About Anza Electric Cooperative
With the help of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who established the Rural Electrification
Administration in 1936, friends and families banded together to create a new kind
of electric utility, where the voice of every person made a difference.
Electric cooperatives brought electric power to the countryside when no one else
would. Electric cooperatives are owned by their members and focus on their member
needs and local priorities.
Anza Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AEC), energized in 1955, is a member of Touchstone
Energy® - the national brand of electric cooperatives - providing power to the communities
of Anza, Garner Valley, Pinyon Pines and parts of Aguanga. AEC provides power to
3900 homes, schools, businesses and 20 irrigation loads.
AEC's service area is 500 square miles of high desert with an elevation at roughly
4,000 feet where winter weather can sometimes be a challenge. Anza is located at
an almost equal distance from Palm Desert, Hemet and Temecula in Riverside County
in Southern California.
Bylaws
Bylaws amended July 2008
Cooperative Principles
- 1st Principle: Voluntary and open membership Cooperatives are voluntary
organizations, open to all people able to use its services and willing to accept
the responsibilities, without gender, social, racial, political, or religious discrimination.
- 2nd Principle: Democratic member control Cooperatives are democratic
organizations controlled by their members, one member-one vote, who actively participate
in setting their policies and making decisions. Men and woman serving as elected
representatives are accountable to the membership.
- 3rd Principle: Member economic participation Members contribute
equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative. At least
part of that capital is usually the common property of the cooperative. Members
allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing the cooperative,
possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting
members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative; and supporting
other activities approved by the membership.
- 4th Principle: Autonomy and independence Cooperatives are autonomous,
self-help organizations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements
with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external
sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and
maintain their cooperative autonomy.
- 5th Principle: Education, training, and information Cooperatives
provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers
and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives.
They inform the general public about the nature and benefits of cooperation.
- 6th Principle: Cooperation among cooperatives Cooperatives serve
their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working
together through local, national, regional, and international structures.
- 7th Principle: Concern for community While focusing on member needs,
cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies
accepted by their members.