South Alabama Electric Cooperative (SAEC) was organized on June 17, 1937. The membership fee has remained at $5 since that first day. South Alabama Electric has continued to grow each year. To date we have approximately 2,832 miles of line. We began the Good Cents program in 1986 and have continued to add quality services for our members every year. In 1998, we joined Touchstone Energy along with over 750 other electric cooperatives and made a commitment to provide you with quality service nationwide.
South Alabama is a part owner of PowerSouth Energy Cooperative (formerly Alabama Electric Cooperative) which serves as our generation facility. PowerSouth is located in Andalusia, AL. SAEC is also a Member of the Alabama Rural Electric Association in Montgomery, AL.
Today we offer a variety of services for our members which include: surge suppression equipment, Energy Resource and Conservation (ERC) Loans, Levelized Billing, Bank Draft Payment Plan and many others.
Additional Information
Rural electric cooperatives were initially created because large investor-owned power companies refused to serve the areas of rural America that were sparsely populated, thus deemed not profitable.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), now Rural Utilities Service (RUS), in 1935 to loan money to groups of people willing to build electric lines into rural America.
Over 60 years ago, people just like you worked together to form the beginnings of South Alabama Electric Cooperative (SAEC). With the energizing of the first electric lines in June of 1937, SAEC has continued to grow and serve the needs of the people living in this area.
Today, your cooperative continues to grow by 2% to 3% each year. Presently, we have over 17,300 active accounts and 2,832 miles of electric distribution lines crossing 8 counties in South Alabama. Those counties are: Bullock, Butler, Coffee, Crenshaw, Dale, Lowndes, Montgomery and Pike. As our area continues to grow, SAEC is prepared to be the energy provider of choice for the people and businesses making South Alabama their home.
SAEC purchases wholesale power from PowerSouth Energy Cooperative, located in Andalusia, AL, and takes delivery of this electricity at 15 substations strategically placed around our growing system.
In 1998, South Alabama Electric joined with other cooperatives across the United States to become part of the Touchstone Energy® movement. Touchstone Energy® is a national alliance of electric cooperatives who have agreed to provide a high quality of service to their membership, both large and small – commercial and residential.
There are over 750 Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives and we make up the largest electric utility network in the United States serving over 30 million member-owners in 46 of the 50 United States. We can easily share technologies, programs, training and resources while maintaining our own local identity.
As Touchstone Energy® Cooperative, South Alabama Electric has pledged to uphold the values behind the brand, including: integrity, accountability, innovation and community involvement. These are the same principals the cooperative was founded on over 60 years ago and are still applicable today.
Loyal, experienced employees are the key to South Alabama’s growth and success. Our employees work in all types of weather, day or night, 7 days a week to make certain that our members have electricity at the flick of a switch.
Throughout the years, the board of trustees, management and employees of the cooperative have continually worked to provide you with the most reliable electric service at the most economical cost.
We realize that our success is not measured in the number of kilowatts sold, or in the number of miles of line strung, but in our members’ satisfaction with the cooperative and the service it provides.
As we look to the future, SAEC is making plans each day to provide this area with the reliable, quality electric service it needs to continue to grow and prosper.
Today, like in the past, we know our business is still service, 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week.
