North Western Electric Cooperative is a member-owned business providing energy and related services to its customers. Our dedicated employees deliver high quality, reliable services at competitive prices. We will be your provider of choice.

We are located in the northwest corner of the state of Ohio. We service and maintain over 1,060 miles of energized lines. Our 9 substations provide service to 6,050 members.

OUR HISTORY

By the mid 1930s, almost every urban area in the United States had central station electric service. However, the rural areas were still in the dark. Only about 10% of the people in these outlying regions enjoyed the convenience of electricity.

Why? Because the investor-owned utilities didn’t think they could make money by stringing lines into the countryside. Something needed to be done.

In 1936, a group of northwestern Ohio farmers decided to take advantage of a federal program offered by the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) and form an electric cooperative. They named the cooperative North Western Electric and its purpose was to provide electricity for the people of rural Williams and Defiance counties. In January of 1938, the distribution lines were energized for the first time. At that time, customers only used about 40 KWH per month. Today, that total average is nearly 1,100 KWH.

North Western serves 6,160 customers with a system consisting of 69 miles of high voltage transmission lines, 863 miles of overhead distribution lines and 125 miles of underground distribution lines. Nine substations, ranging in size from 2,500 KVA to 10,000 KVA, keep the electricity flowing.

There are now nearly 1,000 rural electric cooperatives across the nation serving over 25 million customers.

History Of Northwestern Wisconsin Electric Company

 Over the next several decades NWE  provided the energy needed to sustain growth in Burnett and Polk Counties. Distributed generation facilities were added in Danbury, Grantsburg, and Frederic ensuring the availability of a constant and reliable source of energy.  

Today, your electric service is provided by 43 members of your community.  Although the availability of electricity is important, today’s  technology dictates our daily energy demands. You can be assured that your electric service will always be provided using the pioneering work ethic of the company’s founders.