Touchstone Energy Cooperatives (also called simply Touchstone) is a

cooperative federation A co-operative federation or secondary co-operative is a co-operative in which all members are, in turn, co-operatives. Historically, co-operative federations have predominantly come in the form of co-operative wholesale societies and co-operative ...

composed of more than 750 local, consumer-owned

utility 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. Profit (accounting), Profits are either reinvested for infrastructure or distrib ...

s in 46 of the 50

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. Touchstone Energy co-ops serve more than 30 million members. Touchstone Energy was founded in 1998. Most of its members are also members of the

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) represents the interests of over 900 electric cooperatives in the United States. Cooperatives are not-for-profit and are owned by their membership. Founded in 1942, NRECA unites the coun ...

. The federation includes both generation and transmission cooperatives and distribution cooperatives. More than 88% of Touchstone Energy's local electric co-ops generate at least a portion of their electricity from renewable resources.

Support of utility cooperatives

Touchstone Energy provides support to its member cooperatives in various ways. Among other things, support has included training in strategy development and execution best practices. Several Touchstone Energy members have subsequently been recognized by the Palladium Hall of Fame for Executing Strategy™ for their success in developing winning strategies and executing on them; these members include Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corp, Powder River Energy Corporation, Ozarks Electric Cooperative, and Roanoke Electric Cooperative.

Philanthropy

Touchstone Energy's North Carolina cooperatives established th
Bright Ideas grant program
in 1993. The program provides educational grants of up to $3000 for teachers in North Carolina who fund classroom-based projects out of their own pockets. ''Carolina Newswire.'' November 10, 2005.

References

External links

* Cooperative federations Organizations established in 1998 Organizations based in Arlington County, Virginia 1998 establishments in Virginia {{Virginia-stub

Support of utility cooperatives

Philanthropy

See also

References

External links