Each October, cooperatives across the country celebrate National Cooperative Month. It is an opportunity to reflect on the history of the cooperative business model and the important role cooperatives continue to play in serving and strengthening rural communities.
The cooperative movement grew from a simple idea: People working together can accomplish what individuals often cannot. That philosophy took shape in 1844 when a group of working-class individuals in Rochdale, England, formed a member-owned store built on fairness, democratic control and local ownership.
Those principles became the foundation for cooperatives around the world.
The cooperative model arrived in the United States in the late 1800s and gained momentum during the 1930s. At that time, many investor-owned utilities chose not to extend electric service into rural America because the cost of building infrastructure exceeded the expected
return. Rural families, farms and businesses were left without the electricity that was transforming the rest of the country.
Rather than waiting for someone else to solve the problem, rural communities
came together to create their own solution. Neighbors pooled resources, organized locally owned electric cooperatives and built the infrastructure necessary to bring electricity to homes, farms and businesses. Their efforts were supported by the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 and helped transform life throughout rural America.
Today, the cooperative model remains relevant. Electric cooperatives continue to provide reliable and affordable service while being guided by a unique principle:
The people who receive the service are also the owners. Unlike investor-owned utilities that provide returns to shareholders, electric co-ops serve their member-owners.
Local ownership makes a difference. Your board of directors is elected from among the membership and represents the interests of the communities we serve.
Decisions are made locally, and margins are allocated to members as capital credits.
At Wasco Electric Cooperative, we are proud to be part of a movement that has improved the quality of life in rural communities for generations. While
our industry continues to face new technologies, evolving regulations and increasing challenges surrounding power supply and reliability, the principles that guided those early cooperatives remain unchanged. We exist to serve our members, not to generate profits for outside interests.
As we celebrate National Coopera-tive Month, I encourage you to reflect on what makes electric co-ops different. Our strength has never come from buildings, equipment or miles of power lines. It has
always come from the members who own WEC and the communities we serve.
Thank you for trusting Wasco Electric Cooperative and continuing a tradition of neighbors working together for one another’s benefit.
General Manager
Lindsay Forepaugh