We Are America’s Electric Cooperatives
From booming suburbs to rural farming communities, America’s electric cooperatives are energy providers and engines of economic growth
for 42 million Americans.
Leaders
in Rural Broadband
Millions of rural American families and businesses are stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide. And where no one else will provide the service, electric co-ops have found a way. Motivated by people, not profits, and the needs of their communities, electric co-ops are making rural broadband a reality.
• Tennessee Co-ops Win $198 Million in Broadband Grants
• Alabama Electric Co-ops Win $82.4 Million for Broadband
• Report: Co-ops Finding Success in Rural Broadband
• Podcast: Introducing NRECA Broadband
• Members Trust Co-ops to Deliver Quality Broadband, Survey Says
• N.M. Co-op Expanding Broadband to All Zuni Nation Members by Summer
• Pulling Out All the Stops: Colorado Co-op Connects Students to Broadband
• Thinking Big: Small Missouri Co-op Made Early Bet on Broadband’s Promise
Co-op Facts: Bridging the Digital Divide
More than 200 co-ops in 39 states are developing or planning to deploy broadband service to their members, giving them access to telehealth services, online learning, remote work and new possibilities for local businesses.
Powering Stronger Communities
Electric co-ops are built by, and belong to, the communities they serve. As we innovate to meet tomorrow’s energy needs, that focus on people instead of profits will lead to stronger rural communities.
• Alaska Co-op Boosts Morale With Organized Service Opportunities
• N.C. Co-op Helps Rural Hospital Buy 3D Breast Cancer Screening Equipment
• Montana Co-op’s Ribeye Raffle Steers Proceeds to Local Food Banks
• S.C. Co-op Opens Channels to Its Growing Hispanic Community
• Georgia Co-op Employee Creates ‘$1 Thursdays’ to Help Neighbors in Need
• ‘Awesome Day’: Minnesota Co-op Hosts Young Cancer Survivor
• Undoing Injustice: North Carolina Co-op Works to Empower Black Landowners
• Co-op Helps an Alaska Community With Its Most Sacred Task
Spotlight Feature: 'What Their Town Can Be'
In Pennsylvania, Northwestern Rural Electric Cooperative's community revitalization initiative leverages local attractions to spur growth in the small towns in its service territory.
Reliable and Resilient
Electric co-ops keep the lights on at a cost that their member-consumers can afford. And in order to meet tomorrow’s energy needs, co-ops have invested more than $50 billion over the last five years to modernize their systems, preserve reliability and create a more resilient grid.
• Co-op Manages Reliability Through Alaska’s Harshest Extremes
• Montana Co-op Buries Lines, Hardens System to Cut Wildfire Risks
• ‘The Critical Conduit’: GRE’s Priti Patel Calls for Focus on Transmission
• Trends Escalate Value of Reliable, Resilient Power, Co-op Leaders Say
• NRECA Pioneers Dual-Disaster Tabletop Drill With Co-ops, State Officials
• Visualizing the Resilient Grid
• Co-op Demo of Sensor Technology Reduces Wildfire Risk, Improves Reliability
• Infographic: What Can Utility Drones Do?
• Podcast: Utility Drones 101
• Q&A: Texas Co-ops Weigh In on Grid Reforms a Year After 2021 Freeze
Spotlight Feature: 'Conditions Change Drastically'
In an RE Magazine feature, read how Golden Valley Electric Association manages reliability through the harshest of Alaska's extreme weather.
Driving New Possibilities
Electric cooperatives are advancing energy technology in rural America. Co-ops from Alaska to North Carolina established the first rural microgrids, a co-op in Minnesota pioneered the first electric school bus program, and co-ops have accelerated community solar development faster than anyone else.
• Idaho Co-op Helps Launch EV Charging Network in the West
• House Passes Direct-Pay Incentives for Electric Co-ops
• Alaska Co-ops Work to Improve Railbelt Transmission Capacity
• North Carolina Co-ops Launch Battery Project for Utility-Scale Storage
• Small Wisconsin Co-op Helps Form Regional EV Charging Network
• Carbon Capture and Storage: Success at ITC Showcases Energy Innovation
• Podcast: Making Solar Power Accessible to Low-Income Members
• Flipping the Switch on Electric School Buses
• Colorado Co-op Helps Disaster-Prone Mountain Community Build Microgrid
• ‘Proving the Concept’: N.C. Co-op Tests Innovative EV-to-Grid Charger
• Podcast: Harnessing Distributed Wind—Inside the RADWIND Project
Co-op Facts: Rise in Renewables
From 2010 to 2021, co-ops more than tripled their renewable capacity from 3.9 gigawatts to more than 13 gigawatts.