Driven by a shared vision of powering a brighter future, North Carolina’s electric cooperatives support the growth and prosperity of rural communities.

In 2025, cooperatives led the way on keeping energy reliable and affordable, supporting job creation, and strengthening communities. Let’s take a look back at how these efforts came together last year, and how they are helping guide our work in 2026.

Reliable, affordable energy

North Carolina’s electric cooperatives pursue energy innovations that strengthen the grid and provide members with power they can count on. In 2025, cooperatives expanded beneficial electrification technologies and deployed new generation and storage solutions.

Several cooperatives, alongside North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, brought new resources online that support reliability, including Roanoke cooperative’s solar and battery storage projects. Another example was a new solar array developed by Brunswick Electric through a partnership with the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections, which went into service this past fall. At the same time, cooperatives expanded collaborations with research organizations like the National Laboratory of the Rockies to test microgrid performance and resilience in ways that improve system planning without disrupting service to members.

Three co-ops were also selected by the Department of Energy to receive funding to support projects that enhance grid resilience and reliability. The co-op projects are among seven statewide receiving more than $20 million to improve North Carolina’s electric grid for the future.

Cooperatives also piloted emerging technologies aimed at helping members save money while supporting the electric system. Managed electric vehicle charging and advanced cold-climate heat pump pilots demonstrated how thoughtful electrification can reduce peak demand, lower costs and maintain comfort — all while providing valuable insights to guide future programs.

Together, these efforts highlight how North Carolina’s electric cooperatives continue to innovate with purpose that strengthens grid reliability, maintains affordability and ensures members remain top of mind.

Powering growth and prosperity

In 2025, North Carolina’s electric cooperatives continued to power economic growth and prosperity across the state. Our members work with a range of public and private partners to attract new businesses and strengthen rural communities. Building on momentum that helped earn North Carolina recognition as CNBC’s Top State for Business, cooperative-served communities announced 15 commercial and industrial recruitment and expansion projects, representing more than $1.3 billion in pledged investment and nearly 1,850 new jobs in the years ahead.

Cooperatives also supported local development efforts through access to federal and state resources, including $8 million through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program. These funds will support health care expansion in underserved areas, aid in Hurricane Helene recovery and spur economic development through a new industrial shell building.

At the same time, the Cooperative Ready Sites program continued to gain traction, helping communities identify and develop sites that are competitive for new business attraction — several of which have received distinctions or awards from economic development partners, including the state’s Selectsites and Megasites programs.

Key legislation at the General Assembly, supported by North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, further strengthened these efforts. Thanks to House Bill 74, electric cooperatives can now compete for site-readiness funding alongside other utilities. As a result, cooperatives can play a larger role in supporting long-term economic growth.

Supporting Communities

Rooted in the communities they serve, North Carolina’s electric cooperatives are committed to more than delivering reliable power. Theyare dedicated to giving back to the places they call home.

Following Hurricane Helene, cooperatives once again stepped up, providing critical support through the Human Connections Fund, raising more than $300,000 from over 200 individuals, employees and businesses across 20 states to help communities recover and rebuild.

Electric cooperatives have always supported the next generation through education. The Bright Ideas grant program awarding more than $812,000 this past year to support 741 innovative classroom projects that bring teachers’ creative ideas to life. Over the program’s 31-year history, more than $17 million has been awarded statewide.

That commitment extends beyond the classroom, sending high school students to Washington, D.C., through NRECA’s Electric Cooperative Youth Tour and to basketball camps at UNC Chapel Hill and NC State through the Cooperative All-Stars Sports Camp Scholarship program — both fully funded to give students new opportunities without financial barriers.

Looking Forward

These efforts illustrate how North Carolina’s electric cooperatives continue to lead by advancing innovation, strengthening rural communities and putting members first. Looking ahead, the cooperatives remain committed to delivering reliable, affordable power while investing in the people, partnerships and solutions that will help build a brighter future for communities across the state.