Forked Deer Electric Cooperative

What Forked Deer Electric Cooperative does

Forked Deer Electric Cooperative is a member-owned electric distribution cooperative headquartered at 1135 North Church Street in Halls, Tennessee, founded on August 18, 1940 under the Rural Electrification Act of 1935. It distributes electricity across more than 1,300 miles of line to over 10,000 residential, commercial, and agricultural members in a four-county rural West Tennessee footprint (portions of Crockett, Dyer, Haywood, and Lauderdale counties). Power is procured wholesale from the Tennessee Valley Authority under regulated GSA-style rate schedules, with monthly fuel-cost adjustments flowing through to member bills.

The cooperative's core product portfolio comprises Residential Electric Services (standard monthly billing with a $250 deposit, or prepay billing with a $25 deposit and no late fees), Commercial Electric Services structured at GSA1/GSA2/GSA3 rate tiers with demand charges for loads up to 5,000 kW, and a specialized Irrigation Service for agricultural customers requiring engineering-approved connections and variable-frequency drives on wells of 25 HP or larger. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary Forked Deer Connect, the cooperative offers fiber-to-the-home broadband internet and phone services to electric members, representing a meaningful adjacent product extension into rural telecommunications. Ancillary revenue streams include yard-light security rentals ($20-$40/month) and reconnection/service fees.

The business operates on a regulated, usage-based revenue model with members as both customers and owners, governed by a nine-member elected board of directors. Distribution and member-service channels span a single physical office with 24/7 payment kiosk, a self-serve online portal at billpay.forkeddeer.com, native mobile applications on Google Play and the Apple App Store, a 24/7 automated phone payment system, and a drive-through night drop. The cooperative employs roughly 40 staff and has no parent company, no outside equity investors, and no publicly disclosed financials.

Name

Forked Deer Electric Cooperative

Legal name

Forked Deer Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Website

https://forkeddeer.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1940

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Forked Deer Electric Cooperative is a member-owned rural electric utility founded in 1940, distributing electricity to over 10,000 residential, commercial, and agricultural members across four counties in rural West Tennessee, with a fiber broadband subsidiary, Forked Deer Connect.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

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

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Rural electric distribution
• Electric cooperative services
• Fiber broadband internet
• Residential commercial power
• TVA wholesale electricity

Headquarters

HQ city

Halls

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Electric Service Revenue: Usage-based electricity distribution to over 10,000 residential and commercial members across rural West Tennessee. Rates adjusted monthly based on TVA fuel cost adjustments. Includes customer charges and demand charges for commercial customers.
2. Membership Deposits: Required deposits from members for service establishment. Standard residential deposit $250, prepay residential $25, commercial deposits $250-$300 depending on usage level.
3. Forked Deer Connect Broadband: Fiber-to-the-home internet and phone services offered through subsidiary Forked Deer Connect, available to all electric members
4. Security Light Services: Monthly security light rentals at $20 for standard and $40 for large yard lights

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Forked Deer Electric Cooperative distributes electricity to more than 10,000 residential, commercial, and agricultural irrigation members across portions of Crockett, Dyer, Haywood, and Lauderdale counties in rural West Tennessee through over 1,300 miles of distribution lines. The cooperative offers standard monthly billing and prepay residential services with daily electronic meter reading and text alerts. Through its wholly owned subsidiary Forked Deer Connect, it also provides fiber-to-the-home broadband internet and phone services to members within its electric service territory.

Product overview

Forked Deer Electric Cooperative operates as a rural electric utility providing electricity distribution services to over 10,000 members across four counties in West Tennessee (Crockett, Dyer, Haywood, and Lauderdale counties), managing over 1,300 miles of electric lines. The cooperative offers a unified portfolio of electricity services for residential, commercial, and agricultural (irrigation) customers, with two billing modalities: Standard Billing (traditional monthly billing) and Prepay Services (flexible prepay with daily monitoring). Additionally, the cooperative has expanded into telecommunications through Forked Deer Connect, a fiber-to-the-home internet and phone service available to all electric members.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Forked Deer Connect: Fiber to the Home broadband internet and phone services offered by Forked Deer Electric Cooperative.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serving over 10,000 members with electricity across 4 counties
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Tennessee 811coreOthersTennessee's underground utility notification center required by state law. Forked Deer Electric Cooperative works with Tennessee 811 to ensure safe digging by having professional locators mark buried utilities before excavation projects.
• TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)coreTechnology or IntegrationTVA sets the rate structure for Forked Deer Electric Cooperative. Rates are slightly different based on season and include monthly fuel cost adjustments based on natural gas costs used to generate electricity.
• TVA EnergyRightminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTVA EnergyRight program helps customers improve home energy efficiency to lower bills and live more comfortably. Forked Deer Electric Cooperative promotes this program to their members.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation: Adjacent Tennessee electric distribution cooperative serving rural members in West Tennessee. Closest geographic and structural peer, operating under the same TVA framework with similar member-owned cooperative economics.
• Gibson Electric Membership Corporation: Tennessee electric cooperative serving members across Northwest Tennessee. Directly comparable in scale, customer mix, and TVA wholesale relationship to Forked Deer Electric.
• Chickasaw Electric Cooperative: Midsouth rural electric cooperative operating under similar TVA framework. Closely comparable in member-owned cooperative structure, rural service territory, and revenue mix of residential, commercial, and irrigation loads.
• Plateau Electric Cooperative: Tennessee electric cooperative serving rural members in the Upper Cumberland region. Comparable cooperative governance model, TVA supply relationship, and focus on member services including broadband and prepay options.
• Duck River Electric Membership Corporation: Tennessee electric cooperative serving south-central Tennessee. Directly comparable in member-owned cooperative structure, rural territory, and TVA power supply framework with similar multi-county service area.
• Volunteer Energy Cooperative: Tennessee member-owned cooperative providing electric and natural gas service across multiple counties. Directly comparable in cooperative governance, multi-utility service offering, and rural Tennessee footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation: One of the largest electric cooperatives in the U.S., serving Middle Tennessee. Same TVA supply framework and cooperative model but materially larger scale, broader geographic reach, and more diversified service offerings including broadband and solar programs.
• Memphis Light, Gas and Water: Largest three-service municipal utility in the United States, serving Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee. Comparable in operating territory proximity and electric distribution operations, but much larger scale and municipal (not cooperative) ownership.
• Pedernales Electric Cooperative: Largest electric distribution cooperative in the United States, serving central Texas. Same member-owned cooperative structure and exclusive-territory economics, but at significantly greater scale with sophisticated fiber and renewable programs.

Others

• National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA): National trade association serving approximately 900 U.S. electric cooperatives including Forked Deer. Relevant ecosystem counterpart providing lobbying, training, and shared services rather than direct competition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/forkeddeerelectriccooperative
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/forked-deer-electric-coop
• Instagraminstagram.com/forkeddeerelectric

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Forked Deer Electric Cooperative