Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative is a nonprofit, member-owned electric utility serving 12,900 consumers in 10 northwest Ohio counties, spanning across 1,754 miles of line.

Hancock-Wood was founded in 1938 to provide electricity to the immediate rural area, and expanded into other northwest Ohio counties over the years.  Today, in addition to selling electricity, Hancock-Wood provides other extra services to its members to help them enjoy the benefits of membership in a cooperative, including its successful subsidiary company, Prism Propane.

Hancock-Wood facts:

• First organized:  1938
• Location organized:  North Baltimore, OH (Wood Co.)
• Number of consumers:  12,900
• Miles of line:  1,754
• Miles of underground line:  178
• Padmount transformers:  1,357
• Overhead transformers:  7,380
• Poles:  34,727

• Number of substations:  20
• Counties served:  Allen, Erie, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Wood and Wyandot
• Number of employees:  35

Membership organizations:

• Buckeye Power, Inc. (BPI) - All of Ohio's 24 electric distribution cooperatives serving members get their electricity from BPI.
• Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (OREC) - The Ohio electric cooperatives also formed OREC to provide services more efficiently and economically to all member systems like Hancock-Wood.
• National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) - This service organization is dedicated to representing the national interests of cooperative electric utilities and the consumers they serve.
• Touchstone Energy® - An alliance of consumer-owned electric cooperatives that are dedicated to providing consumers reliable, high-quality service at competitive prices.

Read more:

• The Cooperative Difference: Ohio's Electric Cooperatives (1.4 MB pdf)

Mission statement:

• "To provide premium-quality service, economically priced electricity and other utility services to our members and communities.”