Alabama’s 23 rural electric cooperatives deliver power to more than 1 million people, or one-fourth of the state’s population. Yet rural electric cooperative power lines cover more than 70 percent of the state’s land mass, making our job of providing low-cost, dependable power more challenging than any other utility in Alabama. Unlike other utilities, rural electric cooperatives serve consumers who live in the most sparsely populated regions of the state.

Alabama’s distribution cooperatives maintain more than 71,000 miles of power line. Because our consumers are few and far between (rural electric cooperatives average just over seven homes and businesses for every mile of power line compared to Alabama Power Co.’s approximate 18 consumers per mile and municipal-owned utilities’ 32 consumers per mile), co-ops must be modern, highly efficient, consumer-oriented businesses.

Cooperatives offset the expense of having to maintain more miles of power line per consumer than other utilities by operating on a non-profit, cost-of-service basis. This, and modern management techniques, help keep co-op rates highly competitive in today’s demanding and technical market.