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Regular
office hours at Farmers' Electric Cooperative are 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday
through Friday.
201
West Business 36, Chillicothe, Missouri 64601
Phone: 660-646-4281 Fax: 660-646-3569
Toll Free: 1-800-279-0496
Power Outage Phone Number, 24 Hours/Day, 7 Days/Week:
1-800-927-5334
Call Before You Dig (Missouri One-Call): 1-800-DIG-RITE
(1-800-344-7483)
HOLIDAY
CALENDAR
Farmers'
Electric Cooperative's business office will be closed the
following holidays:
- New
Year's Friday January 1, 2010
- President's
Day Monday February 15, 2010
- Memorial Day Monday
May 31, 2010
- Independence Day
Monday
July 5, 2010
- Labor Day Monday September
6, 2010
- Veterans'
Day Thursday November 11, 2010
- Thanksgiving Thursday November
25, 2010
- Join us for cookies,
coffee and cider in December - An FEC holiday tradition will continue
the first full week of December, when members can drop by the office in Chillicothe and
enjoy coffee, hot cider and cookies. The annual tradition will kick off at
7:20 a.m. Monday, December 6, and run
through 4:30 p.m. Friday, December 10. So remember to stop by and see us in December.
- Christmas Day
Friday December 24, 2010
- New
Year's Friday December 31, 2010
Regular
office hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
HISTORY
NOTE:
FEC
History Books May be Purchased - The
recently published history of Farmers' Electric Cooperative may be
purchased at the office for $20. Shipping and handling costs are
an additional $5. The 111-page hardcover book, written by Rural Missouri
Editor Jim McCarty, covers the formation of the cooperative in
1938 up through early 2007.
"I
thought it was an April Fool's joke and I chased him off with a
broom," stated Mrs. U. M. Babb as she recalled the arrival of
electricity to her farm home. This was April 1, 1940 and the Babbs
were the first members to receive electricity from Farmers’
Electric Cooperative. The Babbs lived just east of Chillicothe.
Bringing electricity to the Babb family was the culmination and
the beginning of the effort that would bring this life changing
service to rural locations in Livingston, Caldwell, Daviess, Ray,
Carroll, Linn, Chariton, Dekalb, and Clinton Counties. It all had
began in 1935 with the founding of the Rural Electrification
Administration, better known as The REA.
 Championed
by Nebraska Senator George Norris and Texas Representative Sam
Rayburn, the Rural Electrification Act was signed into law by
President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Then on September 2, 1938 a
determined group of twelve farmers, including Ernest C. Wood,
incorporated Farmers Electric Cooperative. Wood then became the
first general manager and the cooperative's first office was
opened in Hamilton, Missouri. The following June the cooperative's
office was moved to Chillicothe. The entire office, including
equipment and paperwork, was moved to Chillicothe in the back of a
single pickup truck.
The
growth of Farmers' Electric can be attributed to three areas: The
many people who resided in rural areas who wanted the advantages
of electrical power; the energetic Cooperative employees who
traveled the miles and miles of dirt and gravel roads signing up
new members; and, the guidance of the University of Missouri’s
County Extension Agents. The Extension Agents worked alongside
Cooperative employees, scheduling meetings and talking to people
in the countryside. The university's agents knew that electricity
in the rural areas would make work and life easier and they
actively pursued this opportunity.
The
first REA loan to Farmers' Electric was issued in February 1939.
It totaled $505,000. Construction of the Cooperative's first power
lines began that summer. Twelve months later the Cooperative had
478 miles of distribution line and a total 792 members. At the
time Farmers' Electric purchased its electricity from the city of
Chillicothe. The first power bill totaled $34.43 for the purchase
of 2,700 kilowatt hours. "It was required that you have at
least two farmers per mile signed up before you could build a line
to them," recalled W. L. Altheide, who retired as general
manager of Farmers’ Electric in 1982. He had succeeded Wood in
1967 after serving as assistant manager for a number of years.
"There were a number of areas that didn't qualify because
there simply were not enough people living in those areas,"
Altheide said. "We had people using names off tombstones in
some areas so they could get enough signatures to have electricity
delivered to their farms."
The
cooperative grew steadily until the beginning of World War II.
Construction of new lines was difficult then because aluminum and
copper were scarce. These materials were needed for the war
effort. At one time there were over 100 miles of power poles in
the ground in Daviess County without power lines attached. For an
area to get the materials required to build the distribution lines
to the farms there had to be so many "units" per mile.
For example, one milk cow equaled one unit. Ten beef cattle
equaled one unit. Units were also assigned to chickens and hogs,
while fields of row crops didn't count. "If a farmer didn't
have enough units to qualify for electricity, he would borrow some
livestock from his neighbors to meet whatever the requirements
were at the time," laughed Altheide. "They would drive
herds all over to get the units they needed. That's how much they
wanted electricity!" Altheide recalled that, "Once the
war ended we experienced an amazing growth period. We couldn’t
keep up with the requests for electricity."
The
steady growth continued into the early 1950's. As the distribution
system grew so did a need for a new facility. Construction on the
present office building began in the fall of 1952. On May 2, 1953,
the new office, located on Business Highway 36 East, opened for
business.
 By
the 1960's growth had slowed because, for the most part, those who
wanted electricity now were receiving this service. Farmers'
Electric did grow in numbers during this era by purchasing several
independent systems, including a farmer-owned line on the western
edge of Chillicothe that ran to the old Campbell Country Club, now
the Grand Oaks Baptist Assembly. The largest acquisition for the
Cooperative occurred in 1964 when Farmers' Electric purchased the
Consumer Public Service Company. This purchase included the areas
around Sumner, Mendon, Meadville, Laclede, Hale, Wheeling, and
Rothville. The majority of the purchase involved customers in Linn
County. Remembering the work involved in this acquisition,
Altheide said, "It took 32 pounds of paperwork for us to
justify the purchase of the Consumer Public Service Company to the
federal government." He added, "We took hundreds of
photographs and when it was finally over it took almost a year to
complete the transaction." Ironically, part of the area
obtained in this purchase was involved in a trade with Union
Electric in the late 1990's.
