| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Pedernales Electric Cooperative, the largest |
|
|
electric cooperative in the United States, is marking the 85th |
|
|
anniversary of its incorporation in 2023; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, PEC traces its origins to 1935, when the Rural |
|
|
Electrification Administration was established by the federal |
|
|
government with the purpose of expanding electrical service to |
|
|
rural areas; at the time, rural electrification was a prominent |
|
|
issue in Texas, where only 2.3 percent of farms had power, and after |
|
|
promising to make it a priority for his constituents in the 10th |
|
|
Congressional District, then-Congressman Lyndon Baines Johnson |
|
|
joined with local rancher E. Babe Smith and began discussions with |
|
|
farmers, ranchers, and business leaders about electrifying the Hill |
|
|
Country; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, On May 8, 1938, Pedernales Electric Cooperative, |
|
|
Inc., was formed, and on May 19, Congressman Johnson and |
|
|
representatives from Blanco, Burnet, Gillespie, Hays, and Llano |
|
|
Counties met in Austin to sign an official document incorporating |
|
|
PEC; on September 27 of that year, the Rural Electrification |
|
|
Administration granted PEC a loan of over $1.3 million to construct |
|
|
around 1,800 miles of line, the single largest allotment ever made |
|
|
by the administration; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, On October 27, 1939, the 1,800 miles of transmission |
|
|
line energized through a substation in Bertram, bringing electrical |
|
|
service to the cooperative's first 422 customers in Burnet County; |
|
|
initially, some 3,300 families signed up for the service, and in |
|
|
1947, PEC was declared to be the largest cooperative in the world; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Today, PEC's service territory spans 8,100 square |
|
|
miles and more than 387,000 connected meters, an area nearly the |
|
|
size of the state of New Jersey; the cooperative is owned and |
|
|
governed by the members it serves, and it benefits from the |
|
|
leadership of an elected board of directors as well as an executive |
|
|
team, which is responsible for managing PEC's day-to-day operations |
|
|
and overseeing its more than 800 employees; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Pedernales Electric Cooperative has played an |
|
|
essential role in the lives of thousands of Hill Country residents |
|
|
over the past 85 years, and this noteworthy milestone offers a |
|
|
fitting opportunity to recognize the leaders and members of the |
|
|
organization who have been instrumental to its success; now, |
|
|
therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby honor Pedernales Electric Cooperative on the |
|
|
85th anniversary of its incorporation and extend to all those |
|
|
associated with its operations sincere gratitude for their work to |
|
|
"keep the lights on" across Central Texas; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for PEC as an expression of high regard by the Texas House |
|
|
of Representatives. |