Jo-Carroll Energy is dedicated to providing members with safe reliable electric and natural gas service at the lowest practical price. As a cooperative, we are proud to be a member-owned and controlled.
Electric cooperatives were established by rural pioneers all across the country in the 1930s and early 1940s. Rural electrification was made possible by the Rural Electrification Administration created on May 11, 1935, and later by enactment of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 on May 20, 1936. The REA program soon became so popular and successful that electric cooperatives became known as “REA’s.”
Organized as a nonprofit corporation in 1939, Jo-Carroll Energy’s first 20 miles of lines were energized on May 3, 1940, bringing service to 60 members. Cooperatives brought electricity to rural areas that the investor-owned utilities wouldn’t or couldn’t serve, turning on the lights for thousands of farmers and rural dwellers.
Today, cooperatives, like Jo-Carroll Energy, are still the primary providers of electricity in rural Illinois areas. But, the cooperative no longer serves just farmers in the diverse rural area—it serves small businesses and industries, farms, residences, cabins and recreational homes. Because electricity was there, rural areas have developed.
Headquartered in Elizabeth, Illinois, Jo-Carroll Energy is a not-for-profit distribution cooperative. We serve approximately 26,000 electric and natural gas accounts in the three counties of Jo Daviess, Carroll and Whiteside. Our dedicated staff of 56 oversees more than 2,053 miles of line and 153 miles of natural gas pipe.
As a cooperative, Jo-Carroll Energy is governed by a unique form of democracy. Consumer/members own the cooperative, and control it through the election of directors representing their interests on the cooperative’s board of directors. Local control through a locally elected board of directors ensures all members an equal voice in the operation of their energy supply system. The one member–one vote concept is not only a right of all members…it’s a responsibility.
Headquartered in Elizabeth, Illinois, Jo-Carroll Energy is divided into nine districts, each served by one director. These directors serve three-year terms.
