In the late 1930's our nation's government saw the need for providing electric power to the rural areas of the nation. Agriculture needed electricity, but large power companies were reluctant to venture into rural America because of the excessive cost involved in building miles of power lines for only a handful of consumers. On May 11, 1935, rural America took a giant step forward when Congress passed the Rural Electrification Act. This Act called for establishment of the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) which would have the authority to make available loans to groups of rural citizens working together to bring electricity to non-urban areas. These organized groups of citizens were called Electric Cooperatives.
Meetings were held throughout the various rural areas to acquaint farmers and ranchers with the feasibility of securing electric service. Prospective members were required to sign an agreement to buy electricity from the Cooperative when the lines were built and to pay a membership fee into the organization. The agreement and fee made them members of the Cooperative, and each member had one vote in elections for representatives or Directors of their Cooperative.
The Cooperative members elected a Board of Directors and they prepared and adopted the Articles of Incorporation with the assistance of legal advisors from REA. A Charter was secured from the State of Texas and a loan was obtained from REA in Washington, D.C. to provide the capital necessary to construct the initial power lines. Today REA is known as the Rural Utilities Service (RUS).
San Patricio Electric Cooperative, Inc. was chartered in 1937 by a group of rural Americans who truly exemplified the pioneer spirit. From the originally signed members, the Cooperative has evolved some 63 years later into a Cooperative that serves approximately 9500 meters utilizing over 3,221 miles of energized power lines, and the growth continues.
Your Cooperative serves San Patricio, Live Oak, Bee, Refugio, McMullen, Jim Wells, Goliad, Aransas, and Nueces counties. The Cooperative differs from investor owned utilities and other power suppliers in that all margins are ultimately returned to the member. These margins are designated "capital credits" in the bylaws, and are also referred to as "patronage capital."
In summary, the Cooperative is a non-profit organization providing electric power to its member-owners who, in turn, are responsible for its operation. Your Cooperative also pays taxes in the area it serves. All these accomplishments have been possible through the efforts of a membership-elected board and the support and concern of all the Cooperative members in this community effort. Your continued support and participation should result in even greater strides of progress for your future.
Governing Your Cooperative...
Each year, in September, the annual meeting of the membership is held at a site selected by the Board of Directors. Notification of the annual meeting and other membership meetings is provided to each member by printed notice in advance of the meeting date. It is the privilege and responsibility of each member to exert every effort to attend the meeting and exercise the right to vote for the Directors of their choice at the annual meeting.
There are eight Directors who represent the eight Cooperative districts and one Director at Large. The directors are elected on a rotating basis by majority vote of the members of the annual meeting of the membership. Each director is elected for a three year term to represent their respective district, and may be subsequently re-elected as long as they meet the requirements mandated by the Cooperative Bylaws.
The directors receive no salary, however a compensation is paid to each director for attendance to regular and special meetings of the Board. They are also paid for mileage attributable to Cooperative business.
KEEPING INFORMED...
San Patricio Electric Cooperative, Inc. hopes you will keep informed of the progress and activities of your cooperative and will exercise your right to participate in running it by voting in our elections.
Each month you receive a copy of Texas Co-Op Power, a magazine for all members of electric cooperatives in Texas. This is published by Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc., our statewide organization. Inside the magazine are "local pages" and they contain information only about San Patricio Electric and its service area.
We also welcome your opinions and any suggestions that might improve our service to you.
