About CoServ

Make no mistake—this business isn’t like other gas utilities. CoServ Gas was established in 1998, so our infrastructure is more modern than most companies in this industry.

We also empathize with the strain that high energy costs can put on your budget. That’s why we secure the most competitive gas prices available from multiple sources. And, because we don’t mark up the cost of natural gas, we pass these savings directly to you.

Why Natural Gas

It supplies nearly one-fourth of all energy used in the United States. Take a look at why natural gas is so popular—and how you benefit from using it:

1. It’s efficient. Out of all fossil fuels, natural gas is No. 1 in efficiency. That means less waste and lower utility bills for you.
2. It’s clean. Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel, making it the friendliest to our environment.
3. It’s safe. Today’s modern pipelines are so secure that even the Pentagon, the White House and the Capitol building depend on natural gas for heat. Together, utility and pipeline companies invest nearly $7 billion per year ensuring that we deliver your gas safely.
4. It’s reliable. Regardless of the weather, you can count on natural gas to heat your home, warm your water, run your clothes dryer or fire up your grill.

Source: American Gas Association

If you’ve never been part of an electric cooperative before, welcome to the co-op!

We operate differently than most utilities, especially if you are used to the deregulated electric market (retail electric providers). One of the benefits to being a CoServ Member and part of a Cooperative, is that we are not run by shareholders, and our responsibility is to you, our Members.

“We believe the cooperative business model is still the most reliable and affordable method to deliver electricity and, when you consider the Academic Initiatives, the CoServ Charitable Foundation and the Employee volunteer efforts, we are actually much more than just an energy company,” said Donnie Clary, CoServ President and CEO.

In the 1930s, the for-profit utilities wouldn’t run electric lines out to rural areas because they couldn’t justify the cost to their shareholders. As a result, many Texas farmers and ranchers lived without the modern conveniences of electricity that city residents enjoyed.

A new business model was needed.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Rural Electrification Association in 1935, which led to the creation of electric cooperatives. Nine out of 10 rural homes lived without electricity in the mid-1930s.

Denton County Electric Cooperative was founded in 1937 and energized our first Members in February 1938.

From the beginning, there were drastic differences between how we operated compared to the for-profit utilities. The cooperative business model served rural areas then and it continues to thrive today as our service territory has become one of the fastest-growing regions in the country.

Here are some of the benefits of being part of an electric co-op:

• Our customers are Members and they are the owners of the co-op. We are a not-for-profit and we don’t have shareholders.
• As the owners of the co-op, Members vote to elect our Board of Directors who oversee the operations of the co-op. The election occurs in the lead-up to our Annual Meeting in June. Visit CoServ.com/Elections for more information on the Annual Meeting and elections.
• Our electricity rates are easy to understand with no fine print, tricks or gimmicks. The contracts don’t expire so there’s no need to shop around for the best rate. We’re here to serve you and our Customer Care Specialists will help you find a rate that fits your lifestyle. Visit CoServ.com/Rates for more information.
• CoServ is also one of the most reliable utilities in the state based on our SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index) score of 31.4 in 2023. The SAIDI score looks at how long power was out for the average Member. So, the average Member was without power for about 31 minutes in 2023. Put another way, CoServ Members had power 99.99 percent of the time based on the number of minutes in a year.
• CoServ also cares deeply about the communities we serve. The CoServ Charitable Foundation (CCF) awards more than $1 million in grants to area nonprofits each year. We’re also active in all 23 school districts that we serve, awarding scholarships, funding grants for education foundations and providing teachers with meals and other perks.

About Electric Co-ops

CoServ Electric is a cooperative owned and overseen by the North Texas customers we serve (known as "Members").

Electric cooperatives were created under the Rural Electrification Act in 1936 to bring electricity to farm and ranch communities unserved by investor-owned utilities. The law allowed rural residents to incorporate under a cooperative model and receive low-cost loans from the federal government.

Today, more than 900 electric cooperatives in 47 states provide electricity across 56 percent of the U.S.

Cooperatives around the world generally operate according to the same core principles, and they trace these roots to the first cooperative founded in Rochdale, England in 1844. This is considered the birth of modern cooperatives because of the seven principles created to guide the co-op proved successful. The principles have evolved over the years, but no matter the industry, today all cooperative businesses adhere to them:

1. Voluntary and Open Membership—Cooperatives accept any person able to use our services who agrees to the responsibilities of membership.
2. Democratic Member Control—We’re governed by our Members. Those elected to the Board can actively participate in setting policies. Elected board representatives answer to the Member-owners. In the name of equality, each Member gets one vote at election time. (It doesn’t depend on your energy usage or your tenure with us.)
3. Members' Economic Participation—Members contribute equally to, and democratically control, the capital of CoServ. The cooperative returns margins (profits) to Members in the form of Capital Credits.
4. Autonomy and Independence—Cooperatives are independent companies controlled by our Members. If we enter into agreements with other organizations (including governments) or raise capital from external sources, we do so on terms that ensure continued democratic control by our Members.
5. Education, Training, and Information—We teach and train our Members, Board Directors, Managers, Employees and the general public. Topics include industry issues, conservation, community involvement, safety and more.
6. Cooperation Among Cooperatives—We serve our Members best by strengthening the cooperative movement and working together through structured groups such as Texas Electric Cooperatives (TEC) and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).
7. Concern for Community—We live in North Texas, too, and want to see our communities prosper. That’s why CoServ invests in worthy causes throughout our service area through the CoServ Charitable Foundation.

