The History of Carroll Electric
By the mid 1930s, almost every urban area in the United States had electric power. However, the rural areas were still in the dark. Only about 10 percent of the people in these outlying regions enjoyed the convenience of electricity.
Why? Because the investor-owned utilities didn't think they could make money by stringing lines into the countryside. When they did, the cost was usually prohibitive to rural residents.
In 1938, a group of rural people organized Carroll Electric Cooperative and obtained a 100 percent loan from the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Electric lines were built with funds advanced by the REA and electricity was made available to nearly everyone who paid a $10 membership fee to the cooperative.
In December 1939, the lines were energized for the first time and suddenly lights started dotting the Carroll, Columbiana, Harrison, Jefferson, Tuscarawas and Stark counties' countryside.
Back then, members used an average of just 40 KWH per month. Today, the average monthly usage has increased to approximately 1100 KWH. Carroll Electric now serves over 12,400 members with a system of over 1475 miles of line. Ohio has 25 Electric Distribution Cooperatives, providing electric service in 77 of 88 Counties. There are over 900 electric cooperatives across the nation, serving members in 47 of 50 States.