864 distribution and 66 G&T cooperatives serve:
- 40 million people in 47 states.
- 17.5 million businesses, homes, schools, churches, farms, irrigation systems, and other establishments in 2,500 of 3,141 counties in the U.S (80 percent of the nation’s counties).
- 12 percent of the nation's population.
To perform their mission, electric cooperatives:
- own assets worth $100 billion,
- own and maintain 2.5 million miles, or 42%, of the nation’s electric distribution lines, covering three quarters of the nation's landmass,
- deliver 10 percent of the total kilowatt hours sold in the U.S. each year,
- generate nearly 5 percent of the total electricity produced in the U.S. each year,
- employ 67,000 people in the United States,
- retire more than $500 million in capital credits annually.
- pay more than $1.2 billion in state and local taxes
Electric Utility Comparisons
| |
Investor-Owned |
Publicly Owned |
Cooperatives |
Total |
| Number of Organizations |
220 |
2,000 |
930 |
3,150 |
| Number of Total Customers |
102 m |
20 m |
17 m |
140 m |
| Size (median number of customers) |
400,000 |
2,000 |
12,500 |
|
| Customers, % of total |
73% |
15% |
12% |
|
| Revenues, % of total |
76% |
14% |
10% |
|
| kWh sales, % of total |
74% |
16% |
10% |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| Sales (billions kilowatt hours) |
Investor-Owned |
Publicly Owned |
Cooperatives |
Total |
| Residential |
937 |
202 |
213 |
1,360 |
| Commercial |
1,017 |
207 |
75 |
1,285 |
| Industrial |
725 |
153 |
83 |
954 |
| Other |
4 |
3 |
0 |
7 |
| Total |
2,683 |
564 |
372 |
3,619 |
| |
Investor-Owned |
Publicly Owned |
Cooperatives |
Total |
| Miles of Distribution Line |
50% |
7% |
43% |
|
| Customers per mile of line (density) |
35 |
47 |
7.0 |
34 |
| Revenue per mile of line |
$62,665 |
$86,302 |
$10,565 |
$60,827 |
| Distribution plant per Customer |
$2,229 |
$2,309 |
$2,845 |
$2,362 |
| Assets (billions) |
$700 |
$200 |
$100 |
$1,000 |
| Equity (billions) |
$220 |
$55 |
$31 |
$306 |
| |
|
|
|
|
Note: "Investor-Owned" includes data for IOU affiliates engaged in competitive retail markets where appropriate
Source: 2005 EIA, RUS Data, CFC
NRECA Strategic Analysis ▪ Last Updated: February 2008