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Who are we?
7 Cooperative Principles
- Voluntary and Open Membership - Cooperatives are voluntary organizations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political, or religious discrimination.
- Democratic Member Control - Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions. The elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary cooperatives, members have equal voting rights one member, one vote) and cooperatives at other levels are organized in a democratic manner.)
- Members' Economic Participation - Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the cooperative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing the cooperative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative; and supporting other activities approved by the membership.
- Autonomy and Independence - Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their cooperative autonomy.
- Education, Training, and Information - Cooperatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives. They inform the general public, particularly young people and opinion leaders, about the nature and benefits of cooperation.
- Cooperation Among Cooperatives - Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional, and international structures.
- Concern for Community - While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies accepted by their members.
History
By the mid 1930s, almost every urban area in the United States had central station electric service. However, the rural areas were still in the dark. Only about 10% of the people in these outlying regions enjoyed the convenience of electricity. Why? Because the investor-owned utilities didn’t think they could make money by stringing lines into the countryside. Something needed to be done.
In 1936, a group of northwestern Ohio farmers decided to take advantage of a federal program offered by the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) and form an electric cooperative. They named the cooperative North Western Electric and its purpose was to provide electricity for the people of rural Williams and Defiance counties. In January of 1938, the distribution lines were energized for the first time. At that time, customers only used about 40 KWH per month. Today, that total average is nearly 1,100 KWH.
North Western serves nearly 6,000 customers with a system consisting of 69 miles of high voltage transmission lines and 836 miles of distribution lines. Eight substations, ranging in size from 2,500 KVA to 10,000 KVA, keep the electricity flowing.
There are now nearly 1,000 rural electric cooperatives across the nation serving over 25 million customers.
Board of Trustees
District 1 | David Curry |
District 2 | Larry Zeedyk |
District 3 | Greg Snyder |
District 4 | Dean Harrington |
District 5 | Jim Stinehelfer, Jr. |
District 6 | Tom Wise |
District 7 | Philip Mack |
