Having provided services for over 80 years, People’s Electric Cooperative (PEC) is a rural electric generation, transmission, and distribution cooperative providing electrical service to approximately 16,000 members in 11 south-central Oklahoma counties.
Service Area
Counties served include:
- Atoka County
- Carter County
- Coal County
- Garvin County
- Hughes County
- Johnston County
- McClain County
- Murray County
- Pittsburg County
- Pontotoc County
- Seminole County
This service area, extending 43 miles east, 36 miles west, 36 miles north, and 37 miles south of Ada, contains approximately 4,500 miles of distribution and transmission lines. PEC distributes electricity 24 hours per day, 365 days per year to over 23,000 locations, which equates to 5.1 meters per mile of line.
Our History
The Rural Electrification Amendment to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal was passed by Congress in 1936. After farmers and ranchers in southeastern Oklahoma were unable to secure electrical service from any other source, the cooperative was organized as the Interstate Cooperative Electric and Power Company. Ten pioneering men founded this organization by selling two thousand $5 shares of stock door-to-door to rural dwellers eager to electrify their homes.
Having 2000 paid stockholders in the company, the directors negotiated the first financial loan with the Rural Electrification Administration in March of 1938. This loan consisted of $135,000 to construct 125 miles of line serving approximately 470 customers in Coal, Hughes, and Pontotoc counties.
Due to new provisions in the Rural Electric Cooperative Act, the Interstate Cooperative Electric and Power Company was converted to a non-profit, membership corporation called People’s Electric Cooperative. This motion was passed on July 29, 1939. All $5 shares of stock were then transferred into $5 memberships, which is the same cost of membership today.
PEC Today
PEC continues to be on the leading edge of providing electrical services to its more than 16,000 members located in 11 south-central Oklahoma counties. These services range from prepaid metering options to surge suppression (PowerShield) and rebate programs for improved customer efficiency plus various convenient ways for bill payment!
In 2006, PEC rejoined the offices and warehouse/operation functions which are located at 1700 North Country Club Road in Ada, Oklahoma. Today, PEC employs 82 full-time and 45 part-time employees to serve our membership!
Consumer Owned
PEC is a member-owned, non-profit distribution electric cooperative. As such, each member shares in any profits made by the cooperative each year.
Capital Credits
These profits are returned to members in the form of capital credits.
Each member is allocated their proportionate share of profits based on the amount of kilowatt-hours they used in the previous year.- This amount is allocated to the member’s capital credit account and a portion of that amount is retired in years where financial conditions of the cooperative allow it to retire these funds.
- Capital credits have been returned to the members of People’s Electric each year since 1987.
Electing Board Members
Members also participate in the operations of the cooperative by electing Board Members. This Board of Trustees represents the membership in each district for four-year terms. In addition, Bylaws that govern the operations of the cooperative are established by the entire membership of the cooperative. Any future revisions to these Bylaws require a vote of a quorum of the membership.
