News & Events

Imagine a life without daily access to electricity. Tasks we take for granted—brewing coffee, enjoying a hot shower, washing clothes, maintaining a comfortable home, preserving food, cooking meals, or simply lighting a room—would become incredibly difficult or even impossible without reliable electric service.

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This was a reality in rural America until electric cooperatives began forming in the 1930s and 1940s, bringing power to communities that had been left in the dark while cities thrived with the conveniences of electricity. Today, most of us are generations removed from those days, but for 14 linemen from electric cooperatives in Iowa and Minnesota, the experience of transforming lives through rural electrification became very real.

 

Recently, 14 linemen from electric cooperatives in Iowa and Minnesota traveled to Las Peñas, a remote village in Guatemala, to bring electricity for the first time. Partnering through their statewide associations and NRECA International, the team worked together to build a brighter future for the villagers. NRECA International, affiliated with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, has been coordinating efforts like this since 1962, empowering over 220 million people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America through electrification projects.

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Before the linemen arrived, there were no power lines serving the village. The local municipal utility set poles for the team, and they immediately got to work stringing 3.5 miles of primary wire by hand—without the benefit of modern equipment like bucket trucks. Rain was a constant challenge, making the team appreciate the maintained roads back home. Hunter Venz of Prairie Energy Cooperative in Clarion reflected on the difficulty: “The biggest challenge would be praying for no rain. If it rains, you will not get to the village without walking... and who knows where you would have to park. The road is only built for tractor, horse, mules... it was built 3 weeks before we got here.”

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Electricity provides access to safer cooking and lighting, easier chores, safer food and water, a higher quality education, better healthcare, and more. By participating in these international electrification projects, we connect even more deeply with our cooperative mission of powering lives and empowering communities.

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Join us at the Annual Meeting to hear the full account of the crew’s experience and their appreciation for the opportunity to make a difference in Las Peñas. Through their efforts, they were not just building power lines—they were helping to light up a future full of new possibilities for an entire community.