“To move forward, you have to give back.” This quote from Oprah Winfrey reflects the special bond and obligation that ties People's Electric Cooperative (PEC) to the community we serve. With Valentine’s Day approaching, we can’t think of a better time to express how much we love this community and serving you, the members of the co-op.
We know when we helped to bring electricity to rural Oklahoma many years ago, the quality of life improved for all. Through the years, other issues needed to be tackled, and we have been at the forefront of helping to address some of those issues. We want to help meet the long-term needs of our community to ensure it continues to thrive – because just like you, we live here too.
While our top priority is to provide safe, reliable, and affordable energy to you, equally important is our mission to enrich the lives of the consumer members (that’s you!) that we serve. This focus to benefit the larger community is central to the way we operate as a cooperative. PEC knows that electricity is a critical need for modern-day life, but it takes more than poles and power lines to make a community.
Over time, our co-op has evolved to meet the changing needs of our community, thereby improving the quality of life for everyone. And that can mean many different things. It can mean programs for Oklahoma’s youth, such as education scholarships or the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour, where we take our community’s brightest young people to Washington, D.C. for a week-long immersion to experience democracy in action. It means organizing food and clothing drives. It means PEC employees pledging of their own money and contributing more than $5,000 to Ada Regional United Way for 2023, a program that helps fight for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in our community. They do this by collaborating with local coalitions, businesses, and community members to identify community needs and then find, support, or develop programs to meet those needs. PEC is also an active contributor to Pontotoc County’s Relay For Life event. Relay For Life is a community-based fundraising event for the American Cancer Society and many other cancer-related institutions, societies, and associations.
PEC is also proud to donate to and support local schools throughout our service territory in various ways. In 2022, PEC paid local schools inside PEC’s service area $1,705,086.68 in gross receipts tax based on miles of powerline located within each school district. 1031300600
For many years, our community-focused programs and other giving projects have fed hungry families, supported and enabled those in need to keep the lights on and so much more – and we couldn’t do any of this without you, our members.
We all benefit from these programs because you empower PEC through your membership. 691700401
As a local business, we are proud to power your life and bring good things to our community. We hope you will continue to guide our efforts by sharing your perspective as we plan for the future. The energy landscape is undergoing dramatic change fueled by evolving technology and consumer desires for more options. While the larger environment in which we operate is constantly changing, one thing remains the same. By working together, we can continue to do good things for our community.