Bedford Rural Electric Cooperative

What Bedford Rural Electric Cooperative does

Bedford Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc. (BREC) is a member-owned, non-profit rural electric distribution cooperative incorporated in 1939 and headquartered in Bedford, Pennsylvania. It holds an exclusive regulated franchise to distribute electricity across Bedford County, PA, serving residential, commercial, small general service, seasonal residential, and off-peak heating customers (dual fuel and electric thermal storage) along with net-metering members who interconnect customer-owned solar or other renewable generation.

BREC's technology footprint is built around the SmartHub electronic billing and payment platform, deployed as a web portal and a mobile application (Apple App Store and Google Play), with a PayNow quick-pay option for non-registered users. Supporting member-facing tools include an online Rate Calculator, E-Z Pay auto-pay enrollment, Variable Budget Billing to smooth monthly charges, and rebate programs for energy-efficient appliances, dual fuel systems, electric thermal storage, geothermal heat pumps, and water heaters. A Solar & Renewables interconnection service integrates NREL's PVWatts calculator for member solar estimates, and a GenerLink transfer-switch installation service supports residential backup generator interconnection. Operational and safety services include Call811 dig-safe coordination and 24/7 outage response.

Revenue is generated on a usage-based cost-of-service model: members pay a fixed monthly service charge ($39 single-phase, $60 three-phase) plus a per-kWh distribution charge ($0.046/kWh), a generation and transmission pass-through ($0.07466/kWh), and an Allegheny Facility Charge ($0.02262/kWh) reflecting BREC's wholesale supply relationship with Allegheny. As a cooperative, BREC returns excess revenue to members as capital credits rather than retaining profit. The cooperative operates as a Touchstone Energy member, participates in the Co-ops Vote civic engagement program, and relocated to a new office at 6 Enterprise Ln, Bedford, PA on December 8, 2025.

Name

Bedford Rural Electric Cooperative

Legal name

Bedford Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Website

https://bedfordrec.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1939

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Bedford Rural Electric Cooperative is a member-owned, non-profit electric distribution cooperative serving residential, commercial, and seasonal customers across Bedford County, Pennsylvania, via SmartHub billing and usage-based rate schedules.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rural Electric Distribution

NAICS

Electric Power Distribution (221122), Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2211)

SIC

Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Electric Distribution System Owners (Wires-Only Companies) (EUADABAI), Demand Response & Load Flexibility Services (EUAMAJAF)

Keywords

• Rural electric distribution
• Electric cooperative services
• Residential electricity service
• Energy efficiency rebates
• Member-owned utility

Headquarters

HQ city

Bedford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Electric Distribution Service: BREC generates revenue through electricity distribution services to residential, commercial, and industrial members in Bedford County, PA. Revenue is collected through monthly billing based on energy consumption (kWh) and service charges.
2. Capital Credit Funds: As a cooperative, BREC operates on a cost-of-service basis. Excess revenues are returned to members as capital credits based on their patronage of electric service.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Bedford Rural Electric Cooperative distributes electricity to residential, commercial, industrial, and seasonal members across its exclusive Bedford County, Pennsylvania service territory on a cost-of-service cooperative basis. Members receive monthly billing under usage-based rate schedules with fixed service charges, supplemented by rebate programs, energy efficiency programs, automated payment tools, and net metering support for customer-owned renewable generation.

Product overview

Bedford Rural Electric Cooperative provides electricity distribution services to members in Bedford County, PA through a unified platform centered on SmartHub for bill management and payment processing. The cooperative offers a portfolio of rate schedules tailored to customer types (residential, commercial, seasonal) and heating systems (dual fuel, electric thermal storage, geothermal). Member engagement products include rebate programs for energy-efficient appliances and heating systems, Variable Budget Billing for predictable monthly costs, E-Z Pay for automatic payments, and a Rate Calculator for estimating bills. Safety and reliability services include Call Before You Dig, GenerLink generator connections, and Solar/Renewables interconnection support. The cooperative's rate structure includes multiple rider programs for special services like net metering and wholesale power cost adjustments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Electricity Distribution Service

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 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.

• Touchstone Energy CooperativescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNational branding partnership for America's Electric Cooperatives. BREC is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative member, using the Touchstone Energy branding and participating in cooperative marketing programs including Together We Save energy efficiency initiative.
• Call811.comminorOthers811 safe digging coordination service for Pennsylvania. BREC promotes Call811.com for members to request utility line locates before any digging projects.
• America's Electric CooperativescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization representing electric cooperatives. BREC participates in Co-ops Vote, a non-partisan project designed to inform members on key issues facing electric co-ops and encourage civic participation.
• AlleghenycoreTechnology or IntegrationAllegheny provides wholesale power supply to BREC. The Allegheny Facility Charge ($0.02262/kWh) is a component of the electricity rates, representing costs associated with Allegheny's power supply services.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Valley Rural Electric Cooperative: A Pennsylvania-based Touchstone Energy member-owned electric distribution cooperative serving rural members — directly comparable as a co-op of similar scale and structure to BREC.
• Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative: A rural Pennsylvania Touchstone Energy distribution cooperative offering overlapping residential service, net metering, and member engagement programs comparable to BREC.
• Allegheny Electric Cooperative: A generation-and-transmission cooperative that supplies wholesale power to BREC and other PA co-ops; closely comparable cooperative operating model within the same Pennsylvania ecosystem.
• Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative: A member-owned Pennsylvania electric distribution cooperative with a similar rate schedule portfolio and member service structure as BREC.
• Adams Electric Cooperative: A Pennsylvania-based member-owned electric distribution cooperative offering similar residential/commercial rate schedules, SmartHub billing, and energy efficiency rebates.

Others

• NISC (National Information Solutions Cooperative): The technology cooperative that provides the SmartHub billing platform used by BREC; comparable as an enabling/technology partner that powers member-facing digital services across rural electric co-ops.
• Touchstone Energy Cooperatives: The national cooperative network of which BREC is a member; comparable as a peer/marketing alliance providing shared branding, cooperative programs, and procurement scale.
• NRECA (National Rural Electric Cooperative Association): The national trade association representing electric cooperatives including BREC; comparable as an ecosystem/advocacy peer providing policy, training, and benchmarking resources.

Broad incumbents

• PPL Electric Utilities: A large investor-owned regulated electric distribution utility in Pennsylvania with overlapping service territory; broader portfolio but comparable distribution and customer engagement functions.
• FirstEnergy ( Penelec ): An investor-owned electric utility serving parts of Pennsylvania including Bedford County's surroundings; a broad incumbent offering overlapping distribution service and retail electric supply.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/BedfordREC

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Bedford Rural Electric Cooperative