About Cooperatives
There’s a vibrant new energy taking shape across America; members like you are transforming rural and small communities.
Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative Association, Inc. (GCSECA) is an electric cooperative association, built by Arizona’s electric cooperatives and the communities they serve to champion, advance, and protect the voices and best interests of our local rural Arizona communities. And, because we answer to our cooperative members who are owned and run by people like you, rather than out-of-town shareholders, GCSECA and our electric cooperatives have a unique understanding of our local needs. In fact, many of our leaders live in our local communities.
GCSECA is a cooperative community-focused organization, championing and advancing the voices and needs of our rural Arizona communities. Our cooperative members also provide jobs and and invest in their communities through programs like cooperative solar projects, battery storage, Operation Cool Shade, and broadband installation, and gives back to the community through food drives, community raffles and giveaways, scholarship programs, internships, rebate programs, a Youth Leadership Tour to Washington, D.C., and much more.
Being a member of a cooperative distinguishes you from other electric utility consumers, as well as other business relationships, in important ways.
- Co-op leaders are members of our local communities. Our 15 board members live in our local cooperative service areas and are elected by other cooperative members just like you. Board members serve two-year terms and elections for the GCSECA Board are held at our Annual Winter Meeting & Legislative Rally each January.
- We belong to the communities we serve. Since we are a cooperative association, any excess revenue is shared back with our cooperative members over time, which in turn, is shared back to local members in our communities.
- We follow the same seven cooperative principles that all cooperative businesses follow (see 7 Cooperative Principles on our website for more details, or watch the video below).
Though we are local to Arizona and advocate for 12 of the 15 counties (roughly 13% of the state’s landmass), we’re also part of something bigger. Across the country, electric cooperatives work together to restore power during major outages, develop new technologies and build infrastructure that benefits us all.
Our cooperative members also offer various energy efficiency programs, solar programs, broadband offerings, EV programs, and smart thermostat programs. In addition, GCSECA and our cooperative members are always looking for new ways to help local members save energy, save money and take advantage of the technology that’s changing the way we live and work.
The opportunity to create something new, while embracing traditional community values, has never been greater. It’s a passion we share with you and our cooperative members, for making our local communities a place we’re all proud to call home.
That’s the source of our new energy at GCSECA and each local cooperative member.
More About Electric Co-ops
NRECA & GCSECA are pleased to provide you with a broad array of electric cooperative statistics updated in 2024 with 2022 data. We hope you find the electronic format helpful as you prepare presentations for your membership and community.
Cooperative Facts & Figures
Explore how cooperatives play a vital role in the electric sector and in their communities with our data-driven Co-ops Facts and Figures infographic (PDF).
Arizona Electric Cooperatives Territories Map
Take a look at the electric co-op territories in Arizona with our Arizona Co-ops map (PDF).
The Economic Impact of America’s Electric Cooperatives
A report released in October 2023 highlights the important economic impact of electric cooperatives across the nation. According to the study, which was conducted by Strategen and commissioned by NRECA and CFC, each year electric co-ops:
- Support nearly 623,000 jobs and $51 billion in pay and benefits.
- Create more than $226 billion in total sales output.
- Contribute $111 billion to U.S. GDP.
This report quantifies what many American families and businesses know well—electric cooperatives are powerful engines of economic development in their local communities. Affordable and reliable electricity is a key ingredient for a successful economy. Electric cooperatives’ economic activity has far-reaching impacts across the country—even in areas where co-ops do not serve consumers directly.
Analysis of Electric Cooperative Retail Fuel Mix
NRECA’s most recent analysis of the cooperative retail fuel mix shows that electric cooperative retail sales grew significantly in 2022, rising by 4.8% over 2021 levels. Natural gas exceeded coal as the largest source of power for cooperatives in 2022, and the share of non-hydro renewable resources in the cooperative fuel mix set a new high. Advisory 2022 (updated May 21, 2024).
Co-op Renewable Growth Update
Electric cooperatives have been involved with renewable energy since the very beginning, as the growth of rural electrification was intertwined with the growth in federal hydropower, both resulting from economic development “New Deal” programs of the 1930s. Today, co-ops purchase the output from roughly 10 gigawatts of hydroelectric plants sold by the four federal Power Marketing Administrations and the Tennessee Valley Authority. This advisory provides an update on co-op renewable resources, highlighting deployment increases and a shift in capacity ownership. Advisory
Electric Cooperatives and Persistent Poverty Counties
The Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture assesses and reports on counties in the U.S. that have consistently high poverty rates.
NRECA’s analysis of the latest data issued in 2023 shows that electric cooperatives serve territory in 92% of persistent poverty counties.
This advisory provides an update on this topic and how it impacts our members.
Arizona Electric Co-ops & Persistent Poverty Counties
Analysis performed by GCSECA in 2024 found that our electric co-op full-members serve just over 13 percent of the state’s landmass and 12 of the state’s 15 counties. Collectively, our co-ops provide energy to Arizona’s top 5 counties with the highest poverty rates. This translates to roughly 42% of Arizona’s distribution co-op membership are at or below the poverty line on a per-county basis. For perspective, roughly 27% of Arizona’s counties are at a poverty level above 20%, and the electric co-ops service all 4 counties. This compiles roughly 33% of our total counties served.
Electric Cooperatives Continue to Lead Industry AMI Deployment
As advanced communications have become increasingly important for electric system operations, cooperatives have continued to transition from Automated Meter Reading (AMR) to Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). According to updated analysis by NRECA, electric co-ops continue to lead the industry in AMI deployment, with 83% of co-op meters using AMI as compared to 71% for the rest of the industry. Find out more in this advisory: Advisory
The following resources reflect electric co-ops nationwide and are not Arizona specific:
The following resources reflect electric co-ops nationwide and are not Arizona specific: