History

In 1939, individuals in several counties in Southeast Georgia partnered together to take part in the new rural electricity movement. Through their cooperation, these leaders created The Slash Pine Electric Membership Corporation, a not-for-profit electric membership cooperative. Since its inception, Slash Pine EMC has grown to meet the needs of its eight-county service area. The Board of Directors and employees of Slash Pine EMC are reminded of the founding partnerships with people in local communities as they constantly strive to meet the ever-changing needs of its members.

In the beginning, the service area was that area not wanted or needed by other rural electric cooperatives or private investment power utilities. Our territory consisted of sparsely populated areas of deep South Georgia, including small family farms and pine trees. There was little cash money in the area, and many of the first memberships were paid for in farm produce. The “Doubting Thomas’s”, Bankers, REA Officials and Politicians all agreed that Slash Pine EMC was just a dream that could never become reality. The main obstacle to Slash Pine’s success was too many miles of electric line for too few meters. The issue of acquiring the proper right of way for the construction of the electric lines through forest lands from which people depended on for the livelihood was also a contributing factor for failure. But the courage of nine men who would become Slash Pine EMC’s first Board of Directors believed in their dream of a better way of life for themselves and their neighbors.

The original petition of incorporation was filed in Clinch County, Georgia on December 28, 1939. The nine men had each paid a five dollar membership fee. The first bill paid was to The Clinch County News in the amount of $44 for legal advertising for the incorporation of Slash Pine Electric Membership Corporation. The first original Charter was granted on December 1, 1940. The first meeting of the corporation and directors of Slash Pine EMC was held in the main court room at the court house in the town of Homerville, Georgia at 3 p.m., February 10, 1940. There was one dollar in the cooperative’s bank account.

The Directors would meet weekly until March 20, 1904 when the first mortgage note to the Rural Electrification Administration was submitted in the amount of $152,000 for the purpose of furnishing electric energy to approximately 549 members.

The first electric lines were energized on December 8, 1940. There were 290 members receiving electric power in Clinch, Lanier, and Ware Counties. In February 1941, the average consumption for the entire project was 33 kilowatt hours. The longest electric line was approximately 100 miles, beginning in Clinch County and running into Lanier County to serve 102 members. Today Slash Pine EMC has over 1900 miles of electric line serving 6,000 members, with an annual consumption in excess of 170,000,000 kilowatt hours.

As a result of more than six decades of dedicated effort to improve the quality of life in rural South Georgia, Slash Pine EMC recognizes the value of the communities in which we serve that goes beyond our ability to simply provide reliable electric power at reasonable rates. Our communities depend on us as a partner in their economic development initiatives, their civic leadership, and their commitment to local job creation.