ABOUT US / What is a cooperative

About Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative

A cooperative is a business that is owned by the people who use it - members who have organized to provide themselves with the products and services they need. The members elect a board of directors who govern the cooperative and represent the needs of its members. All net margins are returned to the members in the form of capital credits.

Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative was formed in 1987 by the union of two electric cooperatives: Eastern Illinois Power Cooperative and Illini Electric Coooperative who had each served their members since 1938. Together, they formed a larger, more powerful cooperative that could provide more reilability and cost-effective power solutions for their members. Today, EIEC is about much more than an electric cooperative - we're about community, business, education, and providing other products and services needed by our members/owners.

 

To learn more about how and why rural electric cooperatives were formed, visit the Power for the Parkinson's Web site.



7 COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLES

  1. Voluntary and Open Membership

  2. Democratic Member Control

  3. Members' Economic Participation

  4. Autonomy and Independence

  5. Education, Training and Information

  6. Cooperation among Cooperatives

  7. Concern for Community

 

How to form a cooperative.

Some Illinois students put this great video together to show what is involved in creating a cooperative. Enjoy!