02-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 3, 1998 Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association Serves 600,000 Residents The Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association (PREA), based in Harrisburg, Pa., is the service organization for the non profit, consumer-owned rural electric cooperatives in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Currently, the 13 co-ops in Pennsylvania and one in new Jersey provide electric service to more than 600,000 rural resi dents, businesses and indus tries. Pennsylvania's co-ops own and maintain about 12.5 percent of the electric distribution lines in the state, covering nearly one-third of the Commonwealth's land area in 41 counties. These lines represent one of the largest non-governmental investments in rural infrastructure in the state and are an essential com ponent of business and industry. PREA's 14-member board of directors one director elected from each of its member cooper atives conducts the associa tion's business to best serve the consumers members of the op ops. PREA works jointly with Allegheny Electric Cooperative, Inc., a generation and transmis sion cooperative that provides wholesale power to the 14 co ops. HISTORY As late as the 1930'5, only six Lancaster Farming CAP $ 3.50 Available At Lancaster Farming, 1 East Main St., Ephrata, PA Shipping & Handling $2.50 Add't Cap Shipping ® 500 Each Phone 717-626-1164 $$ FOR sale; PEANUT HULLS For bedding Most effective as bedding for all kinds of beef and dairy - “ „ hor out of every 100 rural Pennsylvanians knew the mira cle of the electric light bulb in their homes, The reason establishing power companies in Pennsylvania and New Jersey had decided that running elec tric lines into rural areas would not make them a profit. As a rule, power companies charged farmers $2,000 to $3,000 per mile to build lines to their homes and then charged electric rates higher than those in the cities. Since the average gross income of a farm family of the period was just $l,BOO per year, most couldn't afford elec tric service. In many areas, power was not available at any cost. For a time it seemed the profit needs greed of stockholder-con trolled private power companies would condemn most of Pennsylvania's and New Jersey's rural population to live forever with kerosene lamps and hand pumps. But rural leaders and a hand ful of politicians were not ready to accept the status quo. They began working to demonstrate that electric power could be pro vided to rural areas at a reason able cost and began developing a business structure to make that delivery possible. Larger tilt cylinder, more rollback power for improved digging and loading capability! More hydraulic flow (14 3 gpm) for faster cycle times, better attachment performance! In 1931, New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt estab lished the Power authority of the State of New York (PASNY) to develop water power on the St. Lawrence River. PASNY pro duced the first study on the actual costs of electric distribu tion and helped demonstrate the practicality of providing electric ity to rural area. The first official federal action in the process leading to rural electrification came in 1933 with the formation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The act enabling the TVA authorized the construction of transmission lines to serve farms and small villages "not otherwise supplied with electric ity at reasonable rates" and gave preference in the sale of power to "cooperative organizations of citizens or farmers." In 1935, armed with studies showing both the economic fea sibility and the benefits of pro viding electricity to rural areas, then-President Roosevelt signed an executive order forming the Rural Electrification Administration (REA). The REA program was ini tially intended as an induce ment to the private power com panies to begin serving rural areas. But even with the incen tives provided by 2 percent REA loans, the private power suppli ers showed little interest in building the necessary lines. By the end of 1935, it was clear that the private power companies weren't serious about acting on the government's offer to electri fy the countryside. Most of th^ 43 5 HP Kubota diesel engine for improved performance! Faster travel speed (6 6 mph) for quick cycle times' Higher Rated Operating Capacity (1,350 lbs) for more lifting, carrying ability! Strong one-piece tailgate design resists damage! See One Of These Local Dealers Today! Quarryville, PA GRUMELLI’s FARM SERV. 717-786-7318 Lebanon, PA EVERGREEN TRACTOR CO. 717-866-2585 1-800-441-4450 Mifflinburg, PA BS & B REPAIR 717-966-3756 loan applications and inquiries REA received came from farm co-ops. REA now realized that farmers and their rural neigh bors were willing to take electri fication into their own hands on a cooperative basis. Farmers had long experience with cooperatives. In fact, the co-op was the business structur al rural people adopted when confronted with a task too large for any family to handle itself. It was natural then that rural leaders chose to form another kind of co-op to provide themselves and their neighbors with electricity. Since extending central station electric service required very specialized engi neering skills, many in Congress were convinced rural electrifica tion would never be accom plished without REA receiving regular appropriations and full status. So in 1936, one year and 20 days after REA had been cre ated, Congress passed legisla tion making REA a permanent government agency. In 1939, REA become part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. On October 20, 1994, a sweeping reorganization of the Ag Department took place. As a result, after 59 years of exis tence, REA was officially dis banded. Most REA functions were transferred to a new Rural Utilities Service (RUS). Top Performance. - Top Value. Harrisburg, PA HIGHWAY EQUIPMENT 717-564-3031 Lititz, PA 717-625-2800 Muncy, PA BEST LINE LEASING, INC. 717-546-8422 800-321 -2378 MILK Where's your mustache? “ Reading, PA CSI ENTERPRISES INC. 610-926-4400 Bethlehem, PA 610-868-1481 Martinsburg, PA BURCHFIELDS, INC. 814-793-2194 But the mission of rural elec triciation continues. Today, about 1,000 electric cooperatives across the United States provide power to more than 25 million consumer members. Each co-op is a locally owned, taxpaying business incorporated under the laws of its individual state. Rural electric cooperatives have been delivering low-cost electric service to Pennsylvania and New Jersey rural residents since 1936, when the Steamburg Electric Cooperative Association (later consolidated into Northwestern Rural Electric Cooperative) was estab lished in Erie and Crawford counties. The 14 rural electric cooper atives that today comprise PREA were organized between 1936 and 1941. By the time the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7,1941, all of them had gone through the pangs of becoming organized, of getting their first loans, of making arrangements for power supply at least on a short-term basis and had begun construction of lines to reach their unserved neighbors. With the outbreak of WWII, the co-ops realized they need a statewide organization to speak for them as one voice on legisla tive issues. The co-ops created PREA in February 1942. Chambersburg, PA CLUGSTON AG & TURF INC 717-263-4103 bobcat'
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers