Two Virginia electric cooperatives have made the National Cooperative Bank’s 2019 Co-op 100 list, which ranks America’s top 100 cooperatives by revenue.
For the past 30 years, the bank has released the annual NCB Co-op 100, highlighting America’s top 100 cooperatives. In 2019, these member-owned, member-controlled businesses generated revenues of $228 billion. Many of the cooperatives that appear on the list are household names and known throughout the world.
Included on this year’s list are Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, based in Glen Allen, and Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative, based in Manassas.
ODEC ranked 64th with 2019 revenues of $933 million.
“I think the NCB Co-op 100 is a very good highlight in general of the work that all co-ops do across the nation,” says ODEC representative Shena Crittendon.
Crittendon says ODEC has made the NCB Co-op 100 for at least seven years in a row. “It’s likely even longer,” she adds.
NOVEC also made the 2019 list, ranking 97th with 2019 revenues of $577 million.
“NOVEC’s spot on the NCB’s list of largest 100 US cooperatives is a direct result of the growth that NOVEC has experienced in its six-county service territory,” says NOVEC CEO Stan Feuerberg. “Not only have metro-area, well-paying jobs attracted people from all over the U.S., the NOVEC service territory has been the beneficiary of the explosive growth in the computer data center industry. Earning a spot on the Top 100 list reflects that influx of new customers and the associated revenue.”
This is the second year in a row that NOVEC has been included in the Top 100 list.
“As we add more data centers to the system, our ranking is likely to move up the list next year and beyond,” Feuerberg predicts.
The NCB Co-op 100 remains the only annual report of its kind to track the successes of cooperative businesses in the United States. The list is released annually each October, which is National Cooperative Month.
“Cooperatives are unique because they operate for the benefit of their member-owners and communities. Having a vested interest in the co-op fosters a natural closeness and accountability between owners/members and management. We know this is a successful and sustainable business practice, since co-ops have been doing it for 175-plus years,” says Charles E. Snyder, president and CEO of National Cooperative Bank.