Electricity comes to Tennessee cities
Electricity was available in many of America’s larger cities, but electrification of rural areas was deemed unfeasible.
A RICH HISTORY
Electric co-ops have had a profound impact on rural and suburban Tennessee. Our poles and wires have delivered power and opportunity to communities across Tennessee for more than 75 years.
1880
1930
Utility companies refuse to serve rural Tennessee
For-profit power companies considered it unprofitable to build lines in sparsely populated rural areas. Without electricity, the economies of rural areas were tied exclusively to agriculture.
May 18,1933
Roosevelt creates TVA
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Tennessee Valley Authority Act with created a federal agency to provide river navigation, flood control, electric generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley.
May 11, 1935
Roosevelt creates REA
President Roosevelt created the Rural Electrification Administration, which made federal funds available to provide rural electric service. Existing power companies expressed little interest, so the leaders of farm organizations proposed the formation of nonprofit electric cooperatives.
1935-1948
Co-ops spread across Tennessee
Tennesseans formed 23 electric cooperatives to bring electricity to rural areas.
1949
Growth of rural electrification
Post-war enthusiasm and adaptations of military technology, materials and equipment propelled rapid growth of rural electrification. By the 1950s, the Tennessee Valley Authority had become the nation’s largest energy supplier.
Today
Technology improves reliability and affordability
Tennessee’s 23 electric cooperatives provide energy for 2.5 million Tennesseans across 71 percent of Tennessee’s landmass. Co-ops rely on the latest technology to efficiently and reliably serve one in three Tennessee homes.
Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association
2964 Sidco Drive, Nashville, TN 37204
Phone : 615.367.9284