Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association The Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association (PREA), based in Harrisburg, Pa., is the service organization for the non-profit consumer owned rural electric coopera tives in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Currently, the 13 co-ops in Pennsylvania and one in New Jersey pro vide 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-govemmental Investments in rural infra structure in the state and are an essential component of business and Industry. PREA’s 14-member board of directors one director elected from each of its mem ber cooperatives conducts the association’s business to best serve the consumer members of the co-ops. PREA works jointly with the Allegheny Electric Coop erative Inc., a generation and transmission cooperative that provides wholesale power to the 14 co-ops. HISTORY As late as the 19305, only six out of every 100 rural BEDFORD REC f INC. Bedford,PA 814-623-5101 Serving Bedford,Fulton and Somerset counties NEW ENTERPRISE RURAL ELECTRIC, INC. New Enterprise, PA 814-766-3221 Providing Rural Electric Needs for Bedford, Fulton and Huntingdon counties Serves 600,000 Residents Pennsylvanians knew the miracle of electric light bulb in their homes. The reason establishing power compa nies in Pennsylvania and New Jersey had decided that running electric lines into rural areas would not make them a profit. As a rule, power compa nies 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 in come of a farm family of the period was just $l,BOO per year, most couldn’t afford electric service. In many areas, power was not available at any cost. For a time it seemed profit needs greed of stockholder controlled private power companies would condemn most of Pennsylvania’s and New Jersey’s rural popula tion to live forever with kero sene lamps and hand pumps. But rural leader and a handful of politicians were not ready to accept the sta tus quo. They began working to demonstrate that electric power could be provided to rural areas at a reasonable cost and begem developing a business structure to make that delivery possible. In 1931, New York Cover- a SOMERSET W RURAL ELECTRIC. INC. A Touchitune Energy 1 * Partner Somerset,PA 814-445-4106 Serving Somerset, Bedford, Westmoreland, Fayette and Garrett, Md. counties Valley Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc. YnurTnuchlont 5 ncrgv 1 ' 1 Conptrali\t Huntingdon,PA 814-643-2650 800-432-0680 Serving Bedford, Blair, Centre, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, and Mifflin counties nor Franklin D. Roosevelt es tablished the Power of Au thority of the State of New York (PASNY) to develop water power on the St. Law rence River, PASNY produced the first study on the actual costs of electric distribution and helped demonstrate the practicality of providing electricity to rural areas. In 1935, armed with stud ies showing both the eco nomic feasibility and the benefits of providing electrici ty to rural areas, then-Presi dent Roosevelt signed an ex ecutive order forming the Rural Electrification Admin istration (REA). The REA program was ini tially Intended as an induce ment to the private power companies to begin serving rural areas. But even with the incentives provided by two percent REA loans, the private power suppliers 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 govern ment’s offer to electrify the countryside. Most of the loan applications and inquires REA received came from farm co-ops. REA now real ized that farmers and their rural neighbors were willing to take electrification into Delivering reliable electric power to 27,000 homes, farms and businesses m south-central Pennsylvania Adams Electric W Cooperative, Inc. A Touthstune Energy Partner 1-888-232-6732 their own hands on a cooper ative basis. Farmers had long experi ence with cooperatives. In fact, the co-op was the busi ness structural 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 pro vide themselves and their neighbors with electricity. Since extending central sta tion electric service required very specialized engineering skills, many in Congress were convinced rural electri fication would never be ac complished without REA re celving regular appropriations and full sta tus. So in 1936, one year and 20 days after REA had been created, Congress passed legislation making REA a permanent govern ment agency. In 1939, REA became part of the U.S. De partment of Agriculture. On October 20, 1994, a sweeping reorganization of the Ag Department took place. As a result, after 59 years of existence, REA was officially disbanded. Most REA functions were trans ferred to a new Rural Utilities Service (RUS). But the mission of rural electrification continues. www.adamscc.com WARREN ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. Yougsville, PA 814-563-7548 Serving Warren, Forrest, Erie Vanango and Crawford counties Today, about 1,000 electric cooperatives across the Unit ed States provide power to more than 25 million con sumer-members. Each co-op is a locally owned, taxpaymg business incorporated under the laws of its individual state. Rural electric cooperatives have been delivering low-cost electric service to Pennsylva nia and New Jersey rural residents since 1936, when the Steamburg Electric Coop erative Association (later con solidated into Northwestern Rural Electric Cooperative) was established in Ene and Crawford counties. The 14 rural electric coop eratives that today comprise PREA were organized be tween 1936 and 1941. By the time the Japanese at tacked Pearl Harbor on De cember 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 Imes to reach their unserved neighbors. With the outbreak of WWII, the co-ops realized they need a statewide organi zation to speak for them as one voice on legislation is sues. The co-ops created PREA in February 1942. NORTHWESTERN REG ASSOC., INC. Cambridge Spring,PA 1-800-472-7910 Serving Crawford, Erie, Venango, Warren & Mercer counties UNITED ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. Du Bols, PA 814-371-8570 888-581-8969 Serving Armstrong, Cambria, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Forest, Indiana, and Jefferson counties
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers