EnergyUnited, based in Statesville, North Carolina, is the largest

electric cooperative A utility cooperative is a type of cooperative that is tasked with the delivery of a public utility such as electricity, water or telecommunications to its members. Profits are either reinvested for infrastructure or distributed to members in ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, serving nearly 125,000 metering points and 105,000 members. It was formed in 1998 by the merger of Crescent Electric Membership Corporation and

Davidson Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA * ...

Electric Membership Corporation.

History

EnergyUnited

On October 1, 1998, Crescent Electric Membership Corp. and Davidson Electric Membership Corp. merged, and the combined utility EnergyUnited Electric Membership Corp. had almost 90,000 customers in 18 North Carolina counties. The company considered around 700 names, including

Metrolina The Charlotte metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as Metrolina, is a metropolitan area of the U.S. states of North and South Carolina, within and surrounding the city of Charlotte. The metropolitan area also includes the cities of Gastonia, ...

and

Triad Triad or triade may refer to: * a group of three Businesses and organisations * Triad (American fraternities), certain historic groupings of seminal college fraternities in North America * Triad (organized crime), a Chinese transnational orga ...

, but the name EnergyUnited reflected the possibility the company would diversify into other areas. Crescent executive vice president R.B. Sloan, Jr., an employee since 1973, became the chief executive officer, while Wayne Wilkins, Davidson executive vice president and an employee since 1971, became chief operating officer. The new company was North Carolina's largest electric cooperative, and seventh out of almost one thousand cooperatives in the country. The small number of customers in areas typically served by cooperatives meant higher power bills than those for investor-owned companies, but the territory of EnergyUnited included fast-growing areas which would have many customers, and bills would be lower as a result. EnergyUnited promised rates would drop five percent. No jobs were lost and no offices closed, though the company projected $38 million in savings over ten years. In 1999, EnergyUnited began offering

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

services through EnergyUnited Internet, Inc., a for-profit company. In 2000, as the result of a new state law, EnergyUnited paid $20 million for most of the N.C. operation of All Star Gas, a

propane Propane () is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used a ...

distributor. David Meacham became the head of the propane subsidiary. Also that year, EnergyUnited began offering security services under the HomeVantage brand, including security systems and

carbon monoxide detector A carbon monoxide detector or CO detector is a device that detects the presence of the carbon monoxide (CO) gas to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. In the late 1990s Underwriters Laboratories changed the definition of a single station CO de ...

s. In 2001, EnergyUnited began selling long distance telephone service. Along with LecStar Telecom of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, the company expanded that service to the entire state in 2003, when EnergyUnited had 4500 telephone customers. On November 12, 2010, EnergyUnited officially debuted a

solar farm Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

in the Taylorsville area, generating enough power for 150-200 homes. The $6 million project was a joint effort with

SunEdison SunEdison, Inc. (formerly MEMC Electronic Materials) is a renewable energy company headquartered in the U.S. In addition to developing, building, owning, and operating solar power plants and wind energy plants, it also manufactures high purity po ...

, but

Duke Energy Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Overview Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Duke Energy owns 58,200 megawatts of base-load and peak generation in ...

took over, and EnergyUnited will buy the

solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...

from Duke. The company also purchased electricity from a

biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

plant at Iredell County's

landfill A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...

which generated enough power for 3000 homes.

Crescent Electric

Based in Statesville, North Carolina, Crescent Electric Membership Corp. was created in 1971 by the merger of Cornelius Electric Membership Corp., with 6000 customers, and Davie Electric Membership Corporation, with 12,000.Steve Johnston, "Electric Co-Ops Plug into Merger Trend," ''The Charlotte Observer'', February 13, 1989. In 1998 Crescent had over 53,000 customers in Alexander, Cabarrus, Catawba, Davie,

Gaston Gaston is a masculine given name of French origin and a surname. The name "Gaston" may refer to: People First name *Gaston I, Count of Foix (1287–1315) *Gaston II, Count of Foix (1308–1343) *Gaston III, Count of Foix (1331–1391) *Gaston ...

, Iredell, Lincoln,

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

Rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...

, Wilkes and Yadkin counties."Electric Membership Groups Plan to Consolidate This Year," ''Greensboro News & Record'', August 2, 1998.

Davidson Electric

Based in

Lexington, North Carolina Lexington is the county seat of Davidson County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 18,931. It is located in central North Carolina, south of Winston-Salem. Major highways include I-85, I-85B, U ...

, Davidson Electric Membership Corp. had over 36,000 customers in Davidson, Davie,

Forsyth Forsyth may refer to: Places Oceania * Forsyth Island, Queensland, Australia, one of the West Wellesley Islands (aka Forsyth Islands) * Forsyth Island, Tasmania, Australia * Forsyth Island (New Zealand), in the outer Marlborough Sounds of South I ...

Guilford Guildford is a town in Surrey, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Guildford, the Diocese of Guildford and the Parliamentary constituency of Guildford. Guildford, Guilford, or Gildford may also refer to: Places Australia * Guildfor ...

, Montgomery,

Randolph Randolph may refer to: Places In the United States * Randolph, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Randolph, Arizona, a populated place * Randolph, California, a village merged into the city of Brea * Randolph, Illinois, an unincorporated commun ...

, Rockingham and Stokes counties.

References

External links

Official website
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331134523/http://www.ncemcs.com/co-ops/map/energyUnited.htm , date=2012-03-31 Electric cooperatives of the United States Companies based in North Carolina American companies established in 1998 Energy companies established in 1998 1998 establishments in North Carolina Cooperatives based in North Carolina