A decade ago, Cooperative Energy, an electric cooperative, began to contemplate the future of its fleet. Founded in 1941 as South Mississippi Electric shortly after the passage of the Rural Electrification Act, Cooperative Energy had grown into the sole generation and transmission cooperative in the state, furnished with the integral mission of meeting the power requirements of 11 small distribution cooperatives spanning from the Mississippi Delta to the Gulf Coast. In the more than 80 years since, the Hattiesburg-headquartered co-op has operated under a member-owned not-for-profit model, supplying its more than 448,000 members in 55 of Mississippi’s 82 counties with wholesale rates that cover only the costs of providing power and emergency contingencies, with remaining funds (capital credits) returned to members.
