Umatilla Electric Cooperative Revenue and Competitors

Anyone in his golden years who was raised in rural America just might remember life without kilowatt-hours. Rural electric consumers can thank President Franklin D. Roosevelt for signing into law the Rural Electrification Act in 1935. The Act, part of the New Deal, established the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) to make funds available for consumer groups to establish cooperative electric utilities. The 'for profit' electric utilities had determined the metropolitan boundaries they wished to serve. Those private utilities decided against extending their lines into the rural areas, unless the consumer paid for the entire extension. Profit-minded utilities considered the low population density and apparent limited potential consumption a poor investment, and concluded that it was cost-prohibitive for investor-owned utilities to serve the rural areas.