Why join the Associated team?

CEO and General Manager David Tudor

Associated Electric Cooperative is a member-owned cooperative, so its owners and customers are one and the same. That simplicity drives our governance, focus, financial stability – just about every aspect of our business – and requires a workforce that is engaged, skilled and committed to meeting our mission every day.

"As an energy cooperative owned by the members it serves, Associated relies on its dedicated and talented employees to efficiently operate its generation and transmission assets and deliver affordable and reliable electricity," added David Tudor, CEO and general manager of Associated.

Associated's owners are the six generation and transmission cooperatives, or G&Ts, that formed it in 1961 with this mission: Provide an economical and reliable power supply and support services to its members.

To meet our mission, we successfully operate a mix of generation and high-voltage transmission assets, including two large coal plants where much of our workforce is located, combined-cycle natural gas plants, peaking gas plants, contracted hydropower, wind energy and our energy efficiency and economic development programs.

Every employee plays a part in meeting that mission, and Associated provides challenging work, development, training, competitive compensation and benefits, positive work atmosphere and opportunities to grow and develop your career in a stable, yet changing industry.

Yet, we're always looking to improve. We regularly conduct employee engagement surveys, and our executive team studies survey results and initiates a process led by employees in their divisions who develop solutions to make our workplace even better. 

Being different is better for our members

In contrast to member-owned cooperatives, investor-owned utilities, called IOUs, are owned by shareholders. The utility answers to those shareholders on profits and operations. Municipal utilities are owned by the cities they serve, but their customers are not directly involved in the governance of the utility.

Electric cooperatives are different. As private, independent electric utilities, co-ops are democratically governed businesses organized under seven cooperative principles. This makes it easier for co-ops to put customers first, because the customers are the owners.

Associated is guided by cooperative principles that reflect the best interests of members: voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, members' economic participation, autonomy and independence, education, training and information, cooperation among cooperatives and concern for community.

Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions.

Go to the about section of our website to learn more about our three-tiered structure, governance and leadership.