Wake Electric Membership Corporation

What Wake Electric Membership Corporation does

Wake Electric Membership Corporation is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric distribution cooperative founded in 1937 (with firmographic metadata referencing 2000) and headquartered in Wake Forest, North Carolina. It distributes electricity to 53,136 members across 59,457 locations in seven counties — Durham, Franklin, Granville, Johnston, Nash, Vance, and Wake — under an exclusive, regulated service-territory franchise. The cooperative delivers power through owned poles, wires, and substations, supported by a Sensus FlexNet advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) deployed in partnership with Sensus and NRTC starting in 2011–2012, which provides two-way licensed-spectrum communication to meters and grid assets. The 2024 commissioning of the Hares Crossroads substation with Cleaveland/Price Autoline in-line switches added modern outage-isolation capability for the growing Selma area.

Revenue is generated principally through usage-based electricity sales billed monthly in kWh plus a facility charge, with published residential, commercial, industrial, Time of Use, and EV rate schedules. Adjacent revenue streams include home security monitoring ($29.95/month, 36-month contract) and whole-house surge protection ($5.95/month) offered through wholly-owned subsidiary Triangle Services Group. As a cooperative, Wake Electric returns excess margins to members as capital credits — over $2 million was returned in December 2025. Customer-facing digital infrastructure centers on the SmartHub app (account management, bill payment, outage reporting) and the Monitor & Manage energy-usage portal; additional member options include Budget Billing, Levelized Billing, Bank Draft (Handi-pay), Paperless Billing, PowerUp prepaid billing, and renewable energy credit purchases.

The cooperative's broader business model embeds community programs as a quasi-marketing channel: Operation RoundUp, WECare Foundation grants, Bright Ideas education grants (up to $3,000 per educator), $22,000 in annual college scholarships, Touchstone Energy sports camps, and the Youth Tour. Distribution is exclusively direct — there are no resellers or intermediaries in electricity delivery — and the cooperative is governed by a member-elected board with representation from each district. Notable recent operational moves include an August 2025 aerial drone inspection program, a December 2025 logo refresh, and a January 2025 facility-charge increase (the first since 2015) followed by a January 2026 residential rate increase.

Name

Wake Electric Membership Corporation

Legal name

Wake Electric Membership Corporation

Website

https://wemc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Wake Electric Membership Corporation is a not-for-profit electric distribution cooperative serving 53,136 members across 59,457 locations in seven North Carolina counties, delivering electricity via owned grid infrastructure, Sensus FlexNet AMI, and the SmartHub member app.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electric Utility Distribution Services

NAICS

Electric Power Distribution (221122), Electric Power Transmission, Control, and Distribution (22112)

SIC

Electric Services (4911), Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Electric Distribution System Owners (Wires-Only Companies) (EUADABAI), High-Voltage Electrical Systems (Switchgear, Transformers, Protection & Control) (EUAEAFAA)

Keywords

• Electric distribution services
• Cooperative utility services
• Residential electricity supply
• Commercial power services
• Energy management programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Wake Forest

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Electricity Sales: Wake Electric generates revenue through the sale of electricity to its members. As a not-for-profit cooperative, any excess revenue (capital credits) is returned to members. Members are billed monthly based on their electricity consumption measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh), plus a facility charge to cover fixed costs of delivering electricity.
2. Home Security Monitoring Services: Triangle Services Group (TSG), a subsidiary of Wake Electric, provides home security systems and monitoring services. This includes $199 installation charge and $29.95 monthly monitoring contract for 36 months.
3. Surge Protection Services: TSG offers whole-house surge protection for $5.95 per month plus a $50 one-time installation fee, providing lease equipment for point of entry surge protection.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Wake Electric Membership Corporation is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric distribution cooperative providing reliable, safe, and affordable electric energy to more than 53,000 members across seven North Carolina counties. Its core offering is electric distribution service billed under usage-based rate schedules plus fixed facility charges, complemented by energy management tools (SmartHub app, Monitor & Manage portal), renewable and electric vehicle programs, and subsidiary Triangle Services Group (TSG) home security and surge protection services.

Product overview

Wake Electric Membership Corporation is a not-for-profit electric cooperative providing reliable, safe, and affordable electric energy to over 56,000 members across seven counties in North Carolina. The core offering is electric distribution service, supplemented by member-facing digital tools (SmartHub app for account management and bill payment), energy efficiency programs (Renewable Energy Program, Electric Vehicle Charging, Monitor & Manage energy monitoring), and home services through subsidiary Triangle Services Group (surge protection, home security systems). Wake Electric operates on a cooperative model returning capital credits to members, and offers various billing options including Budget Billing, Levelized Billing, Bank Draft, Paperless Billing, and PowerUp prepaid options. The company supports communities through Operation RoundUp and WECare Foundation grants, education programs (Bright Ideas grants, college scholarships, sports camps, Youth Tour), and maintains infrastructure through vegetation management and advanced smart grid technology including Sensus FlexNet AMI meters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SmartHub: Mobile and web application for account management, bill payment, and outage reporting
• WECare Foundation
• Operation RoundUp

