ONE OF THE PRINCIPLES that guides all electric cooperatives is Cooperation Among Cooperatives. Since rural electrification began in the 1930s, electric co-ops have relied on one another for help when disaster strikes.

Today statewide associations that represent member co-ops often help coordinate disaster response and mutual aid.

Highly trained lineworkers and other employees from one cooperative can quickly assist another co-op that might need help recovering from electrical infrastructure damage caused by disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires and ice storms. That happened last fall when three hurricanes—Laura, Sally and Delta—ripped through parts of East Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and Texas lineworkers rushed to make repairs and help restore power for hundreds of thousands of co-op members.

Concho Valley Electric Cooperative sent several crews in November to assist Lighthouse Electric Cooperative in restoring power to their members after a severe ice storm in late October. Concho Valley EC, along with eight other cooperatives and hired contractors, assisted Lighthouse EC in setting more than 1,100 poles and replacing more than 1,500 crossarms over an estimated 1,300 square miles. CVEC was happy to be able to answer the call for help from a sister cooperative.

Through Cooperation Among Cooperatives, Texans on co-op lines can rest assured that their power will be restored faster with the help of cooperative neighbors and friends. That’s the co-op way.