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Benefits of Electric Co-ops

Electric co-ops make up the largest electric utility network in the U.S. Today:

  • People want to purchase products and services from organizations that contribute to the greater good
  • Consumer-owned electric cooperatives lead the way

We have focused on benefiting our communities since electric co-ops were first formed in the 1930s. Electricity was:

  • Fairly new in those days
  • Slow to spread to rural places

For-profit utilities focused on serving urban areas:

  • Where greater profits could be made
  • They refused to extend miles of electric lines across rural places (With fewer customers to cover the investment)

Rural residents:

  • Joined together
  • Formed not-for-profit electric co-ops (Owned by their customers)

With the help of federal loans, rural electric co-ops began generating, transmitting and distributing electricity to:

  • Homes
  • Schools
  • Farms
  • Other businesses

Electric cooperatives are going strong today:

  • 900 electric cooperatives benefit
  • 42 million Americans in
  • 48 states

Electric cooperatives exist for the sole purpose of serving their communities:

  • Co-op members elect their neighbors to serve on co-op board of directors
  • The directors hire a manager to operate the co-op on a day-to-day basis

The cooperative model helps keep electric rates affordable by:

  • Giving co-op members a voice in their electric service (Through their not-for-profit structure)
  • Returning excess revenue to members

Margins are:

  • A portion of excess revenues
  • Held in reserve and re-invested in the cooperative infrastructure

Another portion is returned to members in the form of:

  • Capital credits
  • Patronage refunds

This contrasts with investor-owned utilities, which return profits to stockholders who seldom maintain close connections to the communities they serve.

  • $1.3 billion: That’s how much U.S. electric cooperatives returned to their members in 2020, according to the National Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)

How Arizona G&T Cooperatives Benefits Members

Electric cooperatives evolved over the years.

By the 1950s:

  • Local electric distribution co-ops outgrew their ability to meet their members’ expanding energy needs
  • Distribution co-ops began creating their own power generation and transmission (G&T) cooperatives

Arizona Electric Power Cooperative (AEPCO) :

  • Was formed in 1961 by 4 Arizona electric co-ops
  • Operates under the umbrella of Arizona G&T Cooperatives (AzGT)
  • Is owned by the Members we serve

Our Members:

  • Include 6 Class A electric distribution cooperatives
  • Distribute electric power to their residential and commercial consumers at the end of the line

Members, directors and employees remain committed to the goal of delivering reliable, affordable electricity to rural America.

  • $1.3 million: Thats how much AEPCO returned to its Members for 2020, based on a 20% allocation of net margins

Distribution co-op directors elect directors to serve on G&T boards.

Bringing Clean Energy to Your Door

Across the nation, electric co-ops are leading the trend toward clean energy which:

  • Benefits the environment
  • Saves on fuel costs

Electric co-ops, including AEPCO, have drastically reduced emissions over the past decade through:

  • Power plant improvements
  • Switching to more natural gas
  • Renewable energy sources (Including solar)

AEPCO also facilitates the delivery of hydro power to Member co-ops.

Supporting Local Economies

Electric co-ops support their communities. According to a recent study commissioned by NRECA:

  • $88 billion: That’s how much U.S. electric co-ops contribute to the nation’s economy annually
  • 612,000 jobs: The number of jobs that the U.S. electric co-ops support each year

In 2020, a regional economic study revealed what Arizona G&T Cooperatives contributes annually to southeast Arizona, including Cochise, Graham, Greenlee and Santa Cruz counties:

  • $285.1 million: The amount AzGT contributes in direct, indirect and induced economic activity
  • 516 jobs: The number of jobs AzGT supports region-wide

AzGT continues to make loans to business development projects in our communities, including:

  • Hospitals in Willcox and Benson
  • Fuel farm at the Benson airport

The funds come from grants provided to us by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Economic Development Loans and Grants (REDLG) program.

  • $1.2 million: The amount of loans AzGT has made to local development projects in our region since 2010 through REDLG

In addition, we donate to charities and other worthy causes.

You Benefit from Co-ops of All Types

The cooperative form of business is not new—from agricultural to housing to grocery businesses, co-ops have existed for centuries across the globe.

  • Your local credit union is among more than 5,000 financial cooperatives in the U.S. serving a total of 124 million people
  • Ocean Spray Cooperative is owned by cranberry growers
  • Associated Press is a cooperative news agency owned by media outlets across the nation
  • REI, an outdoor clothing and supply cooperative, is owned by customer-members
  • Ace Hardware is owned by its retail-store members.
  • Tillamook is owned by dairy farmers; dairy co-ops process the majority of America’s dairy products

Almost all cooperatives operate on a not-for-profit basis, returning a share of their margins to members. Co-ops are guided by Seven Cooperative Principles.

