Our Cooperative
Cotton Electric Cooperative was organized in 1938 to bring electricity to rural communities at a time when other utilities did not consider it economically feasible. More than 80 years later, the cooperative continues to provide safe, reliable, and affordable electric service to over 23,000 meters across eight counties in southwest Oklahoma while adapting to meet the changing needs of the members it serves.
Want to learn more about how we got started? Visit our History page to explore the cooperative's journey from rural electrification to today.
Member Owned. Member Focused.
Unlike investor-owned utilities, Cotton Electric is a not-for-profit, member-owned cooperative. Every member is more than just a customer—they are an owner of the cooperative. Members have the opportunity to participate in district and annual meetings, vote for their board of trustees, and have a voice in the decisions that help shape the cooperative's future.
As a cooperative, we're guided by seven cooperative principles that put our members and communities first. These principles influence everything from local decision-making and community involvement to our commitment to providing reliable, affordable electric service. As the cooperative operates successfully over time, margins are returned to members as capital credits.
Learn more about what makes cooperatives unique by visiting our Cooperative Principles page.
Here When You Need Us
Providing exceptional member service is at the heart of everything we do. Our team is available during regular business hours to assist with billing questions, account services, and energy-related needs. Members also have 24/7 access to their accounts through SmartHub, where they can pay bills, monitor energy use, report outages, and manage account preferences anytime, anywhere. After hours, a dispatcher is always on duty to respond to outages and other electric service issues.
Learn more about your member benefits by visiting our Member Resources page.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Meet Your Board of Trustees
Cotton Electric Cooperative is governed by a board of trustees elected by the membership. Representing nine districts across our service area, the board provides local leadership and oversight while ensuring the cooperative remains focused on serving the best interests of its members.
Meet the trustees who represent your district by visiting our Board of Trustees page.
Cooperative Partners
About CESI
Cotton Electric Services, Inc. (CESI). is a subsidiary of Cotton Electric Cooperative in Walters, Oklahoma. Established in 1985, CESI is a state-of-the-art high voltage test laboratory that provides commercial testing and sells high voltage safety equipment to companies all across the United States. CESI is an active member of ASTM F18 Electrical Protective Equipment and is also a NAIL for PET certified laboratory. Our commitment to safety ensures that you can rely on CESI for all of your testing needs.
About Touchstone Energy
Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives is a national network of electric cooperatives across 46 states that provides resources and leverages partnerships to help member cooperatives better engage and serve their members. By working together, Touchstone Energy cooperatives stand as a source of power and information to their 32 million member-owners every day.
Your local Touchstone Energy cooperative is owned and operated by the members it serves, giving everyone in your community a democratic voice in how the co-op is run. As a not-for-profit entity, members know they can trust their electric co-op, because it was created to deliver on the promise of providing safe, reliable and affordable electricity to member-owners.
Touchstone Energy is the national brand identity for the extensive electric cooperative network. All members exemplify high standards of service because they uphold the four core values of integrity, accountability, innovation and commitment to community. Touchstone Energy co-ops simply put members first and always have a local, member-driven, community focused vision.
About Western Farmers Electric Cooperative
Western Farmers Electric Cooperative (WFEC) is a generation and transmission cooperative that provides essential electric service to 21 member cooperatives, including Cotton Electric Cooperative, Altus Air Force Base, and other power users.
Your cooperative works closely with WFEC, our local wholesale power provider, to secure enough electricity for our communities, using a diverse mix of energy sources to generate the power we deliver to your home or business. By maintaining a diverse energy mix of coal, natural gas, wind, solar and hydropower, your cooperative has options to ensure reliable power at a competitive cost. Throughout this process, WFEC’s mission to deliver safe, reliable and competitively priced wholesale energy to members remains its primary focus.
About Southwest Power Pool
The Southwest Power Pool (SPP) is a regional transmission organization mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to ensure reliable supplies of power, adequate transmission infrastructure and competitive wholesale electricity prices on behalf of its members. SPP acts as a balancing authority for a 14-state region, including Oklahoma, meaning they balance electricity production and use for the entire area they are mandated to oversee. SPP ensures there is sufficient generation to meet the demand for electricity.
Our wholesale power provider WFEC is a member of the SPP. SPP communicates requirements to WFEC, who in turn supplies power and emergency response communications to Cotton Electric Cooperative.