October 25, 2008
News Contact: Rick Moore, Hoosier Energy (812) 876-0282
Hoosier Energy again in Co-op 100 list
Hoosier Energy's 2007 revenues of $513 million ranked the power supplier 88th on the annual Co-op 100 list compiled by the National Consumer Cooperative Bank.
Released during National Cooperative Month in October, the Co-op 100 is intended to spotlight the economic impact that the nation's cooperatives have. The list includes the top revenue generating cooperatives in America in agriculture, finance, energy and communications, hardware and lumber, health care, recreation, media, food service distribution and grocery.
Sixteen electric cooperatives are in the Co-op 100 this year. Four Indiana cooperatives are on the list including Hoosier Energy, Wabash Valley Power Association, hard and lumber co-op Do It Best Corporation, and agriculture co-op Countrymark Cooperative.
Beginning in 2006, the U.S. Department of agriculture has been funding research at the University of Wisconsin to measure the national economic impact of all types of cooperatives. Some findings from that research include:
- Total assets of U.S. cooperatives total more than $1 trillion.
- U.S. cooperatives generate nearly $250 billion in annual revenue; when you include indirect and induced effects, co-ops support the generation of more than $500 billion in annual revenue.
- Cooperatives employ nearly 500,000 people in the U.S. and support more than 1.2 million jobs.
- There are more than 30,000 U.S. cooperatives that account for more than 45,000 places of business.
For more on the Co-op 100, see www.ncb.coop.