Voting Members

Membership in the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is composed of two broad categories—Voting Members and Nonvoting Members. Voting Members have the additional responsibility of guiding the direction of the organization through their elected Directors to the NRECA Board. The annual dues for Voting Members are specified in the Bylaws of NRECA as adopted by the Voting Membership.

There are three types of Voting Members: Distribution Members, Generation and Transmission Members and Service Members.

1. Distribution Members
   There are 850 Distribution Members of the Association. Together they distribute electricity to more than 30 million people in 47 states. Distribution Members are electric distribution cooperatives or nonprofit associations, nonprofit corporations, public utility districts, and government corporations or authorities located in a state, territory, possession or commonwealth of the U.S. and engaged in furnishing electricity at retail to their consumers.
   
2. Generation and Transmission Members
   NRECA has 67 Generation and Transmission Members that supply or contract for wholesale power for their member distribution systems. Together with their member systems they are a $60 billion business. Generation and Transmission Members are cooperatives or nonprofit associations, nonprofit corporations and public utility districts located in a state, territory, possession or commonwealth of the U.S. and engaged in the marketing, generation and/or transmission of wholesale bulk electricity for sale to others for the purpose of resale.
   
3. Service Members
   Our Service Members include the 38 rural electric Statewide associations. Their voice may be in the form of legislative representation at the state capitol or a publication that goes to all consumer-owners, or any of the services that can be achieved united as one. Service Members are organizations not actually engaged in the marketing, generation, transmission or distribution of electricity, but whose members consist of generation, transmission or distribution cooperatives, or associations, nonprofit corporations or public utility districts, which are located in a state, territory, possession or commonwealth of the United States and engaged in such marketing, generation, transmission or distribution of electricity.

Nonvoting Members

There are three types of Nonvoting Members: Affiliate Members, International Members and Associate Members.

1. Affiliate Member
   Affiliate Members, most of which are cooperatives, are those organizations whose objectives are aligned with the objectives of the Association. Often these organizations provide a necessary and valuable service to the voting membership that individually would be too cumbersome or costly to provide.
2. Associate Members
   Associate Members are usually profit-making corporations recommended for membership by a Voting Member. Associate Members are often the familiar companies that provide valuable goods and services to NRECA member systems.
3. International Members
   NRECA has worked with electric utilities, their associations and their governments in more than 65 countries around the world. The International Member category was established to foster these relationships, and make possible, through the cooperative structure, the provision of electric service to millions of people overseas.