Decades of innovation: 1990s

While the first half of the 1990s turned out to be much like the previous decade, the second half was marked by new challenges and opportunities.

Talk of deregulating energy utilities was growing in Georgia. If deregulation became a reality, electric companies—including co-ops—would be split into companies that handled different aspects of consumers’ power needs. One company would market and sell energy while another would maintain the power lines and deliver the electricity.

The co-ops began preparing for this possibility. Oglethorpe Power, Walton EMC’s power supplier, was reorganized into three distinct companies in 1997. This gave Walton EMC the ability to shop the wholesale power market to secure the best long-term deals for its members.

The co-op also looked for ways to strengthen its relationship with members. In 1998, Walton EMC and sister cooperative Jackson EMC formed EMC Security. The new company broke the mold in the security industry by being the first to offer no-contract monitoring. Today, EMC Security is one of the largest home and business security providers in the country.

In 1997, legislators decided to begin utility deregulation with Georgia’s natural gas market. When the market opened the following year, Walton EMC was able to offer natural gas service to its members through a partner company. After consumer dissatisfaction with natural gas deregulation, electric utility deregulation was shelved.

The ’90s also brought innovation in financing. Traditionally, electric co-ops borrowed some or all of their funds from the federal government through the Rural Utilities Service (RUS). In 1996, Walton EMC switched its financing to the Cooperative Financing Corporation, another co-op. Paying off RUS loans early saved the co-op millions of dollars and meant Walton EMC no longer relied on government loans or subsidies.

Concern for Community, one of the seven Cooperative Principles, took center stage in 1998. The co-op launched Operation Round Up, a program that gives members the opportunity to round up their monthly electric bill to the next dollar with the resulting change distributed to deserving organizations throughout the co-op’s 10-county service area. To date, Walton EMC has awarded over $10 million to community organizations through Operation Round Up.