By the turn of the century, electricity had become the driving force for prosperity and was available in every major city. In 1920, the Alabama Power Company extended lines to Greenville and provided service, but that was as far as they came; there was no profit in serving sparsely populated rural areas.

By the 1930s there was still no electricity in the countryside. Because they had electricity, cities and towns were able to pull themselves out the Great Depression, but on the farms times were hard and life seemed destined to go on as it had for generations. By late 1938, line crews from the Butler County Electric Membership Corporation (the predecessor of Pioneer Electric Cooperative) were setting poles, stringing wire and installing transformers along county roads in Butler, Dallas, Lowndes and Wilcox counties. During the following spring, the Cooperative energized the first 81 miles of line, and farm families shared an unforgettable experience as light bulbs began turning on across the area.

At Pioneer, members are at the top of the organizational chart because they are the owners. Each person receiving electric service is a member, and they elect the Board of Trustees. Nine trustees each represent a district. The board sets the co-op's policies and rates and hires the president/chief executive officer, who reports to and is directly responsible to the board. Terry Moseley is the current Executive Vice President/General Manager.

Annual membership meetings are held each October. At this meeting, members hear reports on the co-op and elect trustees. Members who cannot attend in person are still able to participate in the business of the cooperative by mail-in ballot, which are distributed the month prior to annual meeting by mail.

The cooperative’s service area covers south central Alabama and include most of the rural areas of Butler, Lowndes, Dallas and Wilcox counties. The service area also extends into five other counties, including parts of Autauga, Crenshaw, Covington, Conecuh and Monroe counties. We currently serve approximately 12,800 electric services in the entire Pioneer service area.

Pioneer’s mission is to safely deliver reliable service, in a timely and courteous manner, at the lowest possible cost to our members. Pioneer strives to uphold this mission by securing an affordable supply of energy for its members and delivering it over a well-maintained distribution system, charging each member only their fair share of what it costs the cooperative to provide electric service to the members' homes or businesses. 

While working on long-term objectives, cooperative employees aspire to be courteous, friendly and efficient in their daily service to members and in completing their work responsibilities.