About Us

Our Mission

To deliver reliable electric and broadband service that enhance lives and empower our communities.

Our Vision

Every Connection Matters.

Our Core Values

Safety – Service – Efficiency – Training & Development

About CEC

CEC is an electric distribution cooperative, built by the communities we serve to deliver reliable and affordable energy. And, because we answer to local members like you, rather than out-of-town shareholders, our electric cooperative has a unique understanding of local needs. In fact, our leaders and employees live right here in the communities we serve.

CEC is also a service-driven organization, providing jobs and investing in our communities through programs like Bright Ideas, Scholarships, Blood Drives, Charitable Causes, Economic Development, Electrical Safety and the Rural Electric Youth Tour.

Being a member of a cooperative distinguishes you from other electric utility consumers in many important ways. Being a member, makes you an OWNER. This means you have real input into how CEC operates through democratic control and trustee elections. Co-ops are led by six board of trustee members who live right here in our service area and they are elected by co-op members just like you. Board members serve three-year terms and elections are conducted via mail-in and online balloting during CEC’s annual meeting activities held each spring.

Another big difference between a co-op and other utilities is that any excess revenue is given back to our members through capital credits based on the amount of usage purchased during the previous year. We don’t send dividends to shareholders who may live in another state or country.

CEC follows the same Seven Cooperative Principles that all cooperative businesses follow. You can learn more about these important foundational principles by clicking here.

Though we serve just over 2,800 miles of power lines in parts of six counties, we’re also part of something bigger. Across the country, electric cooperatives work together to restore power during major outages through mutual aid agreements, we work together to develop new technologies and build infrastructure that benefits us all.

In addition to our community involvement we also offer an energy efficiency loan program, heat pump rebates, discounted water heaters, Green Power Choice, electric vehicle rebates and an educational solar demonstration project that provides real-time data about solar output on our website. We’re always looking for new ways to help our members save energy and money, stay safe around electricity and take advantage of the technology that’s changing the way we pay our bills and report power outages.

And last but certainly not least, in 2021 CEC undertook its biggest endeavor since its organization in 1944 and that was the build out of Buzz Broadband, a local, fiber-based internet and phone service subsidiary wholly owned by the co-op. Buzz Broadband is bringing the highest available speeds at competitive prices to CEC members and others throughout our service area. High-speed internet and reliable phone service have a tremendous impact on homes, businesses and schools. In fact, a good (or bad) connection directly affects how we collaborate with co-workers, learn with peers and unwind as a family. Buzz Broadband gives rural residents affordable access to fiber-based broadband, boosting their growth and success as a community. As you can see there are great things happening at CEC and we want to thank our valued member-owners who make it all possible.

CEC History

The organization of Covington Electric Cooperative in 1944 rescued many south Alabama farm families from the dark despair of life without electricity. The Rural Electrification Administration, enacted into law by Congress in 1936, offered long-term, low-interest loans to commercial power companies, cooperatives or other groups for financing construction of power facilities into rural areas. Commercial power companies chose not to take advantage of this means of financing rural power lines. Therefore, farmers were left to do the job themselves. They banded together, working cooperatively.

In 1941, no more than 14 percent of the farm families in Covington Electric Cooperative’s present coverage area had electric service. Cooperatives faced problems obtaining wholesale electric power for distribution to members. To combat this problem, 14 Rural Electric Administration (REA) co-ops in Alabama and Northwest Florida formed a “cooperative of cooperatives” (Alabama Electric Cooperative) to generate and transmit wholesale electric power to its members. Alabama Electric Cooperative changed its name to Power South Energy Cooperative in 2008 to better reflect its geographical service territory and to position the company for future growth opportunities.

Today, Covington Electric Cooperative’s more than 2,800 miles of line transmits electrical service to more than 25,600 meters in parts of six counties: Covington, Coffee, Crenshaw, Dale, Geneva, and Escambia. Covington Electric Cooperative’s headquarters is located in Sanford, AL (near Andalusia). It has a branch office in Enterprise. To learn more about the history of rural electrification, visit the United States Department of Agriculture.