The Cooperative Difference
With the help of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who established the Rural Electrification
Administration in 1935, friends and neighbors banded together to create a new
kind of electric utility, where the voice of every person made a difference.
Electric cooperatives brought electric power to areas—mostly rural—when
no one else would.
Today, America’s electric cooperatives continue to answer that call. With
the same focus on member needs, today’s electric cooperatives provide much
more than competitively priced, reliable energy. They are committed to improving
the quality of life in their communities and for the member-owners who live there.
Locally owned and operated.
Electric cooperatives are owned by their members and focus on their member
needs and local priorities. They are an integral part of the communities
they serve.
Consumers first.
The cooperative business model guarantees every member a voice in business
decisions. Members know they can trust their cooperative, because it was
created not to make profits, but simply to deliver electricity. Co-ops offer
stability, reliability and better value.
Responsive to local needs.
Though many large utility companies are closing local offices and utilizing
work forces overseas, electric cooperatives are located in the communities
they serve, making them easily accessible and responsive to members’ needs.
They work hard to achieve a better quality of life for member-owners.
Accountability
Since consumers own co-ops, together, they chart the course for the business.
- Every member has an equal voice in running the enterprise. Unlike an investor-owned utility, in which the investor with the most shares has the most clout, co-op business is conducted through a locally elected board of directors and an annual meeting where policy is proposed and voted on by members, each having one vote.
- Electric cooperatives are small enough to listen and close enough to notice the needs of a single customer.
- Each co-op employee is committed to meeting higher standards of customer satisfaction.
United Cooperative Services strives every day to demonstrate the Cooperative Difference. Simply put, United is looking out for you.
