Co-op History

In the early part of the 20th century, society was divided into rural and urban, the haves and the have-nots. Electricity was the great divider.

The rural people of America were the have-not’s. They were told that, for them, it was not profitable for the electric companies to provide electricity. No profit, no lights.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed that forever by offering the people a New Deal. As part of the New Deal, the Rural Electrification Administration was established in 1935. The next year, the Rural Electrification Act was signed enabling loans to be made to cooperatives ready to electrify rural America.

Shortly after that, in December 1940, approximately 150 people gathered at the Black Forest Community Center to see about getting electricity to the areas beyond Colorado Springs. They established a cooperative and incorporated in 1941. They applied for, and received, a loan to build an electric system.

The co-op started by purchasing Commonwealth Electric Company and its generator in Limon. The Co-op also purchased the power lines running along Highway 24 to Falcon. Membership in the co-op at that time was $5, and members were expected to help build the lines to their houses, contributing equipment and just plain hard work. This was the foundation for today’s cooperative, Mountain View Electric Association.

MVEA still operates on the same principles it started with years ago. We are still owned by the members we serve and we work to provide the very best in service. The original members who worked hard to improve the quality of life for today’s members changed our rural service area forever. Remember, as a member, you are part of a great tradition – a rural cooperative.

Facts about your co-op

Here are some interesting facts about your cooperative. Some of these numbers are approximate since MVEA is growing daily.

• Counties served – Arapahoe, Crowley, Douglas, Elbert, El Paso, Lincoln, Pueblo and Washington
• Year organized – 1941
• Power source – Tri-State Generation and Transmission
• Number of employees – 135
• Number of services – 46,500
• Miles of energized line – 5,986
• Consumers per mile - 7.77
• Total plant in service - $245,000,000
• Service territory – 5,000 square miles