Volunteer Energy Cooperative

With more than 70 years of service under its belt, Volunteer Energy Cooperative is a member-owned electric utility. It serves more than 100,000 consumers in portions of 17 counties in central and eastern Tennessee. Its other services include surge protection, Internet services, heat pump financing and long distance phone service. Volunteer Energy Cooperative was founded in the 1930s by Willis Shadow, a University of Tennessee agricultural extension agent. It has headquarters in Decatur, Tenn., and branch offices in Byrdstown, Jamestown, Monterey, Crossville, Spring City, Georgetown, Cleveland and Benton. The cooperative also operates a subsidiary, VolFirst.net, which offers Internet services to businesses and residences throughout Volunteer Energy Cooperative s service area.