Products and services

• Electric Distribution Service
• SmartHub App
• Monitor & Manage Energy Monitoring Program
• Renewable Energy Program
• Electric Vehicle Charging Program
• Home Security Systems (Triangle Services Group)
• Whole-House Surge Protection (Triangle Services Group)
• LED Area Lighting
• PowerUp Prepaid Billing

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Blue Ridge EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2024Wake Electric provided mutual aid to Blue Ridge Energy, a sister cooperative, following Hurricane Helene's devastation in western North Carolina. Wake Electric sent 21 employees over three weeks to assist with power restoration, rotating crews of 6-7 linemen weekly plus a warehouseman during the first week. This represents the cooperative principle of mutual aid among electric cooperatives.
• Cleaveland/Price InccoreTechnology or Integration · 1 March 2024Wake Electric collaborated with Cleaveland/Price Inc to install first-of-its-kind Autoline in-line switches at the Hares Crossroads substation near Selma. These group-operated inline switches with no mechanical linkage improve outage management by quickly isolating problematic sections of power lines, enabling swift and safe repairs without shutting down the entire network. The substation was brought online in March 2024.
• SensuscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 October 2011Wake Electric selected Raleigh-based Sensus to replace its drive-by meter reading system with the Sensus FlexNet advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system. The AMI operates over a secure, wireless network using licensed spectrum for two-way communication to residential electric meters and power distribution assets. The deployment was assisted by the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC), with a pilot of 225 meters in July 2011 and full deployment beginning October 2011, expected to be completed by end of 2012.
• Touchstone Energy CooperativescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWake Electric is part of Touchstone Energy, a national network of electric cooperatives. Through this partnership, Wake Electric offers Touchstone Energy Sports Camp scholarships (to UNC and NC State basketball camps), Touchstone Energy Scholarships ($1,250 each), and accesses cooperative resources, branding, and shared programs. This affiliation connects Wake Electric to electric cooperatives across the nation.
• Louisburg CollegeminorOthersWake Electric holds its Annual Meeting of Members at the Louisburg College Auditorium (also known as the Seby B. Jones Performing Arts Center). This partnership supports the cooperative's democratic governance and member engagement activities.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Halifax Electric Membership Corporation (Halifax EMC): Halifax EMC is a North Carolina distribution cooperative serving Halifax, Northampton, Warren, and parts of Franklin and Vance counties — directly overlapping Wake Electric's geographic footprint and sharing the EMC business model.
• Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative: Carteret-Craven EC is a North Carolina coastal electric cooperative serving Carteret, Craven, Jones, and Pamlico counties under the same Touchstone Energy cooperative model.
• Jones-Onslow Electric Membership Corporation: Jones-Onslow EMC is a North Carolina distribution cooperative serving Jones, Onslow, and surrounding counties. Like Wake Electric, it is a member-owned Touchstone Energy cooperative delivering electricity via owned distribution infrastructure.
• South River Electric Membership Corporation: South River EMC is a North Carolina electric cooperative serving Sampson, Bladen, and Cumberland counties. It operates the same NCEMC-aligned distribution cooperative model with member-owned governance and infrastructure.
• Blue Ridge Energy: Blue Ridge Energy is a North Carolina electric membership corporation serving members across northwestern NC with the same Touchstone Energy-aligned cooperative model. Wake Electric recently provided Hurricane Helene mutual aid to Blue Ridge Energy, confirming they are direct sister-cooperative peers.
• Piedmont Electric Membership Corporation: Piedmont EMC is a nearby North Carolina electric cooperative serving Person, Caswell, Durham, and Granville counties. It operates under the same NCEMC/Touchstone Energy distribution-cooperative model and directly borders Wake Electric's territory.
• Edgecombe-Martin County Electric Membership Corporation: Edgecombe-Martin County EMC is a North Carolina distribution cooperative serving Edgecombe and Martin counties. It is a sister NCEMC cooperative with the same wires-only distribution model and member-governance structure as Wake Electric.

Others

• North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation (NCEMC): NCEMC is the generation-and-transmission cooperative that provides wholesale power and shared services (including the Business Development Loan program Wake Electric used for the Brassfield fire truck loan) to Wake Electric and other NC EMCs.
• Touchstone Energy Cooperatives: Touchstone Energy is a national network of electric cooperatives that Wake Electric is a member of. The network provides branding, sports-camp scholarships, and other shared programs that Wake Electric uses for member engagement.

Broad incumbents

• Duke Energy: Duke Energy is the dominant investor-owned electric utility in North Carolina with both regulated distribution and generation. It serves territories adjacent to Wake Electric and represents the broader, vertically-integrated incumbent in the same regulatory market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wakeelectric
• YouTubelinktr.ee/changingenergy
• Facebookfacebook.com/wakeelectric
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wake-electric-membership-corporation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Wake Electric Membership Corporation