Wake Electric Announces 50,000-meter Milestone

This year, Wake Electric will celebrate the installation of 50,000 electric meters, a major milestone for the nonprofit electric cooperative founded in 1940. While much of the co-op’s service territory is still rural, it now also serves some of the fastest growing communities in North Carolina.

“This achievement highlights a period of sustained growth for our co-op that began in the early 2000s and continued even through a historic pandemic. It is truly an accomplishment to reach this meter milestone,” said Jim Mangum, general manager & CEO of Wake Electric.

Wake Electric remains the fastest growing of the 26 electric cooperatives in North Carolina. Last year, during the co-op’s largest growth year, the cooperative gained approximately 2,145 new meters. Much of this growth is due to the expansion of Raleigh and its suburbs, and is focused near previously small towns like Wake Forest, Rolesville and Knightdale. As the cities and towns have expanded geographically, now more than 17,000 (more than 34 percent) of Wake Electric’s members live \ inside city or town limits.

“If the past is an indicator of the future, we will have the opportunity to keep growing. The test for Wake Electric will be our ability to continue to control costs and harness new technologies like energy storage, renewable energy and electric vehicles to meet the challenges associated with rapid growth,” Mangum said.

The cooperative has already experienced record growth again this year, and by the end of 2021 the coop will likely provide electrical service to more than 51,000 meters. Wake Electric is proud of this milestone and excited to power a growing number of homes in our communities while continuing to work hard to provide members with affordable, sustainable and reliable power.