Richland Electric Cooperative is an electric distribution cooperative

Utility cooperative

A utility cooperative is a type of cooperative that is tasked with the delivery of a public utility such as electricity, water or telecommunications to its members...

 located in Richland Center

Richland Center, Wisconsin

Richland Center is a city in Richland County, Wisconsin, United States, which also serves as the county seat. The population was 5,184 at the 2010 census.-History:Richland Center was founded in 1851 by Ira Sherwin Hazeltine, a native of Andover, Vermont...

, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

. Richland Electric Cooperative serves approximately 3500 members with electric

Electricity

Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...

 service throughout Richland County, Wisconsin and parts of Sauk

Sauk County, Wisconsin

Sauk County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 55,225. Its county seat and largest city is Baraboo. Sauk County is included in the Baraboo Micropolitan Statistical Area and in the Madison Combined Statistical Area....

, Vernon

Vernon County, Wisconsin

Vernon County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2009, the population estimate was 29,324. Its county seat is Viroqua.-History:...

, and Crawford counties as well.

The cooperative was formed on January 8, 1936 as the Richland Cooperative Electric Association as the result of the Rural Electrification Administration order issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

in 1935. It was the first electricity cooperative in the state. The co-op first provided electricity was on May 7, 1937. The farmhouse had been wired for electricity when it was built in the 1917, but had no power grid with which to connect.