History

In 1935, rural leaders began meeting and organizing their own electric power associations in their communities. Locally, meetings were held in Abbeville, Taylor, Potts Camp, Oxford, Myrtle, Thaxton, Hurricane, Tula, Etta, Waterford, and New Albany for the purpose of forming an electric cooperative.

From these meetings, a board of directors was selected and an application for a certificate of incorporation for North East Mississippi Electric Power Association was filed with the state. The certificate of incorporation was granted on Nov. 20, 1936, giving directors the authority to adopt bylaws, sign up members, execute a power contract, and borrow money for construction.

In May 1938, electricity first flowed through 95 miles of North East Mississippi Electric Power Association’s distribution lines, lighting up nearly 200 homes of members served by the New Albany substation. Rural homes and farms in our service area were changed forever when the lights came on. Electric lights replaced oil lamps. Indoor plumbing meant no more hauling buckets of water from the well or nearby springs. Electric washing machines replaced washtubs and scrub boards. Refrigerators, stoves, electric irons, and other appliances made life a little easier.

North East MS EPA’s membership has grown significantly. While the co-op still serves a number of farms, we also provide electricity to residential, commercial, and industrial members. We maintain lines in a 920-square-mile service area, which includes parts of Lafayette, Marshall, Union, Pontotoc, and Benton counties. We also maintain the following substations: Oxford, Taylor, Anderson, Woodson Ridge, Enterprise, Martintown, Industrial Park, Cornersville, Lafayette Springs, College Hill, Sardis Lake, West Oxford, and Brittany Woods; as well as Waterford metering point.

Days Gone By

1938 May

1963 December