Founded in 1937, Wayne-White Counties Electric Cooperative has provided affordable electricity to consumer members in parts of 11-counties in southern Illinois. The counties include portions of Wayne, White, Hamilton, Jefferson, Clay, Edwards, Richland, Franklin, Marion, Gallatin, and Wabash counties.  With offices in Fairfield and Enfield, WWCEC currently provides service to 13,490 consumers.   WWCEC currently energizes 3,324 miles of line, with roughly 4.14 members per mile of line.  WWCEC currently operates with a total of 54 employees, which includes 5 employees at Wayne-White Propane.  We are a member-owner of Hoosier Energy, as one of (18) electric cooperative member-owners.  Hoosier Energy is based in Bloomington, Indiana.  You can see the other seventeen member cooperatives located on the adjacent map along with many of the power plants and other generation resources that we co-own with the other member cooperatives.  The 2012 Annual Meeting of the Cooperative will mark the 75th Anniversary of our Cooperative.  Wayne-White is affiliated as a "Touchstone Energy Cooperative" along with over 700 other electric cooperatives in the nation.  Please read our Mission Statement and the 7 Cooperative Principles by which we do business.  You can also read our ByLaws online.  In addition to linemen, office personnel, and staff, WWCEC also has a very agressive vegetation management crew which proactively cycles throughout the 11-county service area, clearing brush, pruning trees, and removing trouble trees, which has dramatically improved the quality of electrical service for our member customers.  Outages have been greatly reduced due to this approach.  Although normal office hours are Monday-Friday from 8am-5pm, you can reach a live person 24-hours a day, seven days a week, in case of a power outage or emergency need at 842-2196. Today, WWCEC offers much more than just affordable electricity to cooperative members.  For additional details-visit the links for products and services

This map indicates the saturation of over 950 Electric Cooperatives throughout the United States.  Wayne-White is affilated with over 700 other electric cooperatives in the nation as a "Touchstone Energy Cooperative" and we are also a member-owner of Hoosier Energy as one of (18) electric cooperative member-owners of the Bloomington, Indiana based cooperative.  Our co-ownership in Hoosier Energy gives us more rate stability in uncertain times and a wealth of services that enables us to better serve our distribution member-customers with dependable electric service while assisting with energy efficiency initiatives, rebate programs, and products.  Wayne-White is also affiliated with the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives (AIEC) which provides services and programs such ongoing safety training exercises for our linemen, the annual Youth to Washington Tour, and the annual Scholarship program which benefits (7) students statewide with college scholarships valued at $1,250 each.

History of Wayne-White Counties Electric Cooperative

This is where the planning all began...

G.O. Deem is shown standing in the rear of his store in Geff, Illinois where the Village Council held their monthly meetings back in 1936.  It was here where discussions led to steps resulting in calling of REA fieldmen to help create a rural electric cooperative.  At that time, Geff did not have electric lights, being one of thousands of villages in the United States lacking electricity until REA-financed electric cooperatives brought light and power to them.  On September 14, 1936, the nine men named as original directors of the Cooperative were named as incorporators of the Wayne-White Counties Electric Cooperative, Inc. 

Setting the first pole...

When the first pole was set on the Wayne-White Counties "A" system on April 11, 1937, near Fairfield, this group was present for the event.  Standing, from left:  Frank C. Gray, Sims; Edgar Amrine, Fairfield, Wayne County farm adviser;  C.W. McCullough, Fairfield, project superintendent; Irvin Yohe, Mt. Erie; L.W. Springer, Springerton; Clarence Haegele, president of the Wayne County Farm Bureau; Jerd Smith, mayor of Fairfield; L.W. King, Mill Shoals; Mrs. Bertha Waterman, the Cooperative's first secretary; Ted Smith, C.R. Cento, Decatur contractor who built the first section; E.R. Martin, Burnt Prarie, president of the Cooperative; H.G. French, Mill Shoals, and two unidentified persons.  Kneeling:  Hugh Dobbs, Springfield lawyer who served as the Cooperative's first attorney, and an unidentified person.

Growth of Membership from 1938 through 1944...

When the 1945 annual meeting was held, Manager O.J. Chaney presented his report showing there were 4,111 member-owners in 1944.  The cardboard chart shows the growth of Wayne-White membership from 1938 through 1944.

Groundbreaking of the Fairfield Office...

Harold Shepherd of Albion, president of WWCEC, is shown wielding a shovel during the ground-breaking ceremony for the new headquarters building in December, 1952.  The group consisted of the following persons, from left:  Frank C. Gray, Mr. Shepherd, Evan Williams, L.M. King, L.P. Dolan, G.O. Deem, Tom Marshall, attorney for the Cooperative; Willard Bannon, Bill Allen of Carlinville, architect's engineer; O.J. Chaney, manager; Dale Warren, S.J. Miller, construction superintendent; Jesse Baker, Mrs. Alice Jones, Mrs. Alice Vaughn Mugrage, Mrs. Arlene Atteberry Dunningan, Mrs. Lucille Smith, Mrs. Evelyn Edwards, Mrs. Margo Kincart, and Mrs. Doris Grimes.

Old Certificate of Membership...

This is a copy of an original certificate of membership in the Wayne-White Counties Electric Cooperative issued in April of 1937.