If this is your first experience with our cooperative (co-op) or with any cooperative, we encourage you to click on the links to the left to learn about us and the cooperative way of doing business.

As a Touchstone Energy Cooperative we strive to provide high standards of service according to four core values: integrity, accountability, innovation and commitment to community. Touchstone Energy co-ops rank well ahead of their industry counterparts when it comes to customer satisfaction. Recent data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), one the nation’s most recognized measures of customer satisfaction, gives Touchstone Energy cooperatives an average score of “81” out of a possible 100, outclassing utility industry satisfaction score of “74.”

Electric cooperatives come in a variety of forms and work together to deliver energy to your home or business. Below is a short primer on electricity production and delivery and how your co-op fits into the big picture.

Generation is the process of converting mechanical energy into electrical energy, or electricity. Generation facilities are the first link in the chain in providing electricity to customers. There are currently about 3,200 electric utilities throughout the United States, but only about 700 of them operate facilities that generate electric power.

Once electricity is generated, it needs to be transported via high-voltage transmission lines. Some companies provide both generation and transmission functions; these are called G&Ts. Generation and transmission cooperatives (G&Ts) are usually referred to as "power supply cooperatives." These cooperatives are owned by the distribution cooperatives to whom they supply wholesale power. Duncan Valley Electric Cooperative is a cooperative member of and purchases its power from Arizona Electric Power Cooperative (AEPCO).

Electricity Transmission

Transmission is the process of carrying high voltages of electricity from generation facilities over long distances.

In order to move electricity among utilities, an extensive system of high-voltage transmission lines is operated by the nation's larger utilities. This transmission network permits electricity trading between utilities; without transmission facilities, electricity could not be moved from power plants to the thousands of distribution systems serving millions of consumers of electric power. Duncan Valley Electric Cooperative is a cooperative member of Southwest Transmission Cooperative (SWTC) who transmits electricity from AEPCO to us for our local distribution system.

Electricity Distribution

Distribution is the process of carrying electricity from transmission substations to homes and businesses.

Duncan Valley Electric Cooperative is exclusively a distribution utility - that is, we purchase wholesale power from others to distribute it, over our own distribution lines, to the ultimate customer. We maintain the lines and equipment necessary to distribute to our member-owners the electricity that arrives in our service area via transmission lines.

In 1752, Benjamin Franklin along with his fellow firefighters established the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Homes from Loss by Fire. This was the first cooperative type business formed in the United States. “Contribution” was defined at that time to mean “that which is given by several hands for some common purpose.” This mutual insurance company is still operating today, making it the longest continuous operating cooperative in the United States.

Many early cooperatives failed within a few years. A historical change occured in 1843 in Rochdale, England. A group of textile millworkers founded the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society, in order to procure food and household goods at a better price. While not the first cooperative society, they did something different to ensure that the cooperative would succeed and endure. To avoid the mistakes of earlier cooperatives, they established a set of cooperative principles governing their organization.

These "Rochdale Principles" form the basis on which cooperatives throughout the world operate. Today, electric cooperatives like Duncan Valley Electric Cooperative operate on the following seven principles:

1. Voluntary and Open Membership. Cooperatives are voluntary organizations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership.
2. Democratic Member Control. Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions.
3. Members’ Economic Participation. Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative.
4. Autonomy and Independence. Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members.
5. Education, Training, and Information. Cooperatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives.
6. Cooperation Among Cooperatives. Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together.
7. Concern for Community. While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities.