Co-op Month
This October, Central is celebrating National Co-op Month along with cooperatives from across the nation! Learn more about your cooperative and how we differ from other business structures. This page will be updated throughout the month, so come back to learn more!
This October, Central is celebrating National Co-op Month along with cooperatives from across the nation! Co-op Month is an opportunity to raise awareness of cooperatives, and how we differ from other business structures.
All month, Central will promote Co-op Month along with programs that have been created for members through email, on this webpage and on our social media accounts.
If you haven't already done so, follow Central on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
How your role as a member in the cooperative is crucial:
- Members are the foundation of a cooperative's success, being a member and using Central's service contributes to Central's financial stability.
- Engagement and feedback from members ensure Central's direction aligns with the community and members' needs.
- Governance from the board of trustees ensures the cooperative's transparency and accountability, allowing for decisions that benefit the cooperative, community and members.
- Patronage capital allows the cooperative to reinvest in infrastructure which helps with reliability and keeps rates low.
Your involvement helps Central achieve long-term success and contribute to our local communities.
Why were electric cooperatives created?
Since the creation of the Rural Electrification Act (REA), electric cooperatives have played a vital role in changing the way rural farms and homes have operated. Even more so than now, life in remote rural areas looked a lot different than life in bustling cities. Where electricity was available in homes in towns and cities, only one in ten homes had electricity. Investor-owned electrical companies and municipalities chose to serve more populated areas which left a big gap for rural residents. Soon after Congress passed the REA, farmers and rural residents across the nation banded together in their local areas to create cooperatives and begin building miles of electrical lines to power rural homes and farms. Since its inception, electric cooperatives began from and have continued to be owned by its members.
How are electric Cooperatives different from other utility companies?
Electric cooperatives are unique in that they are owned and controlled by the members we serve. Electric cooperatives pursue policies that will protect members while providing reliable, affordable and safe electricity. Below are seven ways that electric cooperatives operate that show the co-op difference.
- The cooperative difference begins with members.
Co-ops are owned by those we serve. Instead of making a rate of return for stockholders and investors, any profits Central makes are returned to members through patronage capital or what is known as capital credits. This allows electric cooperatives to focus on service.
- The Seven Cooperative Principles.
Cooperatives around the world operate according to the same set of core principles and values. These principles are a key reason that electric cooperatives operate differently from other electric utilities, putting the needs of their members first.
- Cooperatives follow a democratic process.
Every member can vote and has a right to participate in the policy-making process, including electing trustees from the membership. Annual and district meetings allow members to shape policies and influence the cooperative business. In commercial utilities, only stockholders and investors have a say in the policies and business of the company.
- Cooperative Connections.
When a large storm affects a cooperative, mutual aid from other cooperatives can make a big impact on restoring service safely and quickly.
- Cooperatives are local.
Cooperatives have a vested interest in local communities because they are local. Not only are the trustees also members, but many employees live on electric cooperative lines and within local communities.
- Capital Credits.
Members share in the cooperative's financial success. If the co-op earns more money than it needs to cover expenses, the excess is returned to members in the form of capital credits.
- Advocacy and Engagement.
Members are encouraged to attend meetings, where they can engage in discussion, provide input, raise concerns and suggest improvements.
