News

October is National Co-op Month, a time when electric cooperatives across America pause to celebrate the people who make this model work: our members. At First Electric Cooperative, that celebration is more than a slogan. It’s the way we operate every day — grounded in service, built on local accountability and focused on reliability and affordability for the communities we call home.
The cooperative difference starts with ownership. If you receive electric service from First Electric, you’re not just a customer, you’re a member-owner. That means your voice shapes our priorities, you elect your board of directors, and any margins are reinvested into the system or returned to you through capital credits. It’s a model designed to serve, not to maximize profit.

Reliability You Can Count On

This year reminded all of us how dependable power matters. From heat waves to pop-up storms, our crews worked around the clock to keep the lights on and restore service safely when outages occurred.

We’re investing in the grid by rebuilding lines and trimming right-of-way because reliability isn’t an accident; it’s a commitment.

Broadband that Keeps Families Connected

Through Connect2First, we’re extending that same cooperative spirit to broadband — building out a fiber network that supports work, school, health care and small business. Members tell us the combination of fast, consistent speeds and local support is a game-changer. As we expand, we remain focused on providing hometown-reliable service.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Concern for Community is one of our seven cooperative principles, and it shows up in big and small ways: Operation Round-Up grants to local nonprofits, classroom support through education programs, volunteer hours by employees and even a traveling grill to say, “Thanks a GRILLion,” to groups serving on the front lines. When our communities thrive, we all thrive.

Co-ops were created to do hard things together — bring power to rural Arkansas when no one else would, and now, bring high-speed internet to places the market overlooked. That spirit is alive and well at First Electric. Thank you for the trust you place in us and for the everyday ways you strengthen your cooperative, from your family, friends and neighbors at First Electric and Connect2First.