Sawnee EMC (SEMC; founded as Forsyth County EMC) is an electrical generation and transmission cooperative founded in July 1938 and based in Cumming, Georgia. As of 2022[update], Sawnee EMC is the third-largest electric co-op in Georgia and the eighth-largest in the United States, operating 11,982 miles[1] of power lines in seven counties: Cherokee, Dawson, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, and Lumpkin. It is a member of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and Touchstone Energy.
 | |
| Formerly | Forsyth County Electric Membership Corporation |
|---|---|
| Company type | Utility cooperative (501(c)(12)) |
| Industry | Electricity |
| Founded | July 16, 1938[1] |
| Headquarters | 543 Atlanta Road , Cumming, Georgia United States |
Area served | Northern Georgia |
Key people | Michael A. Goodroe, president and CEO |
| Products | Electricity |
| Revenue | $399,589,616 (2021)[2] |
| Members | 193,491 (2022)[2] |
Number of employees | 357 (2022)[2] |
| Website | sawnee.coop |
Michael Goodroe is the president and CEO of Sawnee EMC.
History
editAfter the Rural Electrification Administration was created in 1935, the Forsyth County Electric Membership Corporation was incorporated on July 16, 1938, and the co-op began providing electricity to about 750 homes via 163 miles of power lines on June 22, 1939. Forsyth County EMC changed its name to Sawnee EMC in August 1950, taking its name from nearby Sawnee Mountain. In 1974, Sawnee EMC was one of the dozens of Georgia-based EMCs that founded Oglethorpe Power,[3] and Sawnee was similarly a founding member of the renewables-focused Green Power EMC in 2001.
Domain name incident
editIn May 2024, Sawnee advised customers to switch from www.sawnee.com to www.sawnee.coop following a cyber security incident.[4]
Board of directors
editSawnee EMC's board of directors is composed of nine elected members:[2]
| Name | District and position |
|---|---|
| Marshall Millwood | District 2 |
| Bill Barnett | District 3 |
| Gary Porter | District 4; chairman |
| Tim Heard | District 6; secretary-treasurer |
| Rodney Reese | District 9 |
| Terry Mathis | District 7 |
| Donna Yost | District 8 |
| Larry Evans | District 5 |
| Roger Coker | District 1; vice-chairman |
Foundation
editSawnee EMC operates the Sawnee Electric Membership Foundation, which donates to schools and charities in its service area.[5] Since 2003, the foundation has given out $3.8 million.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b Jones, Erica (July 13, 2022). "Sawnee EMC celebrates 84th anniversary". Dawson County News. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Sawnee EMC 2021 Annual Report" (PDF). Sawnee EMC. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ "Our Company". Georgia Transmission. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ "Sawnee EMC asking customers to use new website after cybersecurity incident affected original one". WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta. May 8, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ a b "Sawnee EMC Foundation donates $1K for books for kids in Cherokee". Cherokee Tribune and Ledger-News. September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.