Red River Valley REA, headquartered in Marietta, Oklahoma, was organized in 1936, a time when ninety percent of rural America was without the basic necessities of refrigeration, communication and adequate heating and lighting. Out of a desire for these essentials and the many conveniences afforded by central station power, concerned leaders - farmers, merchants and ranchers - enlisted the support of neighbors to form a self-owned electric corporation. Through community meetings and the help of tireless volunteers, prospective members were signed up with each paying a $5 fee. Despite the scarcity of money, interested residents were generally eager to invest the equivalent of one or even two day’s pay for the opportunity of a brighter future.

After borrowing $l61,000 in construction funds, the newly formed co-op built and energized its first electric lines in 1938. Since connecting its original 150 members, spread over 160 miles of line, the Co-op, now, supplies electricity to more than 13,000 meters scattered over 2,500 miles of line. Presently, the Co-op’s assets are valued in excess of $33 million.

A nine-member Board of Trustees governs the Co-op; each is elected to a three-year term. Three trustee positions, representing three geographic areas, are voted on at annual membership meetings.

Sixteen substations and interconnects supply a variety of Co-op consumers across a five-county service area. The spectrum of customers includes oil field accounts ranging in size from 1 hp to 6,000 hp and commercial accounts from small retailers to large manufacturing and distribution facilities. Among those growing most rapidly, in terms of electrical load, are the area’s resort and entertainment industries. The Co-op’s base load is largely comprised of rural farms and ranches, schools, churches and health care providers, and a number of retirement and recreational communities such as the total-electric resorts of Falconhead, west of Marietta, and Lake Texoma Lodge, east of Kingston.

From the lodge, the Co-op’s territory stretches south and west along miles of Oklahoma lakeshore and still, farther west, along the Red River to a point approximately ten miles east of Ryan, Oklahoma. At their northern limits, Co-op lines extend to the Arbuckle Mountains near the Ardmore Industrial Airpark.

Through innovative and responsible management, Red River Valley REA has developed into a progressive utility with diverse service potential. After seven decades, however, one thing is unchanged - the Co-op’s mission to provide reliable, affordable electric service to each of its member-owners.