Your Cooperative

Since 1941, Cuivre River Electric Cooperative (CREC) has been proud to serve its members across five counties: Lincoln, Montgomery, Pike, St. Charles, and Warren counties in Missouri. CREC is the largest of Missouri's 40 consumer-owned electric distribution cooperatives, providing electricity to more than 75,000 homes and businesses. CREC is owned and governed by you, the members it serves. Understanding what guides us, how we operate, and why your involvement is so important is vital to our organization. As a member, you are also entitled to unique cooperative benefits.

Our Mission

Cuivre River Electric Cooperative will be a progressive leader in the energy industry, empowering employees to serve our members using innovative energy solutions, while safely providing reliable service at the lowest possible cost.

Our Vision

Cuivre River Electric aspires to be a trusted energy partner that is prepared to embrace opportunities in a changing utility industry while providing our members with maximum value and improving our communities.

Annual Reports

Every year CREC publishes an Annual Report detailing the ways we served our members in the previous year.

Annual Reports will include:

A message from President/CEO Doug Tracy and Board President Diane Saale
Information on the Board of Directors
Financial information from the previous year
Information on CREC's work in the community

2025/26 Annual Report 2024/25 Annual Report 2023/24 Annual Report

Service Territory

As a condition of early federal loans, CREC developed a utility network for its entire five-county service area. Originally CREC served any rural or unincorporated area. A state law prohibited cooperatives from serving cities with populations above 1,500. In the early 1990s, the general assembly passed legislation allowing utilities and cooperatives to negotiate territorial boundaries that override the 1,500 rule with Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) approval. In 1993, CREC and Ameren received PSC approval for some territorial boundaries south of I-70 in St. Charles County. In 2002 the PSC approved some boundaries in Lincoln and Warren counties. In most agreements, each utility continues to serve its existing customers but can reduce the costly, inefficient duplication of facilities. Many areas without designated territories remain. CREC has facilities in many locations that were once rural, but in some cases, the cooperative still remains restricted from providing new electric service due to Missouri's 1,500 population rule.

Power Supply

During the past year, clean, low-cost coal was the primary fuel (50%) used to generate electricity for CREC members. Natural gas (29%) was a critical secondary fuel to support reliability. Green power (12%) was provided by wind farms in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. Hydropower (9%) was provided through federal dam projects.

Power suppliers include:

Central Electric Power Cooperative, Jefferson City, Mo.; provides transmission facilities and delivers power to substations for distribution to CREC members
Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AECI), Springfield, Mo.; generates electricity at coal and gas-based plants in Missouri and Oklahoma, and partners with suppliers to provide wind and hydropower. AECI also uses its 21 interchange agreements ad 165 interconnection points to make power transactions with other utilities for the benefit of its cooperative members.

Annual Meeting

The annual meeting of members, according to bylaws, is to be held between May 1 and October 1 of each year, to elect directors, provide reports for the previous fiscal year, and transact such other business as may come before the meeting.

Cooperative members may vote for directors online or by paper ballot during a period before the annual meeting or may attend the annual meeting and vote in person.

The term "cooperative member" refers to a person, family, or business that purchases electricity from the cooperative. One member = one vote.

The annual meeting is also an opportunity for members to vote on any cooperative bylaw changes that are proposed by the board.

Other Annual Meeting Resources

Annual Meeting FAQs
2026 Elections Results
2026 Annual Meeting Video

Cooperative Principles

Electric cooperatives were established to provide electricity to rural America and now make up the nation's largest utility network. Touchstone Energy is the national brand identity for the exclusive network. CREC shares a common promise to provide your residential and commercial energy services while meeting the highest standards of accountability, integrity, innovation, and commitment to your community.

Cooperatives around the world generally operate according to the same core principles, and they trace these roots to the first cooperative founded in Rochdale, England in 1844. This is considered the birth of modern cooperatives because of the seven principles created to guide the co-op proved successful. The principles have evolved over the years, but no matter the industry, today all cooperative businesses adhere to them:

Voluntary and Open Membership—Cooperatives are voluntary organizations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination.
Democratic Member Control—Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions. The elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary cooperatives, members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote) and cooperatives at other levels are organized in a democratic manner.
Members' Economic Participation—Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the cooperative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing the cooperative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative, and supporting other activities approved by the membership.
Autonomy and Independence—Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members. If they enter agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their cooperative autonomy.
Education, Training, and Information—Cooperatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives. They inform the general public, particularly young people and opinion leaders, about the nature and benefits of cooperation.
Cooperation Among Cooperatives—We serve our Members best by strengthening the cooperative movement and working together through structured groups such as the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives (AMEC) and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).
Concern for Community—While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies accepted by their members. We do this through programs like Operation Round Up and our Cuivre Cares program.

History

Serving you since 1941

Cuivre River Electric Cooperative was founded on March 6, 1941. Families from Lincoln, Pike, St. Charles and Warren Counties attended a meeting called by local Farm Bureau agent John Matthews. The Cuivre River Electric Cooperative (CREC) was born when papers to incorporate were filed on March 6, 1941.

Those original 12 incorporators were John Schaper and G.W. Bruning from Foristell, Elizabeth Goodman from Wentzville, E.M. Magruder from Foley, Mrs. John N. Overall from Winfield, Mrs. Frank Shilharvey, Jr. from Troy, Frank and Emma Lohman from Wright City, O.D. Burgess from Warrenton, Dan Crider from O'Fallon, J.K. Waters from Elsberry, and M.F. Duvall from Clarksville.

Nine were chosen to represent the members and serve as the duly elected Board of Directors. Schaper was elected president, Waters was vice president, Mrs. Overall was secretary, and Bruning was treasurer. Also serving on the original Board were Crider, Burgess, Magruder, Goodman and Mrs. Lohman.

Part of the first order of business was to hire Walter E. Longanecker as the "Project Superintendent/Coordinator," a position that essentially became general manager. He was paid $150 per month, with a $50 travel and expense account. Longanecker was previously employed as an assistant manager at the Ralls County Electric Cooperative in New London, Missouri.

Their actions came as a result of frustration with existing electric utilities that were reluctant to serve outside the city limits of most communities. Primarily investor-owned businesses, these companies did not think rural service could ever be profitable. They rejected low-interest financing offered them by Franklin D. Roosevelt's Rural Electrification Administration (REA, now the Rural Utility Service) as early as 1935.

As rural community leaders, CREC's original incorporators decided to pool their resources, form their own businesses, and apply for the REA loans that were offered. CREC members soon identified their electric cooperative as "the REA," when in reality, CREC and the REA were never the same. In 1987 CREC paid off the last of its REA loans and obtained financing from private lenders more responsive to CREC's growing suburban needs.

History Book

CREC published its second history book, covering the cooperative’s operation from 1998 to 2021, the year of our 80^th anniversary. The book is available as an e-book that can be viewed here.