On April 22, 1938, the State of Tennessee granted Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation (CEMC) a charter to construct, maintain and operate a rural electric distribution system. CEMC opened for business on March 3, 1938. Funds were to be borrowed from the REA, which at that time was only three years old.

In December of that year, CEMC purchased rural lines in Montgomery County from the Kentucky-Tennessee Light and Power Company for $90,480. In April of 1939, rural lines in the Gallatin area were secured from the same company, and in August, lines in the Portland district were bought from the Tennessee Light and Power Company. Other purchases included the Springfield area in 1941, followed by Ashland City, Dover and Erin.

Erin and Houston County lines were sold to the Meriwether-Lewis Electric Membership Corporation, leaving CEMC to serve all or part of five counties--Cheatham, Montgomery, Robertson, Stewart and Sumner.

Many people were instrumental in organizing Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation. Of the more active ones, M. C. Northington and W. D. Hudson of Montgomery County and W. C. Jackson of Cheatham County furnished leadership in the early days. Mr. Northington served as Manager of CEMC from 1938 until he retired in 1959. John R. Dolinger served as General Manager from 1959 until 1984. Robert M. Bellamy served as General Manager from 1984 until 1989. Wayne M. Poole served as General Manager from 1989 to 1997. Carl Wilson, current General Manager, was appointed to the position by the Board of Directors in November 1997.

In 1938 there were only 610 members and 100 miles of line compared to a membership of 76,728 and over 7,705 miles of line as of June 30, 2002. By the end of the Cooperative's first year, CEMC was valued at $508,128. Today, the plant value of Cumberland Electric is over $197 million. In the first year of operation 3,562,177 kilowatt hours of electricity were sold to members; during 2002-2003, sales will total over two billion kilowatt hours.

More Information: Electric Cooperatives