Trends of rural electric cooperatives in the United States from 1990 to 2019: An empirical analysis

In the United States, rural electric cooperatives have been an integral part of the energy system for almost a century, starting as an effort to electrify rural areas before World War II. Because they are democratically organized, energy cooperatives give communities ownership of their energy, as well as empower and educate individuals to be more responsible with energy consumption. In the United States, rural electric cooperatives have been part of the energy system for almost a century. This analysis uses the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Form EIA-861 database to contextualize the changes in the cooperative sector in the past three decades and help to understand the evolving scenario. Overall, cooperatives represented 28% of the total utilities from 1990 to 1995, progressively reaching 38% from 2016 to 2019. As a whole group, cooperatives share some similarities and, at the same time, a large degree of heterogeneity across cooperatives. • Data from the past three decades on electric cooperatives show a gradual growth of consumers and revenue. • Electric cooperatives have been playing a role in transforming the electricity sector in the United States. • First study of its kind focused on temporal and geographical evolution of electric cooperatives using data by the EIA. • Cooperatives are considered both social and economic enterprises. • Energy is one of the most regulated industries in the U.S., but electric cooperatives are usually exempt from regulations.