deploy new cybersecurity tools.
- Expand rural broadband access.
- Develop rural microgrids.
- Promote clean energy research, development and deployment.
- Enhance grid resiliency and modernization efforts.
Co-ops Are Reducing Emissions
Cooperatives are meeting member expectations by reducing emissions through a combination of emission-reduction measures and fuel switching to natural gas and renewables.
Co-ops reduced sulphur dioxide emissions 82% from 2005 to 2021.
Co-ops reduced nitrogen oxide emissions 68% from 2005 to 2021.
Co-ops reduced carbon dioxide emissions 17% from 2005 to 2021.
Renewable Energy Growth
- Over the past decade, co-ops more than doubled their renewable capacity from 5.7 gigawatts to nearly 14 gigawatts.
- Co-ops added over 900 MW of new renewable capacity in 2022.
- Electric co-op wind and solar capacity is enough to power more than 3.4 million homes.
- Co-ops have announced more than 6.5 GW of renewable capacity additions through 2026.
- Co-ops purchase 10 GW of hydropower from federal hydropower facilities.
Electric Co-ops Are Innovation Hubs
Co-ops are meeting tomorrow’s energy needs by investing in the future of their communities.
- Broadband: More than 250 co-ops deployed or are planning to deploy broadband service to their members, giving them access to telehealth services, online learning, remote work and new possibilities for local businesses.
- Smart Meters: Electric cooperatives lead the industry in smart meter deployment, with a 81% use of AMI meters, compared to 67% for the rest of the industry.
- Energy Storage: Cooperatives have developed more than 75 energy storage projects, ranging from residential batteries to large utility-scale projects paired with renewable generation. Storage is an important element of microgrids, including on military installations.
- Carbon Capture: Electric cooperatives are partners in innovative carbon capture technology research projects.
The Cooperative Difference: Co-ops Are Local Energy and Technology Partners
- Electric cooperatives are built by and belong to the communities they serve. They are led by members from the community and are uniquely suited to meet local needs.
- This local, member-driven structure is one reason why cooperatives enjoy the highest consumer-satisfaction scores within the electric industry, according to J.D. Power and Associates and the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
- In the 2022 J.D. Power Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, co-ops secured 14 of the top 20 spots and the highest average score among all electric utility providers.
- Electric cooperatives, on average, score higher than all other energy utilities, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, Energy Utilities Study, 2022-2023.