Caney Valley Electric Cooperative Association, Inc.      

Caney Valley History

The Caney Valley Electric Cooperative Association was formed just prior to World War II, although it had to wait until after the war to obtain funds to build lines.

Caney Valley was organized during the summer of 1940 as a result of meetings of farmers in schoolhouses where the REA act was discussed.   Articles of Incorporation, signed by 20 farmers from Chautauqua County were filed with the Secretary of State on August 21, 1940, authorizing 1000 shares of Common Stock.   The Articles were later amended in 1950, increasing the Common Stock to 6,000 shares at $5 par value.  Nine directors were named in the articles to serve the Board.

Almost immediately a membership drive was started; by July, 1941, the membership list reached 200, the 20% required by law for the group to do business.  The cooperative became a member of the statewide organization, the KEC, in November 1941.  This was the last major action of the board before the organization became inactive for the duration of the war.

The organization was reactivated in May, 1945.   The first loan funds were granted from the Rural Electrification Administration in July, 1945, for $200,000 to build 198 miles of line to serve 356 consumers.  These funds were obtained at 2% interest.  Today the cooperative's long term obligations are approximately $6,612,755 with a portion borrowed from REA at 2% and 5%, and the balance from the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) at a slightly higher rate.

Carl A. Steward, Cedar Vale, was hired as superintendent in July, 1945, although he was still in the armed forces in Germany.   In April, 1946, Mr. Steward was appointed  Manager of the cooperative.   Mr. Steward retired in October, 1974, and Robert L. Brown was promoted from Assistant Manager to fill the Manager's position.  Following Mr. Brown's unexpected death in April, 1990, Gerald D. Magnus was appointed Acting Manger until a permanent replacement could be found.  John M. Sheppard was hired by the Board in November, 1990, as General Manager.  He served the cooperative until June, 1994, when he resigned to take a position in Oklahoma.  David A. Vince was hired to replace him November 1, 1994, and served until June, 1999, when he resigned to take a position in Indiana.  Bonnie Campbell, Office Manager, was appointed Acting Manager until Allen Zadorozny was hired August 16, 1999.

In May,1948, seven years after contractors began building distribution lines, 60 miles of the first section were energized.

The property of the Inland Utilities Company, a private firm in the Sedan, Kansas, area, became available for purchase in October, 1948.   The Caney Valley Board seriously considered purchasing the Inland Company, including their generating plant, because of problems in providing service to cooperative applicants in that area.  The purchase was made in July, 1949, and approximately 2,000 new members became part of the Caney Valley Electric Cooperative.

By 1955, the Cooperative was serving 4,126 consumers, and today approximately 5,401.  In 1955, the 4,126 consumers were using 11,000,000 kilowatt hours annually, with our own generation providing 64% of the requirements.  This compares to the present 5,401 consumers who used 53,296,881 kWh in 2007.

Of course, average usage went up in a large part due to several large commercial and industrial consumers coming on line, such as the limestone quarry west of Cedar Vale.  Oil production and other various businesses increased the average usage.  And we all make use of washers, dryers, frost free refrigerators, microwaves, computers, etc., which were not generally available when the Cooperative first began.

The Cooperative operates in all of Chautauqua County and a part of Elk, Cowley, Butler and Montgomery Counties, with most of the facilities being in Chautauqua, Elk, and Cowley Counties.  We operate on a total of 1740 miles of transmission and distribution line. Power is now purchased through the Kansas Electric Power Cooperative (KEPCo), who relies on power supply resources through the Wolf Creek Nuclear Plant in Burlington, the Southwestern Power Administration (SWPA), and the Western Area Power Administration.

The cooperative currently has 1 part-time and 19 full-time employees.  The cooperative has nine trustees on its Board who make decisions affecting major requirements of the Cooperative.  Members of the Cooperative can contact any of them at any time for information regarding Caney Valley Electric.  They meet on the second Tuesday of each month at the Cooperative's office in Cedar Vale.

   Safety Check...

        If a tree falls into a power line, or you come across a tree that has already fallen, do not under any circumstances attempt to remove it.  Stay clear of the tree and the line, and call Caney Valley as soon as possible.  We'll send out a crew to take care of the problem.

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Last modified: September 10, 2002