When seven Butler County, Alabama men, some farmers, some business men, and two doctors, got together in December of 1937 to form the Butler County Electric Membership Corporation, they probably had no idea that electricity would become an indispensible commodity powering appliances, gadgets and gizmos from water heaters, stoves and heat pumps to HD Television sets featuring surround-sound with DVD players and Play Stations attached.

From its humble beginnings, Pioneer Electric Cooperative, Inc. has grown to cover the rural areas of four South Central Alabama counties, serving over 10,000 members who have more than 13,000 meters. Pioneer has offices in Greenville and in Sardis (outside of Selma) and its 52 employees service over 2,700 miles of power lines that distribute over 200 million kilowatt hours a year.