GEC History

Georgia Energy Cooperative (GEC) was formed in September 2001 by its founding members, eleven electric membership corporations (EMCs), who joined together to create a not-for-profit, member-owned power supply cooperative.  

These eleven EMCs were part of a group of thirty-nine electric cooperatives in Georgia that formed Oglethorpe Power Corporation (OPC) in 1974 to supply their wholesale power generation and transmission needs.  In 1997, OPC restructured into three separate cooperatives (generation, transmission, and system operations) in response to anticipated deregulation in the electric industry, and the desire of some of the members to pursue other alternatives for future power resources and supply.

As all of the cooperatives explored their options, one group of EMCs emerged that desired to continue working together in a cooperative and traditional structure and set of relationships.  Today, Georgia Energy Cooperative consists of fifteen electric membership corporations.  Working together, the GEC group has been successful in negotiating competitive power supply agreements that promote future cost stability and reliable power supplies for the consumers of the Member EMCs.