Oklahoma's electric cooperatives deliver affordable power to you every day. It's why electric cooperatives were created, and it's a commitment we plan to keep.
In the 1920s and early '30s, central station electric service was a luxury that only 10 percent of rural residents nationwide enjoyed - and those who had power paid dearly for it. When Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Warm Springs, GA in 1924, he was dismayed to find electricity for his small cottage cost four times what it did at his estate in New York. After being elected president, he created the federal Rural Electric Administration by Executive Order to make power affordable for all Americans. As a result, electric co-ops were born.
Innocations in line building pioneered by co-op engineers and the compeditive pressure co-ops placed on investor-owned utilities to serve rural areas slashed the cost of providing electric service in the countryside by 50 percent or more.
In the decades since, co-ops have established a proven track record of offering stable and affordable electric rates. Data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), in fact, shows that since 2000, co-op electric rates have consistently run lower than the industry average. This is further proof that we're committed to keeping electricity bills within your means.
But the struggle for affordable power that farmers and their neighbors fought three-quarters of a centry ago has flared up again through the debate over climate legislation. Other issues might be more pressing for Congress at the moment, but the debate will continue.
Our job, on your behalf, is to work closely with Congress to find the best solutions for addressing climate change while keeping hte price of electricity within your means.