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Rural Electric
Cooperatives
Some 70 years ago, rural residents in Kentucky, and the nation,
decided they wanted electric lines strung to their homes like people
had in the cities. But, investor-owned utilities didn't think it was
economically feasible to bring electricity to the countryside. So,
farmers banded together and formed rural electric cooperatives. With
the creation of the Rural Electrification Administration by
President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, the federal government began loaning money
to help establish electric cooperatives. Electricity spread to every
hill, hollow and farm.
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A State Association
When the number of cooperatives in Kentucky began to multiply, state
co-op leaders began to realize the need for a statewide
headquarters, owned and controlled by the Kentucky co-ops, to serve
as their official organization. The year was 1948, and the then
Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation opened its doors in Louisvile, Kentucky, to provide combined services for Kentucky's
rural electric cooperatives. With the state association
performing certain tasks - like legislative matters, billing, and
communication services - Kentucky's co-ops found this to be far more
economically feasible than if each co-op were to perform those
duties on its own. And, even though some of the services have
changed over the years - as well as our company name to Kentucky
Association of Electric Cooperatives - that's still what we do today
for the 26 electric co-ops we represent.
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Other Entities
United Utility Supply was formed in 1960 to market electric
transformers the association began manufacturing in  1957. Today, UUS
has its own board of directors and still sells electric transformers
and related goods to electric cooperatives in a 14-state area.
UUS is the country's largest cooperatively owned distributor
of electrical materials.
Another
outgrowth of KAEC is the Rural Cooperatives Credit Union. Formed in 1964, RCCU
serves more than 5700 electric co-op employees, their family
members and co-op consumer-owners in a three-state area. RCCU
is one of the fastest growing credit unions in Kentucky.
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Today
KAEC neither makes nor transmits electricity, like Big Rivers
Electric in Henderson, Kentucky, and East Kentucky Power in
Winchester, nor do we distribute it like the 24 distribution co-ops
across our state. We are here to provide services that collectively
help the 26 co-ops - our member-owners - get reliable electric service
to more than one and a half million Kentuckians.
- Legal,
Regulatory and
Legislative Services: Our government relations staff makes sure
our electric cooperative interests are being heard in Frankfort
and Washington, D.C.
- Communication
Services: We produce Kentucky Living, the
widest circulating magazine in the state, as well as subscribing
Kentucky Living co-op inserts for our member cooperative
systems; we also provide video services.
- Annual
Meeting Coordination: We assist most of our member co-ops
with the staging of their annual membership meetings by
providing entertainment, tents, chairs, sound systems, and other
services.
- Employee
and Director Training: We work with our national association
and other organizations to provide the employees and directors
of our member co-ops with regular and timely training of topics
related to the electric utility industry.
- Youth
Programs: Our Frankfort and Washington Rural Electric Youth
Tour programs have helped hundreds of Kentucky's youth learn
more about rural electrification and state and federal
government through yearly trips to Frankfort and Washington, DC.
- Safety and
Loss Prevention: Our staff of three safety professionals
visits each member cooperative on a regular basis to present
safety and loss prevention training programs to electric co-op
employees.
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Kentucky Association of
Electric Cooperatives, Inc.
4515 Bishop Lane * Louisville, KY 40218
502-451-2430 * FAX: 502-459-3209
Terms of Use
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