My Co-Op
About Coast Electric
Our Mission
We exist to safely provide our member-owners superior service and dependable electricity at the lowest possible price, and to improve the economy and quality of life in our community.
Our Vision
Coast Electric will be the best electric cooperative in the country. We will be valued and respected for providing superior service to our members at a competitive price, for improving the quality of life of our members, and making our community a better place to live and for developing our employees into a workforce envied by other organizations.
Our Values
Our foundation, like rural electrification itself, is people. We value the people we employ, the members we serve and the community in which we live. We have been and will continue to be a caring, family-oriented organization working together for the common good of all, ensuring respect, integrity, fairness and honesty in our dealings. We value the trust that our members have placed in us to operate and manage their electric cooperative. We are an environmentally-responsible community partner, and we work hard to provide a safe and healthy work environment for our employees.
Our History
| 1935 | President Roosevelt created the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) in May 1935, recognizing the need for government involvement in electrifying rural America. |
| 1937 | Hancock Electric organizes to electrify rural Hancock County. Meanwhile Gulf Coast Electric is busy signing up members in Harrison County. |
| 1938 | General Manager Vickers resigns. C. Clifton Ferrell named his replacement. |
| 1939 | A merger is completed creating CEPA. The co-op serves rural members residing in Hancock, Harrison and Pearl River Counties. |
| 1948 | General Manager Ferrell resigns after leading the Association for 10 years. Hardin Shattuck named new General Manager. |
| 1949 | First three-phase service is set in Picayune to WRJW Radio Station. |
| 1950 | November 4 – Dedication of new headquarters building on Hwy 90 in Bay St. Louis. The modern building houses the co-op’s administration offices, billing and engineering departments. Coast Electric serves over 4,800 members. |
| 1952 | Electricity for the entire system was obtained at Picayune; Landon was second; then Derby, then Bay St. Louis and finally North Biloxi. |
| 1957 | Total number of members – 6,963 |
| 1958 | Major chain grocery store comes online in Bay St. Louis. |
| 1961 | December 4 – First refund of capital credits totaling over $70,000 to 3,125 members receiving service 1944, 45, 46. |
| 1964 | Celebration of Coast Electric’s 25th Anniversary. Average monthly bill: $10.60. Average cost per kwh: .0250. |
| 1969 | Hurricane Camille devastates distribution system. |
| 1971 | Dedication of new headquarters building located on Hwy 90. |
| 1973 | Henry Thomas named General Manager. Coast Electric recognized for 364,309 consecutive man hours worked with no lost time accidents. |
| 1978 | Coast Electric changed electric bills to postcard form to reduce costs. |
| 1984 | Began offering electronic funds transfer. Coast Electric maintained 83 company vehicles. |
| 1985 | Picayune branch opens drive-thru. |
| 1986 | Robert Occhi was appointed General Manager. |
| 1987 | Opened Poplarville office. Began participating in NRECA Youth Tour. |
| 1989 | Coast Electric members received $438,000 in capital credits. |
| 1990 | Began Good Cents energy efficiency program. |
| 1991 | North Hwy 49 Gulfport office grand opening. |
| 1993 | The Association converted from yellow to white vehicles. |
| 1994 | Coast Electric named Business of the Year. |
| 1996 | Coast Electric vehicles traveled over 2.2 million miles. |
| 1998 | Coast Electric forms Advisory Committee of nine member-owners. |
| 1998 | Hurricane Georges’ damaging winds caused 95% of Coast Electric’s 58,000 members to lose power. |
| 1999 | SCADA system put into place. |
| 2000 | Summary billing was introduced. |
| 2001 | GIS system was installed. |
| 2002 | Groundbreaking at Bernard A. Mutter, III Operations Center |
| 2003 | Coast Electric joins the national brand alliance, Touchstone Energy |
