San Miguel Electric Cooperative

What San Miguel Electric Cooperative does

San Miguel Electric Cooperative, Inc. is a not-for-profit, member-owned generation and transmission rural electric cooperative created on February 17, 1977 under the Rural Electric Cooperative Act of the State of Texas. The cooperative operates a 391 net megawatt lignite-fueled power plant at a mine-mouth site in Atascosa County, Texas, with lignite mining operations spanning Atascosa and McMullen Counties producing more than three million tons of fuel annually under a contract with North American Construction Group. The cooperative sells electricity wholesale exclusively to South Texas Electric Cooperative (STEC) under a Wholesale Power Contract extending through 2037; STEC in turn redistributes power to nine member distribution cooperatives serving 340,000+ rural end-customers across 47 South Texas counties.

The cooperative is undergoing a major energy transition. In December 2024, San Miguel was awarded more than $1.4 billion through the USDA Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program to convert lignite operations to a 400 MW solar generation facility paired with 200 MW of battery storage, projected to be operational by 2027. A complementary partnership with Sage Geosystems Inc. (announced August 2024) introduces the first EarthStore geothermal energy storage project in Texas, providing dispatchable clean power independent of weather conditions. The cooperative maintains extensive land reclamation programs (more than 11,000 acres since 2018) and has invested over $125 million in environmental controls since 1982.

San Miguel operates under a non-profit cooperative revenue model in which the Wholesale Power Contract with STEC recovers operating costs plus capital outlay at the lowest possible delivered cost to the nine member distribution cooperatives. The cooperative generates more than $39 million in annual plant and mine payroll, supports approximately 1,800 direct and indirect jobs, and contributes $68.7 million annually to the Texas economy. New CEO Jason Cowan (appointed October 2025) brings nearly two decades of power generation leadership including prior oversight of 5,200+ MW of generation assets at Basin Electric.

Name

San Miguel Electric Cooperative

Legal name

San Miguel Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Website

https://smeci.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

San Miguel Electric Cooperative is a Texas not-for-profit rural electric cooperative operating a 391 MW lignite-fired power plant, selling wholesale electricity exclusively to South Texas Electric Cooperative under a contract running through 2037 to serve nine member distribution cooperatives and 340,000+ rural customers across 47 South Texas counties, currently transitioning to solar, battery storage, and geothermal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Electric Power Generation

NAICS

Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2211), Electric Power Generation (22111), Electric Power Transmission, Control, and Distribution (22112)

SIC

Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro primary industry

Electric Cooperatives (Rural/Member-Owned Utilities) (EUADABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Lignite/Brown Coal Power Generation (EUACAAAF)

Keywords

• Wholesale electric generation
• Lignite-fired power production
• Rural electric cooperative
• Mine-mouth power plant
• Generation and transmission services

Headquarters

HQ city

Christine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Electricity Sales: San Miguel generates revenue through wholesale electricity sales to South Texas Electric Cooperative (STEC) pursuant to a long-term Wholesale Power Contract. As a not-for-profit cooperative, revenues are used to maintain operations, fund improvements, and provide power at the lowest possible cost to member cooperatives. The cooperative was created under the Rural Electric Cooperative Act of the State of Texas for the purpose of generating affordable and reliable electric power for its member rural electric cooperatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

San Miguel Electric Cooperative is a not-for-profit generation and transmission (G&T) rural electric cooperative that operates a 391 MW lignite-fueled, mine-mouth power plant in Atascosa County, Texas, selling 100% of its output at wholesale to South Texas Electric Cooperative (STEC) under a long-term Wholesale Power Contract. STEC then redistributes the power at wholesale to nine member distribution cooperatives serving more than 340,000 rural Texans across 47 South Texas counties.

Product overview

San Miguel Electric Cooperative operates as a not-for-profit generation and transmission rural electric cooperative providing affordable, reliable electric power to rural South Texans. Its core operations include a lignite-fueled power plant producing 391 net megawatts of electricity and an associated lignite mine in Atascosa and McMullen Counties. The cooperative serves nine member cooperatives across 47 Texas counties through a Wholesale Power Contract with South Texas Electric Cooperative. Currently, San Miguel is undergoing a major energy transition with planned conversion to 400 MW solar generation and 200 MW battery storage, enabled by a $1.4 billion USDA New ERA funding award. Additionally, a geothermal energy partnership with Sage Geosystems will introduce EarthStore™ technology for dispatchable clean energy storage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wholesale Lignite-Fueled Power Generation Generation of 391 net megawatts of electricity from a mine-mouth lignite-fueled power plant in Atascosa County, Texas, sold wholesale exclusively to South Texas Electric Cooperative (STEC) for redistribution to nine member distribution cooperatives across 47 South Texas counties serving more than 200,000 homes and businesses.
• Solar Power Generation (Conversion Project) Planned 400 MW solar generation facility that will replace the existing lignite generation, providing clean, reliable, and affordable renewable energy to rural South Texans under the cooperative's energy transition plan.
• Battery Energy Storage System (Conversion Project) Planned 200 MW battery energy storage system deployed alongside the solar generation facility to enable reliable power delivery independent of weather conditions.
• EarthStore Geothermal Energy Storage First-in-Texas geothermal energy storage project utilizing the earth's natural capacity for energy storage to produce clean, sustainable, and dispatchable electricity on demand, independent of weather conditions and not reliant on wind or sunshine.

