Roanoke Electric Cooperative announced today a rebranding to become Roanoke Cooperative. The new name demonstrates that the co-op offers much more than electricity to member-owners.
“Since our inception in 1938, our dedication has been to enrich the lives of our members by providing the highest quality products and services,” said Marshall Cherry, president and chief executive officer. “While continuing to provide reliable, cost-efficient electrical service, shortening our new name is our way of informing the public that we are more than just an electric provider. We have significantly expanded our offerings and will continue to do so to meet the ever-changing needs of those we serve.”
Roanoke Cooperative’s new mission is to pursue innovation and offer the “finest, most-reliable, and cost-efficient services in the industry,” the company said. “The co-op will serve member-owners tirelessly and enhance their lives and communities. The supporting vision statement is that the co-op will commit to being one of our member-owners' most trusted service providers and most admired by its peers. “
For years, Roanoke Cooperative expanded services to keep pace with changing times:
In 2016, the cooperative launched a telecommunications company to bring its member-owners high-speed Internet access.
In 2020, following pilots of other technologies, the cooperative’s broadband subsidiary committed to deploying a world-class network by delivering fiber connectivity to all member-owners.
Roanoke Cooperative established the Sustainable Forestry and Land Retention Project to increase the income and asset value of family-owned forestland and encourage forest health, land retention and the opportunity to create intergenerational wealth.
The cooperative operates the Roanoke Center to provide members with flexible office space, a physical place to meet, and access to technology-based community development solutions.
The cooperative manages a solar operation and maintenance business to maintain reliability for many of the utility-scale solar projects located throughout the state.
Other programs and initiatives from Roanoke Cooperative include behind the meter data management, electric vehicle home charging, heat pump and weatherization installations, residential solar programs, smart thermostats, water heater control installations, and much more.
The cooperative’s current Vision 2025 includes work to add more publicly accessible, fast electric vehicle chargers, support school systems in adding more electric school buses to their fleets, launch solar-plus battery and battery storage projects system-wide, and engage agricultural consumers to electrify more of their applied use of energy.
“Although 2025 is the year currently scheduled to complete building fiber to all member-owners, 2023 is set to be a banner year,” Cherry explained. “Many member-owners will experience life with the same level of connectivity as their friends and family members in urban areas.”
Cherry said for Roanoke Cooperative, investing in a service as essential as broadband brings the co-op model full circle – just as the cooperatives made sure rural Americans had access to electricity in the 1930s, a cost-effective broadband offering empowers a marginalized part of the American population.
Cherry also feels the new logo and the new motto – Today, Tomorrow, Together – are clear representations of the company’s legacy as it evolves into a future that inspires more innovation in serving its member-owners.
The new identity will be launched through a variety of communications over the next few months.
