A Roadmap to the New Rural Electric Cooperative Business Model

Abstract

In North Carolina today, rural electric cooperatives provide electricity to 26% of the state’s population. Conducted for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), this project aims to assess the services that these cooperatives could offer their members as a means of improving their business model. Through a convenience and snowball sampling approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with ten organizations. After performing an NVIVO analysis, we identified the criteria of affordability, reliability, and customer satisfaction as the key variables that cooperatives use when assessing service options. Our research revealed continued to reveal the benefits, challenges, and priorities of these cooperatives in offering a range of services to their customers. While each cooperative in North Carolina is unique, we have recommended services they should offer based on their individual priorities and the readiness of each service to be implemented.