Bill Text: TX HR2163 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Honoring Pedernales Electric Cooperative on the 85th anniversary of its incorporation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-05-25 - Reported enrolled [HR2163 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HR2163-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 2163 | ||
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| WHEREAS, Pedernales Electric Cooperative, the largest | ||
| electric cooperative in the United States, is marking the 85th | ||
| anniversary of its incorporation in 2023; and | ||
| WHEREAS, PEC traces its origins to 1935, when the Rural | ||
| Electrification Administration was established by the federal | ||
| government with the purpose of expanding electrical service to | ||
| rural areas; at the time, rural electrification was a prominent | ||
| issue in Texas, where only 2.3 percent of farms had power, and after | ||
| promising to make it a priority for his constituents in the 10th | ||
| Congressional District, then-Congressman Lyndon Baines Johnson | ||
| joined with local rancher E. Babe Smith and began discussions with | ||
| farmers, ranchers, and business leaders about electrifying the Hill | ||
| Country; and | ||
| WHEREAS, On May 8, 1938, Pedernales Electric Cooperative, | ||
| Inc., was formed, and on May 19, Congressman Johnson and | ||
| representatives from Blanco, Burnet, Gillespie, Hays, and Llano | ||
| Counties met in Austin to sign an official document incorporating | ||
| PEC; on September 27 of that year, the Rural Electrification | ||
| Administration granted PEC a loan of over $1.3 million to construct | ||
| around 1,800 miles of line, the single largest allotment ever made | ||
| by the administration; and | ||
| WHEREAS, On October 27, 1939, the 1,800 miles of transmission | ||
| line energized through a substation in Bertram, bringing electrical | ||
| service to the cooperative's first 422 customers in Burnet County; | ||
| initially, some 3,300 families signed up for the service, and in | ||
| 1947, PEC was declared to be the largest cooperative in the world; | ||
| and | ||
| WHEREAS, Today, PEC's service territory spans 8,100 square | ||
| miles and more than 387,000 connected meters, an area nearly the | ||
| size of the state of New Jersey; the cooperative is owned and | ||
| governed by the members it serves, and it benefits from the | ||
| leadership of an elected board of directors as well as an executive | ||
| team, which is responsible for managing PEC's day-to-day operations | ||
| and overseeing its more than 800 employees; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Pedernales Electric Cooperative has played an | ||
| essential role in the lives of thousands of Hill Country residents | ||
| over the past 85 years, and this noteworthy milestone offers a | ||
| fitting opportunity to recognize the leaders and members of the | ||
| organization who have been instrumental to its success; now, | ||
| therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby honor Pedernales Electric Cooperative on the | ||
| 85th anniversary of its incorporation and extend to all those | ||
| associated with its operations sincere gratitude for their work to | ||
| "keep the lights on" across Central Texas; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
| prepared for PEC as an expression of high regard by the Texas House | ||
| of Representatives. | ||
| Zwiener | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 2163 was adopted by the House on May | ||
| 25, 2023, by a non-record vote. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
