By Emma Sutton
For an electric cooperative, “grassroots,” carries powerful meaning. In fact, electric co-ops can trace their historical success back to this single idea. Since the 1930s, the industry has relied on grassroots efforts to bring power to rural communities and secure policies that benefit their members.
One of the most powerful grassroots efforts in American history was the push for rural electrification in the 1930s. At the time, nine out of ten rural homes lacked electricity, relying instead on kerosene lanterns for light, woodstoves for cooking and washboards for cleaning. Without electricity, rural economies were dependent on agriculture, while urban areas, with readily available power supplies, received new businesses and industries. For rural communities, no solution was in sight. Power companies deemed it too costly to serve them, arguing that running wires to sparsely populated areas wasn’t profitable.
But rural Americans refused to be left behind. Farmers, ranchers, community leaders and co-op organizers lobbied for federal support to bring electricity to their communities. They pooled their own labor and resources to build the infrastructure needed to power their homes, farms and businesses.
The signing of The Rural Electrification Act of 1936 provided loans and grants to establish electric cooperatives. This movement not only electrified rural America. The widespread act of neighbors helping neighbors instilled a spirit of cooperation still present in the industry today. What began as a push for electricity has evolved into a broader movement to ensure electric cooperatives and the communities and lives they power continue to thrive.
Nearing a century later, grassroots activism remains essential to electric cooperatives’ success. The rural communities that once founded, built and now own their cooperatives still reap the benefits of their community engagement. Today, electric cooperatives have brought broadband Internet service to underserved areas, and they create steady, well-paying jobs for their communities. As a York Electric member, you’re not just a partial owner of a utility, you are part of a network with the power to change your neighbors’ lives for the better. Just as your co-op relies on your engagement to shape its direction and priorities, electric cooperatives also depend on their members to engage in the political process to communicate co-ops’ value and interests to policymakers.
That’s where Voices for Cooperative Power (VCP) comes in. This initiative amplifies the voices of members on issues impacting the availability of safe, reliable, and affordable power. Government policies play a major role in shaping the energy landscape, from the legislation that created electric co-ops to modern policies affecting power generation. As the S.C. General Assembly considers policies that will impact the availability of electricity we generate as a state, it’s more important than ever for co-op members to get involved.
York Electric invites you to make your voice heard. Join VCP, share the issues that matter to you, and help shape policies that impact us all. Together, we can continue the legacy of grassroots activism that has powered our communities for generations.
Join VCP
We invite you to join Voices for Cooperative Power (VCP), a new nationwide community designed to help co-op consumer-members just like you share your story with elected officials. We know that one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to energy policies, so as an electric cooperative consumer-member, speaking up on issues that impact your electric co-op sends a message to elected officials about the unique needs of our communities—and their constituencies.
VCP makes it easy to have a say in policy decisions that impact you, because you can customize your experience by choosing the issues most important to you, from access to broadband technology and energy efficiency, to renewable energy and rural development, and much more. VCP members will receive updates on those issues, and when needed, information on how to contact elected officials and government agencies on proposed legislation or regulations.
It’s quick and easy to join VCP. Simply visit voicesforcooperativepower.com or check out Voices for Cooperative Power on social media (@voices4coops).