History
In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) by executive order to bring electricity to rural communities through the formation of electric cooperatives. In 1937, the REA drafted the Electric Cooperative Corporation Act, a law permitting states to create and operate not-for-profit, member-owned distribution electric cooperatives. The same year, Florida’s first distribution electric cooperatives were formed.
In 1948, Seminole Electric Cooperative was incorporated to give the Member distribution cooperatives buying power by aggregating their demand for electricity. Until the mid-1970s, Seminole remained a “paper G&T.”
However, the 1973 oil crisis prompted a decision by the Seminole Board to build its own coal-fired power plant – the Seminole Generating Station in Palatka, FL. The Seminole Generating Station came online in 1984.
Today, Seminole is one of the largest G&Ts in the country. Its purpose is to provide essential wholesale services to nine Member distribution electric cooperatives.
Approximately two million people and businesses in forty-two Florida counties rely on electricity provided by Seminole through Member distribution cooperatives.
Seminole’s primary resources include the Seminole Generating Station (SGS), the Seminole Combined Cycle Facility (SCCF), the Richard J. Midulla Generating Station (MGS), and Seminole’s “Cooperative Solar” facility. Seminole also owns and maintains more than 350 miles of transmission line.
