Electric cooperatives were first formed in the 1930s when it became evident that established power companies were not ready to supply power to people living in rural America. The federal government established the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) to lend money for the construction of power lines outside population centers. Farmers and other rural residents formed cooperatives to borrow money from the REA and construct the needed lines.
YEC was founded in 1941 by a group of farmers and businessmen who realized that the only way to bring electric power to rural York County was to do it themselves. In March of 1941, 553 strong, these citizens began an endeavor that would change rural living in this area forever.
YEC's capacity to supply dependable and affordable electric power also opened our rural areas to commerce and industry. New and diversified businesses came to the countryside, providing jobs, products, and services.
Since 1941, YEC has been an active community partner and a dynamic force in the area's economic development. We continue to serve the homes, farms, and small businesses in our rural areas, but we now also serve a growing number of residential, commercial, and large industrial accounts in York County's expanding population centers.
York Electric's service territory continues to be one of the fastest-growing areas in the United States.