National Co-Op Month: Seven Cooperative Principles from Pioneer Utility Resources on Vimeo.

Cooperative Principles

Open & Voluntary Membership

Membership in a cooperative is open to all persons who can reasonably use its services and stand willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, regardless of:

  • Race
  • Religion
  • Gender
  • Economic circumstances

Democratic Member Control

Cooperatives are democratic organizations:

  • Controlled by their members
  • Who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions

Elected representatives (directors/trustees) are:

  • Elected from among the membership
  • Accountable to the membership

In primary cooperatives, members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote); cooperatives at other levels are organized in a democratic manner.

Members’ Economic Participation

The capital of their cooperative:

  • Is democratically controlled (Members contribute equitably)
  • Remains at least part of the common property

Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes:

  • Developing the cooperative
  • Setting up reserves
  • Benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative
  • Supporting other activities approved by the membership
  • Autonomy and Independence

Autonomy & Independence

Cooperatives are:

  • Autonomous (self-help organizations)
  • Controlled by their members

If they enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control as well as their unique identity.

Education, Training, & Information

They can effectively contribute to the development of their cooperatives, by educating and training:

  • Members
  • Elected representatives (directors/trustees)
  • CEOs
  • Employees

To help boost cooperative understanding, they communicate about the nature and benefits of cooperatives with:

  • The general public
  • Opinion leaders

Cooperation Among Cooperatives

Cooperatives:

  • Improve services
  • Bolster local economies
  • Deal more effectively with social and community needs

By working together through:

  • Local
  • National
  • Regional
  • International structures

Concern for Community

Cooperatives work:

  • For the sustainable development of their communities
  • Through policies supported by the membership

America’s electric cooperatives are:

  • Energy providers
  • Engines of economic development

Cooperatives provide energy in 48 states for more than 20 million American:

  • Homes
  • Businesses
  • Farms
  • Schools

Electric Co-op Members of Touchstone Energy

Larry Leetch, a member of SSVEC with the Co-op Connections Card, a member-benefit card provided by Touchstone Energy.

Arizona G&T Cooperatives and its Member distribution cooperatives are members of Touchstone Energy®, a national cooperative that:

  • Pools the resources of more than 700 electric utility co-ops
  • Promotes community:
    • Involvement
    • Education
    • Outreach

In the mid-1990s the national brand was launched by:

  • Arizona G&T Cooperatives
  • Member co-ops

Today, Arizona G&T Cooperatives is a regional partner, representing Touchstone Energy Members in:

  • Arizona
  • Anza Electric Cooperative in California

Geoff Oldfather, AzGT’s cooperative communications and public relations manager:

  • Served on the Touchstone Energy board of directors from 2010 through 2016
  • Was board president in 2016
  • He was elected to a third term (On the Touchstone Energy board of directors in March 2021)
  • Continues to represent Arizona’s electric co-op members as a regional representative on the national level

Fast Facts About the Co-op Connections Card Nationwide

All 6 AzGT distribution co-op Members offer the Touchstone Energy Co-op Connections, it is:

  • A member benefit program
  • Free to member/consumers and merchants

The card offers:

  • Cost-saving deals (Arizona electric cooperative members/consumers save more than $3 million on prescription medicines)
  • Discounts at other participating businesses

Touchstone Energy’s Energy Solutions program:

  • Provides an interactive tour of a typical home
  • Points out ways to save:
    • Energy
    • Money

Do your own energy audit, customizing it to your:

  • Climate
  • Geography

What Makes Our Cooperatives Different?

Touchstone Energy® Cooperative Inc.:

  • Is a national network of electric cooperatives across 45 states
  • Provides resources and leverages partnerships
  • Help member cooperatives and their employees:
    • Better engage
    • Serve their members
  • Stands as a source of power and information to their 30 million member-owners every day

We provide high standards of service to our community according to Touchstone Energy’s 4 core values:

  • Integrity
  • Accountability
  • Innovation
  • Commitment

For many years, Touchstone Energy co-ops rate highest:

  • In all areas of member/customer satisfaction
  • Topping investor-owned and municipal utilities (In American Customer Satisfaction Index surveys)

Membership in your local Touchstone Energy cooperative:

  • Is a powerful thing
  • Means you have an energy source you can trust

That’s because your local Touchstone Energy co-op is:

  • Owned by the members it serves
  • Built to deliver reliable electricity (At the lowest possible price)

So as a member, you hold all the power.