We take much for granted in our daily lives. This includes continuous access to an essentially unlimited supply of electricity at a relatively affordable price. Electricity and other modern energy delivery systems provide us not only the benefits of our many gadgets and toys, but also the essentials of light, heat, refrigeration and, of course, time — time to work at our jobs, complete our chores and enjoy our lives.
Electric cooperatives were formed across the United States during the 1930s as one of the world’s greatest self-help projects. Rural people joined together cooperatively to build power lines to their farms and homes that were not profitable enough for investor-owned utilities to bother with.
Today, much of the world has been electrified. According to the International Energy Agency and the World Bank, in most countries around the world 100 percent of people have access to electricity in some manner. However, the latest estimate shows 1.2 billion people still living with no electricity supplied to their homes, largely in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and southern Asia.
That means one of every six people in the world do not have the possibility of a single lightbulb, running water or any of the conveniences our home appliances bring. Just like cooperative members in rural America during the 1930s, these are largely hard-working rural people. Their daily survival requires gathering fuel, cooking over fires and inhaling harmful smoke, and carrying water to their homes.
Guatemala is one such country. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), the national trade association for electric cooperatives, established NRECA International in 1962 to help bring electricity to unserved populations outside the U.S. using the co-op model that was so successful here. This year, a group of 17 Ohio cooperative employees, mostly linemen, have volunteered to spend nearly three weeks bringing electricity to the remote village of La Soledad, Guatemala, with the support of their employers and the entire Ohio electric cooperative family.
Please join me in thanking all those who have made this life-changing event possible. Even in our modern world, there’s always a place for sacrifice and cooperation.