History:

Back in 1937, your neighborhood was rural. No subdivisions, shopping malls or interstates—just farmland and country roads. The large, investor-owned utilities decided against expanding to your area because it wasn't profitable. So, a group of residents formed Denton County Electric Cooperative, which later became known as CoServ, distributing electricity and, starting in 1998, gas. Here is an overview of the past:

MAY 1937: Denton County Electric Cooperative is chartered.

FEBRUARY 1938: Near FM 2450, just north of Krum, first lines energized with power from Texas Power & Light, providing electricity to 1,034 Members for .09 cents per kWh.

JULY 1938: First Annual Meeting conducted, and Members elect the first Board of Directors.

FEBRUARY 1941: Denton County Electric becomes a member of Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, a wholesale energy provider.

AUGUST 1984: Headquarters moved from University Drive in Denton to Swisher Road in Corinth.

JANUARY 1998: Denton County Electric begins doing business as CoServ, an abbreviation of “Cooperative Services.”

JULY 1998: CoServ Gas established.

JANUARY 1999: CoServ Gas signs up first two customers.

SEPTEMBER 1999: Headquarters relocated to 7701 S Stemmons Freeway in Corinth.

APRIL 2004: 100,000th meter installed, making CoServ the second-largest electric cooperative in Texas.

JUNE 2004: CoServ Charitable Foundation (CCF) is created to help North Texas communities and nonprofits that meet basic human needs, promote community vitality and support education.

OCTOBER 2005: CCF begins accepting donations through Operation Roundup®, a cooperative program that allows customers to “round up” their monthly bill to the nearest dollar, with the extra pennies going to CCF.

JANUARY 2006: CoServ Gas sets its 50,000th meter.

JUNE 2007: First full-scale annual report published to show Members CoServ's financial stability and stewardship.

FEBRUARY 2008: CoServ celebrates 70 years of serving our Members—all 120,000 of them.

FEBRUARY 2008: CoServ awarded the first Roman Juarez scholarship to a Sanger High School senior. The scholarship was made in memory of Roman Juarez, a 20-year CoServ lineman who tragically lost his life in May 2007. While on his way to serve our Members in response to an outage on a rainy night, Roman’s truck was struck by a drunk driver. Roman’s legacy lives on through this scholarship which is awarded to a deserving Sanger High School graduate every year.

OCTOBER 2008: On Oct. 10, CoServ Electric and Brazos Electric held a ceremony to dedicate our newest substation to the memory of Roman Juarez, a 20-year CoServ lineman.

DECEMBER 2008: CoServ Gas becomes a wholly owned affiliate of CoServ Electric.

DECEMBER 2009:  CoServ Electric sets its 150,000th meter.

JANUARY 2010: CoServ Gas sets its 70,000th meter.

JANUARY 2012: CoServ Gas sets its 75,000th meter.

DECEMBER 2013: CoServ Electric sets its 175,000th meter.

JANUARY 2014: CoServ Gas sets its 85,000th meter.

SEPTEMBER 2015: Official dedication ceremony held for CoServ Solar Station. CoServ begins offering Members a solar rate option. Learn more

JUNE 2016: CoServ Electric sets its 200,000th meter; CoServ Gas sets its 100,000th meter.

MAY 2017: CoServ celebrates 80 years of service.

JANUARY 2020: The 800-acre, 100MW Lapetus Solar project opened in West Texas. CoServ is purchasing up to 52MW to add to its power mix and provide more renewable energy for our Members.

DECEMBER 2020: CoServ Electric and Gas reach 400,000+ combined meters.

MAY 2022: CoServ celebrates 85 years of service.

FEBRUARY 2023: CoServ’s contractual obligation to purchase power from Brazos ended on Feb. 28, 2023, as part of Brazos’ bankruptcy settlement.

MARCH 2023: CoServ gains 100 percent control of our power purchases from a mix of suppliers, including power plants and renewable energy sources across the state.

JUNE 2023: CoServ Electric sets its 300,000th meter.

JULY 2023: CoServ Gas celebrates 25 years of service on July 2, 2023.

OCTOBER 2023: CoServ Gas sets its 160,000th meter.