Rio Grande Electric Coop

What Rio Grande Electric Coop does

Rio Grande Electric Cooperative, Inc. (RGEC) is a member-owned electric distribution cooperative founded in 1945 and headquartered in Brackettville, Texas. It operates the largest service territory of any electric cooperative in the contiguous United States, spanning over 35,000 square miles across 18 Texas counties and 2 New Mexico counties. The cooperative serves 7,277 energized members through 14,771 meters, with a customer base that includes rural residents, agricultural and irrigation operators, hospitals, schools, urban housing developments, and two large US military installations (Fort Bliss in El Paso and Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio) for which RGEC serves as the contracted electrical distribution system operator.

The cooperative's core offering is electric distribution service delivered across 10,114 miles of energized line and 126 miles of transmission line. Members access account management, bill payment, capital credits, rate information, and outage reporting through the SmartHub online portal, with an additional one-time payment system available. Complementary service lines include renewable energy programs supporting residential and commercial solar adoption, energy efficiency resources, dedicated irrigation power for agricultural operations, and member-benefit programs such as scholarships, youth tours, poster contests, and sharing success grants. Grid operation is supported by an Outage Center with interactive outage mapping.

RGEC generates revenue through monthly subscription-based electricity distribution rates billed to members; as a not-for-profit cooperative, margins are reinvested or returned to members via capital credits. The cooperative is governed by a member-elected Board of Directors with no parent company or external ownership. Member engagement and marketing occur through community events, news releases, CEO's Message publications, and partnerships such as Texas Co-op Power magazine.

Name

Rio Grande Electric Coop

Legal name

Rio Grande Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Website

https://rgec.coop

Company type

Private

Founded year

1945

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Rio Grande Electric Cooperative is a member-owned electric distribution cooperative founded in 1945, serving over 7,277 members across 35,000+ square miles in Texas and New Mexico, including military installations Fort Bliss and Laughlin Air Force Base.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electric Utility Distribution

NAICS

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

SIC

Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Electric Distribution System Owners (Wires-Only Companies) (EUADABAI)

Keywords

• Electric distribution services
• Rural electric cooperative
• Energy utility services
• Power distribution infrastructure
• Member-owned utility

Headquarters

HQ city

Brackettville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Electricity Distribution Services: Revenue generated through electricity distribution services to members across the service territory. Members pay rates for electric service, with capital credits returned to members based on cooperative's financial performance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Rio Grande Electric Cooperative distributes electricity to members across 35,000+ square miles of territory in Texas and New Mexico, operating the largest service area of any electric cooperative in the contiguous United States. The cooperative delivers power to residential, commercial, agricultural, healthcare, educational, and military customers, and supports those services with online account management, outage monitoring, renewable energy options, energy efficiency programs, and irrigation power services.

Product overview

Rio Grande Electric Cooperative operates as a single-core-product electric utility distribution company offering power service across the largest service territory of any electric cooperative in the contiguous United States. The primary offering is electric distribution service, complemented by the SmartHub online account management portal for billing and service management. Additional services include energy efficiency programs, renewable energy options, irrigation power for agriculture, and community benefit programs including scholarships and youth tours. The cooperative serves residential, commercial, agricultural, and military installations (Fort Bliss, Laughlin Air Force Base) across 20 counties in Texas and New Mexico.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Electric Distribution Service Core electric power distribution service delivered across 35,000+ square miles to residential, commercial, agricultural, healthcare, educational, and military installation customers (including Fort Bliss and Laughlin Air Force Base).
• SmartHub Online Account Management Customer portal for account login, bill payment, payment options, account management, capital credits, and rates access for cooperative members.
• Renewable Energy Programs Programs supporting solar and other renewable energy adoption for residential and commercial members served by the cooperative.
• Energy Efficiency Services Programs and resources to help cooperative members reduce energy consumption and lower utility costs.
• Irrigation Power Specialized electrical service for agricultural irrigation operations within the cooperative's service territory.
• Capital Credits Program Member benefit program under which excess cooperative revenue is returned to members based on their usage of the cooperative's electric service.
• Community Programs Member and community engagement programs including scholarships, Youth Tour, Poster Contest, Sharing Success grants, and small business support offered by the cooperative to its service area.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serving 7,277 members energized across 35,000+ square miles

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Military (Fort Bliss, El Paso, Laughlin Air Force Base)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRio Grande Electric Cooperative was selected by the military to be the electrical distribution system operator for Fort Bliss in El Paso and Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio. This represents a strategic partnership where the cooperative provides critical electrical infrastructure services to military installations.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• CoBank: CoBank is a member-owned cooperative bank that is the principal lender to U.S. electric cooperatives, including RGEC's peers in Texas and New Mexico. It is not a direct competitor but a critical infrastructure provider whose pricing and lending terms shape the financial flexibility of cooperatives like RGEC.

Direct peers

• Lyntegar Electric Cooperative: Texas Panhandle-area electric cooperative serving rural and small-town members with the same cooperative model, distribution service structure, and capital credit allocation as RGEC. Comparable scale and rural focus.
• Central Texas Electric Cooperative: Member-owned electric distribution cooperative operating in central and west Texas. Overlaps with RGEC's territory definition and offers comparable services: distribution, outage management, capital credits, member programs.
• Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative: Texas member-owned electric distribution cooperative serving members across a multi-county territory with the same capital credits, energy efficiency, and renewable program structure. Same regulatory regime and GTM as RGEC.
• Pedernales Electric Cooperative: Largest electric distribution cooperative in the U.S. by meter count, serving central Texas members with analogous products (electric distribution, capital credits, energy efficiency programs). Directly comparable member-owned cooperative business model in an overlapping Texas geography.
• Farmers Electric Cooperative (New Mexico): Member-owned electric distribution cooperative serving eastern New Mexico with comparable rural distribution, irrigation power, and capital credits programs. Overlaps with RGEC's two-county New Mexico presence.
• Socorro Electric Cooperative: New Mexico member-owned electric distribution cooperative; directly comparable to RGEC's New Mexico county footprint. Same regulatory environment under the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission and similar rural service profile.

Broad incumbents

• AEP Texas: Investor-owned utility subsidiary of American Electric Power serving a large portion of Texas outside of the ERCOT competitive markets. Operates regulated transmission and distribution infrastructure across overlapping Texas geographies, providing a benchmark for IOU operating model in counties neighboring RGEC's territory.
• Xcel Energy (Southwestern Public Service): Large investor-owned utility serving Texas, New Mexico, and adjacent states. Competes for large industrial/institutional customers in regions bordering RGEC and provides wholesale generation and transmission services that interact with cooperative distribution systems.
• El Paso Electric: Investor-owned vertically integrated utility providing electric generation, transmission, and distribution across West Texas and southern New Mexico, including the El Paso metro. Operates the broader regional grid that RGEC's territory sits within and serves some of the same end customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/riograndecoop
• Facebookfacebook.com/rgec.coop
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rio-grande-electric-coop

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 Rio Grande Electric Coop