Cooperation—it’s the lifeblood of electric cooperatives and a concept vital to the success of our form of business.
If you’ve heard the old saying that there is power in numbers, then you understand why Cooperative Principle No. 6, Cooperation Among Cooperatives, is key for us. Cooperatives serve their members best when they work together.
South Plains Electric Cooperative embraces and relies on Cooperation Among Cooperatives in a number of ways. At the most basic level, electric co-ops support one another in times of crisis. When a storm or other disaster strikes one of our fellow electric co-ops, we’re prepared to offer whatever help we can to restore service as quickly as possible. And if we need help, our neighbors will be there for us.
We collaborate to better serve our members and communities through programs such as Youth Tour, safety education and employee training.
We even work with two co-op banks to help finance SPEC; Cooperative Finance Corporation and CoBank. CoBank recently offered a matching grant to help us support Ronald McDonald House Charities as they kicked off their Dog Days of Summer program.
Electric co-ops in Texas combine forces through Texas Electric Cooperatives, our statewide association, and the results of our efforts are a testament to the power of cooperation. We also save money through our TEC membership. The economies of scale created when co-ops combine their buying power lower costs for poles and equipment and even the production costs of this magazine.
Nationally, we join forces with more than 900 electric co-ops through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. This group not only has the ears of Washington decision-makers, but also represents cooperative interests before regulatory bodies.
We also belong to Touchstone Energy, a nationwide electric co-op affiliation that provides us with communications and branding programs such as the Co-op Connections card and a host of online tools to help you save on energy costs. Our participation in Touchstone Energy is just another way we extend the benefits of cooperation and bring greater value to you, our members.
