About South Central Power Company

South Central Power Company is a member-owned electric cooperative serving over 110,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in 24 Ohio counties. We maintain over 11,000 miles of energized power lines that traverse 24 counties in Ohio. The Cooperative is a private enterprise owned and operated by the people it serves. The members elect an 11-member Board of Trustees that govern the co-op. The Board establishes policies, reviews co-op activities, and makes needed decisions. They hire a President and CEO who in turn hires a staff of employees to carry out the policies and operate and maintain the co-op’s lines and equipment.

In 1998, South Central Power Company became a Touchstone Energy Cooperative allowing us to be identified as part of a nationwide alliance of independently owned and operated electric cooperatives under a single brand identity. As a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, South Central Power Company has recommitted itself to principles we’ve operated under for years: integrity, accountability, innovation and community spirit.

Cooperatives of all types and sizes abide by seven unifying principles, which differentiate them from other types of companies. Those principles are: Voluntary & open membership, Democratic member control, Member economic participation, Autonomy and independence, Education, training and information, Cooperation among cooperatives, and Concern for community.

Our cooperative exists to deliver safe, reliable electric service that adds value to the lives of our members.

The cooperative strives to be a model of operational excellence recognized for quality of service, superior value and being a strong presence in the community. By 2020, our employees will have zero accidents, our American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) score will be at least 88 and our System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), excluding extreme storms, will be 180 minutes per customer.

• The safety of our employees and the general public
• Integrity, professionalism and accountability in all that we do
• Exceptional service
• Responsible financial management
• Communication, collaboration and teamwork
• Engaged, informed and innovative employees

Annual Meeting

Held the third Thursday of August, the Annual Meeting is your opportunity to vote on any Code of Regulations amendments, learn the results of the Board of Trustees election, hear reports on co-op status and meet fellow members.

Our History

The story of how South Central Power Company has developed in the past years is amazing in many ways. It started on a grass roots level, from nothing more than the belief of a handful of people that electric service was needed to improve the lives of rural residents.

During the prosperous times of the “Roaring 20s,” little thought was given to the needs of rural areas. But during the 1930s when the cities became choked with despair, government officials began to focus on rural areas more and more.

President Franklin Roosevelt and others who pushed for the rural electrification program saw it as an effort not only to improve the lives of rural Americans, but to expand the horizons of the country as a whole. In 1936, South Central Power Company was formed. Nine men from Fairfield, Perry and Pickaway counties each paid a $5.00 membership fee, becoming the first members of record. Within a year, the first pole was set as well as the first line energized.

During the early years, South Central Power Company was growing and developing, and the people involved, employees and members of the Board of Trustees alike, were learning the steps of forming a cohesive, functioning organization.

After World War II, South Central Power Company became a functional management organization – setting up a new organizational structure and adding new people. New equipment and trucks were purchased to keep up with the increasing amount of line work. Equipment was installed to help improve the continuity of service.

The 1960s were South Central Power Company’s merger years. The size of the Cooperative doubled after the merger with Ohio-Midland in 1962 and increased by 50 percent again following the merger with Inter-County. Since then we have been committed to providing reliable power through a strong electric system, a sound financial position and the best in customer service.

Today, the Cooperative offers several services that manage energy consumption, simplify billing, and enhance safety and convenience of electricity.

In 1959, South Central and the other electric distribution cooperatives in Ohio formed Buckeye Power Inc. as a non-profit generation and transmission cooperative. This process guaranteed a source of affordable power for cooperative members. Today, Buckeye Power owns more than 2250 megawatts of power generation capacity fueled by coal and natural gas and another 88 megawatts of renewable power generation from wind, hydro and bio-digester projects.