McDonough Power Cooperative, headquartered in Macomb, Illinois, is a consumer-owned corporation that supplies electric power to members in portions of Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Knox, McDonough, Schuyler and Warren counties in West-Central Illinois. More than 5,000 households and businesses receive power from McDonough Power. We are a distribution utility-we don’t generate our own electricity. We purchase our power from Prairie Power, Inc., which is headquartered in Springfield, Illinois. Prairie Power is a generating and transmission cooperative which is owned and controlled by rural electrics in the central part of Illinois that receive electricity from that organization. McDonough Power is wholly owned by the people it serves and is governed by a board of directors elected by members in each of the nine voting districts. Approximately 17 employees work for McDonough Power to serve its residential, commercial and industrial accounts.

The Cooperative

A cooperative is organized as a not-for-profit utility. It does not sell stock and is not under pressure to earn profits for absentee stockholders.

Co-ops are not-for-profit entities. Members invest in shares of the business to provide capital for a strong and efficient operation. All net savings (profits) left after bills are paid and money is set aside for operations and improvements are returned to the cooperative members, usually in the form of capital credits.

Electric cooperatives serve many rural, less-densely populated areas compared to other utilities. Providing electric service in these areas tends to be more difficult and costly than in urban areas.

Cooperative Members

Electric cooperatives are service-oriented, locally owned and governed by member-elected directors, providing service at the lowest possible costs.

Anyone who buys electricity from an electric cooperative is a member; all members share ownership of the utility and have a voice in its operation.

Each member has one vote in the election of the cooperative’s board of directors and in any other decision brought up at the cooperative’s annual meeting.

Directors of the cooperative are members of the utility who serve without salary, except for a per diem and expenses to cover their out-of-pocket costs in serving the cooperative. The Board of Directors hire a manger to take charge of operating the cooperative for the benefit of its members.

McDonough Power and cooperatives worldwide generally operate using these seven principles:

1. Membership: Open to all without gender, social, racial, political, or religious discrimination.

2. Democratic Member Control: One member, one vote.

3. Member Economic Participation: Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of the cooperative. The economic benefits of a cooperative operation are returned to the members, reinvested in the co-op, or used to provide member services.

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 members so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives. They inform the general public about the nature and benefits of cooperation.

6. Cooperation among Cooperatives: Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, regional, national and international structures.

7. Concern for the Community: While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies accepted by their members.