| 2005 | On Aug. 29, Hurricane Katrina devastates the Mississippi Gulf Coast and 100 percent of Coast Electric’s members are left without power. Coast Electric employees, along with more than 3,200 crew members from 19 states work to restore power to all members in only three short weeks after the nation’s most devastating natural disaster. |
| 2006 | Coast Electric is recognized by the Mississippi Business Journal as one of the Best Places to Work in Mississippi. |
| 2006 | Coast Electric sells its headquarters facility to the city of Bay St. Louis. The cooperative moves its headquarters to the Bernard Mutter, III Operations Center in Kiln, Miss. |
| 2007 | Coast Electric is once again named one of the Best Places to Work in Mississippi by the Mississippi Business Journal. It is the cooperative’s second consecutive year to win the award. |
| 2007 | Coast Electric announces capital credit retirement of $1,504,915 with over 35,000 checks mailed to members. |
| 2008 | Coast Electric is named one of the Best Places to Work in Mississippi by the Mississippi Business Journal for an unprecedented third consecutive year. |
| 2008 | Coast Electric announces capital credit retirement of $1,999,502 with over 42,000 checks mailed to members. |
| 2008 | Coast Electric completes new full-service office in Bay St. Louis in August 2008. |
| 2008 | Coast Electric joins national political grassroots effort “Our Energy, Our Future”. |
| 2009 | Coast Electric breaks ground on its new headquarters in Kiln, MS. |
| 2009 | Coast Electric is again named one of the Best Places to Work in Mississippi by the Mississippi Business Journal. |
| 2009 | Coast Electric announces capital credit retirement of $2,164,241 with over 45,000 checks mailed to members. |
| 2009 | Coast Electric announces new Time of Use rate options. |
| 2010 | Coast Electric begins conversion to automatic metering infrastructure (AMI). |
| 2010 | Coast Electric sets all-time peak of 510 MW on January 11. |
| 2010 | On May 5, 2010, Coast Electric surpasses 1 million member dollars saved through pharmacy portion of Co-op Connections program. |
| 2010 | Coast Electric announces capital credit retirement of $2,505,243 with over 52,000 checks mailed to members. |
| 2010 | Coast Electric announces the removal of the Katrina Cost Recovery Fee of $3.00 per account. |
| 2011 | Coast Electric officially opens Kiln Headquarters Facility on June 13. |
| 2011 | Coast Electric employees reach a milestone of one million man-hours worked without a lost time accident |
| 2011 | Coast Electric announces capital credit retirement of $2,801,621 with over 57,000 checks mailed to current and former members. |
| 2012 | Coast Electric kicks off year-long 75th anniversary celebration. |
| 2012 | Coast Electric completes installation of automated meter infrastructure system (AMI). |
| 2012 | Coast Electric launches smartphone app on Apple and Android devices. |
| 2012 | Coast Electric introduces meter data management system allowing members to securely view their usage data over the internet. |
| 2012 | On June 5, 2012, Coast Electric surpasses 2 million member dollars saved through pharmacy portion of Co-op Connections program. |
| 2012 | Coast Electric completes renovation of Poplarville branch office. |
| 2012 | Coast Electric wins “Best Places to Work” in MS for the sixth year. |
| 2013 | Coast Electric introduces PrePay Metering. |
| 2013 | Coast Electric retires $3,001,619 in capital credits. The largest retirement in company history. |
| 2014 | Coast Electric sets a new all-time peak of 527 MW on January 7. |
| 2014 | Coast Electric achieves a score of 88 on the American Customer Satisfaction Index. |
| 2017 | Robert Occhi retires as President and CEO after leading the Association for 31 years. Ron Barnes named President and CEO. |
| 2018 | CEPA sets a new all-time peak of 552 MW on Jan. 7 |
| 2019 | CEPA announces first round of Operation Round Up grants of $71,800 in April. |
| 2019 | The Sun Herald names Coast Electric Best Utility as part of the Sun Herald’s People’s Choice Awards for the second consecutive year. |
| 2019 | Our member publication, Today in Mississippi, changes its format and prints the first issue as a magazine. |