Craighead Electric Cooperative
 | |
| Industry | Rural electrical cooperative |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1937 |
| Headquarters | Jonesboro, AR |
Number of employees | 110 |
| Website | craigheadelectric |
Craighead Electric Cooperative is a member-owned not-for-profit rural electric utility cooperative headquartered in Jonesboro, Arkansas, with district offices in Paragould, and Walnut Ridge, Arkansas.[1] A not-for-profit electric cooperative differs from a for profit investor owned electric company in a number of ways including capital credit refunds. For example, the cooperative in 2006 refunded $679,728 for the years 1976 and 1977.[2]
The Cooperative was organized in 1937 and the first 75 miles (121 km) of power lines[3] were energized in November 1938. In 1942 the cooperative pooled its resources with the other sixteen Arkansas power cooperatives to form a statewide association, Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc., (AECI). In 1949, it became a member of the Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation.[4]
The Cooperative serves portions of seven counties in the state of Arkansas, in a territory generally north and east of Jonesboro: Craighead, Crittenden, Greene, Independence, Lawrence, Poinsett, and Randolph.
The Cooperative has more than 4,700 miles (7,600 km) of distribution lines, 18 substations, and services 25,754 meters. In 2009, a winter storm damaged roughly 8,000 of the cooperative's utility poles causing power outages to 25,000 customers.[3]
References
- ^ "Craighead Electric Sponsors Energy Efficient Model Home Open House". The Town Crier. 28 February 2013.
- ^ "Craighead Electric returns funds to members". Poinsett County Democrat Tribune. 20 December 2006.
- ^ a b "DD-13-14 FEMA Should Recover $7.5 Million of the $43.2 Million Public Assistance Grant Awarded to Craighead Electric Cooperative Corporation, Arkansas" (PDF). Department of Homeland Security. 20 September 2013.
- ^ "Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas - Our History". Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas. 2014.