Touchstone Energy Cooperatives | Union Rural Electric Cooperative

Touchstone Energy^® Cooperatives is a national network of electric cooperatives across 46 states that provides resources and leverages partnerships to help member cooperatives and their employees better engage and serve their members. By working together, Touchstone Energy cooperatives stand as a source of power and information to their 32 million member-owners every day.

Electric cooperatives were originally established to provide electricity to rural America. Now co-op territories have expanded into suburban and some urban areas of the country, which makes electric co-ops the largest electric utility network in the nation. Despite this growth, your local Touchstone Energy cooperative is owned and operated by the members it serves, giving everyone in your community a democratic voice in how the co-op is run.

Community-friendly values mixed with the cooperative business model are what make electric co-ops strong. As a not-for-profit entity, members know they can trust their electric co-op, because it was created to deliver on the promise of providing safe, reliable and affordable electricity to member-owners – not to generate money for shareholders.

What Makes Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Different?

Touchstone Energy is the national brand identity for the extensive electric cooperative network. All members exemplify high standards of service because they uphold the four core values of integrity, accountability, innovation and commitment to community. Touchstone Energy co-ops simply put members first and always have a local, member-driven, community focused vision.

Across the country, local Touchstone Energy co-ops work to improve members’ quality of life by taking a leadership role in community and economic development projects, forging strong partnerships with business members, as well as generously donating time, energy and resources to their local communities. The Touchstone Energy logo means the cooperative understands the power of human connections and is the power of a national network, working in your neighborhood.

Touchstone Energy Cooperatives are:

Part of the largest electric utility network in the nation
Total more than 700 local systems in 46 states
Serve more than 30.5 million distribution cooperative member-owners
Serve nearly 40 generation and transmission cooperatives

The four Touchstone Energy® Cooperative values of integrity, accountability, innovation and commitment to community are our foundation. These values represent the cooperative difference and why our members trust us to provide reliable and affordable power and service every day.

Integrity Members first. Every day. That’s the power of co-op membership. As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, we deliver energy to our consumer-members at the cost of service, not for the profit of shareholders.

Accountability URE belongs to the members we serve and every member has an equal voice in how the co-op is run. Each decision is made in the best interest of our members and our communities.

Innovation Our cooperative network is always looking forward. Whether exploring renewable energy projects or developing programs to promote energy efficiency, we celebrate innovation at all levels.

Commitment to Community Our cooperative is committed to enhancing the communities we serve. URE’s employees invest time, money and expertise in guiding economic development projects, educating students about electrical safety and leading community events and charities.