Benton Rural Electric Association

History

The Benton Rural Electric Association was incorporated on April 19, 1937, to serve the rural areas of Benton and adjacent counties. Armed with a $45,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture loan through the Rural Electrification Association for planning and construction, the cooperative completed 43 miles of line. Benton REA first flipped the switch in May of 1938, lighting 89 rural farms in Benton and Yakima Counties. Finally, local farmers could retire their kerosene lamps and step into the modern age. Benton REA is the oldest operating consumer-owned utility serving Benton and Yakima Counties. The cooperative continued to steadily expand, fulfilling its mission to bring electrical service to rural areas. Today, Benton REA provides electric service to more than 15,000 accounts over 1,701 miles of line from West Richland to the top of White Pass, and from Hanford to the Columbia River.

Specialties

Benton Rural Electric Association is a not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperative. Founded in 1937, Benton REA currently serves more than 10,000 members in portions of Benton, Yakima and Lewis counties in Washington state. Benton REA is organized into eight districts. Each district is represented by a Benton REA member elected by the members to serve on the Benton REA Board of Trustees for a term of three years. Since we are a not-for-profit cooperative owned by our members, any margins above operating costs belong to our members. Those net margins are annually allocated to the members as capital credits and returned to the members at the discretion of the Board of Trustees.