Texas Electric Cooperatives

Although electricity had been in highly populated cities for decades, the electric companies in the 1930s were still not providing their services to rural areas. Local cooperatives developed to address this issue, and the first one in the U.S. was established in Bartlett, Texas, in 1935. It remains one of 74 co-ops in Texas (930 in the nation) to provide electricity to rural areas.

In Austin in 1941, these co-ops established the Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc., to represent the interests of the Texas co-ops and their members. As of 2010, the 74 co-ops are members, the TEC is headquartered in Austin, and the TEC's president and CEO is Mike Williams.

Sources:

Texas Electric Cooperatives. About TEC. Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc., http://www.texas-ec.org/about_tec/ (accessed May 4, 2010).

Texas Electric Cooperatives. History of Electric Cooperatives. Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc., http://www.texas-ec.org/about_tec/history/ (accessed May 4, 2010).

From the guide to the Texas Electric Cooperatives Association Records 92-085; 94-075; 94-236; 94-287; 94-327; 95-165; 96-318; 2000-004; 2000-005; 2006-197., 1936-1994, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)