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Electric Co-ops by the Numbers
 864 distribution and 66 generation & transmission cooperatives serve:
- 40 million people in 47 states.
- 17 million businesses, homes, schools, churches, farms, irrigation systems, and other establishments in 2,500 of 3,141 counties in the U.S (80 percent of the nation’s counties).
- 12 percent of the nation's population.
To perform their mission, electric cooperatives:
- own assets worth $92 billion,
- own and maintain 2.4 million miles, or 43%, of the nation’s electric distribution lines, covering three quarters of the nation's landmass,
- deliver 10 percent of the total kilowatt hours sold in the U.S. each year,
- generate nearly 5 percent of the total electricity produced in the U.S. each year,
- employ 65,000 people in the United States,
- pay more than $1 billion in state and local taxes
Electric Utility Comparisons |
|
Investor-Owned |
Publicly Owned |
Cooperatives |
Total |
Number of Organizations |
220 |
2,000 |
930 |
3,150 |
Number of Total Customers (millions) |
99 |
20 |
17 |
136 |
Size (median number of customers) |
395,000 |
1,900 |
12,000 |
|
Customers, of total |
73% |
14% |
12% |
100% |
Revenues, % of total |
75% |
14% |
10% |
100% |
kWh sales, % of total |
75% |
15% |
10% |
100% |
|
Sales (billion kilowatt hours) |
Investor-Owned |
Publicly Owned |
Cooperatives |
Total |
Residential |
900 |
190 |
200 |
1,290 |
Commercial |
963 |
198 |
69 |
1,230 |
Industrial |
698 |
148 |
77 |
923 |
Other |
3 |
3 |
0 |
6 |
Total |
2,564 |
539 |
346 |
3,449 |
|
|
Investor-Owned |
Publicly Owned |
Cooperatives |
Total |
Miles of Distribution Line |
50% |
7% |
43% |
100% |
Customers per mile of line (density) |
35 |
47 |
7 |
33.9 |
Revenue per mile of line |
$62,665 |
$86,302 |
$10,565 |
$60,827 |
Distribution plant per customer |
$2,299 |
$2,309 |
$2,845 |
$2,362 |
Assets (billions) |
$660 |
$162 |
$92 |
$914 |
Equity (billions) |
$181 |
$50 |
$28 |
$279 |
Note: "Investor-Owned" includes data for IOU affiliates engaged in competitive retail markets where appropriate |
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Source: 2004 EIA, RUS Data, CFC
NRECA Strategic Analysis ▪ Last Updated: January 2006 |
National Representation: The
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) represents
the national interests of cooperative electric utilities. NRECA
provides legislative, legal and regulatory services; and programs
in insurance, management and employee education, training, consulting,
public relations and advertising. NRECA and its member cooperatives
also support energy and environmental research and administer
a program of technical advice and assistance in developing countries
around the world.
NRECA Chief Executive Officer
In March 1994, Glenn English became the
fourth chief executive officer of NRECA. He is the leading
spokesperson for the nation's consumer-owned cooperative electric
utilities.
Before coming to NRECA, English was a 10-term Congressman
representing Oklahoma's 6th District. He served on the House
Agriculture Committee with assignments on several subcommittees,
including service as chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee
on Conservation, Credit, and Rural Development, beginning
in 1989. As chairman, English worked directly on legislation
affecting rural development programs, including rural electrification
and telecommunications, and pursued an aggressive agenda to
revitalize the economy of America's rural communities.
He also was a senior member of the Government Operation Committee
and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Information,
Justice, and Agriculture from 1981-89. During that period,
the subcommittee monitored the Rural Electrification Administration
(REA) -- now the Rural Utilities Service -- an agency of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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