WHERE WE STAND
Community Electric Cooperative (CEC) was built by and belongs to the diverse communities and consumer-members we serve. We are founded on seven principles that set us apart from other businesses. Concern for community and the open, democratic structure of co-ops are two of these core principles. With these foundational concepts in mind, we strive to serve our communities and work to enhance quality of life for our consumer-members.
As an employer we are committed to a positive, inclusive culture. We support policies that foster employee growth and success without fear of discrimination. The ongoing conversation about racism and other inequities demands that we recognize how we can contribute to a more transparent, fair and accountable society. CEC, its leadership and employees are expected to play a leadership role in rejecting racism, speaking against injustice, and demonstrating the value of diversity, equity and inclusion.
CEC believes that environmental, wildlife and land management policies should encourage flexible, local approaches rather than imposing costly rules that discourage innovation. We favor policies that rely more on providing incentives and encouraging voluntary conservation efforts. CEC’s operations, from operating power to trimming trees near power lines, are impacted by environmental policy. Federal policies should provide necessary protections as well as maintain flexibility to recognize the crucial role that co-ops play in bringing reliable, affordable and responsible power to rural businesses and households.
Co-ops across the country, including CEC, are committed to meeting environmental requirements in a cost-effective manner. Given that electric co-ops serve members in 92% of our nation’s persistent poverty counties, we also seek to minimize the financial impacts of these requirements on our most vulnerable consumer-members. The cost of meeting environmental requirements has a disproportionate impact on low- and moderate-income consumer-members. Higher power costs also hurt local businesses in rural communities, causing job loss and slowing economic development.
OUR VALUES
INTEGRITY
Members first. Every day. That’s the power of membership. Not for-profit electric cooperatives deliver energy to members at the cost of service, this differs from investor-owned utilities that distribute profits to investors not necessarily to those it serves.
ACCOUNTABILITY
Electric co-ops belong to the members they serve. Decisions made benefit those in your community because co-op business is conducted through a locally elected board of directors who propose policies to be voted on by members.
INNOVATION
CEC strives to offer state-of-the-art technology to better serve members with cutting-edge programs to help forge relationships with business members through educational events, web conferences and ongoing communications.
COMMUNITY
Work to improve the quality of life in their communities. They donate time, energy and resources to charities, schools and community events and take a leadership role in community development projects.
GOVERNANCE
Our History
1938
Founded in 1938, Community Electric Cooperative was created through the efforts of the Holland Ruritan Club and other community leaders to provide electrical service in Southeastern Virginia’s rural areas.
The late Paul L. Everett, prominent attorney from Suffolk and a Holland Ruritan, led the effort to form the electric utility that today serves more than 9,500 families and businesses.
December 23, 1938
The Cooperative elected officers immediately after the Virginia State Corporation Commission granted its charter on December 23, 1938. The Co-op's first president was Louise F. Davidson.
October 1939
The Rural Electrification Administration granted Community Electric Cooperative a $220,000 loan in October of 1939. A month later, construction was underway on the utility's first 220 miles of line, running from Windsor into Nansemond County, which has since merged into the City of Suffolk.
1949-1955
Some 1,543 member-consumers turned out at the Co-op's first outdoor annual meeting in Suffolk's Peanut Park in 1949. Enthusiasm was high. With the post-war construction boom, Community Electric Cooperative rang in the New Year of 1950 with 2,451 meters, all having gone online within a decade, and most after the war. Construction continued to accelerate into the mid-1950s, with the number of services increasing by more than one-third, to 3,637, by 1955.
1959
The Cooperative reached a major financial milestone in 1955. For the first time, the utility achieved a year of operational margins. Capital credits totaling $26,705 were assigned to members, and in 1959 the members received their first capital-credit refund checks.
1971
In 1971, the Cooperative passed 1,000,000 man-hours without a lost-time accident. The record represented one of the best in the nation at the time.
1975
By January of 1975, Community Electric Cooperative had installed some 5,875 meters and 1,111 miles of line.
1977+
James M. Reynolds was hired in 1977 by the Co-op board of directors to succeed Jean Woodward as manager. Reynolds served until his retirement in April 2013. Only the third CEO in its history, Steven A. Harmon took the helm in June 2013.
1979
In 1979, Community Electric Cooperative executed a wholesale power contract with Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, a generation-and-transmission cooperative. Initially, Old Dominion negotiated rates on behalf of Community Electric Cooperative and its other member systems.
1980 +
During the 1980s and 1990s, Old Dominion procured ownership of electric-generation facilities to support Community Electric Cooperative and the 11 other cooperatives which own Old Dominion. In 1983, Old Dominion acquired an 11.6 percent interest in the North Anna Nuclear Power Station. Old Dominion also owns a 50 percent interest in the Clover Power Station, which it built, and which went on-line in 1995. In addition to North Anna and Clover, Old Dominion has developed three peaking electric generation facilities to further support Community and the other 11 member cooperatives.
TODAY
Over the last 15 years, the Co-op has recorded a growth rate of roughly 1.5 percent per year in the number of meters connected. The Cooperative currently serves more than 11,000 accounts over its 1,590 miles of distribution line.