NC Co-ops and Employees Donate for Disaster Recovery

Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative employees work to restore power in Florida following Hurricane Irma (Photo courtesy of Garrett Hubbaard for NRECA).

The Seven Cooperative Principles — especially those of “cooperation among cooperatives” and “concern for community” — guide electric cooperatives’ response in times of need. But did you know that cooperatives’ response goes beyond sending line crews to impacted areas?

North Carolina’s electric cooperatives and their employees have contributed $11,790 this year through the cooperatives’ Human Connections Fund, which allows electric co-ops to work together to support members and communities in areas impacted by natural disasters and other unforeseen events.

This year, the fund supported cooperative members and residents on North Carolina’s Outer Banks after a bridge construction accident severed electric service to Hatteras and Ocracoke islands in July. Contributions also were sent to Florida and Texas after historic hurricanes Harvey and Irma caused widespread destruction and flooding in cooperative territories.

“In North Carolina, we are all too familiar with the devastation and destruction that major storms can bring,” said Nelle Hotchkiss, senior vice president for corporate relations for North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives. “We believe in the cooperative difference and the power of human connections, and we are proud to support sister cooperatives and their members, here and across the nation, as they recover and rebuild.”