Members of the New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperative Association

New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperatives

NewMexico’s rural electric distribution cooperatives and generation and transmission cooperatives provide electric power to 80 percent of the land area, and to 22 percent of New Mexicans. These families and businesses own their electric cooperatives. They control the co-op’s bylaws, vote on any significant changes in operations, and elect trustees to direct co-op activities. Their cooperatives provide service to Chama in the north to the oil fields of the Permian Basin in the southeast; to the northeastern grasslands to the Bootheel desert.

New Mexico’s rural electric cooperatives, who are members of the New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NMRECA), protect the interests of their consumer-members through their statewide association headquartered in Santa Fe. There are 16 electric distribution cooperatives in New Mexico, 15 of which are members of NMRECA. The members have invested more than $1.2 billion to provide reliable electric service. They employ more than 800 New Mexicans as linemen, customer service representatives, engineers, warehouse operators and other positions.

The cooperatives are active in promoting and providing renewable energy resources and energyefficiency rebate programs for consumer-members. They also offer a green power program to consumer-members, giving them the opportunity to purchase renewable energy.

The cooperatives strongly support their communities. They collectively operate one of the largest nongovernmental scholarship programs in New Mexico. The state’s electric co-ops have provided more than $15 million in higher educational scholarships to more than 10,000 New Mexico students during the past 33 years. They sponsor youth programs such as the Government-in-Action Youth Tour and provide safety training in local schools.

Eleven of the 15-member distribution cooperatives receive wholesale power from Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association headquartered in Westminster, Colorado. Four are members of Western Farmers Electric Cooperative headquartered in Anadarko, Oklahoma. There are also three electric distribution cooperatives that are associate members of NMRECA. They are Duncan Valley Electric, Duncan, Arizona; Navopache Electric, Lakeside, Arizona; and Rio Grande Electric, Brackettville, Texas.

New Mexico’s electric cooperatives sponsor students to attend the Government-inAction Youth Tour in Washington, D.C., each June to learn about rural electric cooperatives and our federal government.