Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12ELECTRICAL COOPERATIVES AND ADAMS ELECTRIC F O U R These days, many people living in rural parts of the country understand that they may have limited options to access a fast Internet connection, but it’s a nearly universal expectation to have basic electric service. Eighty years ago, electric service was much harder to come by in rural areas. Electric utilities were not motivated to extend service to the sparsely populated countryside, so many rural residents lived without the benefit of electricity. President Franklin D. Roosevelt viewed building infrastructure and providing electric services an important part of his economic recovery initiatives during the 1930s Depression. He signed Executive Order No. 7037, which established the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) to help modernize farming operations and create new jobs. The act developed the concept of the electrical cooperative (co-op), set up on a cooperative business model that treated members as owners as opposed to customers. Members could vote for directors to set policy and guide the co-op. Evidence of that ownership came in the form of capital credits, allocated by the co-op after expenses were met and reserves set aside. The cooperative concept spread rapidly, and by 1953, almost 90 percent of farms in the United States had electricity. Today, co-ops provide electricity to an estimated 42 million people in 47 states and serve 75 percent of the landmass in the United States. Beyond houses, co-ops also serve businesses, schools, churches, and more. Staying true to their