Neighbors Powering What Matters

Community Energy: the benefit of Pickwick Electric Cooperative and TVA working together
Community Energy

Community Energy—In Our Region, Power Means More

Pickwick Electric Cooperative is powered by a public power model — owned by and accountable to the people who live here. So the initiatives we invest in through our power model serve one purpose: helping our communities thrive.

Because we support public power, we all benefit from Community Energy. It’s the progress our model enables — like more job opportunities thanks to thriving and growing communities, outdoor recreation made possible by our protected lands, cleaner energy sources, and much more.

A Partnership of Service

Pickwick Electric Cooperative and TVA work together to power not just our homes and businesses, but our potential too — by combining efforts to help create a future we all believe in.

Working Together to Make Life in Our Community Better

Getting Industry Back

Pickwick Electric Cooperative (PEC) and TVA were founded on a mission to serve — through reliable and affordable energy, a safe and protected environment and thriving economic development.

John Bowers, president of Pickwick Electric Cooperative said that many customers in the service area are still challenged with finding jobs, even after the major recession in 2008. That’s why economic development is front and center on the list of PEC’s priorities for the community.

The PEC-TVA partnership has been important in addressing this critical need. “TVA provided loans to our industrial development board that were very helpful,” says Bowers. A key example Bowers cites is the financing TVA provided to help the 2018 expansion of Monogram Refrigeration, LLC, a subsidiary of GE Appliances (GEA), a Haier company. Additional partners in the endeavor included the state of Tennessee, McNairy County, and the Delta Regional Authority. Monogram has been in the city of Selmer in McNairy County since 1986. This expansion allowed the company to double employment, which increased job opportunities for residents in the area.

TVA continues to work with PEC on economic development efforts by providing guidance on how best to use property that the industrial development board owns. PEC also works with TVA to help area industrial customers improve their processes. These services include infrared scans, air leak detection and load management. As Bowers points out, providing reliable, quality power and service is vital to these industrial customers and continuing to build economic opportunities in the community.

Our energy has fueled progress in our region since 1933. See the ways it's helping shape our future.

Explore region-wide

Resources for Your Home, Business and Life

Our partnership makes helpful programs like these possible.

Economic Development

Pickwick Electric Cooperative (PEC) works with TVA Economic Development to attract new companies and bring more jobs to the area and to help existing businesses and industries grow in a sustainable way.

In May 2018, Monogram Refrigeration, LLC, a subsidiary of GE Appliances (GEA), a Haier company, announced a $9.3 million investment to add two new production lines at its Selmer, Tennessee, plant and 210 new jobs, which doubled employment to about 400 employees. The expansion was made possible through a partnership between Monogram, the state of Tennessee, McNairy County, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Delta Regional Authority

Monogram announced in June 2021 that the facility will expand again, adding a fifth production line and another 33 jobs to bring the plant job total to 465.

TVA Economic Development serves the seven states that make up the TVA service area—almost all of Tennessee and parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky. TVA partnerships with other economic development organizations, help to foster capital investment and job growth in the region.

Discover all the resources designed to help you manage your energy use and boost your bottom line.

Economic Development

Education

Pickwick Electric Cooperative (PEC) and TVA work together to support community-wide learning about energy efficiency, meet STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) objectives and provide opportunities to develop skills that can prepare students for careers in technical fields. 

TVA STEM Grants

Teachers in public schools that receive power from a TVA distributor can win STEM grants up to $5,000. In 2022 alone, TVA distributed $1 million, in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated, a TVA retiree organization, and the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network. TVA gives preference to applications covering its primary areas of focus–environment, energy, economic development, and community problem solving.

PEC is proud of 2019 and 2018 TVA STEM grant awardees Adamsville Elementary School, Adamsville High School, McNairy Central High School and Michie Elementary School.

TVA EnergyRight® School Uplift 

Schools enrolled in TVA EnergyRight® School Uplift receive infrastructure upgrades to reduce energy costs and improve the quality of the learning environment. Heating, cooling and lighting improvements are the tip of the iceberg, however as the program’s focus is long-term learning for communities. Students and faculty at chosen schools receive behavior-based strategic energy management (SEM) training and learn easy, actionable energy saving tips and energy efficiency practices.  

TVA EnergyRight Educational Workshops

Eye Spy Energy Kids’ Workshop

TVA EnergyRight and PEC partner to bring Spark, Bolt, Zap and their other EnergyRight Monster friends to elementary schools across the community, teaching students where energy comes from, how we use it and ways to save at home. Students can continue the energy-saving fun with their families using Eye Spy Energy Kits.

EnergyRight® Energy Monsters

TVA and local power companies partner up to bring EnergyRight® Energy Monsters workshops to schools to teach where energy comes from, how we use it and ways to save at home. Students can take home Eye Spy Energy Kits to continue the energy savings fun with their families.

Education

Reliability

PEC partners with TVA to provide safe, reliable, clean power to service area members.

TVA supplies community energy to 153 local power companies and about 60 large industrial customers and federal facilities at the lowest feasible cost. Over half of the electricity generated by TVA comes from carbon-free resources. TVA’s diverse energy portfolio includes coal, gas, nuclear and hydroelectric plants as well as renewable resources. For over 20 years, TVA’s transmission system has achieved a reliability rate of 99.999 percent.

Reliability

Residential

PEC partners with TVA to help customers make smart energy decisions and save money through TVA EnergyRight.

Our partnership with TVA EnergyRight offers you resources to help with your home’s energy needs. From DIY energy-saving advice to finding a local contractor you can trust, TVA EnergyRight resources can help you improve your home’s energy efficiency and save money on your power bill.

As of August 2021, 36 customers in the PEC service area had participated that year in TVA EnergyRight programs.

Community Energy - Residential