You're The Owners
Inter-County Energy is locally owned and controlled by the members that use its services and operates on a non-profit basis.
Control of the cooperative rests with the members and any economic gain is given back to the members in proportion to the use they make of its services.
Here's how it works: when a person becomes a member of Inter-County Energy, they pay a membership fee. The member receives a membership certification and the same voting privilege as any other member. Each member has one vote that they may cast during election or other matters concerning the cooperative.
The cooperative is required to have an annual meeting where the members are informed about the cooperative's financial condition, its growth, and an election of the Board of Directors is held.
Being Non-Profit
The cooperative operates on a non-profit basis. At the end of the year the amount of money that is in excess of operating costs is prorated back to the members based on the amount of their usage during the year. This is known as Capital Credits.
Board Members & Voting Districts
The areas served have been divided into six (6) districts and one board member is elected from each district. The six districts and the counties included in each are:
| District | Board Member | Office |
| Marion, Nelson, Larue | Joseph H. Spalding | Chairman |
| Lincoln, Rockcastle | Jason E. Todd | Vice Chairman |
| Garrard, Madison | J. Kevin Preston | Secretary/Treasurer |
| Boyle | W. Allen Goggin | Director |
| Mercer, Washington | Louis A.Kerrick | Director |
| Casey, Taylor | William H. Peyton | Director |
Running The Co-op
The Board of Directors hires the President/CEO of the cooperative. His/her primary job is to carry out the policies established by the board. Since its beginning, Inter-County Energy has had seven managers. The past seven managers were:
- Harry J. Achee
- J.V. Swaim
- R.D. Osteen
- W. Neel Jackson
- Charles W. Foley
- Leo Hill
- James L. Jacobus
The current President/CEO is Jerry Carter. The employees of the cooperative are the responsibility of the President/CEO. The cooperative is divided into five (5) different departments. They are the Executive Department, Finance and Accounting Department, Member Services Department, Member Accounts Department and Operations Department. Inter-County currently has over sixty employees that work within one of the five departments.
Loan Fund Sources
Earlier, we pointed out that Inter-County Energy initially borrowed from the Rural Electrification Administration, REA, (currently referred to as RUS, Rural Utilities Service). Due to the heavy burden being placed on the national budget for funds, RUS is no longer able to provide all the loan monies needed by the rural electric cooperatives. The majority of the rural electric systems throughout the nation today receive their loan funds from two sources, The Rural Utilities Services (RUS) and from a cooperative lending institution owned by the rural electric systems throughout the nation known as the Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC).
The first loan which Inter-County Energy received that was not completely from REA (currently RUS) was during 1971. The loan in 1971, consisted of 90% funds from REA and 10% from CFC. Approximately one year later, another loan was received from REA and CFC. In that loan, 80% came from REA and 20% from CFC. The loans made since 1981 consist of 70% REA money and 30% CFC loan funds.
Inter-County Energy is a locally owned, locally controlled non-profit business that pays thousands of dollars each year in taxes. Its primary objective is to provide the best electric services at the lowest possible cost. Inter-County is also obligated to support and work with the community groups throughout the service area to help bring about overall development. Hopefully, the end result will be more job opportunities and better communities in which members live.