Quantifiable outcome

• 391 net megawatts of generation capacity powering 200,000+ homes during peak demand
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sage Geosystems Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2024First-of-its-kind geothermal energy partnership to launch Sage's EarthStore facility at San Miguel. This will be the first project in Texas to utilize the earth's natural capacity for energy storage to produce clean, sustainable, and dispatchable electricity on demand, independent of weather conditions and not reliant on wind or sunshine.
• North American Construction Group Ltd. (NACG)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNACG operates San Miguel's lignite mine under a five-year contract beginning June 21. The mine provides fuel for the power plant producing 391 megawatts of electricity. NACG retained the majority of existing mine workforce and brings exceptional safety and managerial abilities to operations.
• San Antonio Zoo / Center for Conservation and ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSan Miguel supports the Texas Horned Lizard Reintroduction Project, donating $5,000+ annually to CCR's breeding and release program. The program reintroduces state-threatened horned lizards to central Texas ranchland. San Miguel has also been recognized for conservation of endangered black-lace cactus in partnership with San Antonio Botanical Garden and other organizations.
• Texas Mining & Reclamation Association (TMRA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSan Miguel hosts TMRA's award-winning Teacher Workshop program annually, teaching science educators about Texas mining, reclamation, and electricity production. The program has educated over 1.5 million students through participating teachers and is recognized by the Governor's Conference on Math, Science and Technology.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Oglethorpe Power Corporation: Member-owned generation and transmission cooperative supplying wholesale power to 38 electric distribution cooperatives in Georgia. Closely mirrors San Miguel's G&T structure, sole-customer reliance on member coops, and generation portfolio diversification.
• Associated Electric Cooperative: Generation and transmission cooperative based in Missouri serving six member distribution coops and others across three states. Closely parallels San Miguel's wholesale-only model with member coops as the sole customer base and a coal-transition narrative.
• Old Dominion Electric Cooperative: Member-owned generation and transmission cooperative serving distribution coops in Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. Comparable cooperative-to-cooperative wholesale model with diverse generation mix including renewables transition.
• Basin Electric Power Cooperative: Largest generation and transmission cooperative in the U.S., headquartered in North Dakota. Operates coal, gas, and renewables to serve rural distribution coops across nine states; CEO Jason Cowan previously led its 5,200 MW generation fleet, making Basin Electric the closest functional analog to San Miguel.
• Seminole Electric Cooperative: Generation and transmission cooperative serving member distribution coops across Florida. Comparable G&T cooperative model, multi-decade long-term power supply contracts, and mixed fossil/renewable generation portfolio undergoing similar transition pressure.

Broad incumbents

• Vistra Corp: Large Texas-headquartered independent power producer and retail electricity provider operating coal, nuclear, gas, and solar assets including the Martin Lake and Oak Grove lignite plants in East Texas. Comparable generation technology and Texas ERCOT exposure, though structured as an investor-owned rather than cooperative entity.
• Constellation Energy: Largest U.S. competitive power producer with a broad portfolio of nuclear, gas, and renewables serving wholesale customers. Relevant as a broad incumbent comparator for utility-scale power generation economics and the transition away from fossil baseload.
• NRG Energy: Large Houston-based competitive power generator and retail electricity provider across ERCOT and other U.S. markets. Comparable scale of generation operations and Texas market exposure, though structured as an investor-owned competitor rather than a cooperative.

Regional players

• CPS Energy: Community-owned municipal utility serving San Antonio and surrounding South Texas regions. Geographic overlap with San Miguel's service territory and shared focus on affordability and reliability, though CPS is vertically integrated to retail rather than a wholesale G&T cooperative.
• Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA): Texas river authority and wholesale power provider serving Central and South Texas utilities. Operates a diverse generation portfolio and supplies cooperatives and municipalities in a partially overlapping service area, making it a relevant regional comparator.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SanMiguelElectricCooperative
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/san-miguel-electric-cooperative-inc-

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about San Miguel Electric Cooperative