The start of the year saw US electric co-ops battle with powerful winter storms which caused widespread outages.
The first US coast-to-coast snowstorm of 2025, Winter Storms Blair brought heavy snow to Kansas City, Cincinnati and Washington, D.C, causing outages across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states. Winter Storm Cora struck southern states within days of Blair, leading to snow and ice across many southern states, Texas, Arkansas and Missouri.
Electric co-ops were quick to mobilise and support each other in their efforts to restore power to affected areas.
One of the co-ops affected was the Bowie-Cass Electric Cooperative in Doughlassville, Texas, which reported outages on 10 January to more than 13,000 meters. The co-op was able to restore power almost all power by 13 January, with the support of Jasper-Newton Electric Cooperative in Kirbyville, Houston County Electric Co-op in Crockett, Rusk County Electric Cooperative in Henderson, Trinity Valley Electric Cooperative in Kaufman, and Cherokee County Electric Cooperative Association in Rusk.
“Thank you to all of our members for your patience and support as our guys and the guys from our sister cooperatives and contract crews have worked to restore power after Winter Storm Cora!” the co-op said on Facebook.
“Co-op Principle 6 – Cooperation among cooperatives. In tough times, we help other co-ops in a time of need, and they do the same for us!” Jasper-Newton Electric Cooperative said on Facebook.
Storm Blair also caused outages at Black River Electric Cooperative, leaving 12,000 members without power. The co-op, along with the support of crews from visiting co-operatives, was able to restore power to all members by 11 January.
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The storm resulted in ice-laden trees, damage to power lines and 80 broken poles. As restorations efforts were under way, Winter Storm Cora struck, leaving a 6-inch blanket of snow on top of the ice and causing additional outages.
“It encourages me to think of one of the seven cooperative principles in trying moments like these. Through the spirit of ‘cooperation among cooperatives,’ we were able to overcome challenges together,” said BREC General Manager Paul Montgomery. “We deeply appreciate the invaluable support we’ve received from our fellow cooperatives for sending their resources, as well as our partnering line and right of way contractors in our time of need. I am thankful for our membership which has been openly supportive, whether it be a lending hand, cup of warm coffee, or an encouraging word to our lineworkers and support staff.”
A total of 207 lineworkers and support staff contributed nearly 25,000 hours of work to restore power to BREC members.
According to the National Rural Electric Co-operatives Association (Nreca), co-ops in Georgia reported less than 1,100 outages statewide, despite the snowstorm affecting the Atlanta area.
Nreca also reports that the 17 electric co-ops in the state of Arkansas were also able to restore power to most members, bringing the number of outages down from 6,500 to 400, by 13 January.
Over 12,000 co-op members in Missouri were also affected, but this number was reduced to 200 by 13 January.
