North Carolina’s electric cooperatives are a network of not-for-profit electric utility organizations powering the days and empowering the lives of 2.5 million North Carolinians from the mountains to the coast. There are 26 electric distribution cooperatives rooted in communities across the state, each committed to delivering homes, farms and businesses with safe, reliable, affordable and environmentally responsible electricity. There is a group of cooperative organizations in Raleigh that works for the 26 distribution cooperatives. This group includes: North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation, the power supplier to the co-ops; North Carolina Association of Electric Cooperatives, the trade association providing services to them; and Tarheel Electric Membership Association, the organization that supplies the cooperatives with the materials necessary to maintain their modern, sophisticated systems. Each cooperative is independent and owned by the people, called members, to whom it provides service. Those members elect the cooperative’s board of directors, which is responsible for establishing the cooperative’s policies, goals and strategies. The cooperative difference lies in our history and structure as not-for-profit utility providers that put people first. This difference positions us perfectly to operate daily with a unique purpose: to improve the quality of life in the communities we serve and empower our members to take control of their energy use.