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Who We Are

Since Farmers Electric Cooperative was founded in 1937, we’ve seen a lot of change and growth in our co-op and our service area. Getting an idea of where we’ve come from lets you see where we’re going and take charge of helping get us there!

Facts & Figures

Founding:

  • Farmers Electric Cooperative was founded in 1937 to bring stable and reliable electricity to Northeast Texas.

Size:

  • Comprised of 9 co-op districts across 12 Texas counties
  • 80,536 members
  • 104,118 meters
  • 6,453 miles of power lines

Energy Usage:

  • Average monthly member use: 1,539 kWh
  • Farmers EC, as a whole, used: 1,889,638,770 kWh

Board of Directors

Each year, Farmers Electric Cooperative’s members choose who serves on our Board of Directors to determine the organization’s policies and direction. The board members and General Manager handle the business of running the co-op, and are accountable to members like you.

Farmers Electric Cooperative board districts map

History

In the latter years of the Great Depression, some folks in other parts of the country didn’t see much point in investing in electrical power for the homes, farms, and businesses in Northeast Texas. But the people who lived here knew better. With the help of the federal Rural Electrification Act of 1936, they formed a member-owned electrical co-op founded on reliable electricity at the lowest cost—and the rest is history. Here’s the full story about the power of pulling together.

Getting Started

  • In the mid-1930s, only one out of 10 rural homes had electric service. For many years, power companies ignored the rural areas, except where conditions existed to ensure early profits.
  • In July of 1935, a group of utility company executives wrote a report in which they claimed that, in light of their earlier extensive research work, “there are very few farms requiring electricity for major farm operations that are not now served.” This lack of electricity made life on the farm very difficult and limited growth in rural areas since other industries and businesses required electricity.
  • On May 11, 1935, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order No. 7037, establishing the Rural Electrification Administration (REA).
  • A year later the Rural Electrification Act was passed, and the lending program that became the REA got underway. Over the next few years, rural electric cooperatives like ours sprang up across the country.

Founding

  • In August 1936, a group met in the schoolhouse at Heath, in Rockwall County, to discuss creating an REA project would be called Rockwall County Electric Company. In September 1936, another group met in Rains County and voted to create Tri-County Electric Company. Because the 2 projects were so close together, the REA suggested a merger; on September 11, 1937, Farmers Electric Cooperative was born.
  • Setting up a cooperative wasn’t easy. The organizers were ordinary citizens who held meetings in schools, churches, and other gathering places to convince people to join the cooperative. The organizers worked for free, going from house to house to drum up support, and the results were not always positive. In 1935, the membership fee of $5 was a lot of money, and people were skeptical.
  • After several months of meetings, Farmers EC had enough members to get approval from the REA. The first lines were energized on September 14, 1938. On that day, 101 new Farmers members now had electricity for the first time.

Today

  • Farmers EC has come a long way over the years. We now serve more than 100,000 homes and businesses in the fast-growing region spanning Dallas, Collin,  Rockwall, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains, Hopkins, Delta, Franklin, Fannin, Van Zandt, and Wood counties in Texas.
  • We still strive to be recognized as an exceptional cooperative by our members, employees, and communities. With careful management of resources, dedicated employees, and strategic planning, we’ve managed to keep our electricity prices low and our reliability since being founded in 1937.

5-Point Philosophy

Operating With Your Best Interest

Beyond the foundation of the 7 Cooperative Principles that provide guidance for co-ops of all kinds, Farmers EC has adopted a simple, practical framework on which to base our decisions and build our strength. Each point in our 5 Point Philosophy has an influence on the way we work within our service area and the communities represented there. For you it all adds up to reliable, affordable power backed by neighborly service and continual improvement.

  1. Long-Term Rate Stability
    We don’t chase wholesale power plans that reset every 12 months based on market conditions. That doesn’t create stability. Members want the lowest rate possible so we analyze, plan, and contract with our providers for long-term rates we feel lock in value down the line. We feel that is more responsible to our members.
  2. You’re a Member, Not a Meter
    Electric Cooperatives were formed by the members they serve. That is what makes us and you different. We don’t serve investors and profits. We look to control costs and return the profits back to members through capital credits. But members need to understand there are costs associated with running a utility. We strive to provide the best service to our members while we minimize those costs and cut where we can to create a cost-efficient energy product for you.
  3. Community Involvement
    There are certain programs we created and participate in to help members and our communities. To some, offering things like scholarships and financial aid may seem to contradict our commitment to minimize expenses. The fact is, the money raised isn’t from energy costs to members. Much of the money comes through voluntary giving from our Operation Round Up program. More funds are gleaned from abandoned capital credits returned to us from the state.
  4. Service Outage Prevention
    Everyone expects the lights to come on when they flip a switch. And they should. That takes being proactive on our part. We annually allocate more than most providers to properly maintain the co-op’s thousands of miles of line. That is more than most electricity providers, but it means reliable service for members – not just in the good weather, but also the bad.
  5. Member Service Innovation
    We’re constantly looking for new opportunities and technologies to help members save. Things like SmartHub allows members the convenience of online account management while reducing co-op administrative costs. New programs like Nest Rush Hour Rewards and renewable energy offer options in usage and conservation. And rebates on energy saving products give incentives to members and help reduce the load on the co-op. Through this, we all benefit.