In
the mid- 1960's the Cooperative also secured the exclusive rights
to provide electric service to Lake Viking, located northwest of
Gallatin. The service area of Farmers' Electric Cooperative did
not change much after the 1960's until 1989.
The
third manager in the Cooperative's history, Dan Bryan, came to
Farmers' Electric at the beginning of 1982. Later that year the
Cooperative became one of the first REC's in Missouri to initiate
the use of interruptible power contracts with major industrial
concerns within its service area. This provided the Cooperative
with an avenue to prevent potential peaking situations and, in
turn, aided in the control of its rate structure. "These
interruptible contracts have worked extremely well for us and they
have opened new doors for expanded opportunities for our
industrial customers," Bryan said in 1988.
 On
July 5, 1989 Missouri Governor John Ashcroft signed a bill
allowing neighboring electric utilities to agree on service
boundaries. The first agreement in the state was signed on October
9, 1989. This provided territorial integrity for the City of
Chillicothe and Farmers' Electric Cooperative. Dignitaries from
the State of Missouri as well as national figures were present for
the signing ceremonies. With the signing of this agreement the
Cooperative announced its intentions to purchase a 176-acre tract
of land and establish an industrial park. Recognizing the need to
help boost the area’s economy, the Cooperative dedicated itself
to bringing jobs to its service area.
The
first tenant in the industrial park was American Nail. Although
this small industry never became a major employer it did provide
avenues to help build the park's infrastructure. In 1993 Wire Rope
Corporation of America opened an expansion plant in the park. Since purchasing 175 acres of undeveloped land in 1988, FEC Development has attracted businesses and industries to the CAIP that have created over 400 new jobs for area residents. Government offices include the Social Security Administration office and the USDA Service Center.
A second Industrial Park was added near Gallatin after the Cooperative and the City of Gallatin had also established a territorial agreement. The development of this park has been slow but marketing efforts continue.
 Improving
the quality of life for the Cooperative's members has been one of
its primary goals from the time Farmers' Electric was established.
In 1987 the Cooperative become one of the first in the nation to
create a wholly owned subsidiary. The Rural America Service
Company (RASCO) began to provide programming for C-band satellite
dishes. Within a few years RASCO had over 3,000 rural customers
and was the third largest provider of this programming in the
nation.
Later
the subsidiary's name was changed to FEC Services and its range of
business expanded to provide other services designed to improve
the quality of life for the residents in the nine county area
served by the Cooperative.
Farmers'
Electric Cooperative has always believed in the youth of the
nation and has worked diligently to provide opportunities for the
young people living in rural Missouri. The Cooperative has
participated in the Rural Electric Youth Tour for many years
sending high school juniors to participate in the National Rural
Electric Cooperative Association's Youth Tour to Washington, D. C.
The Cooperative has also assisted in bringing leadership programs
to all of our schools.
 In
1987, the Cooperative donated a C-band satellite to each school
district so all schools could have access to specialized
educational programming available from various colleges and
institutions. In the years following the Cooperative also made an
Internet web site, USA Kids Today, available to each school to
utilize for communication and education purposes.
The
Farmers' Electric's Area Youth Benefit Fund (AYBF), a 501(c)3
charity, was established by the Cooperative in 1993. With this
local charity designed to help area families with health care
costs for their children 18 years of age and under, the
Cooperative reached out to every corner of its service area. With
the establishment of the AYBF the Cooperative became one of the
very first businesses anywhere to have its own charity supported
by the public. Funding for the AYBF came through auctions of
celebrity memorabilia and donated items from area merchants and
individuals. After 17 years of operation, over $470,000 has been
donated to families living in the Cooperative's nine county
service area to assist with health care.
Early
1998 found Farmers' Electric stepping up to become one of the
first cooperatives in the state to join with sister
cooperatives across the nation in affiliating with Touchstone
Energy. This national brand is a symbol of quality service to all
customers.
A
reliable and economical source of electric energy has always been
the goal of Farmers' Electric Cooperative. Early in their
existence the distribution cooperatives in the state exhibited
great foresight and formed transmission cooperatives. In 1961
these transmission cooperatives created Associated Electric
Cooperative, Inc. AECI is a generation and transmission
cooperative and now owns coal fired generation stations at Thomas
Hill and New
Madrid. In addition AECI now has internal combustion generation at
several locations in Missouri and Oklahoma. The efforts of AECI
have resulted in low cost, reliable electricity for most of the
rural electric cooperative members in the State of Missouri.
Farmers'
Electric Cooperative has a strong belief that the members should
share in the benefits of the operation of the business. Each year
the board of directors reviews the capital credit picture and,
historically, authorizes payments of
capital credits.
Through the year 2009, the Cooperative has returned over
$15,800,000 to the members.
In
the years to come the Cooperative will be increasing its services
through improved technology and a wider range of choices. Farmers'
Electric Cooperative has always been and will continue to be
committed to its members and its communities where these members
live.
MORE
PHOTOS
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One of the most effective means for reducing peaks and lowering system wide demand is through energy management. Feasibility studies have shown that energy management can save your cooperative millions of dollars over the next decade, but this depends upon the cooperative efforts of everyone.
A radio signal is sent from our main office to Communication Carrier Units (CCU's) in each of our substations. The CCU interprets the signal and sends the signal through the power lines from the substation to your home. The Switch receives the signal from the power line and is activated.