economy

Overhead view of rural Ohio

Co-ops power economy in communities across the U.S.

The 900 or so electric cooperatives in this country deliver electricity to 42 million Americans in 48 states across 56 percent of the nation’s landmass. In Ohio, the state’s co-ops serve more than 1 million people in 77 of the state’s 88 counties.

According to a report commissioned by the national co-op organization, local electric cooperatives supported about 623,000 American jobs and contributed $111 billion annually to gross domestic product from 2018 through 2022. Their activities have far-reaching impacts across the country — even in areas where co-ops do not serve consumers directly.

Power Lines

Power play

During an unprecedented crisis in NASA’s Apollo program, Ohio native and Apollo 13’s flight director, Gene Kranz, looked out across his mission control room and said: “OK, let’s everybody keep cool. Let’s solve the problem, but let’s not make it any worse by guessing.”

Power Lines
Subscribe to economy