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Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative (HWE) is a nonprofit, member-owned electric utility serving 12,700 consumers in 10 northwest Ohio counties, spanning across 1,754 miles of line.

HWE was founded in 1938 to provide electricity to our immediate rural area, and expanded into other northwest Ohio counties over the years.  Today, in addition to selling electricity, HWE 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.

HWE facts:

• First organized:  1938
• Location organized:  North Baltimore, OH (Wood Co.)
• Number of consumers:  12,700
• 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 HWE.
• 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.”